My curiosity begins with how the price of a gallon gas can jump so high (and even more quickly) on oil futures. Last week the price of a gallon of gas was $2.90, and then poof, the price of a barrel of oil jumps over $100, and like clockwork, gas jumps to over $3.00/gallon. Exxon, Valero, Sunoco, and the rest of these energy corporations must have secretly developed some sort of supersonic oil refinery jet that can take these pricey oil drums from the Saudi oilfield directly to the tanks at the local Exxon in a matter of hours.
I'm all for profits and business, but it strikes me as even more curious that the country is heading into a recession (or, more likely, is already in the shallow waters of one), and all of the major oil companies are receiving record profits (profits, not sales) on a quarterly basis. Something about that just doesn't sit right. It shouldn't be sitting right with the Federal Government, and it shouldn't be sitting right with any of the 50 state governments. As put better by Hamlet, something is rotten in the state of Denmark and it smells like gasoline.
Notwithstanding our economic troubles and the unfundable concept of universal healthcare pedaled by the candidates daily, the price of gas and travel is just as major an issue for the candidates, if not more so. But it need not wait until November to be addressed; the Congress (including these current Senators) could be doing more about it now. The fact that the Congress is in need of some oil leads me to think that it's no longer a congressional problem, but an executive one.
The cries of foul by the States have gone unanswered long enough. It's been almost two years since the president has called for an investigation, and yet the price of gas continues to rise. Frankly, this tax rebate isn't going to even put a bandaid on the problem.
As much as I loathe for the government to get involved in private enterprise, maybe it's time for the Attorney General (of both the US and the individual states, to the extent that the profiteering is hurting states) to crank up the wheels of justice and do some good old fashion trustbusting. Or at least start regulating this industry a lot closer. I can't imagine that the Sirius-XM merger nearly warrants the expenditure of so many resources.
I concede that this is primarily a federal issue, and in the end, the government may have to regulate this industry a little closer by either a tax on all profits over X% or some sort of disgorging of profits if there actually is collusion at the expense of the public. Nevertheless, I'm surprised that given the state of economic affairs, at least in this recession-vulnerable side of the country, more isn't being done about it at the state level. After all, everyone is paying for gas, and the rising cost of this luxury-commodity is breaking the banks of everyone. Everyone, that is, except those running the oil show.
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2 comments:
stop driving and quit whining
Here is an example of an irrelevant comment. Boycotting or stopping driving is not going to solve the problem. As this person must not be aware, boycotting gasoline has zero impact on the economy beyond whatever minimal personal satisfaction one may get.
My point, if it could not be understood through the sarcasm, was to suggest that it's a problem that the government needs to address more aggressively than they are. Until then, I, like everybody else, will continue to absorb it.
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