The True Costs of Getting Off Oil

President Obama is right: We can take the U.S. off oil. But he omitted to mention the fine print: Doing so will be slow, will be expensive, and will involve huge dislocations in American lifestyles and business.

My latest column for CNN.com criticizes Washington for failing to level with the public over the true costs of getting the country off its oil addiction.

President Obama is right: We can take the U.S. off oil. But he omitted to mention the fine print: Doing so will be slow, will be expensive, and will involve huge dislocations in American lifestyles and business.

When politicians talk about energy, they like to talk about magic machines: cars that run on hydrogen fuel cells, electricity that flows free from solar panels on the roof.

But when change comes, it will not come through magic. It will come because changes in relative prices have induced changes in behavior. ...

[A] politician who wished to move America away from oil would begin by saying something like: "$4 a gallon gasoline is here forever. Even if the price of oil on world markets declines, we'll impose extra taxes here at home. Make your plans accordingly."

But of course, such a politician would soon be an ex-politician. So nobody ever does say that. What they say instead is what President Obama said this week: It's the oil companies' fault for selling us too much oil too cheaply. It's the car companies' fault for building the cars we prefer to buy.

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