Thousands of people from all walks of life are expected to participate in rallies for jobs and the economy tomorrow, Sept. 1. They will gather at three venues in Houston, Port Arthur and Corpus Christi, Texas, where they will make their voices heard.

Some of the attendees are likely to be energy workers whose jobs are on the line due to the offshore drilling moratorium and the threat of higher energy taxes. But they won't be the only people who attend.

In today's episode, I interview Stephen Comstock, API's tax policy manager, about proposals from Congress and the administration that could raise taxes on the oil and natural gas industry. If enacted, these taxes would have a negative impact on the U.S. economy and the industry.

In related news today:

The study states that "as a result of the oil spill, the future costs of drilling and operating in the Gulf will rise considerably" due to the following factors: 

This year the nation is facing a similar situation. The United States is struggling to overcome the worst recession since The Great Depression, and economists say the sputtering recovery is not producing new jobs. Some 15 million Americans are out of work.

A year ago, API helped to organize rallies in more than 20 states and invited Americans to submit videos, many of which were shown on large screens during the rallies. Ron of New Bloomfield, Mo., provided his thoughts in this video:

The faltering economy appears to be a primary reason for a slight drop in U.S. gasoline demand. According to API's Monthly Statistical Report issued this morning, U.S. gasoline deliveries (a measure of demand) fell by 0.03 percent in July as compared to the same period a year ago. Except for 2008, it was the lowest July gasoline demand figure since 2003.

After taking a series of potshots at the American Petroleum Institute in his Sunday column ("Big Oil has it backward," Page D1), Loren Steffy closes with: "We need to proceed cautiously with new drilling and move quickly to draft new regulations that are broad and flexible enough to raise drilling standards without stifling a vital energy source."

American citizens have plenty to worry about. With 15 million workers in unemployment lines, family budgets under pressure, and higher taxes looming on the horizon, Americans from all walks of life are feeling insecure and wondering about their children's futures.

The Interior Department says it will require more extensive environmental reviews for deepwater projects, including limiting the use of "categorical exclusions" which eliminate the need to conduct an environmental analysis for every deepwater well. These exclusions make sense for wells being drilled in the same or similar formations where the environmental conditions and risks were identical, and for which extensive environmental analyses already have been conducted.