June 17, 2007

The Blog Revolution

Let’s talk about other blogs for just a minute. I do like to surf around and look at the work of other bloggers, and sometimes find a real good one. And by “good”, I don’t necessarily mean “agrees with me”.

For example, there is a site operating out of the San Antonio area called The Blog Revolution, run by a fellow named Mike who is studying to be a history teacher. Now that sounds like a blog right up my alley, right – a guy headed into the same field in which I toil over here in Houston.

And I’ll be honest – I don’t know how much Mike and I would see eye-to-eye on things. Take this recent post on Government Run Gas Stations and Refineries. Anyone who knows me or has read my stuff for any length of time knows that my initial reaction to what I read was to clutch at my chest gasping "communism" as I dialed 911 to get an ambulance. Well, maybe I wasn't quite that outraged, but I did look askance at his position.

What is the basis of his argument? Well, Mike is arguing that since oil companies are making record profits (at least in terms of net dollars, not return per share or return on dollars spent), there is no need for subsidies for building oil refineries. Unfortunately, I can't check out his statistics on profits or his claims about oil company demands for higher subsidies to build new refineries because he fails to link back to any of the articles he references. I think he should make a point of linking back to his sources in the future, just like he will one day expect his students to cite their sources.

What Mike proposes instead is that the government build refineries and gas stations, with the profits "going to a good cause, the money would be indirectly going back to the citizens of this country whereas the money at a commercial gas station goes to the pockets of the shareholders." Of course he overlooks the fact that many of those shareholders are, in fact, citizens of this country -- and that public employee (and private) pension funds are among the largest investors in the oil companies. What he is effectively suggesting, therefore, is a cut in his own future pension, because it is (in part) the return on investment in petrochemical stocks that will fund the Teacher Retirement System he will be depending on in a few decades.

And therein lies the problem -- it isn't the position he takes, but a failure to give his position a deeper analysis. He has a very idealistic solution (hey, I remember being a Communist for a few weeks when I was 16) that overlooks the greater problems his solution would bring about. He fails to recognize that government entry into a field almost invariably results in either the destruction of competition or the inflation of prices, all without doing anything to improve service to the consumer.

What I am really trying to say is that there is room for improvement in how he blogs and in the positions he takes. Still, I will be back over to The Blog Revolution in the future. I see a spark of something intriguing in what he writes, and want to watch him grow as a blogger and as an intellect -- not to mention as a peer. Who knows, maybe he is going to be in a classroom down the hall from me one of these years.

Posted by: Greg at 03:45 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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1 My parents, sister, and friends all call me an idealist. It's my character flaw, I think.

The one good thing I love about voicing my opinions is hearing the response from others. I don't know everything and I'm the first person who is willing to listen to the other side. I love to hear something new I didn't know previously. Who says you only get your education in a classroom? There are plenty of things to learn from and to motivate you to do more research and I love to take advantage of that.

I know a lot of people who insist their ideas are the ultimate truth. They are completely unwilling to listen to any argument against their own case. I feel those people are at a loss of the greater picture. *shrugs*.

I didn't know that teachers benefit from the oil industry through pension plans, I'll have to check that out. Thanks for the info. : )

And who knows maybe I will be in a classroom down the hall from you in the future.

Posted by: Mike at Mon Jun 18 13:11:16 2007 (Rex0w)

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