Who ?

Well since we are all (on this board) operating within a capitalist system, capitalist methods are required. If we were in socialist countries i might argue for subsidees, although in reality i wouldn't given the finite nature of this resource.

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Viva Fidel

If there ever was in the history of humanity an enemy who was truly universal, an enemy whose acts and moves trouble the entire world, threaten the entire world, attack the entire world in any way or another, that real and really universal enemy is precisely Yankee imperialism

They talk about the failure of socialism but where is the success of capitalism in Africa, Asia and Latin America?

A great idea, but i cant imagine governments in the US or UK nationalising Exxon, Shell or BP. It would be nice to see, but never going to happen.

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Viva Fidel

If there ever was in the history of humanity an enemy who was truly universal, an enemy whose acts and moves trouble the entire world, threaten the entire world, attack the entire world in any way or another, that real and really universal enemy is precisely Yankee imperialism

They talk about the failure of socialism but where is the success of capitalism in Africa, Asia and Latin America?

How would you plan on nationalizing things and in what way? Some countries in the past have nationalized by taking from private owners with no compensation. With our current level of debt, we can't buy too much from the private owners of oil, otherwise our debt would jump up a lot and hurt the dollar without increasing the global supply.

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Set your destination with your heart, get there with your mind.

"The wisest men follow their own direction." - Euripides

Did you read the article in Post 6? It's socialists who pay more in gas prices than Americans do because of the taxes used to pay for your nanny state.

As long as the oil companies can get away with the price gouging, there's nothing anyone can do to stop it. And as long as the American government's policies keep driving down the value of the American dollar, it's going to get even worse.

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A panda walks into a cafe. He orders a sandwich, eats it, then draws a gun and fires two shots in the air.

"Why?" asks the confused waiter, as the panda makes toward the exit. The panda produces a badly punctuated wildlife manual and tosses it over his shoulder.

"I'm a panda," he says at the door. "Look it up."

The waiter turns to the relevant entry and, sure enough, finds an explanation.

"Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves."

To be fair though, in those nations with the higher gas costs, the oil is not owned by the state, so it is not the method of which Levi is suggesting.

What would you do to put a stop to the price gouging?

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Set your destination with your heart, get there with your mind.

"The wisest men follow their own direction." - Euripides

If I was king of the US, or realistically?

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"Oh, bother", said Pooh, as he chambered another round...

Either or. If you were in control what would you do? Or, what do you think that our nation needs to do?

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Set your destination with your heart, get there with your mind.

"The wisest men follow their own direction." - Euripides

Hmm. Well, if I were king, and in full control, I'd pull out of Iraq, and make very public (you know, some epic historymaking speech) announcing a sea-change in American policy, to one of non-interventionism.

Pulling back our overt support of Israel, or at least no different than any other, would go a long way as an overture to the anger and anti-Americanism in the ME. After everyone picked their jaws off the floor, I bet we'd see oil prices drop like a rock. And we'd buy oil from whichever country has the best price (after all, we ARE capitalists, right?), regardless of that nation's policies. We're a big importer, so let's use that to our advantage. We basically need to get the price ball back into our court.

That, in combination with using the money we spend now in Iraq on alternative fuels and whatnot, and go from there. If we're going to piss borrowed money away, it might as well be on the US, not Iraqis.

Simplistic, yes. Unrealistic, yes. But' I think that's what it's going to take.

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"Oh, bother", said Pooh, as he chambered another round...

In regards to oil production and sales in the middle east, how do you think us pulling out of Iraq and greatly cutting funding to Israel will effect it? Do you think that after Iraq pulls itself together and gets back on its feet (with whatever government it chooses), it will let bygones be bygones and continue to sell oil to the US? And do you think that after that Venesuela would continue selling with us again?

Actually, Comrade Joe might know that second question better.

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Set your destination with your heart, get there with your mind.

"The wisest men follow their own direction." - Euripides

I feel it has to be done legally, I wouldn't propose forcibly taking companies into private ownership without paying for them. To raise this money there are a number of things a government can do, currently I would imagine that your government gives help to the private sector like the bail out of Bear Sterns. This can be stopped, or rather this financial aid can be tied to government ownership, in the manifesto of the labour party for 1974 it said:
And in 1973 Harold Wilson said of public aid to the private sector:
Another way to raise the money would be cut military spending, starting with oulling out of Iraq. And if need be tax the rich more and make sure that the rich can't get out of being taxed.

I won't say much about how nationalised industries should be run when they are nationalised but basically it must go on the principle of worker control and worker in-put.

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Trust me, I'm a socialist!

There's power in a factory,power in the land, power in the hand of the worker. But it all amounts to nothing if together we don't stand, there is power in a union.
The union forever defending our rights, down with the blackleg, workers unite. To our brothers and our sisters in many far off lands, there is power in a union.
Money speaks for money, the devil for his own. - Billy Bragg