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January 24, 2007
Bush’s Improbable Segue
In his State of the Union address last night, President Bush proved that he is not only capable of mangling the English language, but also a logical segue. Mr. Bush moved effortlessly from discussion of his “immigration reform” plan – which, by conservative estimates would increase the population of the United States by about 20 percent over the next two decades – to setting a goal of reducing energy consumption in the United States by 20 percent over the next 20 years.
Assuming that there isn’t massive fraud (which of course there would be), Bush’s plan to provide a pathway to citizenship (don’t call it an amnesty) would legalize 12 to 15 million illegal aliens. According to Robert Rector of the Heritage Foundation, reuniting all of these legalized aliens with their family members living outside the United States could result in about 66 million new residents within 20 years.
How Mr. Bush’s plan for a massive population increase squares with his plan for a 20 percent reduction in energy consumption and his effort to liberate us from dependence on foreign oil wasn’t quite clear from his address. Maybe he has a secret plan that he will share with the rest of us when the time comes, but until then it is difficult to see how he can pursue both objectives simultaneously.
It is worth remembering that since the first oil embargo in 1973 our per capita use of energy has declined significantly. But because our population has grown by 100 million people over that span, our aggregate energy consumption and our dependence on foreign sources has grown.
Ira Mehlman
Posted on at January 24, 2007 12:59 PM