The North American gusher

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December 10, 2012

The North American gusher
Posted by Staff

President Obama has promised to get the anemic U.S. economy going again by boosting exports. Besides the export of billions of freshly printed U.S. dollars from the Federal Reserve, it is not clear exactly what the president has in mind.

The obvious export opportunity on the horizon for the U.S. is hydrocarbons—oil, gas and coal. But the economic benefits of American competitiveness in energy haven't been obvious to this administration.

Since becoming president, Mr. Obama has treated hydrocarbon production like an infectious disease to be eradicated. His administration had to commission a study to learn, as announced last week, that allowing American companies to export liquefied natural gas would be beneficial to the U.S. economy. Still, the Department of Energy says it can't make "final determinations" on export applications until it hears from those who object. So much for property rights.

12/10/12 4:35 AM

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