How Stupid Do Our Officials Think We Are?

I've been hearing the reports on the news and radio as well as reading in many newspapers and magazines that the President and this current administration is to blame for the ever rising cost of gas. Give me a break!

Let's journey back to our basic economics class where we discussed supply and demand. Do you remember how the price of a good or service goes up with the increase in demand? What happened when the demand kept increasing but the production couldn't keep up? The price went up even more. What happens when the production picks up and can stay on par with the demand? The price levels. This is all basic economics.

Now you're probably wondering why I just gave you a recap of elementary school economics...right? Simple, the oil companies have been slapped with all sorts of restrictions with regards to where and how they can drill, where the pipelines can run, and even what ports they can use for shipping. Who did this to them you ask? Our elected officials did. That's who.

And now we're hearing a few of our presidential candidates say they are going to increase taxes on the oil companies for "excess profits". Are they serious? Do they really think the oil companies are producing so much that they have excess profits? Wow, that's news to me. Last I heard the oil companies have to buy oil on the open market which in turn eats away at their profits.

You see, oil is a commodity. And as we all should know and understand, commodities cannot be price fixed. That's like saying we're going to fix the price of gold or silver. Sorry folks, it can't be done. Not even by the president. Commodity prices are driven by the market, or should I say by supply and demand. Remember the above flash back to economics class?

The president did have a great idea which was thrown out by the current congress. He wanted to convert a couple of the shut down military bases into refineries to increase oil production. The congress (our elected officials) didn't want anything to do with it. Why you ask? Because of the NIMBY crowd. You know them; they are the people who say "Not In My Back Yard". But pay attention here, this is where it can get tricky. If you were part of a voting body that said no to a refinery being built in your area...you are partially to blame for the rising cost of gas. Okay, take a moment and let that set in. I've said this to some people before and they had to digest it for a moment so I'll understand if you need a couple.

The average time it takes to build a refinery is less than two years. I believe it is somewhere in the area of 18 months to have a refinery built and fully functional.

Now what about the pipeline. Did you know the pipeline stops at the Rockies? Legislation was passed to keep it from moving any further. That means we have to pay even more for the transportation of the unrefined oil. Just keeps adding up doesn't it.

Is there any hope in our future? I see China as a bright new option for the US gas industry. You see, China has oil and they have refining capacities which can produce enough to sell to the rest of the world. Think of it, they ship the refined product straight to us which can be put directly into tanker trucks and delivered to your local gas station. This would drastically drop our gas prices. Not back to the $2.00 level but probably close. I know I for one would like to see that again.

So what can we do to help this process? Contact your elected officials and ask them what they are voting on or reviewing with regards to oil production, refining, and purchasing. Get involved and let them know you didn't vote them into office so they can get a nice fat tax free check. They have a job to do and we the people who elected them into their offices need to make sure they are doing their jobs. Or we can replace them with someone who will do the job.