Gas Prices, Cafeteria Politics and Carbon Rationing

1. CONSUMER

Average
gas prices rise past $4 a gallon.

CEI Expert Available to Comment: Senior Fellow Iain Murray on how Congress is on the wrong track with energy policy:

““The current energy crisis needs
to be addressed by increasing the supply of energy worldwide. Instead, the
[current proposals rely] on punishment of energy suppliers who are themselves
constrained by legislation in what they can do to increase supply. At a time
when the nation is facing massively increased energy costs and income and
credit availability are being squeezed, American citizens deserve better from
their representatives in Congress.”

2. POLITICS

Senators
vote to turn their
money-losing dining facilities over to management by a private contractor.

CEI Expert Available to Comment: Senior Fellow Eli Lehrer on why this move is long
overdue:

“Anyone who has ever had to eat the
swill served at Senate dinning facilities will realize this represents an
enormous step forward. On the House side of the U.S. Capitol, the cafeterias
are clean, profitable, and serve good food. On the Senate side, they’re dirty,
subsidized by the taxpayers, and serve lousy food. The Senate Democrats are
going to fight about it, pull out their hair, and probably make a few
compromises. But they’re going to do it. Over the next few years, this will
taxpayers a few million dollars and make life better for Senate staff.”

3. ENVIRONMENT

British
lawmakers propose issuing every citizen with a “carbon
ration card” to limit their contribution to global warming.

CEI Expert Available to Comment: Adjunct Analyst Steven Milloy on the details of the proposal:

“The plan would place limits on food and energy consumption in
the form of credits not to be exceeded — except through the potential for
heavy-carbon users, often the wealthy, to purchase credits from lower-carbon
users, often the less wealthy. In other words, their answer to global warming
is wealth redistribution.”

Blog feature: For more news and
analysis, updated throughout the day, visit CEI’s blog, Open
Market.

FOR
MORE INFORMATION

To
contact a CEI expert for comment or interviews, please call the CEI
communications department at 202-331-2273 or email to [email protected].