Opinion Talk

By Buzzer

June 17, 2008 7:59 AM | Link to this

It is a free market - prices will dictate the end result - Why is it that everyone looks to the government for the answer? Congress will not help as they can’t get along with each other, so the only answer is to look in the mirror. There you will find “change” you can believe in.

By twodawgs

June 17, 2008 8:11 AM | Link to this

If you think gas rationing will be fair to everybody, you are delusional. The wealthy and affluent, especially politicians, will always get all they want. It’s the middle class and lower income people who will be rationed.

By Denny

June 17, 2008 8:13 AM | Link to this

I suggest a test case for gas rationing.

Every elected officials and their staff should have their gasolene use restricted to 65% of what they used in March, 2008. Implimentation should be staged so that Federal officials begin in the first month. State in the second month and local in the third.

This experiment should last for 6 months. If it works for this group, we would look at adopting rationing for everyone else.

By mechi

June 17, 2008 8:24 AM | Link to this

well said, Buzzer…the really sad part is that “we” as Americans, in general, are fueled by greed and consume too much. But times are changing and people need to accept and prepare adequately for it.

By Larry

June 17, 2008 8:35 AM | Link to this

Gas rationing might work if you require businesses to shift to 4-day work weeks and allow those employees who can telecommute to do so. Of course, once those changes are made, you probably won’t need to ration gas.

By Darth Mike

June 17, 2008 8:45 AM | Link to this

Are you kidding me?????

The free market should determine the prices. Gas rationing is a solution for people who believe that the government should control all aspects of their life.

Me, I believe that I am the only person who is responsible for my life. The freedom of our society to be free of oppression from our government is a fundamental right that many in our country have fought and died for in our Revolutionary War. To now suggest that the government should ration out an item available on the free market is offensive to me and my notion of liberty.

We have gas rationing already. It is called your wallet, i.e., you can self-ration. If you cannot afford gas, do not buy it. If you cannot afford to waste gas, then limit your gas use and plan trips to the store on your way home from work. If you want to waste gas, and can afford to do so, then who am I to suggest that you should not have the freedom to spend your money as you see fit in the free market.

By gwarfan

June 17, 2008 8:53 AM | Link to this

During WW II we had a shortage of supplies in this country. There is not a gas shortage now though so why ration gas? Buying less gas is not going to drive the price down, gas will not spoil in the tank and Americans are still going to need gas to drive and that is all there is to it.

By sheldon schlegman

June 17, 2008 9:11 AM | Link to this

Free market? Are you all kidding yourselves. When the middle east holds most of the oil reserves and we are filling there coffers with our money it is not a free market. Typical of most of the writers, Americans will not sacrifice anything for the overall good of the American people. That’s why only a select few are losing there lives in Iraq and Afghanistan. We all need to share the burden equally. It should not be the lower 20% of the people who are forced to do with out. And if you think that driving less is not having an impact on the middle east then why has Saudi Arabia decided to pump an additional 500,000 barrels of oil. They are running a little scared. Imagine what would happen if we began to ration our use of gas. The price would plummet.

Clear Thinker

By sheldon schlegman

June 17, 2008 9:11 AM | Link to this

Free market? Are you all kidding yourselves. When the middle east holds most of the oil reserves and we are filling there coffers with our money it is not a free market. Typical of most of the writers, Americans will not sacrifice anything for the overall good of the American people. That’s why only a select few are losing there lives in Iraq and Afghanistan. We all need to share the burden equally. It should not be the lower 20% of the people who are forced to do with out. And if you think that driving less is not having an impact on the middle east then why has Saudi Arabia decided to pump an additional 500,000 barrels of oil. They are running a little scared. Imagine what would happen if we began to ration our use of gas. The price would plummet.

Clear Thinker

By zeke

June 17, 2008 9:13 AM | Link to this

WHAT IDIOT CAME UP WITH THIS IDEA? No, it did not work in WWII, and, price controls never work they only lead to shortages! And, like me, when you have no choice but to drive a lot of miles to perform your work, about 40,000 miles per year, what are you going to do? TELL ME TOO BAD YOU CANNOT WORK!? The powers that be in congress and the administration need to declare a national emergency and tell all enveronmental radical to screw off and immediately drill in Alaska, ANWAR, off the East Coast, off the West coast, in the gulf, recover all the oil in Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, N. Dakota and S. Dakota, use coal as much as possible, and, build nuclear plants by the hundreds!! All we hear is about gasoline, cars and driving! Well, you nuts, we need to go away from all plastics, all synthetic rubber, all medical products that are made from oil, which, is the real oil problem!!

By CommunistAJC

June 17, 2008 9:33 AM | Link to this

Didn’t Carter try that? Yeah, didn’t work out so well did it? Communist did this during the Soviet era and was responsible for millions of deaths. Nice try AJC. I’d suggest every AJC employee take a few economic classes instead of these idiotic liberal arts degrees you guys hold.

By Fix-It

June 17, 2008 9:56 AM | Link to this

Our government has the chance right now to do something for the people, for the first time. Instead of some stupid pet project, let us take a few million dollars, and bore some wells in the places we believe to have oil. Then use that “Government Well” to produce only domestic oil for $50 a barrel. The government makes money and we save on gas prices. But wait that makes way too much sense for our government to do….

By Steve

June 17, 2008 10:10 AM | Link to this

Rationing? Are we living in the Soviet Union here? I know a lot of liberals wish we were but we are not. If we would have drilled domestically for the last 25 years we wouldn’t be facing $4.00 a gallon gas. Rationing gas is not sacrificing anything for the “common good”, all it is doing is lowering the standard of living, which liberals want to do for the masses. I guess its time for an America of lowered expectations huh?

By Naked Dog

June 17, 2008 10:12 AM | Link to this

They are rationing food now at The Varsity ?!?!?!?

By CommunistAJC

June 17, 2008 10:16 AM | Link to this

The reason Dems are against it has to do more with elections than anything else. If we drilled here they would not have gas prices to complain about come election time. It’s like SS, Affirmative Action and the military draft dems like to use to get votes. If we did drill here then you’d never hear another dem complain about the gop and oil companies. Its time to drill here!

By Blind Homer

June 17, 2008 10:18 AM | Link to this

We should take all the Iraqi gas as repayment for liberating and rebuilding their country. Once their stable democracy (controlled by us) is in place, we can move on to Saudi Arabia.

By Dr.Spock

June 17, 2008 11:40 AM | Link to this

There is no shortage of gasoline; therefore rationing it would be illogical.

But there is an extreme shortage of unbiased journalism from America’s progressive media. Therefore, the rationing of liberal journalist would be very logical.

By NannyStateHater

June 17, 2008 11:47 AM | Link to this

“Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” —Benjamin Franklin.

We don’t need the government to step in on this and be “Mommy.”

By BS Aplenty

June 17, 2008 11:49 AM | Link to this

Every day capitalist markets ration scarce resources from milk to guns to cars to oil & gas - but not sunshine - ‘cause that’s not scarce. If you can afford it, you can own it - no questions asked (other than the guns). You can be white, black, Protestant or Catholic, gay, straight or unsure. Capitalist rationing is performed efficiently & objectively based solely on price. It’s in keeping with FREEDOM & the American way.

On the other hand… In a communist system that same rationing of resources is accomplished by political fiat. Politicans chose who gets the milk, cars, oil & gas - and how much. AND, they’ll also try to regulate how much sunshine you can have (fat chance). You are beholding to a bureaucrat for your well-being. You are, in effect, in a demented welfare system where everyone scrambles to find favor with some politician or his smarmy, bureaucratic stooges. No effing thank you.

Let FREEDOM & Capitalism ring. No Communist rationing needed.

By jimbo

June 17, 2008 11:53 AM | Link to this

Oh sure, if you’re also going to have a draft for Iraq and Afghanistan and put the country on a war footing and use those materials gained to finish our conflict in the middle east, why not? But no politician would do that and any effort to ration anything now would just be a power play to show the people who is boss. If you don’t like paying high gas prices then you should educate yourself and look for viable alternatives or vote for people who look for viable alternatives. Ethanol is NOT a viable alternative which means by my logic you shouldn’t be voting for any of our presidential candidates.

By kitty

June 17, 2008 11:56 AM | Link to this

I hate rationing. It penalizes people like me who conserved BEFORE there was a problem. Why should I get restricted for my non-gas guzzling car while SUV drivers would be able to continue driving as many miles as they did before just because they got a smaller car.

Bad idea!

By BS Aplenty

June 17, 2008 12:11 PM | Link to this

McCain ‘08 - just for the FREEDOM of it.

By GaVoter

June 17, 2008 12:24 PM | Link to this

If we ration gas…, Who will use all those new and expensive red lights the Ga. DOT just finished installing on the interstates around Atlanta? Or who will finance all those safety officers, their customized rides and road cameras mindlessly watching the useless HOV lanes all day and night??

Oh boy, let’s talk about our government’s foresight abilities again, and how we want to CHANGE it’s limitations just for Obama…, NOT!!

By theprogressivebigot

June 17, 2008 12:27 PM | Link to this

Here kitty, kitty, kitty…

Want to ride in my big expensive SUV? You’ll never have to conserve in here.

By Buzzer

June 17, 2008 12:42 PM | Link to this

sheldon schlegman - you wrote “Imagine what would happen if we began to ration our use of gas. The price would plummet” - that is the free market - thanks for clarifying our point :-) - it is all to do with supply and demand plus a few other variables. But you got the idea. If you dont want it, dont buy it and the price will drop to meet the demand. As for the 20% you mention, when is life fair? We all have to dig deep and come up with our own solutions; time to think for oneself as how to best get by these days - believe in yourself and NOT others, that is change you can beleive in.

By Stimus

June 17, 2008 12:57 PM | Link to this

I vote republican but I strongly believe gas should never be allowed to fall below $4/gal ever again. Buying full size trucks/SUVs just for the daily commute is pure greed and selfishness and is counter to what a true conservative would do. No rationing will be necessary if folks switch to high efficiency cars and leave the leviathans for the occasional run to Hope Despot.

By Willie

June 17, 2008 1:22 PM | Link to this

YES one gallon per day for all progressive liberals! make them go completely green in one year by taking back that gallon. Half a gallon per day for liberals in California and Florida forever.

By Willie

June 17, 2008 1:30 PM | Link to this

YES—All progressive liberals get one gallon a day then made to go completly green within one year. That means no gas-a-tol. For those liberals in California and Florida one half gallon per day for life until oil wells start pumping oil off shore. Hey and start taxing carbon footprints to hell and back.

By Opus X

June 17, 2008 1:42 PM | Link to this

If gas is rationed, each month I will buy my allotment of gas and continue to commute on my motorcycle. (which should be safer, theoretically, since less cars will be on the road) Then, towards the end of the month, I will sell my unused gas, at a huge profit, to those not able to get by on their allotment. I should then make enough to cover all of the new taxes the Messiah is planning to implement when he is elected President.

By Forrest

June 17, 2008 1:53 PM | Link to this

Why would we ration gas? There is no shortage, its just expensive! Where do people come up with these freedom hating ideas?

By DWG

June 17, 2008 2:35 PM | Link to this

If the US, China, India and the world’s super wealthy elite like Al Gore rationed gas - causing less demand around the world - then the price would go down. High demand in the world market drives the price and speculation of oil. The only solution is to drill for more oil at home and continue to build more fuel efficient cars.

It’s unbelievable that we waste everyones time by putting companies that turn a profit on trial and penalize them with more taxes.

By Shortage, what shortage?

June 17, 2008 3:16 PM | Link to this

Why would you ration gas? There is NO shortage of it!