Hello Everyone,
To begin I would like to address a favorite
I hear this one everyday, "Gas prices are too high, we should do something!"
Well your right we should do something, but as it turns out we (as in society) are not doing anything. You can go to site after site on the Internet and see how the prices are at an all time high, how the government is addressing price gouging, and/or how the consumer is truly being effected by the high prices. What you will not find is how we are taking responsibility for the prices nor how we are fighting it.
Seriously people, the oil manufacturer's made record breaking profits last year, and will undoubtedly do the same this year on the bases of a simple plan, "They need gas and we have it." I have to travel to and from work everyday; do you? I have to travel distances for meetings, family, and recreation; do you? We need gas period. So the powers that be did what everyone in business does, they followed the concept of supply and demand. Now the interesting part is that they are also in control of the supply and thus can effect the demand. They even tested the waters last summer by allowing gas prices to hang in the $2.20 to $2.50 range. Ya know what they found out? WE WILL PAY!! Yup we will pay whatever the prices are, no matter the price. That is one of the main reasons you will see gas prices raise this summer. They know that Americans are willing to complain about prices for gas, but will fill up their massive family movers every time.
To begin I would like to address a favorite
I hear this one everyday, "Gas prices are too high, we should do something!"
Well your right we should do something, but as it turns out we (as in society) are not doing anything. You can go to site after site on the Internet and see how the prices are at an all time high, how the government is addressing price gouging, and/or how the consumer is truly being effected by the high prices. What you will not find is how we are taking responsibility for the prices nor how we are fighting it.
Seriously people, the oil manufacturer's made record breaking profits last year, and will undoubtedly do the same this year on the bases of a simple plan, "They need gas and we have it." I have to travel to and from work everyday; do you? I have to travel distances for meetings, family, and recreation; do you? We need gas period. So the powers that be did what everyone in business does, they followed the concept of supply and demand. Now the interesting part is that they are also in control of the supply and thus can effect the demand. They even tested the waters last summer by allowing gas prices to hang in the $2.20 to $2.50 range. Ya know what they found out? WE WILL PAY!! Yup we will pay whatever the prices are, no matter the price. That is one of the main reasons you will see gas prices raise this summer. They know that Americans are willing to complain about prices for gas, but will fill up their massive family movers every time.
Knowing this I being to pose a very important question. Since we have demonstrated that we are willing to pay any price, as well as continue to drive gas guzzling vehicles, and have yet to curb our travel; I being to ponder "Why would the oil industry bring the price back down?" Think about it as a businessman/woman. Why would you go back to only making 10 to 20 billion dollars a year, when you can make the current 125 billion dollars (look it up) . I wouldn't and you all know you wouldn't so what make us think the gas prices are going to change. This is the reason I get frustrated when family and friends begin to talk about gas prices. They hate the fact that they have to pay so much, and then they go and fill up their huge Suburbans or Expeditions. I feel for them since I know it takes over a $100 dollars to fill them up and usually this is weekly. No they do not have the means to pay so much, and most of the people I know are not of means either. However, their lack of funding still does not deter them from changing their (or mine) gas use. And thus allows for larger revenue for the oil industry.
I remember a couple of weeks ago I received a email asking me not to buy gas on a giving day. I thought that was an interesting approach. However, I was on a business trip that day and remember sitting in my hotel as the email came flashing up on CNN, and they showed how everyone was still buying gas that day. I am sure those who did not purchase gas on that given day either bought gas the day before or after. My point is that we are all aware of the tiger in our living room, but instead of getting ride of the tiger we feed it so it doesn't consume us, and then complain about having to feed the tiger.
There are smarter men and women out there that can probably tell you how to fight this issue or how to live with it better than I. What I ask of you is when you complain about gas prices, or wonder why the prices are too high, or wonder why no one is doing anything; you take a deep breath and look in the mirror. There is the problem as well as the solution.
