How To Solve The Energy Crisis

Solving America's energy crisis is really quite simple. But it does not come without a basic understanding of economics - that is studying the choices that men make in order to meet their needs.

First of all, let us consider the three elements which make up man's material wealth, that is, natural resources, human energy or labor, and tools, that which man uses to multiply his productive capacity. Understnading these three factors of production will enable us to see how we can easily (but not without time, effort, and sacrifice) solve our energy crisis.

Natural resources are truly abundant in America. God has given us an abundant land full of the things which we need to meet our needs. Notice that these natural resources are not government-granted and I would submit to you that they should not be government controlled. It is not the government's function to tell us which resources we can use to meet our needs and which one we cannot. The purpose of government is to protect us as we use the natural resources that God has given us from those who would seek to abuse their resources and decieve us or steal from us. We have been told that our resources are more than enough to supply our needs, but the environmentalist would say just the opposite fearing that we might decrease the fly population and thus upset the eco-system. There truly is plenty of coal, oil, gas, wind, alternative energy sources, etc. And, we have learned through the years, that we as individual people and businesses must do our best to conserve our resources so that they will remain abundant. To not be cautious in conservation would be foolish, but we don't need the government, or some environmental group funded by the government to tell us that. Common sense goes a long way.

And then there is human energy - the ability to work. Different people have different skills. As man seeks to meet his needs, he discovers what he can do, where he is most efficient and effective in providing for himself and his family. He can enter into an agreement with someone to work for them if that is how he feels that he can best meet his needs. It's interesting but true, that a man's hunger works for him. We can become very industrious, hard-working people if we know that we are ultimately responsible for putting food on our table and not the government. But we have rewarded those who do not work. We have even given some who are content to not work and let the government provide for them with incentives not to work. The scripture is still true however, that if a man doesn't work, he should not eat. I submit that if we adopted this policy once again, as did our forefathers, that we would once again become a nation of producers and not consumers. And once again, what is the role of government? To set our minimum wage for us? NO, that only produces unemployment - study your history! Should they decide what vocation you should choose based on their assessment of your aptitudes and capabilities? NO, choose the vocation that you wish to be in, educate yourself, get training, and go for it - that's part of the American dream that so many came to this country to pursue in this, the land of opportunity. Maybe government should decide how long we can work? NO, let a man work as long as he needs to in order to meet his needs. Let him learn to save and invest for himself to care for his needs and the needs of his family. But surely government should provide us with health care or public housing or something to help us along? NO, if we must take responsibility for ourselves, we will find that we can take care of ourselves quite nicely, thank you. You see, the purpose of government is to protect man's GOD-GIVEN rights, not to provide for man.

And then there is the final factor of production known as tools. It is bizarre to me how our government is seeking to control and decrease the effectiveness of tools in our nation. Tools are the things that we use to produce with. The better our tools, the more productive we can be. Governments function is not to control these tools. It is not their business to own these tools. It is their responsibility to protect the inventor and the invention from those who would seek to steal it and abuse if for their own benefit. That is why we have copyright and patent laws - to protect the ones who invent tools and the tools themselves. Government should not be restraining the tools of production, but encouraging private business to increase the tool capacity and efficiency of America.

I wonder what would happen if the government did its job and let the energy business take care of itself? We have the resources, we have the man-power, we have the creativity and ingenuity of the American people who for almost 400 years have found ways to meet their needs and live in abundance. We have the tools or the ability to make effective, effecient tools. I thoroughly believe that the American people if unbridled from the nanny state would solve quickly and effectively the energy crisis and could soon be totally energy independent from other countries at a cost that we could all afford (or at least those who are willing to do the work)and in a matter of time that would easily defeat any time schedule set forth by the government. Our president and House of Representatives under the influence of the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, are seeking with the passage of this energy bill to bridle the productive resources, labor, ingenuity, and creativity of the American people by seeking to control the tools of production which belong to the people not the government. Let your Senator know that you do not want this energy bill passing the Senate and being signed into law by our President. And may those who ignored the strong voice of the American people on this issue incur the strength of the vote of the American people at the next election! Remember - WE WIN!