Sadly, we are lazy. So lazy, it seems, that we don't even challenge our own beliefs anymore. John, you have not proven any hypothesis, only provided anecdotal opinion to support your position. riverrat1 already refuted you with this link:
http://www.factcheck.org/2012/03/obama-wanted-higher-gasoline-prices/ So I put the onus on you to prove your side as well. Read your history. Had the government not subsidized oil development when in it's infancy, it would have taken decades more to get anywhere, if it would have at all. If not for government funding, the railroads would not have been built. If not for government funding, we'd have lousy hihgways, phone systems, agriculture - EVERY ASPECT OF YOUR LIFE relies on government funding in some way. Why should renewable energy be any different? Sometimes good things need a kick-start because we, the public, don't seem to care enough to make things happen until we have absolutely no other option.
If $8 per gallon of gas is what it takes to shift energy management through private means, then I say let it go to $20, and the sooner the better.
