Community Chat

[vsm]

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@occasionalrain wrote:

I follow Britain and Ireland news. The cost of food, rent, and gas have risen just like they have here. Placing blame is pointless, there are many reasons and no short term solutions.

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It's not a question of "placing blame."  It's a question of taking responsibility.  We were well on the way to energy independence before and throughout the pandemic. That progress was intentionally and abruptly halted by new policies banning the Keystone pipeline, reducing the permits for drilling on leased land, imposing costly regulations on the few remaining permitted operations, and increasing restrictions on the extraction of our vast resources of natural gas.

Couple that with spending trillions of dollars we didn't have but merely printed up, and we have the highest inflation rate in 40 years. We fell harder and faster than any other country on that score, so comparing our situation to Britain and Ireland is apples and oranges. And now we are running hat-in-hand, like an international beggar with a tin cup, to authoritarian regimes such as Venezuela and Saudi Arabia for fossil fuels we were falsely told we didn't need while we "transition" to so-called green energy. 

The result? Increasing misery for the most vulnerable.  But you're right about one thing: "There are no short term solutions."  It will take us a lot longer to get out of this mess than it took to make it.

[Porcelain]

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@vsm wrote:

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@occasionalrain wrote:

I follow Britain and Ireland news. The cost of food, rent, and gas have risen just like they have here. Placing blame is pointless, there are many reasons and no short term solutions.

---

It's not a question of "placing blame."  It's a question of taking responsibility.  We were well on the way to energy independence before and throughout the pandemic. That progress was intentionally and abruptly halted by new policies banning the Keystone pipeline, reducing the permits for drilling on leased land, imposing costly regulations on the few remaining permitted operations, and increasing restrictions on the extraction of our vast resources of natural gas.

Couple that with spending trillions of dollars we didn't have but merely printed up, and we have the highest inflation rate in 40 years. We fell harder and faster than any other country on that score, so comparing our situation to Britain and Ireland is apples and oranges. And now we are running hat-in-hand, like an international beggar with a tin cup, to authoritarian regimes such as Venezuela and Saudi Arabia for fossil fuels we were falsely told we didn't need while we "transition" to so-called green energy. 

The result? Increasing misery for the most vulnerable.  But you're right about one thing: "There are no short term solutions."  It will take us a lot longer to get out of this mess than it took to make it.

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So you want to invade Russia and take their oil?

[feline groovy]

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@Sooner  wrote:

Is "fewer criminals" a choice? 

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Not as long as people do a cr@ppy parenting job.

[Cakers3]

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@vsm wrote:

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@occasionalrain wrote:

I follow Britain and Ireland news. The cost of food, rent, and gas have risen just like they have here. Placing blame is pointless, there are many reasons and no short term solutions.

---

It's not a question of "placing blame."  It's a question of taking responsibility.  We were well on the way to energy independence before and throughout the pandemic. That progress was intentionally and abruptly halted by new policies banning the Keystone pipeline, reducing the permits for drilling on leased land, imposing costly regulations on the few remaining permitted operations, and increasing restrictions on the extraction of our vast resources of natural gas.

Couple that with spending trillions of dollars we didn't have but merely printed up, and we have the highest inflation rate in 40 years. We fell harder and faster than any other country on that score, so comparing our situation to Britain and Ireland is apples and oranges. And now we are running hat-in-hand, like an international beggar with a tin cup, to authoritarian regimes such as Venezuela and Saudi Arabia for fossil fuels we were falsely told we didn't need while we "transition" to so-called green energy. 

The result? Increasing misery for the most vulnerable.  But you're right about one thing: "There are no short term solutions."  It will take us a lot longer to get out of this mess than it took to make it.

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@vsm   This is a well thought out post.

I don't know why someone thinks invading Russia belongs here but it's another illogical question.

[MOMMAVik]

@hckynutjohn, off topic now. How is your recovery going? I hope you are almost back in your skates!

[Greeneyedlady21]

A, affordable housing is where everything starts and ends. 

[kitcat51]

That's an easy choice....B.

[AuntG]

"A" because everyone needs housing. When I got my first mortgage, I had to prove my payment would not be over 27% of my income. I think that included property insurance too.

[deepwaterdotter]

@AuntG I know of a few property managers who still require prospective renters to prove that they have sufficient income before offering a rental contract. 

[MoJoV]

As long as we've gone off topic and are now placing blame.... answer is GREED, good old corporate greed.  Not entirely of course.  Pandemic, the hideous inhumane aggression of Russia play their part. I am now done with this thread. Have fun.