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September 15, 2006

Gas Prices a Republican Dirty Trick

Lifting a heavy load of high gas prices off the backs of commuters buys a lot of goodwill these days. And I think that is exactly what is going on with the news reports that the cost of gasoline is headed down. Some reports yesterday even said it could hit the unbelievable low of $1.15 a gallon. I'm not buying it.

I do think it's going to keep trending downward – at least until November 8, when Big Oil's favorite Republicans are safely returned to office. But somehow I don't believe gas prices will stay low for long. And I'm not alone.

The GOP, with majorities in both the House and Senate, would have much more to lose [from high gas prices] than Democrats. Big oil does not want its buddies in the Beltway to lose the grip on any branch of government.

Lo and behold, per-gallon prices have dropped, although there is less stability in the Middle East and more hostility directed toward the U.S. from oil producing Middle East countries than we have seen in a long time.

If oil prices truly are tied to political and economic issues in the Middle East and terror threats on a global scale, there is no rational explanation for such a precipitous drop in crude oil after the recent turmoil in Israel and Lebanon and the continuing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. What are we left with but price manipulation?

Further, after beating back numerous congressional attempts to authorize drilling in ANWR, and despite dire predictions about what repairs on BP’s Alaska pipeline would do to oil prices during an extended shutdown period, a huge previously uncharted oilfield in the Gulf of Mexico is surprisingly discovered.

Think I'm off-base, that Republicans, who are clearly terrified of their association with the President, won't be helped just because gasoline prices are headed downward? Then explain why Bush's approval ratings exactly follow gas prices.

Think gasoline prices can't be manipulated for political purposes? This article makes a great case that not only can they, but they are.

Five of the largest oil companies now control 50 percent of U.S. refinery capacity (versus 34 percent in 1993) and 62 percent of the retail gasoline market (versus 27 percent a decade ago). This gives the oil industry unprecedented ability to manipulate the market.

As the article explains, the federal government (which is controlled by a Republican House, a Republican Senate, and an Administration packed full of oil company executives) certainly could force prices down if it wanted to do so. But why would these people do that?

Since 2000, the oil industry has pumped out more than $68 million to politicians—80 percent of that going to Republicans.

These millions don't even reflect the additional millions the oil industry pumps into conservative and libertarian think tanks that funnel money to politicians, their family members, and their favorite causes, as well as fight for lax environmental standards and an entirely free market and anti-labor laws.

Read this article, which looks at how oil price manipulation shifts money from the poor to the wealthy and makes a convincing case for charges of price gouging and massive profiteering off of a resource that is a vital part of our economy.

Then tell me I'm wrong.

Posted by Becky at September 15, 2006 11:19 AM