Letter: Consumers hold answers to energy crisis

Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2006 | 7:23 a.m.

I would like to give Stephen Kilp kudos for the intelligent statements in the first four paragraphs of his Aug. 5 letter headlined, "Consumers shoulder blame for energy crisis." His statement, "It's simple Economics 101," is the best summary of the issue I have seen.

As Mr. Kilp suggests, the recipe for our economic and world political survival is: conservation, alternative fuels and supply. Just be aware that all of these avenues will only delay higher energy costs and help us become less dependent on the fanatics. They will not lower the price of energy!

On the same day (Aug. 5) the Sun published an editorial headlined "Energy bill wasn't enough." The headline was correct but the editorial didn't need the Sun's obligatory Bush-bashing. The original energy bill contained large and small steps along all of the avenues to energy independence mentioned earlier. However, the tree-hugging Democrat/RINO (Republicans in Name Only) cabal in Congress gutted the supply side of the equation and left us at the mercy of the dictators, kings and fanatics of the world.

We learned in civics that the executive branch can only propose and promote legislation. The president cannot make laws, he can only enforce the laws that Congress passes. The president has no power to lower the price of gasoline and even Congress can only hide part of the cost by raising taxes to pay for subsidy programs that may cut the price at the pump a few cents. Only the American consumer can have a real effect on the price!

F. Jay Harrell, Las Vegas