Car Keys
by R. Craig 

I want to touch on a subject that affects us all and in most cases angers us all, and that is the price of gasoline. It wouldn't bother me so much if I knew the justification of the price increases but there never seems to be one that seems logical. Here are just a few examples. OPEC cut production by 100,000 barrels a day so there is a shortage. So let's see, the announcement is made at 8:00 a.m. so all the oil companies raise the price at 10:00 a.m.

 Wow! I didn't realize that oil got refined and to the pumps that quick! Here is another one I heard about on the radio. They blamed a price increase on the recent blackout. Now let's see . . . no electricity . . . no gas pumps working . . . thus, no gas being pumped. Which means gasoline left sitting in storage for a day. So how does this translate to a shortage? 

 Here is another. The price went up because production was cut back to make more heating oil and kerosene for the winter. Then how come the price does not drop when warm weather comes again? And it is coincidental  how it goes up when a holiday rolls around. When the price of gasoline was $1.30 a gallon, crude oil was selling on the market for about $28.00 a barrel. Gasoline is now selling for an average of $1.73 a gallon and as of today crude was selling for $27.50 a barrel. I know we have inflation but this is a bit extreme. I think the word we are looking for is corporate greed. 

 I have also noticed that the price of gasoline from Owego to Binghamton can vary by as much as fifteen cents a gallon. I had the unfortunate timing of owning a gas station during the oil embargo of 1973 and 1974. I knew first hand how much fuel was out there and also know there were ways to get it. I actually had a corporate tanker come in during the night and buy extra fuel I had to sell to another dealer. They came at night so no one would see what was happening. 

 I think that the oil business as a whole is big money and very political. I was told that many influential people in the Bush administration are ex-oil company executives although I cannot confirm this. The Bush family has been in the oil business in Texas, however I don't know to what extent.

 You have to remember that it's more than just the price of the gas we buy Also affected are transportation costs to schools and municipalities. The costs of goods and services go up also. Who do you think ends up paying for it? Do you remember the price ceiling the government had on gasoline in the 1970s? Doesn't sound like such a bad idea to me.

 Meanwhile, I guess we are still at the mercy of the oil companies. If someone could make a vehicle that could run on bull manure (being polite), there would never ever be a shortage.