[Festus2]

We all like to blame the gas companies for gouging us at the pumps. After all, they are the folks selling the stuff to us so who or what else could be possibly be responsible for these crazy prices? We've read the comments about it being summer - the time of year when we all drive more and the switch-over to "summer gas". Others have pointed the finger at speculators.

I am wondering if we should be pointing in a different direction - the price of a barrel of crude oil. If you consider nearly all of the factors involved in determining the price of fuel at the pump, the one that fluctuates the most is the cost of a barrel of crude oil. All of the others - marketing, distribution, refining, government taxes, and retailing - pretty much remain constant. When crude oil rises to $115/barrel, we pay more at the pump. When it drops to $80/barrel, we pay less.

It costs the gas companies more to produce a gallon of fuel when the cost of crude oil is high and those costs are passed on to us. When the price of crude oil drops, the price of fuel also drops. (But perhaps not in the same ratio as was pointed out in another post).

The price of a barrel of oil isn't determined by any one country -- it is set by many so in that sense the world says what the price is going to be not the gas companies. And that price is a market price. With the unrest going on in many oil producing countries, that price is going to be higher than usual - as we are seeing today.

If I thought that by boycotting a gas company for a day or two and not buy any gas would do any good --- I would be first in line. But the reality is ---- I am pointing my finger at the wrong people.

I have to put some diesel in my truck soon and I will mumble and curse as I watch the readout on the pump go into the triple digits. Not knowing who to blame sucks! Might go buy some of that skimpy lingerie that hankaye mentioned. No, that won't work either. At our age, more is better.