Gas taxes will be the least of folk's problems.

Nancy Pelosi and some key Democrats have stated several times that gasoline should be $6-$8 a gallon as it is in Europe and several other countries, primarily as a result of taxation. The perceived "benefits" will be that those prices will force motorists to drive small fuel efficient vehicles [[built at govt controlled plants) and provide an impetus for voters to approve funding of alternative energy projects the majority of which will never work.)

The thinking is, however, that that goal can't be forced by raising gas taxes. So, here's the plan.

Background: Small independent oil and gas producers, such as I, produce more than 80% of all the oil and gas produced in the country, about 4-5.5 million bbls/day. I produced about 150,000 bbls last year and I'm a relatively small guy.

In April, the Democratic Congress published its proposed revisions to the tax code that govern oil and gas production. The revisions would remove the depletion allowance, intangible drilling cost write-offs, marginal well tax credits and several other historic tax treatments that are provided to all other extractive industries, industries that produce commodities that, once produced are never renewed. These historic tax treatments - benefits - are what provide the funds to continue drilling for new reserves - the lfeblood of the country.

The proposed changes raised a firestorm of criticism, much from Democrats from oil producing states.

Geithner appeared before a Congressional committee in early March and was grilled by Dems and Republicans, who pointed out that should they be adopted, the tax changes would put out of business the vast majority of independent producers in the country, put over 200,000 people out of work, and would result in the importation of up to 5 million bbls of oil per day from foreign producers, and that the price of gasoline would be right up at $7-8 per gallon, and our balance of payments deficit would break all records. His response: It is the Administration's and Congress' policy that under no circumstance would the government continue to "support" industries that contribute to global warming.

There was such an outcry over the idiocy of the proposals that they were taken off the table. For a few weeks. The 2010 Budget was submitted a week or two ago, with those tax changes included. It remains to be seen if they will pass both Houses.

If they do, I will shut down my leases within a year and will temporarily abandon them until [[if) a new regime tales over and goes back to rational policies. I won't ever miss any meals; I've sold many of my leases at the heigth of the "boom" last year. However, I'll have to terminate 19 people, and of course most suppliers and contractors will go out of business.

Do you suppose the govt is taking over the car companies to operationally mandate [[free of voter input) the building of only small cars with only enough p/up trucks to satisfy requirement of business. No news SUV's for sure.

I'm sure a lot of folks [[including many on this forum) think this is a great plan. However, whether, one believes that global warming is caused by man made pollutants or not, the rest of world will look at the U.S. as having extremist views and willing to wreck its entire economy in the process. In the meantime, China is building one new coal fired power plant per week and its main fear is that we will so disable ourselves financially that we will not be able to support the Chinese economy as we have been doing for decades.

It's apparent at this early date that the new Administration and the current Congress intend to continue taking over the means of production and reshaping the country's financial and lifestyle attitudes in its own image of a brave new world.

We have become a nation of sheep, or too ignorant to perceive what's going on; the govt is skilled in painting a very rosy picture to support its goals. Or, maybe nobody cares any more, and we're ready for the brave new world where it's no longer important that that we be a world power.