Gas reserves could whittle down debt

In light of the budget impasse and the gas crisis, I would like to propose the following: 1. We open up the Alaskan oil reserve at ANWR and all royalties are mandated to go directly to the payment of the national debt. 2. Because it is U.S.- owned land and it is going directly to pay off all American’s debt, we do not share the royalties with the state of Alaska. (I understand that in the past it was split 50-50). Why should they profit from us paying off their (and our) debt?

3. Only U.S. companies can bid on the leases, and those U.S. companies must give up the current tax credits and other tricks that allow Exxon and other oil companies to pay nothing in taxes. 4. Royalty percentages must be increased. The companies will have to pay the US Treasury more per barrel. Maybe we apply this same structure to the Gulf of Mexico.

This isn’t a solution I want, but it is better than the current deficits or the privatization of Medicare and Social Security. For that, I will give up the ecological argument. Plus, it will test our legislators to find if they work for us or they work for the oil companies.

Patrick Cleary

Wheaton