Letters to the Editor
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Reality Sets In
The days of cheap and plentiful gas are over. When there are approximately 5 billion people increasing their consumption of a resource each year, it goes without saying that the resource will become more expensive. Demand goes up, price goes up. Of course, if we could wave a magic wand and suddenly come up with billions of barrels of easily accessed oil reserves this might not occur. That hasn't happened and it won't.
Instead, Bush et. al. have sat on their hands while consumption soared and did nothing to curb usage. I believe the US still outstrips both India and China in consumption. Now, McCain and Clinton have latched onto one of the worst ideas to come along in a while. Make gasoline artificially less expensive by eliminating the federal taxes on it, despite the fact that these taxes go directly to transportation systems and needed jobs. No, far better to stick a very small bandaid on the problem and watch as the price of gasoline jumps as more Americans delude themselves into believing that consumption (demand) doesn't drive the price. It does folks.