It is absurd that the Senate is intiating a probe into price gouging by big oil. True...the big oil companies have made record profits in the past year as gas prices have risen to $3 a gallon... but the last time I checked the US operates under a capitalistic economy. And if I'm not mistaken the goal of a firm in a capitalistic economy is to make money. I'm really getting sick of having to explain this, but the reason this probe is absurd is because big oil has very little say when it comes to setting gas prices. Gas prices are mostly dependent on crude oil prices. The price of crude oil is in turn set by the supply and demand conditions in the global oil market. No one stops to consider the fact that some of the reason that big oil is setting marks for record profits is because India and China are emerging as major consumers of oil. It is not big oil's fault that they are raking in record profits due to the fact that right now there is a greater demand than there ever has been for oil.
The second most ridiculous item of the day -- congress has introduced a plan to offer $100 rebate checks to those with annual incomes less than 120k to help offset the price of gasoline. Great! That pays for two tanks of gas, and I'm sure that this problem will just disappear within the next month. How about using that money to help find a solution that might actually have an effect lasting longer than 4 weeks. The bill does have some upside, though -- it calls for a proposal to open drilling in ANWR. This is a solution that actually would provide some long-term relief at the pumps. And for all you bark munchers out there who are running to hug the caribou... the area exposed to drilling would be less than 1% of the total area of the wildlife refuge. Furthermore, studies have shown that caribou and other wildlife are able to live in harmony with the oil pipelines and there is no proven ecological damage.
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