Marcus: Trump’s Courage Could Free U.S. from OPEC

OPEC
Ronald Zak/AP

Bernie Marcus, chairman of The Marcus Foundation and founder of The Job Creators Network, writes on the RealClearPolitics website that President Trump’s  National Security Strategy tells us that we must “embrace energy dominance” by “unleashing our abundant energy resources,” including natural gas. If we follow that course, we could break free of the stranglehold of OPEC:

Every president since Bill Clinton promised to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. While his predecessors failed, Donald Trump had the courage to do it.  Every president since Richard Nixon promised to make America energy independent, and failed. Here too, President Trump is uniquely suited to succeed where his predecessors didn’t.

The imperative for energy independence is as strong now as ever. United Press International reported in April that “the surge in gas prices coming from higher crude oil prices means OPEC is cancelling out the gains of U.S. consumers” from last year’s tax cut legislation. The price of oil has more than doubled since its low of $28.48 per barrel in January 2016. The spike not only threatens the economic recovery but could have severe repercussions for the 2018 midterm elections and beyond.

Oil supplies the fuel for 92 percent of our transportation system. Even though we have increased domestic oil production and are now exporting, the U.S. still imports around 40 percent from foreign sources. These imports account for 20 percent of our trade deficit.

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