In general, I am against government takeover of private property regardless of much the public thinks they need it. I am shocked at those that call themselves conservatives that think differently.
This is literally punishing those that prepared for the cold to support those that did not.
I used to work under the Jimmy Carter regime in which he forced companies to declare gas reserves flowing into interstate markets to be forevermore dedicated to interstate markets, a truly evil 'taking' from individuals and companies.
As most price controls went, this distorted the market tremendously as the interstate gas could not be sold more than 59 cents per mcf, whereas intrastate gas markets commanded well over 2 dollars per mcf.
It was a terrible perversion that forced Texans to produce their gas and sell it to other states cheaply when Texans had to pay at the same time horrific gas prices to heat their own homes.
We older Texans recall these days and developed the adage "Let them freeze in the dark".
And we remember the mistreatment we had at the hands of the feds and will not forget it.
So no, I reject the premise that in times of trials like now, it is an over-reach to protect our own first and foremost rather than trying to make the biggest buck one can make.
If a company wishes to conduct business in Texas and to extract the resources within our state, it is a priority that Texans are accommodated before that company's shareholders. For those that do not like those terms, seek out adventures in other states.
