80% of the oil is Nationalized, ie, controlled by the various countries, sadly the free market doesn’t exist much in the price of a barrel of oil. Going after American companies that control less than 10% of the oil supply is just plain dumb.

The solution to high gas prices is right under our feet. Drill, drill, drill.

We don’t need government relief for high gas prices and we won’t get it. What we need are alternatives … and we are getting those … from the private sector.

We are witnessing the beginning of the end of the grip of big oil in all its forms.

The government can stop inflating our money. That is the real cause of the price escalation. Supply and demand right now are not the issue. Also the lack of competition for refineries causes prices to go up. Govt regulations make it nearly impossible for upstarts to get into the oil refinery business, which keeps prices high. What can the government do to lower the price of gas? They can follow the constitution and get there meddling fingers out of areas they have no authority to be in. Gold and Silver for money as the Constitution requires would stop the inflation. Deregulation of oil refineries would create more competition, which lowers the price. Stop giving subsidies to corn producers for ethanol. Ethanol/gas mixtures are more expensive to make, get less MPG, and produce more carbon than they save. The Govt could do a lot to lower oil prices by doing a lot less. We need to Downsize DC.

I agree that the oil market is hardly a free market. High prices have caused a reduction in oil consumption. Switching to more fuel efficent vehicles and using public transportation is a result of an increase in price, not the free market. As Martin pointed out, much of the oil supply is controlled.

Europe has historcally had high gasoline prices because of high excise taxes on the product and, because of that, they tend to use less. Government also has something to do with that. High prices encourages conservation and alternative ways of addressing energy issues–some good and some bad. Market alternatives contribute to this, making some technologies look attractive that were not cost effective in the past. I don’t think you can say free markets are at work here.

You can thank our Politicians for high gasoline prices, also utility, grocery, and most everything we need. Those fools are trying to destroy this Country and leave us defenseless against our enemies. They are doing this to rob ( TAX ) everyone in the World in the name of “Global Warming” and are getting desperate because they know the Earth is going into a “Cooling Cycle” and they will lose their chance to steal Trillions of Dollars from everyone.

Not to mention the prices tend to go up every time our Congress publicly announces that we will not explore internal options for more oil. We have millions of barrels of oil potentially available within territory we control, but Congress won’t allow us to get to it. Thus, the market speculates that we have a shortage of oil, when we really don’t. The prices then go up and keep going up. If we ever had an announcement that we will finally explore and open up our internal resources, prices will start dropping again. Maybe we’ll never hit below $2/gallon again, but they will drop.

As for the market corrections - some are good, but not everyone can afford to replace their vehicle and it doesn’t always make good economic sense to do that. It also doesn’t help those of us who really can’t use public transportation because it’s not available in our area. For me, I’d have to drive more than 10-15 miles to get to a point where I could use public transportation and from that point it’s only another 5 miles to my workplace. Why would I take public transportation at that point? (And yes, I would love the option of taking a train in to work for quite a few different reasons….)

And going after oil companies for profiteering doesn’t really make sense in this case. Those costs will be passed on to consumers or we’ll get shortages like we had in the 70s.

I agree with your point that we’ll move to more fuel-efficient vehicles as prices continue to go up. I am definitely curious about what we’ll have available within the next 5 years or so. That should be pretty interesting.

Government experts and their intervention gave us the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act in 1930 and the Great Depression. But market forces did not give us seat-belts and air-bags. Government fiscal policy gave us a very weak dollar, worth today 1/3 of it’s 2001 value and so in some ways the price of oil is stable. China and India people are paying the same price for a barrel of oil as we are, and they are hurting, too. Meglomaniacs who won’t drill or want to nationalize the oil industry (can you say government monopoly, comrade?) are the Smoot-Hawleys of our day. The US Senate and House are the speculators driving up oil prices world-wide. But I’m not sure market forces will quickly bring about beneficial solutions. After all, European cars (mostly diesel) get better mileage, BUT they pollute much more and lack safety equipment.
Meanwhile, I sold the old Caravan and bought a Corolla, plant trees, only take a bike if it’s less than two miles, and do my part where I can: and suffer the fools who mislead us a while longer. If we can get thru four years of incompetence, perhaps an authentic leader will emerge. Meanwhile, “Ora et labora”.

FYI :

If you use your credit or debit card at the pump your financial institution , or the gas station can legally put a hold on your account for as much as $120 no matter how much it costs you to fill your tank.

I found this out he hard last weekend when my credit card was denied at an eatery after filling up my van at a local convenience store. Luckily I had the cash to pay for the supper…if not, things could’ve turned ugly.

Beware ! My hold is still on my account and can stay there for up to 12 days!!

DO NOT pay at the pump pay with your card inside only after filling up your vehicle.

You couldn’t tell it around where I live, the big OIL Companies
and the small mom and pop places are gobbling up real
estate like it is going out of style and putting in new stop and
robs on them with full complement of fuel pumps.

Someone is getting rich. Even with all the hub-bub about
Citgo, you could never tell it, I see folks lined up at their
pumps all the time to pump out that #3.79 a gallon gasoline.

If 80% of oil is nationalized around the world, then the folks
who own the remaining 20% are getting wealthy as pigs on
it.

Don’t be too quick to condemn Big Oil, remember the Enron
fiasco. I would dare say there are a lot of major retirement
funds invested heavily in Big Oil. So do we cut off our noses
to spite our faces or what?