Could President use executive power to implement a WPA

[Beachnutt]

type program to produce more oil and fast track our clean energy programs ?
https://www.investopedia.com/works-progress-administration-wpa-definition-5204419

(This is something I'm throwing out for discussion and Question only so please forgive me if it's a dumb question.. )

[walkingman]

1. I think it would be a grand idea but will never happen in the US. There are too

many people in this country put business over people. The oil industry basically owns our politicians. Just think....one of the most profitable industries in the world is subsidized by the American taxpayer every year. Take away that subsidy and alternative sources of energy would be even more competitive than they are now.

The oil industry, the pharma industry, the healthcare industry all fall into this same category.

[Beachnutt]

2. Serious reply here respectfully

So the American public are basically just screwed then....
How did Roosevelt do it ?

[WhiskeyGrinder]

3. .

How did Roosevelt do it ?

Through legislation from generally responsive congresses.

[walkingman]

5. Desperation - the economic collapse of the Depression caused people to welcome

government help. These days a large percentage of people do not trust government or as the GOP likes to say "Government is the problem".

[Abnredleg]

4. Oil Production will be hard to increase

There have been numerous stories in the news about the difficulties the oil industry is having hiring workers. When unemployment is 3.6% there are no excess workers to be found. And even if they could find workers, the industry would be reluctant to expand because they’ve been badly burnt by the boom and cycle of drilling over the past few years, and want to avoid that situation once Ukraine settles down and worldwide oil production picks up again.

[Beachnutt]

6. I guess the American public has no choice

but to do what you can to cut back on energy consumption and strap in for the long economic ride.

[walkingman]

7. Pretty much. I hope we move away from fossil fuels asap. I know there will always be

a need for some but moving transportation away will be a giant step in making our air and water cleaner and help with the Climate Change issue.

I consider OIL the "Cancer of the Earth".

[onenote]

8. No.

The President doesn't have that power. It would take Congress to pass legislation.

[ReluctanceTango]

9. In short? No.

A WPA would require massive amounts of funding, and Congress controls the purse strings. Only they could pass the legislation to fund and implement it.

FDR could get it through because he had plenty of Ds in both houses to do it, especially a legendary Speaker to push legislation for the New Deal. There’s a reason one of the Capitol buildings (and a whole bunch of schools in Texas) are named after Sam Rayburn.

[Voltaire2]

10. No.

There is no way to rapidly produce more oil, unless you are sitting on vast pools of near surface oil, in which case your country is Saudi Arabia and you in fact have what amounts to a spigot that you can turn one way and more oil comes out, or the other way and less oil comes out.

Everyone else has to go through the slow capital intensive process of deep well drilling.

Could the government also drill for oil? Sure, but the results would not be seen for years.