Re: Gas prices
I am conflicted. I agree with both sides of the issue. But I also think that gwb and cheney have great culpability in the current state of affairs. What other industry would be allowed to have representatives in a closed door top-secret policy making session? Who else would be allowed to go before a hearing board and not be required to testify under oath? Oh, yeah that's right, ANY friend of this administration, but not the common citizen.<br /><br />Price swings as great as have been in the recent weeks are ridiculous. And I ask again, what other industry could post record profits while their costs of raw materials were at record levels. If tuna of the boats tripled in price do you think that Charlie could triple his retail price and still sell his product? Of course not, so where is the true
free market? Gasoline, and other energy is not an optional commodity to American life anymore and it should be controlled just like any utility. The whole idea behind utility regulation was to prevent the services which were mandatory to our societies from being able to rape the citizens because they were mandatory. How would you like it if your electric company could set it's own price to whatever it wanted? The reason our economy grows is because certain "necessities" are controlled in cost by the government. Otherwise the few industries that life truly depends on would dominate and there would be no room left for any other market. What would you do if your heat and electricity cost so much you couldn't afford them and your house too? Or what if you could afford your house, food, heat and lights but no gas for your car to go to work, or even worse gas for your boats?
<br /><br />It is high time that something is done about the free market that the oil industry has over the average citizen. But it must
NOT be a knee-jerk reaction like so much this administration and congress has done to us. And even more importantly, whatever is done to rectify this rape of America, it must be sound in judgement and for the benefit of the average American citizen, not just for the few, again like so much from this admin & con-gress.
