June 26th, 2013
Yesterday, in a landmark and grandiose speech, President Obama laid out his plan for his second term’s agenda on energy and environmental policy. The speech sought to reduce the amount of “carbon pollution” and create a renewed political climate for imposing measures that would benefit the environment. However, the President continued to follow the flawed policy of increased regulation and government mandates.
President Obama’s plan would prevent the continued technological innovation and growth our economy needs to thrive. Gas prices have doubled since the President took office in 2008, and that price will only rise as greater restrictions are placed on energy producers. The President should have proposed policy that would enable and empower private enterprise to seek innovations and technology that would be safer and more efficient in using the resources available to us. This would create new jobs and greater competition. This would truly reduce the costs of production and limit potential risks to our environment.
Particularly for college students and recent graduates, the plan set out by the Obama Administration could have a significant impact on the job market. The plan would stifle the natural processes of creative destruction and limit the scope of new, innovative practices that could create new fields for younger generations. Economic freedom in the energy industry would not only create emerging markets, but from the effects and profits produced, would create work in other fields, creating jobs for all.
No longer should it be acceptable for energy policy to be proposed on antiquated models and statistics that hold little factual merit. Instead, we should continue to reach out and support ideas that create new avenues for economic growth and expansion, using the resources our country has, and driven by the minds that seek innovative practices. This is the principle that should drive President Obama’s energy policy. It is one that would truly look after the environment we all cherish.