Every now and then, a little unbridled emotion can put some perspective on U.S. energy policy, and CNBC’s Jim Cramer delivered just that.
Cramer, host of CNBC’s “Mad Money,” appeared on MSNBC’s June 16 “Morning Joe” and was asked by “Morning Joe” co-host Willie Geist about his views on a “windfall profits” tax. Cramer ripped into opponents of domestic oil drilling and those who favor a profits tax.
“Oh please – they’re our only hope,” Cramer said. “I mean, you know, how about the natural gas companies that have basically gone to Pennsylvania to drill? You know, I asked Hillary Clinton, remember her? I asked her, like, what do you think about taxes on natural gas?”
Cramer was referring to [1]an April 2 interview on his CNBC show “Mad Money” that was just prior to the Pennsylvania primary.
“She is literally 50 – 50 miles from the biggest on-shore find in our history and she’s saying, ‘Tax them,’” Cramer said. “You know, come on, man – let them drill! I would drill in New Jersey under my pool if I knew there was gas there.”
Cramer didn’t stop there, pointing out that limiting U.S. domestic oil production helps out nations that are unfriendly toward the United States.
“What the heck!” Cramer said. “Playgrounds are a place to drill! I don’t like the people who have the oil, except for there’s a couple of countries … Oh that’s great – we’re best friends with Nigeria. How about Venezuela? That’s a super place.”
Prior to that outburst, Cramer had another outburst about the reluctance to build more nuclear plants in the United States as a means to curb reliance on other gasoline as a fuel source.
“In the end, we are a country that has no political will to be able to stop the use of gasoline,” Cramer said. “And we will not build [nuclear] plants. Why is France – why are the Cubans – who is a complete joke of a country and also the enemy by the way, because they are communists and people forget that – why are they more in shape? Why is Raúl in favor of nuclear energy and they build them there? How can the Cubans be more ahead of us?”
Cramer said as long as the United States continues these energy policies – not exploring for oil and gas, not building more nuclear plants, etc. – there is no standing to urge other countries to increase production.
“I get angry about this because we’re a bunch of ‘delete-ist’ jokers,” Cramer said. “We have no – what standing do we have to get the Saudis – to get the Saudis to pump more? Why don’t we pump more? Thank heavens for natural gas companies.”