"Snarlin'" Marlin Schneider, a Democratic state representative from Wisconsin Rapids, has turned his anger toward the cost of energy. He's certainly not alone.
With gasoline prices hovering around four dollars a gallon over the Memorial Day weekend and the soaring rates for a barrel of oil promising only higher costs at the pump, consumers are getting squeezed. The high price of gasoline is affecting the price of most other goods, as well, because the cost of shipping them is directly influenced by gas prices.
The nation is in the midst of an energy crisis, and the response from Washington, as usual, has been lame. President Bush recently asked OPEC to raise the supply, which in theory would drive down gas prices. No one expected OPEC leaders to agree, and of course they didn't. Congress hasn't missed its opportunity to express its symbolic anger, either, threatening future arms deals and anti-trust suits if OPEC doesn't increase its output. Few expect anything to come of that, either.
"It strikes me as irresponsible and downright treasonous that there is no leadership out of Washington for energy conservation measures to fight back against the OPEC oil cartel," Schneider said in a news release last week. "There isn't even a peep from the White House about fighting back and asking Americans to sacrifice a little for the long-term security of our country for energy independence."
For decades, the federal government - Democrats and Republicans - have failed to lead on conservation of current energy sources and truly commit to alternatives that can free us from foreign oil dependence. That may not be "treasonous," as Schneider says, but it's a wrong that must be righted.
And just as states may need to be the place where health-care reform ideas are created and tested, they also may need to take the lead in new energy policies. Schneider wants Gov. Jim Doyle to call a special legislative session to deal with the impending crisis in the cost of energy.
Schneider had a handful of ideas he thinks the Legislature should discuss, including going to four-day work weeks with staggered schedules for employees, reducing speed limits, rearranging school athletic conferences, providing tax incentives for alternative energy installations, mandating Internet classes for state university and technical college undergraduates at least in the first two years, restricting new building construction, additional tree planting in cities, nuclear energy facility construction, revisions in state building codes, incentives for businesses and residential buildings to reduce size and prevent urban sprawl, and "whatever other ideas people have to make a massive effort to strike back against the oil speculators."
Some of Schneider's ideas are more practical than others. But at least give him credit for thinking of ways to honestly address the problem. Most politicians aren't. A special session to force lawmakers into action isn't a bad idea.
With gasoline prices hovering around four dollars a gallon over the Memorial Day weekend and the soaring rates for a barrel of oil promising only higher costs at the pump, consumers are getting squeezed. The high price of gasoline is affecting the price of most other goods, as well, because the cost of shipping them is directly influenced by gas prices.
The nation is in the midst of an energy crisis, and the response from Washington, as usual, has been lame. President Bush recently asked OPEC to raise the supply, which in theory would drive down gas prices. No one expected OPEC leaders to agree, and of course they didn't. Congress hasn't missed its opportunity to express its symbolic anger, either, threatening future arms deals and anti-trust suits if OPEC doesn't increase its output. Few expect anything to come of that, either.
"It strikes me as irresponsible and downright treasonous that there is no leadership out of Washington for energy conservation measures to fight back against the OPEC oil cartel," Schneider said in a news release last week. "There isn't even a peep from the White House about fighting back and asking Americans to sacrifice a little for the long-term security of our country for energy independence."
For decades, the federal government - Democrats and Republicans - have failed to lead on conservation of current energy sources and truly commit to alternatives that can free us from foreign oil dependence. That may not be "treasonous," as Schneider says, but it's a wrong that must be righted.
And just as states may need to be the place where health-care reform ideas are created and tested, they also may need to take the lead in new energy policies. Schneider wants Gov. Jim Doyle to call a special legislative session to deal with the impending crisis in the cost of energy.
Schneider had a handful of ideas he thinks the Legislature should discuss, including going to four-day work weeks with staggered schedules for employees, reducing speed limits, rearranging school athletic conferences, providing tax incentives for alternative energy installations, mandating Internet classes for state university and technical college undergraduates at least in the first two years, restricting new building construction, additional tree planting in cities, nuclear energy facility construction, revisions in state building codes, incentives for businesses and residential buildings to reduce size and prevent urban sprawl, and "whatever other ideas people have to make a massive effort to strike back against the oil speculators."
Some of Schneider's ideas are more practical than others. But at least give him credit for thinking of ways to honestly address the problem. Most politicians aren't. A special session to force lawmakers into action isn't a bad idea.
