Brother, Can You Spare A Gallon (of Gas)?

I'll bet you wish gas prices were as "low" as those in the picture right about now.

Has there been a disruption in the oil supplies somewhere that I haven't heard about? A drop in production? Maybe consumption has risen so much in India and China over the past few months that the constant increases in the price of gasoline is justified. But somehow I doubt it. Whatetever the reason, the price keeps going up.

The AAA Texas survey found regular self-serve averaged $3.68 per gallon in the 11 cities covered by the survey — 15 cents higher than last week's record high.

Nationally, the average price rose 13 cents to a record of $3.78 per gallon.

Auto club spokeswoman Rose Rougeau said that could mean a change of plans for some drivers who had intended to hit the road for the coming Memorial Day holiday.

Actually, that could mean a change of plans for some drivers planning on going to work everyday. I'll bet every designed for the automobile city west of the Mississippi are dusting off mass transit plans again. I hope so anyway, because something has got to give. As to the rationale, a little over a year ago, I wrote when prices were just settling in over $3.00 per gallon

...the routine seems to be to use whatever reason that's handy to justify jacking up oil prices. Of course the price then "drops" to some point higher than it was selling before the latest crisis, and that becomes the benchmark for the next crisis/price increase. Now, with gas having settled in above $3.00 per gallon on average, we really haven't heard much of a peep from the American consumer.

Well .68 cents later, the powers that be aren't even bothering to invent a "crisis" anymore. Nor has the record profits for the oil companies led to any type of employment boom for regular folks anywhere, and that includes here in oil capital of the world Houston. Contrast now with the boom times of the 70's and you'll see what I'm talking about.

I remember the good old days of 2001, when we first moved to Houston and gasoline was .97 cents per gallon. Since then the price has risen by approximately 350%, and remarkably that rise has coincided with the Bush presidency.

That's really such an amazing coincidence isn't it?