Gas Prices - "I'm Mad as Hell...."

Bad news - Regular is at least $4.05 in Chicago

Good news - With my airline mile debit card, I'll be back on vacation again in no time

Bad news - When I'm on vacation, my dollar still won't be worth anything outside of America

Maureen:  The truth is there are things that can be done, but nobody is doing them.  We have many sources of new oil in the United States, but we do not drill for them.  Why ?  I live in Fort Worth, Texas... and one of the largest natural gas finds has been discovered under the entire Fort Worth area.  If gas is there, oil should also be around somewhere. 

With prices this high, and oil companies raking in all that money, why are they not drilling for new oil fields.  And... it has been thirty years since a new oil/gasoline refinery has been built.  If we who complain cannot bring our voices to bear on those who can bring about change... if we cannot get "rough enough" with those who are in control... they, quite honestly, we have no right whatsoever to complain.

It is real simple.  If we are not part of the solution, we are part of the problem.  Thanks for letting me vent, Maureen.  Take care...

By the way... I filled up today in Fort Worth... $3.47 a gallon... regular... and my Honda CR-V gets 28 mpg in the city and 33 on the highways.  I regularly drive about a hundred miles a day... often more.

One thing I usually try to do... is fill up before I go home every night.  If it goes up the next day, I've already got my tank full.

Boycott... how silly.  Supply and demand... that is all it is... if we increase the supply... prices will go down.  The demand is not only here, it is in India and China... two "emerging" countries.  No matter how much we cut back... there are billions of new consumers coming online in India and China.  We need to increase the supply, and Bush has done nothing to encourage it. 

And... the Democrats do NOT control anything.  The Senate cannot do anything unless the Democrats get 60 or more Senators, which they should do in November.  Then... the Senate will be fillibuster-proof, and they might get something done.  The House... the Democrats do NOT control the house.  They have more than half it's members, but they need two thirds to make it veto-proof... which will then allow them to get something done.  My hope is that this will happen in November.  Then... we should finally see some positive actions that will help our high prices... hopefully... .  Please excuse my rant... :)

Maureen... thanks so much for posting about this... I feel so much better after venting... :)

Hot topic. Gas prices are disgusting. It wouldn't be so bad if the Oil companies weren't making record breaking profits.

We need to find other sources of energy.

All the best!x

Canada is our largest supplier followed by Mexico. Then we head to the Middle East. No refineries have been built in this country for the last 40+ yrs. We have untouched reserves that we cannot drill for in Alaska, the Dakotas, the Gulf of Mexico, and more places. The environemental policies we have are choking the country and stunting economic growth. Also take a look at the grotesque amount of taxes you pay per gallon of gasoline. Californians should be livid, maybe they are. How many different types of gasoline have to be made for each state and it's silly policies.....think of the cost that is to each refinery to meet hundreds of different specs over the entire country.

The truth of the matter is that America doesn't need any other country to supply it with oil if we drill for ourselves. That is energy independence. Anytime government has to subsidize something means that it wouldn't survive on the free market as a standalone. That goes for the ethanol craze, too. I've been to the Middle East as well, many....many times. The countries I frequent have seen food prices soar in recent history due to this change in policy and the people are mad as hell at us for being a part of the cause with this silly change. We're not only hurting ourselves but the rest of the world. Don't blame the oil companies, check your voting history first and look at yourself. Then check your elected officials. Nothing hinders a free market and lower market prices more than law which can change at the whim of any beauracrat. Don't think government can't fix things, it can't. The war poverty should have ended by now with all the money we've thrown at it. The war on drugs should have ended, too. It hasn't........and you want to trust these people to fix gas prices?????????????

Stop buying Exxon/Mobil for 1 year! gas prices will drop! google this topic! JOIN THE FIGHT.

I filled up last week and it was $3.98 gallon.  Outraged Oh yeah! In Florida prices vary depending on location.  Just down the raod in Cocoa the prices were over $4.02 per gallon. 

Patty and Scott Carroll asked above, "Could this gas situation be a by-product of an election year?"

It's an interesting question.  In an election year, if a president wasn't a "lame duck" and truly cared about being elected, ordinarily you'd think that president and his party would work to make things look rosy.  And in such a hypothetical year, you might expect to see inexpensive energy prices, low interest rates, affordable food prices and a high consumer confidence index.

However, this isn't one of those years.  The sitting president IS a lame duck.  He cannot be elected to a third term.  Gas and diesel prices are out of control.  Oil companies are engaged in unprecedented corporate greed.  Food prices and the price of anything that must be transported by truck, rail or air have followed suit.  The housing market is a mess and mortgage rates appear to be trending upward.  The middle class in America is becoming an endangered species.  And the Congressional Budget Office is predicting that one in thirty-three homeowners will be in foreclosure within the next two years.

But the oddest part is the answer suggested by some folks. 

Some believe we can reverse the damage to our economy by voting for the same political party that has spent the past eight years creating and massaging our dismal economic situation.

Others argue that the best way to combat greedy oil corporations is to give them whatever they want.  Let them drill where they please, don't regulate them in any way or impose any legislation that will stop the good times from rolling at Exxon/Mobil, Shell, Texaco, BP and others.

Of course big oil doesn't want us switching to hydrogen or electric vehicles.  How do you think a drug dealer reacts to a client who wants to get off heroin?

Great post! Check out my gas prices article here http://www.activerain.com/blogsview/574752/Gas-Prices-Rising-Again

Christina