by Ben Lewis

Created on: June 09, 2008

WHO IS THE CULPRIT?

No one should require a list of evils, whether that means adversity, disadvantages, budgetary woes, etc. So suffice it to say that I am beginning a rant on skyrocketing costs of staying alive in the society of today.

"Oil up $10 in 1 day", screams a headline. WHY, we demand? One source from NPR News breaks down the total cost of motor fuel like this: There are four primary categories included in producing the stuff we buy at the pumps. CRUDE OIL, REFINING, TRANSPORTAION, & TAXES. Of that, taxes constitute .66 cents per gallon, refining .25 cpg, the portion for transportation was omitted but it includes the operation of super tankers that ply the waters between our ports (e.g. N.Y., Galveston, Long Beach, Seattle, etc as well as truck/rail to haul that to bulk plants & tank farms in the US) so the balance is split between transportation costs and the bulk of that is the cost of crude oil, what importers/refiners have to pay oil producing nations in the middle east & elsewhere.

The rate of increase is said to be up by 400% (period unclear) but everyone who drives knows we are talking about the previous two to three years, with the biggest increases coming within the last year.

Traditionally when this sort of thing happens, the most disadvantaged group is identified as "the little guy", I'm in that group, meaning I work for wages and own absolutely none of the infrastructure that produces the commodities/services that are getting into my pockets so severely now.

But some businesses are hurting too. "United Airlines lays off 1,000", says one source. "GM closes four plants in North America", says another. Ford is also laying off workers in its assembly plants because of slumping sales of the F150 pickup in favor of "economy vehicles".

But other business are doing well. Chevron, which is said to hold 25% of the motor fuels market in the US, earned 5 billions in the 1st quarter of 08.

All this while unemployment has risen for five consecutive months this year (08) to produce 8.5 millions unemployed.

Meanwhile back at the homestead, net worth of most US households is "down". Some consumers interviewed say their budget for gas/food is running "neck & neck".

Also meanwhile in the economy in general, the US dollar continues to slide against other currencies.

I am retirement age but I have seen no economic catastrophe as dire as this in my lifetime. One has to go back to the administrations of Hoover and Roosevelt (FDR) in the 1930s to find such societal trauma.

So

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