Sarah Palin on Facebook Ignoring Reality Says President Obama is Responsible for the Increase in Oil and Gas Prices

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), Alaska

By Kathleen

Sarah Palin has a new facebook entry. It has been a while since anything has been posted there. Her previous post was published on February 23rd. Coincidentally it was about Libya and freedom. I have to say that I have recently entertained myself with the hope that Facebook as a "get the message out there" medium had been abandoned by her. Perhaps she really had got the message that the majority of people in the USA do not want her meddling in politics. That even Republicans do not consider her an authority on pretty much anything.

Of course I don't seriously believe that she will sneek away quietly. It is unfortunately clear from her latest Facebook post that Palin still thinks that her ill conceived ideas and fragmentary views are viable and that she must share. It appears that we will have to continue to put up with her via twitter, facebook and Fox News.

In the Facebook post, ignoring reality, basic economics and world political affairs, Palin takes a pot shot at President Obama and blames him for the present rise in oil and gas prices. Implying that somehow he alone is responsible for the upward rise in the price of oil and gas because he will not lift the embargo on drilling in places such as ANWR.

The reality that every country faces regarding oil/gas prices is simple. Supply and demand. The demand for oil and gas from hungry markets grows every year and suppliers simply cannot keep up with the demand because oil and gas are finite reserves. This is not rocket science -- when a commodity becomes scarce it attracts a higher value. Palin should get used to volatile oil and gas prices because in a world of decreasing supply the only way for prices to continue are on an overall upward trend.

Furthermore, Palin should also understand that an important additional factor causing prices to increase is the continued and expanding popular uprisings in the Middle East. Bahrain in particular is a continuing cause of concern for market traders as it is thought that the unrest there could trickle over to Saudi Arabia. Political instability in Saudi Arabia is a nightmare scenario for traders who predict that unrest there could see prices hitting the $200 mark very quickly.


Live Oil Prices reports today the escalation of problems in Bahrain.

Helicopters flew overhead and Bahraini police fired teargas on Wednesday as they cleared protesters from a central roundabout that had become the symbol of an uprising by the island’s Shi’ite Muslim majority.

Advancing less than 24 hours after Bahrain declared martial law, police moved in thick lines from Bahrain Financial Harbour, the country’s main financial district, to the Pearl roundabout.

Bahrain has been gripped by its worst unrest since the 1990s after protesters took to the streets last month, inspired by uprisings that toppled the leaders of Egypt and Tunisia.

The problems facing Bahrain could at some point, spread into Saudi Arabia in some form, which is the worst case scenario for oil prices, as many forecasters believe that if there is unrest in Saudi Arabia (OPEC’s flagship oil exporter in the Middle East) then oil prices could hit $200 in a short period of time.

The Middle East supplies 40 percent of the world’s oil.

Instabilty in the Middle East is unlikely to be peaceful in countries such as Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. We only have to look towards Libya to understand that many regimes in the Middle East will use their military forces against protesters thus ensuring an increase in violence and bloodshed. The ruling class in Libya, Bahrain and other Middle East countries will not let go of the power and riches that they have amassed so easily. Despite this the struggle in the Middle East continues to escalate and in Libya oil refineries have been an ongoing target for rebels and it is likely that this tactic will be repeated by protest forces in other Middle East countries. Such activities further increase the jitters felt by oil market observers which lead to more changeable prices.

Sarah Palin, if she wants to be considered as an economic guru (with a 'D' in macroeconomics), needs to understand that there are many factors to be considered when offering a prognosis to a highly changeable and volatile issue such as oil and gas prices. Simply offering the myth that "drill baby drill" solutions will lower the market price of oil and gas is deceitful. The USA does not and never will be able to produce enough oil to maintain the USA's increasing demand for it and will need to continue to import it from overseas. Even if the moratorium on drilling is lifted from areas such as ANWR the supply will merely be a drop in the ocean of the USA's increasing oil demand. Is it really worth destroying the beautiful pristine ANWR environment when drilling there is not a solution but tantamount to placing a bandaid over a gaping wound?

Palin's Facebook blame on President Obama for the present rise in oil and gas prices is merely empty populist ranting which can easily be refuted. I'll say it again, the USA has no need for Sarah Palin and her divisive rhetoric. She is not fit to be the President of the USA. She does not belong in the political arena.