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Opinion:  Editorial

Looks like the joke is on us
Thursday, September 11, 2008 3:48 PM EDT Print this story | Email this story
It has become increasingly obvious -- there is no way for consumers to come out on top in the matter of the price of gas.

Take Tuesday, for example, the day most energy "experts" say gas prices are cheapest.

Yea, right.

This week, gas began the day Tuesday at $3.49.9 a gallon. Before lunch, the marquee outside most stations said $3.74.9. That's a quarter more a gallon in just a few hours. What happened to cause the price to increase so much?

Hang on. You won't like the answer much. We certainly didn't.

After being told we were driving our gas-guzzling SUVs and luxury sedans too much, using more than our share of the world's oil supply, we took that reprimand to heart and began to drive less, using about 4 percent less gasoline this summer than we did last summer. The law of supply and demand tells us that less demand, more supply means lower prices, right? Right for a while, anyway.


After flirting with $150 a barrel in July, crude oil on Tuesday was taking a hard look at $100 a barrel, with prices in the $104 range just after noon. Lower per barrel prices would logically translate into lower per gallon prices, would they not? The illogical answer is no, they don't, at least not now.

In the heart of hurricane season, oil can take a jump when off-shore drilling operations or on-shore refineries are threatened by the storms. That makes perfect sense. But when those same storms fail to disrupt the process and the federal government releases a portion of the strategic petroleum reserve to boot, the prices should remain steady or even go down, correct? Not always.

Apparently, we have become so adept at using less gasoline over the past few months that we are now faced with decreased supplies and higher prices at the pump because we aren't using enough. That's right, we aren't using enough so big oil decides to punish us for that by producing less and charging us more. You're probably saying about now "You've got to be kidding." We wish we were, that we could say "just joking." But we can't.

It seems that American consumers are stuck with gas prices that are taking a bigger and bigger chunk out of our checkbooks, no matter how we respond. Rather than the law of supply and demand, we're forced to cope with the law of demand -- they can charge whatever they demand. And unfortunately, unless we are prepared to abandoned our vehicles entirely, we have to pay with body parts, if necessary ... an arm, a leg and through the nose.


Reader Comments

Comments are limited to 200 words or less.

upset wrote on Sep 27, 2008 1:24 PM:

" I would like to comment. First of all the gas prices are so high because of two reasons.(1)when the president allows drilling in new areas off the coasts everywhere then gas prices will fall. (2) When large oil companies are allowed to drill in anwar in alaska then gas prices will drop. Thats the only reason. Another thing is this. There will never be any real seach for alternative fuels. If so, gas and coal could not be sold as much as it is. People would lose their jobs and havoc would ensue. Just a few points to bring to your attention. "

Right On wrote on Sep 24, 2008 12:59 AM:

" I agree 100% with what you're saying. Look at the truck drivers. Everytime they strike, the companies raise the fuel price up to make the OTHER people who don't strike cover the loss, and they've been doing it with regular drivers too. "

lol wrote on Sep 19, 2008 4:50 AM:

" If you are willing to vote for a candidate simply for saying God 1000 times during his campaign then for Heaven's sake you must now be sure that God is against petro-fuels-lol! "

lol wrote on Sep 19, 2008 4:47 AM:

" They tell you that China and India industrialization and demand has been the cause of extreme gas prices, but gas prices have quadrupled in twelve years! So, who is it that beleives 2 nations alone are using three time more fuel than the whole world used 12 years ago. Bush's bully attack of Iraq and the idiots who speculate off the fear the war causes are the cause of this explosion in price. If America wishes to war for oil then we must be willing to pay American prices for it now. Welcome to Bush's ownership society! Pay up suckers! Vote with your brain and not your racist hate-filled hearts! "

To Stephen wrote on Sep 16, 2008 11:56 AM:

" Do you really believe that the President is keeping the gas prices high? Any President (democratic or republican) with the power to cut gas prices would do it in a heartbeat! He would then be a hero in this country and to his party. Something like that would also guarantee his party would stay in control of that office. That's what its all about.........keeping their respective parties in power, not doing what is best for the people. Don't get me wrong, I do believe more can be done and I also believe Congress is as much at fault as anyone, and I believe there is more to this than just supply and demand. "

stephen wrote on Sep 16, 2008 9:39 AM:

" The goal is to enrich the oil companies. The current occupant of the White House has succeeded beyond all expectations. There is an election to pay for and that is a very expensive process. Let's re-elect all these corrupt politicans. "

Wondering Again wrote on Sep 15, 2008 7:02 AM:

" According to Fox News oil prices fell to $96.00 a barrel due to minimal damage to oil producing paltforms in the gulf. Why did the price of gas in our are raise $0.40 in less than 24hrs. Its now $3.99 everywhere you go. I understand an oil PRODUCING platform is different from a DRILLING platform, but the price per barrel went DOWN!!! "

Wondering wrote on Sep 12, 2008 9:20 AM:

" I have always wondered about something:

Most of the politicians who are against new oil drilling operations say opening new rigs will not affect gasoline prices short-term. This is due, they say, to the fact it takes a significant amount of time for that oil to reach our gas tanks. If that is the case, why do gas prices go up immediately when a hurricane is forecast to move through an off-shore oil field? If it takes so long for that oil to reach our tanks one would think the oil company would have time to recover from a shut down oil platform before it affected the price at the pump. "


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