Groping for an energy policy

From the are-you-tone-deaf-and-mathematically-challenged department:

Our president pens a letter to congressional leadership bemoaning the high price of oil and gasoline and how this is "weighing on the minds and pocketbooks of every American family," and what does he come up with to relieve us of that burden? More areas for drilling? More refineries?

President Obama wrote:

"While there is no silver bullet to address rising gas prices in the short term, there are steps we can take to ensure the American people don't fall victim to skyrocketing gas prices over the long term. One of those steps is to eliminate unwarranted tax breaks to the oil and gas industry and invest that revenue into clean energy to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. Our outdated tax laws currently provide the oil and gas industry more than $4 billion per year in these subsidies, even though oil prices are high and the industry is projected to report outsized profits this quarter."

So, the federal government plans to take away $4 billion in tax breaks (not subsidies) from the domestic oil producers, and this is going to cause gasoline prices to go down?

In what alternative universe does adding cost to a product cause its price to go down?

Meanwhile, deep water drilling rigs are pulling out of the Gulf of Mexico and sailing off to the coast of Brazil, where President Obama has promised drilling assistance with billions of federal tax dollars.

The president magnanimously concluded his letter on this cheery note:

"And I hope we can all agree that, instead of continuing to subsidize yesterday's energy sources, we need to invest in tomorrow's. We need to invest in a 21st century clean energy economy that will keep America competitive. In the long term, that's the answer. That's the key to helping families avoid pain at the pump and reducing our dependence on foreign oil."

We need to fill our fuel tanks today with gasoline and diesel, Mr. President. Not some day with wishes and promises.