Anchorage Daily News

In April, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama created a buzz when he commented that the residents of small Midwestern towns were a bitter lot due to broken promises and empty rhetoric from politicians. He was half right. I'd argue it's impatience, not bitterness, and it's not limited to the Midwest.

Last week his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, as well as Republican John McCain, came out in support of the mother of all political pandering: proposing to suspend the federal gas tax for the summer. To Americans suffering under soaring energy costs, this sounded like a gift from heaven when in reality it was more empty rhetoric.

Obama quickly called it for what it was: "This idea isn't an idea designed to get you through the summer; it's an idea designed to get them through an election." The fact is that suspending the fuel tax would save American drivers an estimated $30, less than a half a tank of gas. The idea would do nothing to address the long-term problem, which is supply and demand, while draining $10 billion from the funds used to repair roads and bridges.

Meanwhile, because of years of political inaction on a viable energy plan for America that would entail a balanced strategy of domestic oil and gas development as well as investing in alternative energy research, Americans have been forced to take steps beyond conservation.

At a Shell gas station in Washington, D.C., last week, a group of activists gathered to hold a prayer session at the pumps. "Lord, the prices at this pump have gone up since last week. We know that you are able, that you have all the power in the world," prayed one member of the group.

The frustration of soaring gas prices is palpable, especially when you consider that the flames of public anger are being fanned by politicians seeking to pander to the public by feeding us half-truths. Clinton is calling for investigations into price gouging by oil companies when she should know that over the last several years a dozen different investigations into gas price fixing by oil companies have all ended with the same result: global demand drives the price of gas, not companies.

And the assertions that oil company profits don't benefit Americans ignore the facts.

Exxon is currently the second-largest investment held by the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. Every Alaskan who cashes a PFD check benefits from Exxon profits.

More importantly, in a report titled "The Distribution of Ownership of U.S. Oil and Natural Gas Companies," published in September 2007, Robert Shapiro and Nam Pham found, "The data strongly suggest that most of those profits go to the industry's majority shareholders, who are middle-class U.S. households with mutual fund investments, pension accounts, other personal retirement accounts and small personal portfolios."

Their report, based on Securities and Exchange Commission data on the ownership of U.S. oil and natural gas companies, shows that 70 percent of the shares of these companies are held by institutional investors like the Permanent Fund, especially asset management companies. Those companies manage those middle-class American assets.

Individual investors who manage their own portfolios and are not company insiders account for almost 30 percent of all industry ownership, which again includes significant numbers of middle-class households holding IRA and other personal retirement accounts.

Emotional rhetoric adds nothing to the debate and distracts us from real solutions.

Last week, Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., sent a letter to President Bush demanding that he tell Saudi Arabia to pump more oil to meet U.S. needs. Meanwhile, Schumer continues to be a shrill voice against domestic oil and gas exploration. Getting the Saudis to export more oil -- is that really an energy policy?

A sensible policy would entail Republicans getting on board with a greater commitment to alternative energy research, Democrats getting on board with increasing domestic oil and gas exploration and all Americans embracing sensible conservation practices.

Until then, prayer seems to be the only viable alternative.

Andrew Halcro is an Anchorage businessman who runs a car rental agency. He served in the state House of Representatives from 1999 to 2003. His e-mail address is ahalcro@ptialaska.net.

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