Greetings!
We like to blame individuals for our problems. It’s not the people; it’s the policy they adopt that’s the culprit. There’s an old saying; “the road to hell is paved with good intentions”. Let’s look at some recent policies that have been adopted:
At this moment we are experiencing hyper-inflation. Let’s look at a simplistic rule for currency. If you are worth a dollar and you print a dollar, each printed dollar is worth a dollar. If you are worth a dollar and print two dollars, each printed dollar is now worth fifty cents. When the gross national product is increasing, you can print more money in line with the growth and not cause inflation. The current printing of money is well beyond the growth.
Since Covid 19 hit, bailouts and social programs have gone through the ceiling. Government spending is without a doubt out of control and there is slim hope to stop it. Congress recently voted to once again increase the national debt.
We know we have to have taxes to run the government. Jesus said; “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s”. That said, bad tax policy can directly contribute to inflation. The mantra now is, “tax the rich and the corporations”. Let’s get something straight, taking all the money from the rich will only put a dent in our national debt and be a disincentive to the creation of prosperity. Raising taxes on corporations is raising taxes on you. Corporations don’t pay taxes, they pass them on to the consumers in higher prices. Most corporations are publicly owned. Our 401K’s and pension plans are invested in these corporations.
Are gas prices too high? In January, the United States was energy independent. Gas and oil prices were reflective of good energy policy and future stability was in the plans. By the end of January, things changed. The almost finished Keystone pipeline was abruptly canceled; oil and gas exploration on public lands was ceased. Oil and gas leases on public land were stopped. New off shore drilling in the Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf of Mexico was blocked. Drilling in Alaska’s Arctic Natural Wildlife Refuse was stopped. A new tax was imposed on methane emissions. All of this in the guise of fighting climate change. The result is dependence on foreign oil and higher prices at the pump.
Our federal government just released 50 million gallons of oil from our national strategic oil reserves to ease the rising gas prices. This is not good long term policy - 50 million gallons is only a few days of daily consumption. We paid low prices to fill those reserves only to replace the oil with higher priced oil or go without an adequate oil reserve, oil intended for national emergencies.
The 2022 elections are just around the corner. The good news is there are many Godly people seeking public office. We need to support their candidacy and get them elected. The most important thing we can do is to pray for our leaders and for God to rise up His chosen to govern our nation.
Paul Parisi
Director-Government Domain
520-869-1679
Paul@4Tucson.com
