Point fingers and call names all you want....
But understand the fact that the enlightened social engineers we have been electing to run our nation for the past 50 years have done their utmost to make operating any business (including the energy business) in the USA as difficult and expensive as they could.
Taxes, regulations, environmental restrictions, and just general red tape, enacted by both the elected officials and the unelected bureaucrats have made it increasingly costly and time & energy consuming to own and operate any kind of manufacturing business that produces a real physical product, and only slightly less so for those companies whose output is something less tangible. No matter what label they use, Democrat, Republican, Liberal or conservative, together they have brought us to this.
We, the people are at fault as well, both in our shortsighted "what's in it for me?" attitude and for our failure to choose leaders who would actually be to our long term benefit, instead of the short term.
We have adopted a policy of crisis management, in that we generally refuse to manage any problem until it becomes a crisis. There was a TV ad back in the 70s with two congressmen in a big car, driving down the highway. The driver bore a more than passing resemblance to the then Speaker of the House. The camera shows the gas gauge, setting on "E". The passenger points out "Hey, we're running out of gas! The driver reassures him with a condescending "we're fine". variations on this are repeated several times, until the car's engine stops. At this point, the driver looks at the gas gauge, acts astonished, and says "Hey!, we're out of gas!"
It was true then, and sadly has remained mostly true through today. Except that we aren't out of gas, we are just out of gas that we can afford.
My last raise, actually the largest in several years, has disappeared into my gas tank, and I drive a 35mpg car! I understand basic economics, and I understand how the dollar number for goods generally goes up, although after adjustment, the actual value doesn't change that much, usually. But this past year of seeing gas increase about a nickel per gallon, twice a week or even more often is freaking horrible! What bothers me most is not just the increase, but the rate of increase! Something is drastically wrong, and sure as the sun rises, someone is screwing us up. And doing a fine job of it too!
After he lost the election and became the "crusading environmentalist" Al Gore boasted that "America will have $5 a gallon gas, whether they want it or not". And while I expected him to be proven true in the long run, I never thought it could happen so soon, and so rapidly. Like the man who had a tombstone that read "I expected this, but not so soon".
I agree that it isn't just the oil companies, it is a lot of people, in business, and in government that have brought this about, and I think we are being mislead by being told to focus on foreign oil costs, lack of drilling, and the other "critical issues" of this crisis. I don't think we should expect relief from the costs by "conserving". I believe that is just a red herring. After all, suppose we did all conserve and reduce the demand. What stops the oil companies and the speculators from just selling the oil to someone else? If we cut back on demand, they will cut back on production. Nobody is going to voluntarily reduce their profit.
Our system is rather flexible, and able to adapt and absorb quite a lot, over time. When I started buying my own gas, it was $0.39 per gallon, and when premium was $0.60 it was expensive. But things are happening too fast today. Way too fast. Our system is straining, and at risk of fracture. Greed, corporate and individual is putting it at greater risk that ever in the past. And when it does break, what then? A lot of folks might not be able to afford gas (or when it comes to it, food), but some of them will have bullets that they already paid for. And some of them just might decide to use them.
Desperation?, sure. But what some will see is "what have we got left to lose?" Sadly, I'm pretty sure that if this comes to pass, most of the bullets won't be aimed at those actually responsible. It might actually come down to open class warfare. I don't see this as a given (yet), but I feel it is a risk we should not ignore.
