We Waited Fifteen Months for That?

President Obama’s energy plan might be a case of too little, too late. A snippet from the WSJ‘s report:

At the same time, Mr. Obama’s plan wouldn’t allow new oil and gas development off the coasts of Northern Atlantic states or California, whose political leaders have long opposed offshore drilling. The administration will call off a plan drafted by the administration of former President George W. Bush that would have given oil companies access to Alaska’s Bristol Bay, an area teeming with wild sockeye salmon and many commercial fishing interests concerned about the impact of drilling on their livelihoods.

Something is better than nothing, sure — but cheap energy and thousands more high-wage energy jobs wouldn’t exactly suck. Then there’s MSNBC’s take, which blames the rise in oil prices on greedy capitalists:

“People are using oil as a store of value rather than as a commodity,” Beutel said. “It’s the investors who are buying.”

Maybe if we had an Administration with even the slightest interest in protecting the value of the dollar or just maybe stopping every now and then on their endless quest to wreck our finances, investors wouldn’t be looking for hedges in commodities.