Obama Has Sunk Louisiana

Louisiana has had its share of troubles the last few years, these disasters have been recounted quite a bit lately. Now the oil spill is here and looks to destroy the lives and economy of Louisiana. Myself and many others have strong feelings for BP and what appears to be negligence. Yet President Obama's knee jerk reaction with the drilling moratorium will hurt a wide range of people in Louisiana.

The President's ignorance of the oil industry will be paid for in people's lives. Morgan City, Louisiana is fresh in the memory of many in the state that lived through the 1980s. The story is still told of the oil bust of the '80s and how there were signs there for the last one to leave to turn the lights off. Morgan City was a booming town that has still not recovered. In the Houma area the '80s also bring up the end of the good jobs enjoyed for years with Texaco that were gone forever.

I saw the 80's bust in Ranger, Texas as a child where my grandparents had a lakehouse. In the 1970s Ranger was a boom town as was much of West Texas. Activity was everywhere and the people in the country enjoyed good jobs. My time there in the '80s and '90s showed me what hard times were. Those who could stayed and retired but most left. Even as a child it was easy to see how the oil companies leaving broke the town and area. Every business and person in Morgan City and Ranger felt it, and the booming towns became cradles of poverty.

The poverty in Africa has drawn the oil companies there and the people to the oil companies. A clean environment doesn't seem to be of concern to those who don't have food or money in that environment. As drilling stops and new regulations start the oil companies will set their sights on these areas. The cost is already less and oversight is non-existent in these places. A drilling rig that's rate is half a million dollars a day is not going to stay in the Gulf for the next six months. Our country is driving the international oil companies into unstable countries with dictators and terrorists that will take profits from what we consume. We will finance terror against us and pay those who will commit horrible human rights violations upon their own people.

What I see in Houma, Louisiana is people of every walk of life in fear. The plight of shrimpers and fishermen have been well documented by myself and others. What hasn't been seen is the fear the oilfield workers and local business fears. Small to medium sized companies that support the oil industry that don't have international exposure or capability face losing everything. From the laborer to the business owner uncertainty is certain. These are not the people that oversee companies like BP or Exxon. These are the people that chase the American dream through hard work and sweat. These are the people that support little league and the community. These are people who give back to the community that may need help soon. To see our country in such distress it would be logical to not add to it. Business, local banks and people are those who will be hurt, those who created the mess will go elsewhere and never learn the lesson.