For decades, conventional wisdom has been that America was in a state of decline. This drumbeat, repeated relentlessly, held that raw-material scarcity and resource consumption would doom America. Costs would inexorably rise and resources would become more scarce. Indeed costs did rise. But the truth is that the political class made it so. President Obama famously sought to reduce American access to natural resources, to massively raise gasoline prices and thereby reduce its use. Last night President Trump highlighted the folly of such thinking. One year of change has brought not only lower gas prices, but the president noted that the United States is now a net exporter of energy. Decades of poor policy tied up the American economic engine in reams of red tape. President Trump highlighted his efforts to free the people and unlock America’s awesome energy potential. The ultimate resource is a free people and we, the people, like it.