I've really got to wonder....

[anarky]

I can't help but wonder why Republicans in Congress would be so in support of the oil companies instead of the people who vote for them. They do realize that they all have to be re-elected to stay, right? As a party, why are they essentially throwing a big "F you!" to all the people and businesses who are being screwed by gas increasing more than fourfold in less than a decade?

Plus, the President says to deal with gas prices by driving less (nice strategy there), and the Republican candidate for President just says gas is going to keep getting more expensive.

Whether you agree or disagree with them, it really seems like political suicide to not at least put forth the image of doing something about gas prices. Hell, a lot of folks in Congress could've voted to cut subsidies for gas companies and apply a windfall tax knowing it wouldn't go through since the President would veto it.

[mabudon]

yeah that IS kinda odd- maybe there's a gas-powered Swift Boat in the cards

Like "My opponent has become a VERY wealthy man from investing in oil futures, yet he is literally stealing that profit from hard-working Americans"

Doesn't REALLY make sense but once the frenzy starts it doesn't matter one bit

[vynsane]

the republicans have their constituency so snowed by the anti-abortion and no gay marriage rags that they'll buy anything.

oh, btw, neither of those two "issues" are going to go away because then maybe the republican constituency will wise up to the fact that they've voted assholes into office. it's in the republicans' best interest to keep those two "issues" up in the air.

[Antropov]

I can't help but wonder why Republicans in Congress would be so in support of the oil companies instead of the people who vote for them.

Because they sold their souls to the oil lobbyists to get into office in the first place. They've been getting their backs scratched for years, now, and the time to reach out and scratch the back of big oil has come for a lot of these congressmen.

Like it or not, that's what lubes the governmental gears. Usually it goes relatively unnoticed, but with the current situation being what it is vis a vis oil, many see it for the greedy, backdoor bullshit that it has become.

For the record, I'm usually the last person that bitches about gas. Its a freakin' commodity that I NEED on a daily basis. I don't complain about toothpaste prices or what they charge for milk. If you can't afford gas, park your car and buy a bike. But that has all come to an end. Its one thing when people cry about gas going up a nickel and the whiny libs putting the backs of their hands to their heads because it costs them an extra 85 cents to fill their tank. When a commodity like gas increases as rapidly as it has, it pinches everyone. My wife commutes about 45 minutes to work every day and we're now starting to feel the sting of $4 gas. It was a sudden pinch, too, which we found odd. When we were paying $3.85, things were just fine. But now that we're paying that extra fifteen cents, shit is crazy.

I'm hoping the good news comes in the form of an asset bubble (kind of like the housing market, depending on which end of that you were on). Oil is going up like crazy in part due to prospectors buying it up at current prices in anticipation of rises in the future. This takes place every day, with everything from gold to beef. But the rate they're snatching it up at can't be sustained and eventually the bubble they're creating is going to burst and we're going to be left with the glut of crude they've purchased, dropping prices like crazy. Its simple economics, let's hope the rules don't change.

[anarky]

I'd say there's truth to your statements about a bubble bursting soon, but all the oil does still come through the hands of a couple of companies that make record profits at the same time they're jacking up prices dramatically, and also charge for cost increases twice (once when they happen, and again when that oil actually hits the pumps). I don't think they're going to let it go down too far anytime soon.

[jdr3]

You also have to realize that all of the ideas of how to decrease oil prices don't actually affect your gas prices at the pump. Those prices are not set by government. By passing a bill that would "help" cut oil cost, they are really helping the oil companies that are importing the oil and distributing, because they now can get it cheaper and still sell it higher. If government stepped in and told them they can't do that it would essentially be taking away any capitalism and then people would complain about that. How government shouldn't step in on our rights...yadda yadda yadda. In truth no matter what government does, people will bitch.

Now, by driving less, prices will have to fall. It's the simple idea of supply and demand. If you make the demand less and the supply becomes more than they will have to sell it cheaper. Unfortunately, people have gotten too use to not changing their ways and refuse to try to demand less. There are cases when you have to drive, but there are plenty of times when you don't but still do. Mass transit and carpooling would really help and work. But there are too many times when I am commuting into the city and still see single drivers in there vehicles waiting in line to get in the tunnel. Yeah my bus has become more crowded recently with some people turning to mass transit, but there are still alot of people that refuse to share a ride with someone else. I don't know, I could go on, but I should get back to work so that I can afford to live.