Part 3 in a multipart series examing solutions for our ailing economy, presented by Art Thompson, CEO of The John Birch Society.

Each year billions of dollars are sucked out of the American economy by the purchase of foreign oil and gas. Not being energy independent is detrimental to the financial security of our country and people.

The dynamics which can affect our lives are sometimes overlooked in the issue of energy independence. Dependence on others results in:

1. Billions of dollars flowing overseas, placing a burden on our economy. This outflow of capital stifles true domestic growth.
2. Much of this money ends up in the hands of governments and people who are the enemies of our country. These dollars are then used to compete in many ways with our businesses, workers, military, etc.
3. Dollars then coming back into this country to buy up property, businesses, and lobby Congress, among other things, often through shell corporations.
4. Control over us to a great extent is exerted by those who take our energy dollars. To be truly free of foreign entanglements, we must be free of dependence on foreign energy.
5. A nation that cannot wage a war to victory. Germany and Japan learned that lesson in World War II. They were not energy independent and much of the war was waged in an attempt to secure oil.
6. A condition short of war, where an imaginary oil shortage can be generated by our own government to create a crisis at any time, as was done in the 1970s. These crises can then be used to generate further inroads into the economic freedom of the American people. During the aforementioned 1970s shortage, as an example, were wage and price controls were instituted and other regulatory steps were taken ― some of them temporary and some of them permanent.

There are many reasons for achieving energy independence, and many ways to gain this independence without the use of massive amounts of so-called alternative means. Our purpose is not to convince anyone of the variety of energy alternatives or whether those means are ill-advised or advantageous, but simply the economic advantages of energy independence. Nonetheless, a couple of points need to be made.

The best form of energy is nuclear. It is the safest and cheapest. What makes it more expensive than it needs to be is government interference via regulations, not the process of providing the energy.

Solar and wind derived energy are very inefficient if for no other reason than the effects of a cloudy or windless day. They occupy incredible amounts of land but have come to be seen as politically correct forms of energy. There are other problems with their use but those have been described frequently elsewhere.

It is interesting that the same organizations who once promoted the tearing down and regulation of highway billboards are promoting the construction of windmills and solar panels that cover the landscape. The reason they didn’t like billboards, they said, was because they were unsightly and spoiled the view. These are the same organizations that do not want us to be energy independent, or drill and mine our own energy.

Energy independence is a political issue. The forces behind the lack of independence do not want the United States to remain independent in any manner and energy policy is simply an extension of this agenda.

Energy independence is a must for the future of our country. Our economy cannot grow as it should due to negative capital flow. We cannot establish our own future if we are sending money out of the country and are beholden to others for our energy needs.

The people know this. The politicians need to listen to the voters.
 

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