Gas Prices

When I woke up this morning, I wasn't feeling well. It is after all that time of year when colds and flu are making the rounds. We've been told that even though you may have gotten a Flu Shot, it really isn't going to do you much good. Hmmmmm, sounds a lot like our government lately. We may have one, but it isn't doing us citizens much good right now.

As I said, I wasn't feeling well, so I got up around 4:00am. At 4:30am I turned on the local news. They were prepared with Breaking News that gas prices are at an all time high and are likely to hit $4.00 a gallon by summer. And that's for Regular folks. You German Car drivers better be ready to really pony up.

What prompted this post (read rant) is that the local news station (KPTV) has their reporter parked outside a gas station (service went away a long time ago) and every five to seven minutes, he comes on to say the same damn thing, "Gas prices are at an all time high and going higher..."

This is not breaking or any other kind of news. Anybody that hasn't been aware that gas prices have been going up dramatically for the last few years has probably been in a Coma.

I am wondering why the reporter is posted outside a gas station and not down at the State Capitol investigating this obvious fraud that is being perpetrated on the American people and what can be done to reverse it.

So far, everyone I talk to is so complacent I want to reach out and shake them. WAKE UP PEOPLE! It isn’t just affecting you at the pump, it will alter your very way of life! Everything you buy is going to start costing you more… … … A lot more, and soon!

Most people I talk to say, “Well, this is closer to where gas prices should be.” I say, “Based on what?” Their reply is usually weak at best.

I’ll always be the first to admit I’m not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but it seems to me if there is a shortage, the oil companies can’t make as much money because they don’t have the product to sell. WRONG! They just jack up the price at the pump and not only do they make record profits, they make obscenely high profits and what do you know, there’s all kinds of gas at the new higher price.

Well now they’re saying, the latest price hikes aren’t due to a “shortage of crude oil” or “lack of refineries” it's the sluggish economy – And yet, the oil companies are STILL making obscene profits. It’s good to see the oil companies doing their part to help the slumping economy. RIGHT!

One of the first things someone might say to me would be, “Greg, if you don’t like the high price of gas, don’t buy it.” Believe me, I buy as little as possible. I work out of my house, I consolidate trips and then on a motorcycle as often as possible. The problem is, I have to heat my home, eat and everything else normal folks do, and it’s all going to cost more – much more!

I always thought there were Monopoly laws that prevented cornering the market and jacking prices for a given commodity out of sight. Oh yeah – why there’s no Monopoly here. There are several different oil companies, all free to set the price for their products as they see fit to compete in the market place. BULLSHIT! The whole oil business is a ‘Good Ol Boys’ club. Where one goes, they all go. It has made them all very fat and very happy I’m sure, but they've become gluttons and once they got a taste for price gouging, they can’t get enough of it. The American consumer is really taking it on the chin. I just don’t understand why it appears no one is doing anything about it.

Like lemmings we just allow the oil companies to keep raping us at the pump without saying a word.

I am not ready to drop down to a lower standard of living just so oil companies can continue to make obscene profits, but I know that many Americans will have to. And, at some point I may not have a choice. You would think that alone would be enough to get our elected officials excited and involved, but it doesn’t seem to be.

Some say that it’s happening because President Bush is an oil guy. I’d say that’s a fair bet although not the only reason. I sure haven’t heard Hilary, Barack or McCain step up and say that they will get a handle on any of this. On the issue of jacking gasoline prices, it appears that those three are as bad as Bush.

I for one am sick to death of it. The American public is being held for ransom at the pump and nobody seems to care enough to do anything about it.

I guarantee you that we are getting screwed and the oil guys are laughing all the way to their off shore tax exempt bank accounts. You have to know that as long as we let them get away with this simultaneous screwing they will continue to think we are dumber than a box of hammers.

It’s time we let our elected officials know in a very loud voice that we’re done being patsies and if they don’t get serious and do something about this, they will soon find out how life in the private sector is.

While I'm at it, why are gas prices in the Portland Metropolitan almost .40¢ a gallon higher than most of the rest of the country?

As for our friends at the local Television and Radio stations, how about you go find a real story like, who is doing what to help curb this travesty and what citizens can do to help put a stop to it rather than repeating every 5 minutes what I already know by driving by any gas station.

On a somewhat related note, here's another thing we Americans have just let go by the wayside - SERVICE! Tell me why when I was paying .35¢ a gallon, I got my front and rear windows washed, headlamps and outside mirrors washed, battery, belts, hoses, coolant, engine oil, power steering fluid, transmission fluid, tire pressure and tread depth checked by several attendants and now that it is damn near $4.00 a gallon I can't even get a guy to wait on me in a reasonable amount of time let alone get my oil checked.

Another interesting little tidbit to ponder... Our friends at Costco that we know and trust to keep quality high and prices low, who clearly have the lowest gas prices in their areas (they scout the competition twice a day to make sure they are lower) still make .40+ cents net profit a gallon - Yes, I said net. My guess is that the Mom & Pop gas stations have lower (albeit not as diversified) overhead than a Costco Store. I remember when we were cutting a fat hog if we made .3¢ to .5¢ a gallon.