Urgent: House Democrats call for nationalization of refineries Per Pergram-Capitol Hill House Democrats responded to President's Bush's call for Congress to lift the moratorium on offshore drilling. This was at an on-camera press conference fed back live. Among other things, the Democrats called for the government to own refineries so it could better control the flow of the oil supply. They also reasserted that the reason the Appropriations Committee markup (where the vote on the amendment to lift the ban) was cancelled so they could focus on preparing the supplemental Iraq spending bill for tomorrow. At an off-camera briefing, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) said the same. And a senior Republican House Appropriations Committee aide adds that "there were multiple reasons for the postponement" including discussion on the supplemental. But the aide said there was the thought that Democrats may wish to avoid a debate today on energy amendments. Here are the highlights from briefing Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), member of the House Appropriations Committee and one of the most-ardent opponents of off-shore drilling 1115 We (the government) should own the refineries. Then we can control how much gets out into the market. Hinchey on why they postponed the Appropriations markup 1119 I think there aren't enough votes for the Peterson amendment. It wasn't taken up (the Interior spending bill) because of the omnibus Appropriations bill. That's the main focus of the Appropriations Committee. Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-IL) 1116 They (Republicans) have a one-trick pony approach. Rep. Nick Rahall (D-WV), Chairman of the Resources Committee 1106 You cannot drill your way out of this.

Originally Posted by PeteEU Hmm thought it was nationalized.. considering that big oil owns the Bush administration..

During periods when economic shocks persist and pain mounts, there can be a push for radical and harmful solutions such as price controls or even nationalization. A May 28, 2008 Gallup Poll showed that Americans currently favor gasoline price controls by a 53%-45% margin.

If one goes back to the most recent oil price shock in 1979-80, one finds sentiments similar to some of those prevailing today. On November 6, 1979, The New York Times reported:

The...poll also asked, "Do you think the Government should allow the oil companies to keep those profits to encourage them to find more oil and gas, should it heavily tax the increased profits or should the Government take over and run the oil companies?" To that, 31 percent of the respondents said "keep the profits," 32 percent said "tax them," 23 percent said "take over the companies" and 14 percent did not answer.

Public support for nationalization may be running somewhat stronger this time around. A recently released Rasmussen poll found:

A Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 29% of voters favor nationalizing the oil industry. Just 47% are opposed and 24% are not sure.

The survey found that a plurality of Democrats (37%) believe the oil industry should be nationalized. Just 32% of voters in Barack Obama’s party disagree with that approach. Republicans oppose nationalizing the oil industry by a 66% to 16% margin. Unaffiliated voters are opposed by a 47% to 33% margin.

In her hit song "Complicated," Avril Lavigne sings, "...it's all been done before." When it comes to sentiments for nationalizing the oil industry or parts of the industry in the midst of high prices, such calls truly have "all been done before."

Unfortunately, when the media's attention and the public's focus is on high prices or other economic pain, the reality that nationalization efforts have generally proved dismal failures e.g., during the 1970s in Britain, gains insufficient attention. In the absence of such vital information, a herdlike mentality can sometimes develop. When that happens the risk that policy makers embrace suboptimal policy decisions would increase.

Hopefully, neither Senator McCain's or Senator Obama's Presidential campaigns will succumb to short-sighted appeals to nationalize part of the oil industry. Otherwise, an already challenging energy situation would be made even worse.

Originally Posted by Captain America I don't think that nationalizing the oil industry is the answer, however, if the government wanted to create their own department of oil exploration and production in direct competition with the commercial oil companies that exist, I see no reason not to. It will either sink or swim on it's own. Nothing wrong with a little competition. However, if the gov't sold one single drop of our oil to a foreign country, like the existing commercial companies do, we should shut 'em down.

Originally Posted by Captain America I don't think that nationalizing the oil industry is the answer, however, if the government wanted to create their own department of oil exploration and production in direct competition with the commercial oil companies that exist, I see no reason not to. It will either sink or swim on it's own. Nothing wrong with a little competition. However, if the gov't sold one single drop of our oil to a foreign country, like the existing commercial companies do, we should shut 'em down.