Barack Obama’s Energy Secretary-designate, Steven Chu, wants to increase gas prices by 300% “to coax consumers into buying more-efficient cars and living in neighborhoods closer to work.”

What an arrogant ass!

First, more fuel efficient cars don’t exist.  Hybrids are only marginally effective and they’re more expensive.  Good advise in tough economic times.

Then, he wants people to live closer to their jobs.  So, not only are we to pay more for gasoline, we’ve gotta move, too?  Let’s see, where can I get a good mortgage and how easy will it be to sell my home?  And does Mr. Chu recommend to those who live in areas that DON’T have available jobs – or jobs that pay what folks are currently making in their commute employment?

I will say that this latter policy idea does work for discouraging illegal immigrants… doesn’t it?  I mean, why commute from Quadalahara?

Now, to his credit, Obama said a heightened gas tax would be a “mistake” because it would put “additional burdens on American families right now.”

Right now.  Right now?

Suppose this inane idea is adopted sometime in the future and migrated to other areas of government:

• Health and Human Services:
  • Raise the price of food to help combat America’s obesity and diabetes problem
  • Increase health care costs to minimize frivolous medical claims and unnecessary ER visits
• Transportation:
  • In concert with Energy, shut down 1/3 of America’s interstate highways to discourage unnecessary travel and reduce fuel-consuming high-speed traffic
• Treasury:
  • Stop printing of money, even currency for replacing worn bills, as a means of reducing wasteful consumer spending and put a dent in drug trafficking (since the drug business is a “cash-and-carry” operation)
  • With it’s Customs hat, shut down all border and immigration entries and checkpoints – including marine terminals and airports – to save overhead costs of personnel and equipment
• Defense:
  • Ground all aircraft to save fuel
  • Require all naval operations be conducted closer to home
  • All exercises are to be practiced on XBox or PS3
  • All ordnance to be reusable, non-lethal and environmentally friendly
    
• Justice:
  • Shut down ALL litigation and revoke all attorney licenses and privileges to practice law in order to reduce noxious gas emissions
• Interior:
  • Revoke all fossil-fuel exploration and extraction licenses
  • Close all national parks to reduce human carbon footprints therein
  • Restrict Native-Americans to established reservations to preserve their numbers and to avoid contamination by non NA’s
• Commerce:
  • To reduce wasteful consumer spending, impose strict limitations on retail business, including reduced hours of operation, stocks and inventories
• Labor:
  • Require everyone to get a job that pays well and has benefits.  Duh!
• Education:
  • Mandate that all classroom instruction is to be limited to video (live or recorded) of “Oprah” and Public Television.  This guarantees educational consistency nationwide and eliminates topics or materials that may be considered offensive to some tiny minority
  • Ban testing, scoring and grading in all schools so no student will be traumatized by perceptions of underachievement or comparisons to elitist students who might otherwise be considered academically superior
    
• State:
  • Stop/revoke all foreign aid to … oh.  Wait.  Never mind.
• Veterans Affairs:
  • Initiate new policy that stipulates a “veteran” as a former service member of no more than one year.  If military service ended more than a year ago, individuals are no longer eligible for VA benefits.  Will save billions in overhead and reduces silly claims just because someone is missing a limb.  They can just get a job that doesn’t require two arms.