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When does it end... Gas prices are now $4 a gallon and going up. As gas prices continue to soar Americans are starting to feel the $50+ fill up every week. It's kind of hard to think about new TV’s, cars and shopping when you are spending more on gasoline then the average person saves in a month. And all this with no end in sight.
If you ask anyone about it no one truly understands why our prices have continued to soar... Blame Iraq, OPEC or even the local gas station guy who has the privilege of hearing it everyday from angry buyers. But maybe it’s as simple as our own government and past regulations that are in place.
When looking for some tips on saving money on gas I came across this Ron Paul article. http://www.ronpaul2008.com/articles/853/a-free-market-in-gasoline/
"Most Americans agree that the American economy should not be dependent upon Middle East oil. Economist George Reisman, however, explains that our own domestic regulations make us slaves to OPEC: “Today, it is possible once again to bring about a dramatic fall in the price of oil- indeed, one even larger than occurred in the 1980s. And it could begin right away. All that is necessary is to abolish the U.S. government’s restrictions on domestic energy production inspired by the environmentalist movement.”
It goes on to mention how our own government oil and energy restrictions may be in fact helping propel the prices of oil. I agree. Ron expresses a good point as well. He would like to see a free market with little restrictions on energy production, this way all the major energy companies would have to compete with each other. We already see ads for electric cars only costing a dollar or two to drive 150+ miles. This would make the oil companies compete to lower their prices or simply get faded out.
"Federal subsidies and regulations are largely responsible for limiting the supply of refined gasoline in this country. The demand for gasoline has risen dramatically in America due to population growth in recent decades, but virtually no new refining capacity has been added. Basic economics tells us that rising demand and a fixed supply will lead to higher prices. No amount of congressional grandstanding about price gouging will change this economic reality. We must increase domestic exploration, drilling, and refining if we hope to maintain reasonable gas prices. We need more competition, which means we need less government. "
We all need to push forward and follow in Brazils footprints. They learned back in the 1980's that they needed to get away from oil... I even found it funny that Ford has been selling a fuel-flex vehicle in Brazil for quite sometime and we haven't seen them in the USA until this past year or two. With more choices the prices will level out and continue to drop. Notice how our phone, cable and gas bills continue to rise, yet we can still buy a burger for under a buck... Free trade markets keep the prices lower, its time we push for free trade on our gasoline and energy markets.
Full Article:
http://www.ronpaul2008.com/articles/853/a-free-market-in-gasoline/