New Seniors

To the average American, solving the oil spill problem in the Gulf of Mexico seems simple enough. Stop the oil from rushing out of the hole a mile under the surface; and, at the same time, use every means available to keep the oil from coming ashore through an organized and coordinated clean up effort. Not with politicians involved.

Our government took the better part of two months to study the situation while depending on the perpetrator of the problem to do the dirty work. Well, the dirty work has yet to be done. Attempts have been made to plug the hole but with only partial success. More oil is coming from the hole than originally estimated, so the net result is some 60,000 gallons of oil continue to flow from the broken well each and every day.

In effect the United States is being attacked by crude oil. Investigations currently underway may find out why the rig blew up and the oil was not contained. Currently, there’s finger pointing galore and plenty of posturing going on in Washington. Right now, there are more important questions to be answered. The oil company, British Petroleum (BP), has already accepted responsibility for the disaster and agreed to pay for the fiasco.

Blaming BP satisfies an angry public and takes the heat of others who may have contributed to the conditions that led to the explosion that took the lives of eleven rig workers. This single incident has also affected the lives of thousands and thousands of people along the Gulf Coast and will eventually reach across the entire country in a variety of ways.

Greater dependency on foreign oil, due to the cession of drilling, will be reflected in the price of gas at the pump and increased costs for products made with petroleum. In addition, distribution costs will increase; so retailers will pass these on to consumers.

There’s a real possibility of legislators trying to jam through an energy tax. A cap and trade system that places a levy on carbon usage, including resources other than petroleum, will be costly for all Americans and disastrous to some.

The loss of gulf fish and other seafood will result in a diminished supply, meaning costs will increase as well. While many people may be inconvenienced by high prices and shortages, New Seniors and others on fixed incomes will find it difficult to live with these price increases. So the sooner we get a handle on the problem the better off we’ll be.

Get the politics out of this problem. While we’re waiting for the hole to be plugged, the oil must be kept away from the shore. This battle has already been lost in some areas. However, there are ways to save other parts of the Gulf and BP has agreed to pick up these costs. Tell your elected representative to continue the clean up, open oil rigs that pass inspection and encourage alternative energy development without new taxes. We need a decisive government that responds to a crisis rather than one that simply reacts.

-NewSeniors Editorial

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