30% Solution

I spent most of the evening traveling the local highways and I noticed that regular gasoline in our area has suddenly jumped to $3.85 / gallon.  No doubt companies like Exxon and Shell will tell us the price jump is due to the new uncertainties in the Middle East resulting from recent events in Libya.

But is it?

It was not so very long ago, February of 2009 actually, that regular gas was $2.00 / gallon and folks across the nation were appalled that a gallon of regular gas might hit $2.50.

So let's see... from $2.00 to $3.85 in three years.  That puts the inflation rate on gas at something like 30% per year. (Wouldn't you like to see your paycheck increase by 30% per year?)

Are we really supposed to believe the world's gasoline consumption has risen so dramatically over the past 3 years as to warrant an essential doubling in price?

A recent report stated that even with the dramatic increase in price, the average household expenditure on gasoline remains relatively unchanged from previous years - due to increased sales of fuel efficient cars.

Which would mean consumption is dropping (though probably not by as much as is suggested). Which means oil companies adjust prices to make sure they bring in the same revenue regardless of the efforts of people like you and I to reduce the amount of gas we buy.

So why, in all the rhetoric about the crippled housing industry, Wall Street shananagins, and stubborn unemployment, isn't equal attention being paid to gas prices?

The answer of course lies in the unhealthy relationship between Congress and the Exxon's, Shell's, and Mobil's of the world.

I promise lighter fare in my next post - just needed to get this off my chest.