Bob,
I have heard this argument for years. "The oil companies are gouging the
consumer and getting rich!" In my opinion, gasoline is still a bargain
at $3.00/gallon, when compared to most things we buy.
It is only good business to make a profit on your product...our problem
is the radical conservationalist...not to say that I don't believe in
conservation and taking care of our planet. Everything has a economical
cost, to get one thing you have to give up something else. There has to
be a balance...we haven't built a refinery in 30 years, but the demand
for gasoline has risen considerably...supply and demand drives the price
in any product. When we learn this lesson, then things will change and
not before. That is not to say that I enjoy paying the high gas prices
any more than any one else. It is just that it has become a fact of
life. I doubt that we will see prices recede much in a long while.
I can remember 16 cent/gallon gasoline. Of course a good job paid
$1.00/day. A day's wages bought roughly 6 gallons. How much gas can you
buy with today's wages? Not really that much difference, I suspect.
If you really want fuel prices to come down, use less of it. I can't
speak for the rest of you, but I suspect that you are not much different
than me. We are all wasteful in any areas.
Enough of my rant...let's go racing...somewhere, anywhere. I haven't had
a good run yet this year.
Tom, Redding CA #216 D/FCC
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