Sanders and Clinton Plan to Tax the Middle Class

Eli,


Clinton and Sanders answered a question about hydraulic fracturing at the debate in Flint last week.

Clinton gave a long answer when asked if she supports fracking:

"I don't support it when any locality or any state is against it, number one. I don't support it when the release of methane or contamination of water is present. I don't support it, number three, unless we can require that anybody who fracks has to tell us exactly what chemicals they are using.

"Right now, there are places where fracking is going on that are not sufficiently regulated. So first, we've got to regulate everything that is currently underway, and we have to have a system in place that prevents further fracking unless conditions like the ones that I just mentioned are met. By the time we get through all of my conditions, I do not think there will be many places in America where fracking will continue to take place," she said.

Sanders had a quick, sharp response:

"My answer is a lot shorter. No, I do not support fracking," he said.

Sanders said he talks to scientists who tell him that "fracking is doing terrible things to water systems all over this country."

Sanders is the Democrat's Trump, just making shit up. One can't find terrible things in water systems in Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, North Dakota, Wyoming, Pennsylvania, Ohio due to fracturing.

The Energy Information Administration has an interesting article on fracturing today.

Even though hydraulic fracturing has been in use for more than six decades, it has only recently been used to produce a significant portion of crude oil in the United States. This technique, often used in combination with horizontal drilling, has allowed the United States to increase its oil production faster than at any time in its history. Based on the most recent available data from states, EIA estimates that oil production from hydraulically fractured wells now makes up about half of total U.S. crude oil production.

 

 The US consumes about 19 million barrels per day. Clinton and Sanders want to eliminate 5 million produced in the US. Oil prices would go up. Gas prices would go up. Our dependence on foreign oil would go up (which some people, not me, care about).

That's a tax on the middle class, but one that results in  decreased government revenue. Unfortunately, this isn't the worse idea they have suggested.

Bill