Oil, Taxes, And The Future

To the Editor:

After watching and hearing news about the rising oil prices and Governor Malloy’s budget plan, I feel compelled to write this letter to express my outrage and utter disgust.

First, I will address the oil prices. For years, our government has given us lip service as far as addressing oil and alternative energy sources. Yet we continue to rely heavily on importing oil and being at the mercy of OPEC and the Middle East. The US Geological Service issued a report in April 2008 stating that a region called the Williston Basin or more commonly known as The Bakken — an area covering the Dakotas, northern Montana and the Rocky Mountains — is the largest domestic oil discovery since Alaska’s Prudhoe Bay with an estimated 503 billion barrels of crude oil — enough to fully fuel the US economy for 2,041 years and completely eliminate our dependence on foreign oil. Additionally, the Stansberry Report issued in 2006 stated that the Bakken has estimated 2 trillion barrels of crude oil — eight times more than Saudi Arabia! This is in addition to what we have off our shores and Alaska. Why are we not trying to drill and extract this oil for ourselves? This would create jobs, greatly reduce oil prices, boost our economy and eliminate our dependence on foreign oil.

Second, I’d like to comment on Governor Malloy’s proposed state budget. It is absolutely foolish on his part to increase taxes in the middle of a depression (I call the current economic situation in the US a depression, not a recession, but that’s another story for another day). His proposed tax increases will place a further burden on Connecticut state taxpayers and drive more people and businesses out of our state. Governor Malloy is on record as saying his budget is about “sharing the pain.” Tell me Governor Malloy — what kind of pain will you experience as result of your proposed policies? I’m anxiously awaiting your response.

Tony Visca

30 Mile Hill Road South, Newtown                      February 27, 2011