What Creeps These Members of Congress Be
By Robert Higgs • Friday November 7, 2008 8:36 PM PDT • 12 Comments
Driving yesterday past the gasoline station where I usually buy fuel, I noticed that the price of the lowest grade of unleaded—the one I buy—was down to $2.09 per gallon. Registering this perception as a little piece of good news in an unhappy world, I drove on.
Later, however, I began to mull over the altogether unsurprising fact that, to my knowledge, Congress has held no televised hearings to look into the tremendous fall in fuel prices since last summer, when I paid more than $4.00 per gallon for a while. Oil company executives have not been summoned to Washington so that they can be applauded for sloughing off the greed that (allegedly) impelled them to charge so much for their products in June and July. No member of Congress has apologized for calling the businessmen there last spring to berate and threaten them while angrily mouthing sentiments that can only be described as idiotic.
These congressional show trials, which are held whenever gasoline prices rise substantially, always adhere to a tight protocol and a traditional script for each of the actors. Members of Congress huff and puff, demand to know how much the executives are earning, threaten new taxes and controls, and suggest ominously that the government may have to take over the companies unless something gives. Company executives do not laugh at these antics or dismiss them as the foolishness they are, but rather respond in solemn seriousness, explaining how changes in supply and demand have brought about the price increases.
Yeah, yeah, supply and demand. Isn’t that just the sort of excuse you’d expect a robber baron, caught red-handed, to invoke?
It’s no wonder the public always believes that conspiracies among the companies explain the high prices, and hence that the public supports government action to whip the conspirators into line or to impose price controls. It’s a perfect match: ignorant (and immoral) members of the public and ignorant (and immoral) members of Congress to represent them in Washington. We are witnessing democracy in action. As H. L. Mencken said, “votes are collared under democracy, not by talking sense but by talking nonsense.”
I first became aware of this moronic charade back in the 1970s, during the first “energy crisis.” William E. Simon, whom Nixon appointed to be the “energy czar” at that time, later gave a hilarious account of it in his book A Time for Truth (1978). Simon described “the demogoguery that is often unleashed at these hearings and is a gross caricature of the process of seeking information.” He illustrated his claim by reproducing the transcript of an exchange he had at one of the hearings with Congressman Joe McDade, who was certainly among the most corrupt members in the history of the corrupt House of Representatives. Read it (on pp. 62-64) and weep. “I knew,” wrote Simon, “I was faced with an economic illiterate or with a political hypocrisy so great that it stunned me.”
I challenge you, however, to read the transcript of the hearings the House conducted to bully the oil company executives as recently as last spring and reach a conclusion any different from Simon’s.
In his book, Simon noted “the compulsion in a dominantly liberal Congress to believe any rumor, however baseless, from any source, however absurd, which suggested that the shortage was ‘unreal,’ a product of a vicious oil company plot, and the compulsion to ‘demagogue’ whenever the red light of the television camera lit up.”
The more things change . . . .
don’t you understand, that the egotistical morons of our congress will assume that their show trials are what caused oil prices to fall.
oil prices rise>>>.congress berates oil execs>>>oil prices fall
when you’re a moron, that makes perfect sense.
russell | Nov 7, 2008 | Reply
And if they are even stupider, they’ll believe that by flogging a handful of American executives, they made fuel prices fall EVERYWHERE IN THE WORLD. Now that’s really great stupidity! But, then, being accustomed to assuming that Americans can control the whole world, perhaps this fact too will do nothing to alter their view of cause and effect.
Robert Higgs | Nov 8, 2008 | Reply
russell,
Legislators proved they can do it again with the bank bailout. They brought bank executives to Congress and viola! Banks’ share prices fell. What an amazing gift!
trumpetbob15 | Nov 8, 2008 | Reply
Television cameras make people appear heavier than they are while forcing them to behave more stupidly. Take away cameras and well meaning people can have fruitful conversations.
We’ve turned Congress into a reality show, in which all participants are hoping to be more audacious than the next, so as to get a show of their own, while the show itself is simply nonsense.
Look good, speak well and above all, be simple even when complex events require otherwise.
We will see.
Tom
Thomas A. Coss | Nov 8, 2008 | Reply
Umm, there were televised hearings, on C-Span, chaired by Rep. Ed Markey. I recall seeing two or three of the clips online. They were, though, a sham.
Tony Schinella | Nov 8, 2008 | Reply
you mistake one purpose of the theatrics – in an election year, it is plainly – contribute to my campaign or face panalties. The advantage for the congresscritters is that they win both ways – if campaign contributions fail to come in, they can play the tapes during the election campaign for their constituents = see- I stood up to Big Oil for you...
fiona | Nov 8, 2008 | Reply
It’s too bad we didn’t have oil company CEOs with ‘attitude’ at the hearings. They could call the Congresspersons idiots who didn’t have the right (thought they had the power) to drag CEOs in for show trials, remind them that 60% of the increase in oil prices was due to the poor currency exchange rate (which is controlled by the actions of the Federal Reserve Board and the Treasury Department), and that the gasoline price problem wouldn’t be as important if the idiot citizens in their districts didn’t drive poorly maintained, three-ton SUVs that get 13 mpg! That would be something to see.
Dr. T | Nov 8, 2008 | Reply
An oil company exec with “attitude” would tell Congress that they are the cause of our energy problems, such as they are. End all regulations on energy, all price controls, all prohibitions on drilling and refining, all mandates requiring muliple blends, etc., etc. Throw it right back in their faces. In short, simple TELL THE TRUTH!
Patrick Barron | Nov 8, 2008 | Reply
The game is almost finished. One more step: World Central Bank. That is the game that the Fed and the rest of the central banks around the world are playing with us. They control the money and money controls people. Guess who is going to win. So go ahead and pay your interests and taxes, otherwise you will lose at any moment. Hurry!
Hahahahahaa. You lose!
Artem I | Nov 9, 2008 | Reply
We have exactly the same kind of antics over here in the UK. Every time an oil major (in our case BP and Shell – even though BP has more US shareholders than Brits, it is still regarded as a UK company) posts increased profits, the left wing to a man demand ‘windfall profits tax’ penalties – even though most of those profits are made abroad and certainly not from downstream retailing.
John Harrison | Nov 11, 2008 | Reply
If 60% of the citizens of the U.S. voted than it is fair to reason that appoximately 30% voted Democrat and 30% voted Republican and 40% of the citizens in this country are apethetic because congress is PATHETIC! If the election ballot choices were A.) Democrat B.) Republican and C.) neither of the above C would win hands down because Americans are sick to death of partisan politics. It`s time to stop wasting our tax dollars and get down to the business of getting something done! The majority of American`s are over it. Next election vote everyone out. Can we hold them accountable? YES, WE CAN!!!
JRD | Nov 11, 2008 | Reply