Today we continue our series on the impact of rising gas prices.

We all know what the cause this: uncertainty in the Middle East is creating much higher gas prices than even just a few weeks ago. But we often don’t stop to think about how this is the ultimate family pocketbook issue:

http://www.ehow.com/ehow-tax-time/

Many families don’t plan for gas expenses in their family budget. And those that do don’t plan for huge spikes in prices. Gasoline at $3.50 a gallon is enough to hurt many families. And this impacts every part of their lives: how they get to work, how they take their kids to school, how they go shop for groceries. Gasoline prices directly impact all of that.

This is yet another reason why we need to get off of foreign oil and start producing more domestic sources of energy.

As we continue our series on renewable energy, we focus on national security:

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2009895,00.html?xid=rss-topstories#ixzz0wSBStNfY

As this article from Time points out, America needs to start getting off of foreign oil sooner rather than later:

“Moreover, lower U.S. consumption could reduce the international price of oil, which would decrease the funds flowing to the governments that depend heavily on oil revenue to finance policies unfriendly to the U.S. Foremost among those governments is Iran’s, which would have less money with which to build nuclear weapons and to support the terrorist organizations it sponsors. Another is Saudi Arabia’s, which uses its oil wealth to propagate an extreme form of Islamic fundamentalism known as Wahhabism, which has inspired many Middle Eastern terrorists, including those who attacked New York and Washington on 9/11. That means that by consuming so much oil, the U.S. is in effect fighting a war against terrorism while funding both sides.”

So renewable energy not only is good economic policy, it’s great national security policy.

Last week we ended our series on the challenges facing Texas by discussing renewable energy.  This week we’ll begin a new series by focusing exclusively on this vital issue facing our state and our nation.

With America importing more and more of its oil from overseas, it’s long past time to expand our renewable energy programs here domestically.  And the good news is we are already starting to do it.  This week, I’ll be discussing renewable energy and some important new developments that my company is involved in.

So check us out this week!

This week our blog will be focusing on one of the biggest victims of the BP oil spill: President Obama.

Last week, the president reached his all-time low of 44 percent approval in the Gallup Survey. And much of the country disapproves of his handling of this disaster. What is it about natural disasters that makes them become political disasters? Katrina helped bring down President Bush. Could the BP spill do the same to the president? And what could he do differently?

We’ll be talking about it all this week on the blog.

Here is a practical political reason why conservatives should support carbon legislation: because it’s going to happen one way or the other.

One lesson Republicans should learn from the recent health care debate is that when they are in the minority, they are going to get outvoted. So why not try and engage in the process and make the final product a little better?

The same is true with carbon legislation. Some form of carbon legislation will become law. The question is what will it look like? Will it be a carbon tax? Or a tax credit? As a believer in free markets and incentives, I want the final version of the law to be based on carbon credits. But the only way that will happen is if Republicans stop liberal Democrats from passing a carbon tax.

So to all my Republican friends in Washington, I say–get involved in the debate and push for carbon credits.

My alma mater has announced the two finalists to be the next president.  And regardless of who is chosen, ACU can’t lose with either one.

Phil Shubert s executive vice president at ACU. He is responsible for the development and coordination of university-wide strategic planning; he oversees operational areas including ACU’s admissions and recruiting, marketing, university relations, finance, information services, facilities and human resources.

Rick Lytle is dean of ACU’s College of Business, a position he has held since 2000. He also serves as professor of marketing. He helped secure AACSB accreditation for COBA in 2004, then again in 2009.

I know both of these candidates.  And I know that these two outstanding men make for two outstanding candidates.  The real winner in all this is ACU.  In 2010, ACU will have a new president and a bright future.

This week on our blog, we’ll be taking a look at the housing market. The media seems to think that it’s back. But I’m not so sure.

We’ll take a look at the numbers and compare them to last year. We’ll also look at the broader economic context to see if the conditions have improved enough to encourage consumers to buy homes.

So check back each day this week and to see if the housing market is really back in business.

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Last week, the United States government did something very smart: it decided to bet on the future.

The Energy Department and the Treasury Department announced they would begin accepting applications for some $3 billion set aside to fund renewable-energy projects:

http://www.nasdaq.com/aspx/stock-market-news-story.aspx?storyid=200907311245dowjonesdjonline000770&title=us-government-accepting-applications-for-renewable-energy-funds

As the article notes:

“The departments estimate that they will distribute at least $3 billion in financial aid to about 5,000 bio-mass, solar, wind and other types of renewable- energy production facilities.”

Before now, the government has offered tax credits and loan guarantees for renewable energy projects. Now, it’s offering cash. And why not? Renewable energy is the future. And that future is already beginning.

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Last Friday on a narrow vote, the US House of Representatives passed legislation to curb greenhouse-gas emissions. The bill, based on the cap-and-trade model, now goes to the Senate.

The bill is designed to reduce global warming; instead, it will likely increase your taxes:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123655590609066021.html

The idea is that the government would create a new commodity that is scarce: the right to emit carbon. Then, government would mandate that businesses buy this right. Businesses that need to emit carbon, like those in the energy sector, would likely purchase these permits…and then pass it off to you the customer in the form of higher energy bills.

As the Wall Street Journal article notes:

“The Congressional Budget Office…estimates that the price hikes from a 15% cut in emissions would cost the average household in the bottom-income quintile about 3.3% of its after-tax income every year. That’s about $680, not including the costs of reduced employment and output. The three middle quintiles would see their paychecks cut between $880 and $1,500, or 2.9% to 2.7% of income. The rich would pay 1.7%. Cap and trade is the ideal policy for every Beltway analyst who thinks the tax code is too progressive (all five of them).

Translation: your electricity bill is about to go up. And there will also be an impact on renewable energy, too. Currently, electricity that is produced from wind and solar is sold and purchased on the wholesale market along with other electricity produced from fossil fuels like crude, coal, natural gas, hydro and nuclear. Today all of these sources are priced competitively and renewables cost the same as coal. Renewable energy companies must charge the same rate as fossil fuel producers or today the customer will buy whatever is the lowest cost. Once the cap-and-trade starts renewables will be a very special and nitch market that will be in high demand from big power users. Now energy producers will be able to charge a high premium for their kwh production from renewable sources. That will likely enable the other energy companies to increase their market prices too, which will in turn hammer the small businesses and consumers.

Let me say again that I agree with the President that we need to reduce our oil consumption. But this is not the way to do it. Instead of penalizing all of us with higher energy bills, why not do more to encourage alternative energy, like biomass, solar and wind?

For two weeks now, I’ve warned that the economy is bad and will likely get worse.  But it’s not just me saying it.  So is the Oracle of Omaha, Warren Buffett:

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&sid=aUgpE2pRx5eU

According to this Bloomberg article:

“There’s evidence, though, that Buffett is awake to America’s problems. He says there will be no quick rebound in consumer spending, the economy has ‘fallen off a cliff,’ and we are now ‘fighting a war.’ Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s real- estate arm just estimated that the backlog of unsold houses is double the official figures.”

So my advice to everyone reading this blog is: fasten your seatbelts.  We are not out of this rough stretch of road yet.

But there is also some good news: cash is again king.  So hold onto your cash; pay down your debt; and keep your eyes open.  In the next year or so there will be great deals.  Maybe it’s a new house; maybe it’s some land.  If you have the cash on hand, get ready to experience a buyer’s market.

And that buyer’s market will eventually, as always, bring the economy back.  So let’s keep a positive outlook as we endure today’s challenges and get ready for tomorrow’s opportunities. As Warren Buffett once said, “‘Buy American: I am.”

For two weeks now, I’ve warned that the economy is bad and will likely get worse.  But it’s not just me saying it.  So is the Oracle of Omaha, Warren Buffett:

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&sid=aUgpE2pRx5eU

According to this Bloomberg article:

“There’s evidence, though, that Buffett is awake to America’s problems. He says there will be no quick rebound in consumer spending, the economy has ‘fallen off a cliff,’ and we are now ‘fighting a war.’ Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s real- estate arm just estimated that the backlog of unsold houses is double the official figures.”

So my advice to everyone reading this blog is: fasten your seatbelts.  We are not out of this rough stretch of road yet.

But there is also some good news: cash is again king.  So hold onto your cash; pay down your debt; and keep your eyes open.  In the next year or so there will be great deals.  Maybe it’s a new house; maybe it’s some land.  If you have the cash on hand, get ready to experience a buyer’s market.

And that buyer’s market will eventually, as always, bring the economy back.  So let’s keep a positive outlook as we endure today’s challenges and get ready for tomorrow’s opportunities. As Warren Buffett once said, “‘Buy American: I am.”

Today, our series on America’s economic crisis continues by focusing on the next wave of real estate challenges: commercial properties.

http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1893125,00.html

As the article above notes, we are facing a “ticking time bomb.” Why?  Because some $1.3 trillion in mortgage loans to commercial properties will come due between now and 2013.  Deutsche Bank estimates that some 50% of these loans won’t qualify for re-financing. And when the owners inevitably default, it could lead to losses of at least $200 billion.  That’s billion with a “b”.

How are we poised for another real estate disaster?

Here is how.  The way the mortgage market for commercial real estate works is this: they are structured as 5-to-10-year loans, after which re-financing takes place. But since property values have dropped, owners will not be well-positioned for re-financing.

And keep in mind that the height of the mortgage boom took place from 2004-2007. Many of the commercial real estate mortgages created during this time were set with trigger interest rates that will begin to accelerate at 36 to 60 months from the date of the loan’s closing. I’m no math expert but that tells me we’re not out of the woods yet. With fuel prices going back up, and a potential commercial real estate collapse combining with the ongoing residential real estate crisis, we could soon hit the trifecta of economic crises.

If any of you are thinking about buying a new house, ranch or commercial property, hold on! I think things are going to get real cheap. And as we all know “cash again is going to be king.”

Today, as we begin our second week of blogging about the economic crisis, I want to focus on planes, trains and automobiles.

Since the Industrial Revolution, the American economy has traveled down the road of transportation. Cars move people; planes and trains move people and products.

And that makes energy the key ingredient in our entire economy. When
gas prices are low, the economy moves along just fine. But when gas
prices go up, the economy starts to slow down.

We saw that again last summer when gas prices reached record highs. It wasn’t long before everyone was feeling the pinch.

Now, despite demand being moderate and inventories being high, gas prices
are rising. How is that possible?

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1901446,00.html

According to this article, the Saudis explain the rise in gas prices this way:
“The price rise is a function of optimism that better things are coming in the future.”

What?  So today’s gas prices are not based on today’s reality.

This week, as we begin to focus on solutions to our economic challenge, we’ll be looking more at how we can “re-fuel” our economy with different sources of energy.

With volatile fuel prices chocking the auto, agriculture, transportation and construction industries, we can kiss goodbye to any hopes of a quick and solid economic recovery. Its going to take something drastic to shock the heart of our economy and get it restarted. We need what I am calling CPR (Cheap Petroleum Reserves) to get us back to building, buying and hiring.

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This week the president arrived in the Middle East:

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/toby_harnden/blog/2009/06/03/two_kisses_for_king_abdullah_from_barack_obama_but_no_bow_this_time

Much is being made about the speech the president will give in Egypt.  But before that, he began his trip by landing in Saudi Arabia and meeting with King Abdullah. Political scientists say that in diplomacy, what you do often matters as much as what you say.  Starting the trip off in Saudi Arabia says a lot.  This is the same country that is gouging us at the gas pump and where much of the money that funds terrorist networks comes from.

I wish the president would have left Saudi Arabia off his travel itinerary.  But at least he supports alternative energy, like biomass.  The time has come to get off of Saudi oil and get onto American biomass.

Yesterday, I wrote about the news that oil had dropped a bit.  Today
comes news that OPEC will do everything it can to push it back up
again:

http://www.reuters.com/article/GlobalEnergy09/idUSTRE5513BW20090602

Since the 1973 Yom Kippur War, Arab states have used oil as a
geopolitcal weapon.  OPEC wants us to use its oil resources to make all
of us dependent.

As the article notes:

"'The price will go to $80-$90 maybe at the beginning of 2010,'"
OPEC's Abdullah al-Badri told the Reuters Global Energy Summit.

"'I don't think the price will go down... By the end of the year
we'll see $75. $80-$85 is possible -- not with the demand we see at
this time, but if demand picks up month after month, then maybe we'll
see this price.'"

I ask the question again: how long are we going to let groups like
OPEC have this kind of power over our energy policy?  It's time for a
change.  It's time for biomass.

I’ve been pretty tough on President Obama, as readers of this blog know. So let me take a minute and talk about an area where I support him. And that’s alternative energy:

http://www.kcci.com/news/19248884/detail.html

The President is right when he calls for “a new era of energy exploration in America.” And I’m glad he chose Earth Day to speak about the need to diversify our energy supply. One of the key elements of a new energy policy (and an element the President supports) is biomass.

Biomass offers so many advantages. It is the ultimate renewable energy since trees and plants are re-planted. It has no negative impact on the environment. And it already works. Right now. In fact, nearly 3 percent of the energy consumed in this country comes from biomass. Why not make that 10 or 20 or 30 percent?

The only people who should be opposed to biomass are foreign dictators whose power comes from oil. The closer we get to energy independence, the better off we will be in America.

My company, Advanced Trailer, is partnering with the University of Idaho to help promote biomass through the use of our trailers.

We view it as more than a business opportunity, we view it as a service to America. And we are in it for the long haul.