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It must be Groundhog Day. Events in Libya have pushed world oil prices over $100 a barrel yet again. Retail gasoline prices, usually low this time of year, are at an all-time seasonal high. Are we in for another round of the same-old, same-old? A replay of Jimmy Carter pledging, “Never Again!” and then doing nothing? Or is there some way we can make this the very last oil price shock?
Producing countries have already figured out how to cope with the curse of oil price volatility. Over the years, producing countries, from Norway to Saudi Arabia to Russia, have established national wealth funds that build up when prices are high and run down when prices fall. Meanwhile, consuming countries have done next to nothing.
The US Strategic Petroleum Reserve, designed to offer short-term protection against physical interruptions of supply, is not intended to serve the purpose of price stabilization, nor would it be capable of doing so. But there is a way. Now would be an ideal time to revive an old idea, a variable oil tax that would reduce price volatility and, at the same time, offset the national security and environmental harms of oil dependency.
A variable, price-smoothing oil tax would work like this. Congress would establish a floor oil price of X dollars per barrel. Whenever the world market price P fell below X, an oil tax T would come into effect to fill the gap: T=X-P. Whenever the price rose above the floor, the tax would be zero. Nothing could be simpler.
Why would it be a good idea? There are two parts to the answer, one making the case for an oil tax in general, and the second explaining why a variable tax would be better than one with a fixed rate.
The main argument for a tax of any kind is that oil consumption has adverse spill-over effects on third parties—effects that are not taken into account when bargaining between producers and consumers sets the price. Economists call those spillover effects externalities. The two most commonly cited externalities of oil consumption are effects on national security and effects on the environment. Imposing a tax on oil would be one way to mitigate them.
Consumption of oil has a negative impact on national security because so much of the world’s oil comes from countries that are corrupt, authoritarian, anti-American, or all of the above. Any increase in US oil consumption pushes up the world price and enriches bad guys in exporting countries. Any reduction in oil consumption undercuts them. An oil tax would insert a wedge between the price paid by US consumers and the price received by foreign producers. To the extent it raised the US price at the pump, it would encourage conservation and investment in alternative energy. To the extent that it lowered the world market price,the tax would take money from the pockets of the bad guys.
An oil tax would be much more effective than the current US oil security strategy, which consists of buying as much as possible from friendly, nearby countries like Canada and Mexico. That strategy does provide some limited protection against a revolution or embargo that might cause a physical interruption of supply, but it does nothing to mitigate negative national security spillovers that operate through prices. The world oil market operates as one big pool. If something sends the price up, as is happening right now, it goes up for everyone. Canada and Mexico are our friends, to be sure, but they are not so friendly as to sell us their oil below its market price. If excess US consumption drives the world oil price higher, it drives it higher for bad-guy producers, too, even those from whom we do not directly buy any oil.
As for environmental externalities of oil consumption, they have been so widely discussed that there is little to add. In recent years, much of the discussion has focused on climate change from oil-related CO2 emissions. But even if you are a climate-change skeptic, don’t forget there are other environmental effects, too. Low oil prices and high consumption mean more local smog and more traffic congestion, regardless of any effects on polar bear habitat. To the extent an oil tax cuts consumption, it improves the environment across several fronts.
Of course, national security and environmental objectives would also be served by a conventional, fixed-rate tax. Why would a variable tax be better?
One reason is that a variable tax would provide an anchor for expectations about oil prices. During episodes of high prices, investments in conservation and alternative energy production become more attractive, but there is also a risk. If oil prices crater again, those investments will not pay off. Knowing that oil prices would not be allowed to drop below a stated floor would make it less risky for consumers to buy energy-efficient cars and entrepreneurs to build plants to produce biodiesel from pond scum. Greater investments in conservation and alternative energy, in turn, would help moderate the next upward movement of oil prices.
Second, a variable oil tax would help mitigate the impact of oil price spikes on the business cycle. James Hamilton has written extensively on that subject. (See here, here, and here.) He points out that most recent oil price spikes, including that of 2008, have been followed by US recessions, and argues that the depth of those recessions has been greater than would be predicted by the effects of higher oil prices acting alone. One reason seems to be that retail gasoline prices have such a high visibility that price spikes disproportionately undermine consumer confidence. Another is that oil price spikes disrupt the automobile market. They not only harm new cars in general, but also shift the mix from large to small cars. Widespread layoffs have followed at US auto companies, which have traditionally specialized in SUVs and light trucks. Finally, says Hamilton, it appears that high oil prices in 2008 exacerbated other factors that were undermining the housing market. As evidence, he cites the fact that the prices of homes in locations that required long commutes fell by more than those with short commutes.
A third advantage of a variable oil tax compared to a fixed one would be political, especially if it were introduced at a time when oil prices were already above the chosen floor. Right now, for example, a tax with a price floor of, say, $85 per barrel would produce no immediate pain at the pump, but the knowledge that prices would never again fall below $85 would encourage long-term investments in conservation and alternative energy. Introducing a variable oil tax at a time when prices were already high could make an actual virtue of the often-lamented tendency of politicians to operate on a much shorter time horizon than business investors.
The idea of a variable, price-smoothing oil tax is not going to appeal to everyone. Let me close with two preemptive comments addressed to the most likely critics.
First, to those for whom all taxes are bad: Fine, for the sake of discussion, let’s stipulate that all taxes are bad. Still, some taxes are worse than others. The worst taxes are those that discourage businesses from investing in the future while encouraging activities with negative spillovers on third parties. The least bad taxes are those that encourage sensible investment and discourage negative spillovers. Given the current state of the budget, even the most fanatical fiscal hawks concede that we need a federal revenue base of 19 or 20 percent of GDP to have any hope at all of averting fiscal catastrophe. So, if we need more than zero tax revenue, wouldn’t it be better to replace really bad taxes, like our loophole-ridden corporate income tax, with less-bad taxes, like a variable oil tax?
Second, to the affordable energy crowd: I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, if there is one thing we can’t afford, it’s affordable energy. “Affordable energy” is really a code-word for holding the price of energy below its true cost to the economy. If we don’t pay for oil at the pump, we pay for it through the back door, in the form of distorted investment decisions, pollution, and reduced national security. Artificially low energy prices make our economy weaker, not stronger. There Ain’t No Such Thing as a Free Lunch. Never was, never will be.
Follow this link to view or download a brief slideshow about the variable, price-smoothing oil tax. Thanks to Henry Lee for comments on a draft of this post.
When is it that policy/law makers are going to move to live and work in the world of motion. It’s clear that a price stabilization scheme such as this needs to work around a moving average contained within a band established by the frequency and extents of volatility. No where in a working model can Congress or anyone else “establish [fix] a floor”.
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Author Topic: How to get your server into Internet Tab[Fixed With Pics]No Port-Forward Or open (Read 1236 times)
So now i got the method to fix it By the way i got i a year ago but now posting if someone having this problem look at the pics its now for win 7 you have to do same with windows xp
After doing this, the Windows Firewall will allow the server executable to connect with the internet. But if you run the server for the first time, Windows will also ask you if Allow or Disallow connecting this app to the Internet. You don't have to go through Control Panel to do that .
However in most cases, your server will still not be on the "Internet" tab. Terminator that's not a guide how to forward ports :@
No its not port forwarding its the easiest way to show your server in the internet list and if you want port forwarding here is it.
6. Go to http://portforward.com/ and find your router and follow the directions. They should have most of the routers.
If the port is open, then you don’t have a modem problem(meaning you have a cable modem). If it is still closed, then you do not have a cable modem. Please continue to the modem user section
have a wish list for Seventh-day Adventists. As we act on these items, we will be better Christians and a better witness.
1. A just people. When the prophet Micah put the question “What does the Lord require of you?” his immediate response was: “To act justly” (Micah 6:8).*
Concern for justice runs through the Scriptures. The Old Testament, especially in the prophetic writings, comes back to this theme again and again. Doesn’t this seem strange? Shouldn’t God’s people, because of their attachment to Him and religious observances, make admonitions to justice unnecessary?
Not at all. Religious people can be blind to principles of elemental morality. They can talk so much about Jesus that they neglect the Jesus who comes to them as “one of the least” (Matt. 25:40). The “more important matters of the law,” said the Master, are “justice, mercy and faithfulness” (Matt. 23:23).
We Adventists do not always act justly. We show preferential treatment based on the color of a person’s skin; or on their age, gender, occupation, or country of origin. I wish for a church in which justice and fairness govern all our dealings.
2. An open community. The people who meet Jesus, I believe, will be “like the light of morning at sunrise on a cloudless morning, like the brightness after rain that brings the grass from the earth” (2 Sam. 23:4). They will be open and transparent—to God and to one another.
3. A kind people. What would you rather be, right or kind? “Knowledge,” wrote the apostle Paul, “puffs up, but love builds up” (1 Cor. 8:1).
By and large Adventists are upright people. Many people know and admire us for our high standards. But do they also think of us as “the kind church”? When someone is in trouble, do they think of Adventists as the people who will help them out?
Jesus was a kind person. He was “moved with compassion” as He looked out on broken humanity, like sheep without a shepherd (Matt. 9:36, KJV). And He acted to help them.
4. A people of the Book. Yes, a people grounded and fortified by the Word; a people who feed on the Word; and a people who live out the Word.
“The world is too much with us,” lamented the poet Wordsworth many years ago. How true in these days! The world comes to us—we don’t have to go to it. It invades us through our senses; it’s all-pervasive.
Our only defense as followers of Jesus Christ is in daily study of and meditation with the Bible. Think of the difference it would make if each of us changed our habits so that every day we spent more time with the Bible, Ellen White’s writings, and spiritual material than with the world’s messages—its newspapers, magazines, television, and movies.
5. People who live, look, and feel great. That’s the Lord’s wish for us (3 John 2), and we can, by His grace, approach that ideal.
No, I realize that we don’t all start from a level playing field: hereditary and other factors give some of us an advantage. But to a large extent we can be masters of our destiny. We can act on what we know. We can change!
Adventists’ biggest area of need, I believe, is to exercise. You don’t have to embark on a crash course; just get off the couch and out from behind the steering wheel. Do what the Lord created you to do: Walk! You’ll look better and feel better. You’ll be better.
6. A people who put Jesus first, and last, and best in everything. The items above don’t follow a particular order, but this one is special. This is what it’s all about: it’s all about Jesus.
Jesus means grace: He was full of it (John 1:14). Of giving. Forgiving. Second chances. Taking time for people. One-on-one conversations.
Oh, for a church like Him! Impossible? Listen: “All the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen” (2 Cor. 1:20, NKJV)!†
†Texts credited to NKJV are from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Latest import data for key Asian countries and the US are beginning to show the impact of recent output cuts by Opec’s Gulf core. But whilst volumes are down from the record levels hit in the first quarter, they are still high by historical comparison. At least this is the case in volume terms – in terms of market share Gulf Opec is losing out in the fast-growing China market.
New York Colony and State naturalization and immigration lists, Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library
This collection is consists of New York Colony naturalization statistics (1740-1769), and New York State immigration lists (1802-1814). The documents provide names and other personal details of the naturalized citizens and immigrants