Originally Posted by JCL

So, if I follow your proposal, the government goes into the oil exploration, drilling, production, refining, distribution, and retail sales business?
NOT the retail sales businesses. There are plenty of generic retail fuel outlets. I think the Gov't role ends once the refined fuel is pipelined to the current regional storage farms.

Since the US reserves will be able to provide, let's say 25% of the requirement, and the Big Oil companies stop selling there, then you reduce consumption four times?
The US reserves will be able to buy 20-30 years of time while the world competes to develop non-fossil fuel sources (a la hydrogen, electric, etc...) Meanwhile, the US' ability to compete worldwide on a general scale increases due to renewed prosperity and strengthed US dollar from lower energy costs.

And to fund this massive investment program, the government does what? Raise taxes, or print money? Since they will be so much more efficient than private enterprise, I suppose they could do either without impact.
That's a tougher nut to crack. I will let smarter folks than me figure that one out.

Where do these ideas come from? For a free-enterprise country, this doesn't sound much like free enterprise.
The idea came from me. It just hit me. The massive work program concept was used in the past to bring the US out of a depression (1930's) but it didn't have quite the dividend compounding this this may have. It was called the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). Providing essential energy at a commodity price fuels free-enterprise.

Why not recognize that all change comes with some pain, and until the US reduces its dependence on artificially cheap fuel, there will be pain.
The gas price in the US was not artifically cheap. It was market price. Now that the world demand has greatly increased, each country may wish to strengthen their internal economies using their own cheap energy. The US has the natural resources; we should use it. The world's prices at the pump have been high for so long due to the high taxes to support socialism. Your prices are artifically high.

The best plan would be to count on continuing high fuel prices, as it will drive more sustainable behaviours.
IMO, the greatest sustainable behavior a government should encourage is innovation and prosperity. The US did not emerge as a strong nation in a relatively short time because it managed behaviors and operated as a socialist society. It encouraged and reawarded innovation. The result was economic strength.