Palin was statesmanlike in India

The other side of her vision involves developing the natural resources in America that regulations, like bans on offshore drilling, have “stymied.” In a time of high unemployment and high inflation, unlocking the country’s mineral wealth can both create jobs and provide larger supplies of oil and gas to ease high energy prices.

India offers a lesson here. The past 20 years may have seen some of the country’s entrepreneurial energies getting tapped, but a web of regulations keeps its natural resources untapped. Besides hindering expansion in a number of infrastructure sectors, these regulations — many in the name of environmentalism — enable cronyism, as rent-seeking bureaucrats skew the playing field to favor a few businesses. They also leave India at the mercy of foreign energy sources.