Election years find Congress and candidates climbing over each other to convince voters that they have their best interests at heart.  When gas prices skyrocket, Congress votes overwhelmingly, as it did yesterday, to suspend additions to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, even though this will not lower gas prices.  Record high food prices are no reason to cut farm subsidies.  The farm bill funds nutrition programs, but it would also create a permanent disaster relief program and reward catfish farmers and racehorse owners.  President Bush has vowed to veto both bills, but Congress is about to override those vetoes with strong support from both parties.  This is fantasy budgeting at its best. 

It's not very popular to pass energy policies that would really lower gas prices.  That would mean giving up our SUV's, funding mass transit, and building more smelly refineries.  It's not popular to tell some farmers that if they can't survive without taxpayer subsidies when commodity prices are this high, maybe they shouldn't be farming.

The fantasy is that suspending additions of light sweet crude oil to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve would lower gas prices.  We're currently purchasing 68,000 barrels per day out of 86 million barrels purchased daily on the world market. Furthermore, refiners operate flat out over the summer.  There is no additional gas to be had at any price.  Adding a trickle more crude oil will not yield any more gas.

The fantasy is that rewarding farmers with subsidies will ease food prices.  No, the subsidies will just reward favored farmers.  Growing more food will ease prices, and that usually happens as the result of investments in technologies that increase crop yields.

Thanks to Ruth Marcus of The Washington Post for introducing me to the term, "fantasy budgeting."