Obama Administration Thinks High Oil Prices Will Make Amerrica Green

Yesterday, in a Congressional hearing on the current rise in oil and gasoline prices, Secretary of Energy, Steven Chu, basically said that he and Obama are OK with high oil prices because it will help "wean U.S. off oil." This despite the fact that lower income working families and people on fixed incomes are getting clobbered by high fuel prices; probably forcing some of those working families to cut back on food and other essentials so they can still get to work.

But, the logic on the part of Chu is flawed. And, you only need to look to Europe to see why. In Europe, the prices at the pump are basically double that of the U.S. at any given time. Yet, that hasn't forced people into buying greener hybrids or electric cars. In fact, despite having had high oil prices for years, 94% of the autos being sold in Europe, today, are still strictly gasoline-powered. On top of that, Europeans hang onto their old gas-guzzlers 40% longer than do Americans. For an average of 13 years. Thus, electing to ignore the higher mileage economies that any newer vehicle would afford them.

What people choose to drive is generally decided by what they need the vehicle for. Beyond that, economics generally forms their final buying decision. Most people understand that gasoline prices at the pump would have to go a lot higher to make it worthwhile for them to buy an expensive green vehicle. But, Chu and his boss can't seem to understand this; proving, again, that economics is not their strong suit. That was obvious from Chu's idiotic decision to blow a half billion dollars in taxpayer money on a failing green energy company: Solyndra.

The reality is that, world-wide, there are 600 million vehicles. Less than three-quarters of one percent of them are hybrids or electrics. In this country, hybrids and electrics only account for 3% of vehicles sales. And, with the average age of vehicles going up each year, it's going to be a long, long time before anyone will be "weaned" off of oil.