catholicsphere

Ok, I admit it. I’m a bit miffed! This is just downright wrong!

There is no excuse for gasoline prices to have jumped to over $3 in the last 24 hours. The price of crude oil has only risen about $2.75 this week, and about $8 a barrel over the past week. Yet, gas prices have jumped by $.50 to $.75 per gallon in most places, virtually overnight.

I just paid $2.86 (2.859), having checked the internet listing of prices at stations in my area for the lowest price. Other stations in the area were between $3.05 and $3.29/gallon tonite. It has been said that reductions in the price of crude oil take 3 to 6 months to be reflected at the pumps … these changes are happening almost in real time!

There is price gouging going on. The oil companies are getting rich (and I find it a little suspect that this is happening under the presidency and vice presidency of “oil men”). It’s about time — no, it’s past time! — we reinstate the gas price cap, and we look at the price of oil being set by other means than the futures market. We don’t have the shortages that we had in the late 70s and early 80s, so the higher demand should not create such a pull on prices. World events — such as something like the King of Saudi Arabia’s death — and natural disasters — like a hurricane — should not have such an immediate and drastic effect on prices at the pump.

The government needs to do more than pay lip service to doing something about the prices … and it needs to be done now! Especially since the number of those at or below the poverty level has increased by 1.1 million people between 2003 and 2004, according to the most recent census figures. My guess is that will go higher when we look at the numbers for 2005.

Thankfully, I have a car that gets 30 mpg, and I take the train most of the way to work; so the 7 gallons of gas I got tonite will last about 2 weeks. But, for those who must drive, something must be done. I’m sad to say that those who said that the US would be in deep economic trouble if President Bush was re-elected seem to have been right… And, I’m more sad to say that the lip service given to moral issues is just that; there has been little to no effect on these issues.