Should lawmakers free us from market forces by controlling gas prices?

Yes

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by Raymond Alexander Kukkee

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The Price of Gas: Ask Questions

It does not take a genius to recognize the unjustified and exponential price increases of gasoline and other fuels that have occurred over the last decade. Increases have been accelerated uncontrollably and inexplicably . No reasonable or valid justification for such price increases is in evidence.
Upon "designated" bad news, prices are elevated virtually instantaneously, and country-wide . When the weekly "crisis" is over, prices seldom return to normal, or decline minimally, but always slowly. .
Apparent price gouging at the gas pump is the norm, rather than the standard . Lawmakers throw up their hands in feigned resignation. Pump prices may jump 0.10 a liter or more in one day. There is no justification for the blatant price gouging. Virtually all gas stations increase their prices equally and simultaneously, which , in spite of denials and "investigations" by everyone involved, looks like nothing more than monopolized, choreographed and legalized theft.
Why?

In 1900 the price of crude oil was under 1.00/barrel. . In 1972 the price of crude oil hovered around $3.00/barrel. Adjusted for inflation, that price might now be approximately $22.00/barrel in 2008 dollars
The price today instead, on a supposedly "tight" crude market, is an outrageous $126.00/barrel.
The reader is urged to access crude oil price trends, statistics and growth patterns on Internet sites such as WTRG Economics "Oil Price History and Analysis" at http://www.wtrg.com/ prices.htm . What has happened in the oil industry since 1901 is an interesting study in artificially controlled prices, orchestrated production and economic manipulation.

Can there then be any reasonable justification for the price of gasoline, in 1970 , which was 0.37 /gallon to now be $1.35/liter? Clearly not. The same production facilities produce the same gasoline; the only real change made is artificial and arbitrary. Unheard of corporate profit levels suggest little if any justification for existing prices.

There is, as a result, little or NO public faith in the existing petroleum marketing system. Flimsy, opportunistic, and outrageous excuses are offered , at times almost daily, for excruciatingly high price increases for gasoline. Every excuse from inclement weather, international political instability, to piracy on the high seas is used to raise prices. Damage to pipelines, courtesy of terrorist activity, is exceeded only by corporate creativity at times.

The reader is invited to imagine virtually anything, -and the oil sector will clearly raise the price of oil and gasoline at their convenience. Why is this allowed by our government and lawmakers?

It is well known that OPEC manipulates the global price of crude oil by controlling production quotas, and has done so historically, forcing the price up at any time of their choosing. The west, as a result, is being held hostage by OPEC and "foreign" oil.
To exacerbate this inexcusable situation, North American companies opportunistically demand the exorbitant "world" price for crude oil that is produced in North America and lawmakers say nothing.

Who has commandeered the economic sovereignty of North America to the degree that we should not be allowed to control our own energy resources? To what unidentified purpose does this policy aspire ? What are the ulterior motives? Is there a single "Global government" in the making? Increasingly, it almost seems the energy sector has little interest in the survival of western economies. One may not have to wonder, when outsourcing to Asian and other third world markets demonstrably destroys jobs and lowers the living standard of North Americans, increases economic activity in the Third World countries, and conveniently generates much corporate profit. Is the purpose to equalize "North American" living standards with the rest of the world? Conspiracy theories abound. Why are lawmakers not acting?

Currently the burgeoning Chinese and East Indian industrial booms are pressuring an already tense market considering the volatility of the Middle East and the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Does this warfare justify the outrageous and instantaneous price increases for gasoline at the pump? No.

Any economist may ponder that if the oil sector is "merely supplying the oil" to the war effort, and simultaneously to the Asian super-economies as purported, logically, the energy sector would be experiencing genuine supply problems. They would be selling oil at normal profit levels, and supply would logically be tighter; therefore, in a free market situation, urgent new investments in refineries would be a fact. It is seemingly not happening. Why?
The industry would not be achieving the obscene profit levels they have been reporting .
Only in time will the truth be revealed.

One of the real questions that might also be asked is: "Should western economies be drained of energy and resource supplies to allow Chinese and other markets to grow at rates virtually unheard of in history?"
Clearly, the answer is NO, unless there are ulterior motives. What are our legislators doing?
Regardless, with little control or guidance offered by legislators, speculators additionally drive the price of crude oil even higher, anticipating ever " higher demand" in Asian markets and "more political instability".

Should an essential commodity be placed in the hands of a greedy few? Clearly, with the track record of the price of essential fuels in North America, the answer must be a resounding "NO".
Ultimately, the question must be asked: Should lawmakers FREE us from market forces by controlling gas prices?
The essential answer must be YES, and not merely because of any desired change of political ideology, but rather because our contemporary petroleum industry is suffering from unbridled oil madness and is out of control. Lawmakers must now demonstrate the right thing to do and enable the rest of the economy to survive with specific controls and oil-producing nation status price benefits to consumers regardless of global price.

Weak government legislators in North America have typically and historically caved in to corporate demands of the petroleum industry, with tax loopholes, tax relief, tax credits, and endless offerings of seemingly ever less stringent environmental standards all in conjunction with monopolistic huge oil leases and minimal royalties. Where has government responsibility evaporated to?
Do not make excuses, for there are none.

The fact of the matter is, if only morals and ethical grounds are considered, all natural resources belong to every human being in the country. To artificially set prices on those resources to accommodate only the whims and profit goals of the greedy is unacceptable when commodities are essential for survival.
The resources of North America are being drained by the petroleum industry with little thought given to the result. The economies of the West, both the United States and Canada, are being driven to the ground while the petroleum industry, displaying much brass, is claiming the most excessive, obscene profits in history. The energy sector is clearly out of control.

It is time for lawmakers to free North Americans from market forces by controlling gas prices. Failure to do so is nothing less than abdication of political responsibility.

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