Lessons from the spill

This week’s question over at the New Mexico Independent Forum is one of the more difficult ones I’ve faced as a panelist on that forum. The issue that we’re all dealing with is the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. You can read my response here. Of course, the liberal panelists view the oil and gas industries as unmitigated evil-doers, bent on plundering the environment for as much loot as they can pocket.

The truth is that oil and gas are essential to the US economy and we all benefit from them — even the left-wing enviros –but the unfortunate fact is that deep water drilling is obviously not perfect technology.

The other issue surrounding the oil spill that it is somehow a vindication of “big government.” While use of the military to help clean up the oil spill in the Gulf is certainly a worthy role for government, it hardly justifies the rapid growth of the federal government.