The Causes and Effects of High Gas Prices
Note:  There is now a companion page about The Causes and Effects of High Oil Prices, which deals with the crude oil supply, the worldwide market, the controversy over offshore drilling, refinery capacity and many other issues.

Much has been said about high gas prices recently, starting in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans and the retail price of gasoline spiked for a few weeks.  But the price of gas has a number of causes and effects that aren't discussed in any great detail on TV news shows.  (Other than sports and weather, nothing is discussed in much detail on television, but that's another story.)  This page represents an attempt to fill in the gaps.

Radical environmentalists and their friends in the news media would have you believe that high gas prices are primarily the result of corporate greed, poor planning, and insufficient government intervention.  In reality, this is a matter of supply and demand, and it is not the proper role of government to intervene.

The major causes of high gas prices include the increased demand for oil in places like China and India, high gasoline taxes, civil unrest in Venezuela, war in the Middle East, political instability in Nigeria, and too few refineries in the U.S.  Demand is kept high (in part) by people who prefer the comfort and safety of large trucks and SUV's regardless of their lower fuel economy.  If they can afford the gas, I support their freedom to choose any vehicle they want.  But a huge part of the supply problem is due to environmental regulations (and environmentalists' opposition to new refineries), and political opposition to oil exploration in the Gulf of Mexico and in parts of Alaska. 

Gasoline supplies are impeded by regulations that require specialized blends of gasoline for certain parts of the country.  Gasoline used to be essentially the same nationwide, but there are many different "flavors" of gas sold now, in some cases for specific counties.  Generally this seems to cause the price of gas to be higher in and around big cities.

Another factor that drives up the cost is the political opposition to offshore drilling.

One reason for the surge in gas prices during the early summer months is the number of people who drive to their vacation destinations.  More and more people are driving, I think, because of what they would have to go through at the airport, just to travel 400 miles.

Some people think the oil companies make astronomical profits.  But if you really believe that's true, you should keep quiet and buy stock in ExxonMobil!  I challenge you to buy a barrel of crude oil and see if you can make gasoline out of it for less than $10.00 a gallon.

If you find gas prices unaffordable, and if you don't mind squeezing into a crowded bus or train with a bunch of smelly and nasty strangers, you might consider mass transit as an alternative.

Gasoline is a bargain at $4.00 a gallon.  Get used to it.  Driving a car is a luxury for which we should be grateful.  And don't get your hopes up about Ethanol, because that's not the perfect solution either.

When you're finished here, check out the Oil and Gas section of the Environmental False Alarms page.

First of all, the price of everything is going up.  There's a subsection about generalized inflation at the bottom of the page.

In addition to groceries, cigarettes, diapers and gold, the price of gasoline is constantly going up.

Note:  The newest information is at the top of this subsection.  The farther down you go, the older it gets, in other words.  But that might be of some interest to you if you're looking into the recent history of high gas prices.




Top 10 misguided energy policies.  [#10] High gas prices:  Interior Secretary Ken Salazar recently called Republican energy plans "fairy tales" and "falsehoods."  Salazar, asked at a different event if the cost of gas was headed to $9 per gallon, responded by saying, "Where it all will end, no one knows."  What we do know is that Barack Obama and the environmental lobby have long wanted higher gas prices to "save" the planet from global warming.  Which party believes in fairy tales, Mr. Salazar?

The Media's Annual Spring Spin on Gas Prices.  It would be humorous if it weren't so insane.  But for the media it's become almost a game.  They scored points blaming Bush and now rack them up defending Obama.  Nowhere is that more apparent than with gas prices.  So here we are again, with prices shooting skyward and a president and an energy secretary who have both previously said they supported high gas prices.  Stephen Chu, you'll recall, said, "somehow we have to figure out how to boost the price of gasoline to the levels in Europe," according to The Wall Street Journal.

Falling Gasoline Prices Aren't Seen Helping Obama.  Gasoline prices may be falling but don't expect that to help President Barack Obama in November's presidential elections, experts and poll results say.  High gasoline prices can hurt a president in an election year, but when they fall, people forget about them, and they become a non-issue.

Mandating specific fuels can have enormous costs.
 CAFE, RFS Endanger Convenience Stores, Study Cautions.  Today, the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) published a study on the challenges facing the more than 120,000 U.S. convenience stores that sell motor fuel in a market increasingly shaped by the competing requirements of two federal programs:  renewable fuel standard (RFS, a.k.a. the ethanol mandate) and corporate average fuel economy (CAFE).

Obama Energy Policies Have Cost Economy $358 Billion.  The American people need to pay more attention to the facts and less to the rhetoric.  President Obama boasts about how he is helping most American families; however, his poor energy policies have cost the 120 million households in our country an average of $3,000 per household due to gasoline prices alone.

Cabinets gone wild.  [Scroll down]  Then there is the even stranger case of Energy Secretary Steven Chu, whose department helped oversee millions in bad loans to green companies like Solyndra, First Solar and Solar Trust of America — the Teapot Dome scandals of our times.  Chu once infamously quipped before assuming office that he wanted U.S. gas prices to reach European levels.

10 Things That Would Be Happening Today If Obama's Policies Were Working.  [#3]  Judging by the number of times Barack Obama attacked George W. Bush for high gas prices and Obama's insistence that alternative fuels are a viable alternative to gasoline, you'd expect plentiful, cheap gas at under $2.00 a gallon as opposed to more than a doubling of the price of gas to $3.80 per gallon.

Seven Of The Most Disturbing Quotes From Members Of The Obama Administration.  [#7]  "Somehow we have to figure out how to boost the price of gasoline to the levels in Europe." — Steven Chu, Energy Secretary.  Ever wonder why gas prices are so high under Obama?  Could it be because Obama's Energy Secretary wants to dramatically increase the price of gas?  Gas is more than $8 a gallon in most of Western Europe.  Guess that gives them something to shoot for if Obama gets a second term.

Salazar: 'No one knows' if US headed to $9/gal gas.  Department of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said that "no one knows" if gasoline prices in the United States will reach $9 per gallon, and acknowledged that the possibility is outside his control.

Pain At The Pump And Pain At The Checkout Line.  Pump prices are now more than $2 higher than they were when President Obama took office.  For a middle-class family that fills up, say, two cars with 15-gallon gas tanks each week, that amounts to an extra $3,100 a year — no small expense.

Obama's New Gas Price Scapegoat.  High gas prices are not a president's friend, especially in an election year, so it's not surprising that President Barack Obama is trying his darndest to shift the blame for record-high fuel prices onto something other than his failed energy policies.  Yesterday [4/17/2012] he made a desperate attempt to distract from those failures and redirect America's gas price rage with a flawed proposal to punish speculators for supposedly driving up the cost of energy.

Obama reframes gas prices as GOP problem.  President Barack Obama is trying to portray himself as the hard-nosed protector of gasoline-buying consumers, and to frame the GOP's free market policies as one cause of rising gasoline prices.

Speculation is a two-way street.  The flood of investor money into commodities, mostly in the form of exchange-traded funds, has certainly added to the level of speculation in the market.  But the notion that eliminating speculation would solve the problem of high gas prices is simply wrong-headed.

Gas prices are complex, but not mysterious.  Every 1-cent increase in the retail price of gasoline translates into about $1 billion annually in higher costs for American consumers.  If the nation truly wants to address the wild roller coaster of price swings, it's important to understand the factors that affect prices.

Why Your Highway Has Potholes.  In a typical year only about 65 cents of every gas tax dollar is spent on roads and highways.  The rest is intercepted by the public transit lobby and Congressional earmarkers. [...] One reason roads are shortchanged is that liberals believe too many Americans drive cars.  Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has been pushing a strange "livability" agenda, which he defines as "being able to take your kids to school, go to work, see a doctor, drop by the grocery or post office, go out to dinner and a movie, and play with your kids in a park, all without having to get in your car."  This is the mind of the central planner at work, imagining that Americans all want to live in his little utopia.

Bush Lowered Gas Prices, Obama Is Raising Them.  When gasoline prices rose under George W. Bush, the Democrats went crazy with accusations of how he and Vice President Dick Cheney were putting their allegiance to "big oil" over their allegiance to the American people.  However, even amid their unfounded criticisms, Bush was able to bring gas prices down to approximately $1.84 a gallon simply by pushing for expanded drilling both on the continental U.S. and offshore.  (For the record, the Democrats who were criticizing Bush for high gas prices also did their best to keep him from expanding drilling.)

Economy Can Handle Higher Gas Prices: Geithner.  The U.S. economy is in a better position to deal with high gasoline prices, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Sunday [4/15/2012], adding that unseasonably warm winter had lowered overall energy costs for consumers.

Obama Peddles Myths About High Gas Prices.  To hear President Obama talk about energy, you'd think annual oil price spikes were routine and predictable.  But it's another energy myth Obama peddles to avoid responsibility for high gas prices.

Higher gas prices cause less public anger this time.  Gas prices have soared about 15% in the last six months, hitting $3.94 a gallon on average nationwide, and $4.29 in California.

Obama's Favored Policy Would Boost Gasoline's Prices.  President Obama wants us to think he can compel oil companies to lower the pump price of gasoline, by eliminating business tax deductions for certain major companies, and raising their cost of doing business by what he admits would be $4 billion a year.  In reality, the companies will have to pass the tax hikes on to their customers — further increasing pump prices.

Restricting Supply To Boost Prices.  In 2008, in response to record-high gasoline prices, both Congress and President Bush lifted the decades-long ban on offshore drilling.  This opened the entire Pacific and Atlantic Coast to new offshore drilling.  When President Obama took office, the price of gasoline was $1.79 a gallon.  Look where it is now after he reversed Bush's policy and restored the ban.

States with highest gas prices back Obama.  There is a curious relationship between a state's gas prices and presidential politics.  The higher the price of gasoline, the higher President Obama's prospects of winning that state.

The Editor says...
 That's one way to look at it.  Here's another:  The states where leftist tax-and-spend Democrats are in charge are the states where the cost of living is the highest.

High gas prices lead to spike in fuel theft.  Everyone knows it's important to protect your valuables, and with high fuel prices, that means the gas in your car as well.  With the national average price of gas is currently around $4 a gallon, a spike in fuel theft has followed.  Thieves have become more creative and more persistent in recent months.

'O' Canada!  President Obama must be planning to skip this year's presidential election and run for prime minister of Canada instead.  Why else, after all, would he be working so hard to help Canada open new markets for its oil outside the US and attract higher prices — even as motorists here are increasingly socked every time they fill up their tanks?

7 Devastating Facts About the Obama Economy.  [#3]  On the last day of President Bush's presidency, gas prices were $1.84 a gallon.  Today under Obama, the average price of a gallon of gas costs $3.94.

Obama is an ignoramus on the causes of high fuel prices.  Kudos to David Goldman (AKA "Spengler") for eviscerating President Obama's ignorant musings on why oil prices are going up. [...] If oil supply cannot keep up with demand — because the Obama administration has restricted development, among other factors — the oil price goes up.

More "Transformation" from Obama: $7 a Gallon Gas!  While millions of Americans suffer the economic anguish of ever-escalating gasoline prices in a morbid economy, environmental elitists in the Obama Administration have cause for celebration.  To wit, gasoline prices have reached $7 a gallon as the Obama-Chu goal of $8 a gallon edge closer to reality.

Virginians are paying too much at the pump.  No matter where I am in Virginia, a top concern on people's minds these days is punishingly high gasoline prices.  We've all felt the shock at gas stations.  To fill a 20-gallon tank costs an additional $40 or more than it did just three years ago.

Gas pains.  Based on the latest forecasts, gasoline prices at the pump will be on the rise over the next couple of months as the summer driving season kicks into gear.  Five bucks a gallon, here we come.  You know what that means in an election year:  Trouble for incumbents.

Gas numbers game is a loser for Obama.  President Obama's poll numbers are up and the country's unemployment figures are down — but $4 gas poses a potent threat to the incumbent's re-election bid, polls show.  Voters are giving Mr. Obama an emphatic thumbs down for his handling of gas prices — 68 percent disapprove of his response to the problem in the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll.

How to lower gasoline prices (and fix everything else).  Do you think that monopoly capitalism is the reason why you're now paying $4 for a gallon of gasoline?  Then ask yourself why you paid only $3.20 for the same gallon in January.

Obama Gets Noisy About Gas Again.  If the president gets his way, oil companies will see their tax bills raised.  They will pass that increase onto you at the pump.

Obama's Fake "Fossil Fuel Infatuation Tour".  For the past three years, America's oil industry has endured public denigration, access denials, and permitting delays — all while the President touts the virtues of energy sources not equipped to power America:  wind, solar, and, most recently, algae.  As gas prices have been spiking up, President Obama has been speaking out against the evil oil companies and accusing them of obscene profits.  Apparently, Americans haven't been buying into the rhetoric.  Polls show increasing numbers of people believe the President's policies have contributed to the high prices.

Blame Obama, Not Oil Companies For High Prices.  Last week's average price for regular gasoline hit $3.94 a gallon, according to the Dept. of Energy.  That's up 11 cents in just three weeks, and more than $2 a gallon since Obama took office.  So who gets the blame?  Obama for cutting oil production on federal lands and killing Keystone XL pipeline, for endlessly berating the industry and offhandedly dismissing oil as "yesterday's fuel"?  Nope, almost half of Americans in the latest IBD/TIPP poll blame oil companies and Wall Street speculators, the two players that have nothing whatever to do with the pain at the pump.

Sticker shock at the pump.  Obama and Democratic Senate push for higher gas prices.

Gas-price politics impacts Obama's environmental issues.  With rising gasoline prices fueling election-year political rhetoric, the Obama administration is accelerating moves it can paint as energy-friendly while putting the brakes on some environmental initiatives that opponents could blame for raising costs.  Among the stalled proposals is a requirement that refiners make gasoline that emits 67 percent less sulfur — 10 parts per million down from the 30 ppm permitted now.

Gas tops $3.90 a gallon.  The average price rose 1.3 cents to $3.911 in the latest daily survey conducted for the motorist group AAA.  The price has risen for 19 consecutive days.

Gas Prices: Obama's Misery Index.  When Barack Obama took office in 2009, gasoline prices were about $1.84 a gallon:  which means Americans could get more than two gallons of gasoline for the price they're paying for one gallon of gasoline now. ... And this is all thanks to Obama's opposition to offshore drilling, particularly in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska, his rejection of the Keystone Pipeline, and his refusal to expand domestic oil production significantly.

US Citizens Angry With Obama Over Gas Prices.  More than two-thirds of Americans disapprove of the way President Barack Obama is handling high gasoline prices, although most do not blame him for them, according to a Reuters/Ipsos online poll released on Tuesday [3/27/2012].

Gasoline prices hit record: $4.67 in Chicago; $4.51 in metro area.  The average price of unleaded regular gas in the Chicago metropolitan area [3/26/2012] was $4.51 a gallon, surpassing by 4 cents the high of $4.47 reached May 5, 2011, according to AAA, Wright Express and the Oil Price Information Service.

The Gas Price Kerfuffle: Obama's Achilles Heel?  As gas prices rise to $5 during the summer driving season, Obama is feeling the heat but has not produced new ideas.  On the contrary; all his policies tend to make gas more costly — opening the door for GOP initiatives. ... The Obama administration has shown little interest in lowering gas prices.

Obama's Energy Tour was a Political Disaster.  President Obama's energy tour was supposed to placate public anger over rising gas prices, and show voters that the White House is taking their concerns seriously.  Instead, the tour only ended up highlighting Obama's dismal energy record, and gave Republicans ample opportunity to make their case to the media.  The reason is that Americans have heard these promises from Obama before, and know better than to expect results.

Gas prices set record in Hilo.  The average price of a gallon of regular gasoline reached a record high today [3/22/2012] in Hilo of $4.669, according to AAA Hawaii's daily fuel gauge report.  The state average for gas is $4.50 a gallon, 9 cents below the record price set in May 2011.

Industry group: Obama should help lower gas prices.  President Barack Obama could lower gas prices by opening up more federal land and offshore areas for oil drilling, American Petroleum Institute President Jack Gerard said Tuesday [3/20/2012].  Gerard, on a conference call with reporters, argued that Obama is misguided in saying "there's no silver bullet" to combat high world oil prices or rising prices at the pump.  "We strongly disagree, and so do most Americans," said Gerard, who heads the industry organization.

Faith-Based Energy Policy.  Americans remember that [President Obama's] team boasted about wanting higher energy costs in 2008, when Obama was still basking in hope-and-change adulation.  Energy Secretary-designate Steven Chu, who doesn't own a car, pontificated about wanting higher American gasoline prices, hoping they would somehow reach European levels.  Candidate Obama breezily warned of skyrocketing energy prices — the necessary cost of his planned cap-and-trade, anti-global-warming legislation.  Senator Ken Salazar of Colorado, who was soon to become interior secretary, bragged that even if gas reached $10 a gallon, he would not vote to open up new federal offshore oil leases.

Obama Mocks Critics As Gas Prices Go Up.  Gas prices keep going up, with no end in sight.  But instead of taking action to bring relief to the American people, the Obama Administration is patting itself on the back for a job well done while mocking those who are calling for a commonsense energy policy.

The Old Democrat Party: FDR Expanded US Domestic Oil Production.  For three years the Obama Administration energy policy focused on pouring $60 billion into alternative energy; while limiting U.S. drilling off the Atlantic Coast, Florida Gulf Coast, Gulf of Mexico, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and federal lands in the Rockies.  Due to these policies, the average price per gallon of gas just hit an all-time-high for this time of year at $3.84 a gallon.

Recycling renewable-energy rhetoric.  At a congressional hearing Tuesday on Department of Energy green-energy programs, Secretary Steven Chu said, "I am not an expert on oil reserves."  You don't say.  In 2008, Mr. Chu famously said, "Somehow we have to figure out how to boost the price of gasoline to the levels in Europe," revealing a level of animus toward oil that President Obama's handpicked energy secretary has carried with him throughout his tenure as America's chief energy policymaker.

Obama's Jokes Are On Us.  Before President Obama chose him to be his Secretary of Anti-Energy, Berkeley Professor Steven Chu said what America needs is the same gas prices as Europe.  That is $8 to $10 a gallon.  He believes that because he thinks that is good for the environment. ... Why did President Obama choose Chu for his Energy Secretary?  Because Obama agrees with him.

How to Beat Obama:  Gas prices are through the roof; the economy remains in shambles; the situation in the Middle East has never been so tenuous.  And yet nearly half of all Americans think Obama's doing a decent job.  Which shows that nearly half of Americans are either dependent on the government or devoid of common sense or both.

Cheaper Gasoline Starts at the EPA.  One factor driving up the price is the impending closure of large Northeast refineries due to oppressive EPA regulations unilaterally imposed by Lisa Jackson of Obama's EPA.  Boutique blend requirements for different markets imposes extra costs on refineries and make them less profitable.  Want to drive gasoline prices down?  Fire Lisa Jackson and impose a six-month moratorium on the EPA regulations hamstringing the market.

Chu: I would give myself an 'A' for energy prices.  Energy Secretary Steven Chu told a House panel Tuesday [3/20/2012] that he'd give himself top marks when asked to grade his policies' effects on energy prices.

The President's Great Gas Price Spike Media Blitz.  The White House campaign team has created an enormous smoke screen to hide the connection between its leftist energy policy and high gas prices.

No Relief in Sight at Pump.  U.S. gasoline prices jumped 6% in February, and market experts predict they will climb higher because critical refining operations in the Northeast are shutting down.  From New York to Philadelphia, refineries that turn oil into gasoline have been idled or shut permanently because their owners are losing money on them.

Bait and switch at the gas station.  As President Obama always intended, high gas prices are "transforming" America. ... Consumer advocate Chris Churchill of the Albany Times-Union reports on a few cases of deceptive gasoline pricing, with what effectively amounts to a hidden surcharge for those who don't pay in cash.

Obama burns a zillion gallons of fuel to escape blame for high gas prices.  President Obama is very unhappy about his crashing poll numbers, and he wants Americans to know he's the first president in history whose policies have absolutely nothing to do with the price of gas.

Gas prices up for 8th straight day.  The national average price for a gallon of gasoline rose for the eighth straight day on Saturday [3/17/2012] to $3.835.  That is now only about 7% below the record high of $4.11 from July 2008.

Americans Have Become Compliant.  Over the past several years, gasoline prices have been shooting through the roof, but not to worry.  President Barack Obama's current secretary of energy, Steven Chu, said in December 2008, "Somehow we have to figure out how to boost the price of gasoline to the levels in Europe."  That translates to $8 or $9 a gallon.

How do they know?
 Gas prices forecast to top out at an average $4 a gallon.  Nearly one-third of the nation's drivers now fork out $4 or more for a gallon of gasoline.  After a 32-cent jump in the past month, regular gasoline averages $3.83 nationwide.  But price analysis of major metropolitan areas and 10 states — home to more than 65 million of the nation's 210 million drivers — shows even more pain at the pump, especially in heavily populated California, New York and Illinois.

These Gas Prices Are Obama's Gas Prices.  Barack Obama has spent his presidency finding scapegoats and fleeing responsibility.  For example, our massive deficit is not his fault.  Rather, it's George W. Bush's fault.  Our painfully high unemployment isn't his fault either.  Rather, it's due to the fact that "the economy is so automated."  He's even tried to assure us that we can't blame him for the sharp rise in gasoline prices we've seen under his watch either.  Rather, he boasts that he's expanded domestic oil production to its highest point in the last eight years.

Obama in Full Crisis-Control Mode on Gas Prices.  Gasoline prices have soared this year from an average of $3.29 in the first week of January to $3.82 on Thursday [3/15/2012].  Obama's poll numbers have fallen commensurately:  Last month, the CBS News/New York Times poll registered a 50 percent approval rating for Obama.  Now, the same poll shows the president's approval rating at 41 percent.

Rising gas prices can be directly attributed to Obama's failed energy policy.  The stated plan of the Obama administration, or at least their stated goal, was to see gas prices rise "to the level of Europe" so alternative energy sources would be more feasible, affordable and attractive.  Or that's how I remember it.  So here we are, headed that way.  But while the administration may find that to be a good thing, most Americans watching gas prices rise ... don't.

Real inflation: 7.2 percent and rising.  The killer question of politics, asked by Ronald Reagan when he ran against Jimmy Carter, was "Are you better off than you were four years ago?"  Everything is worse today than it was four years ago.  It's increasingly difficult for Barack Obama to hide the damage from people who are being told to stock up on toothpaste, and eat beans instead of meat to offset rising gas prices.

Drivers fume as local gas prices break the $4 barrier.  Gas prices are soaring past $4 in the District [of Columbia], and they're not expected to drop anytime soon, leaving Washingtonians to think about changing their driving habits and maybe their votes.  Drivers paid on average $4.01 per gallon in D.C. on Tuesday [3/13/2012], $3.82 in Maryland and $3.70 in Virginia.

High Gas Prices: Bad for America, Good for an Election.  [Scroll down]  Instead of beating up on each other, the Republican candidates need to grab the ball and run with it:  attack President Obama for his abysmal record on energy, maximize the Keystone debacle, point out the damage to the Gulf economy his drilling ban inflicted, keep the EPA's barrage of cost-increasing regulations front and center, and quote [Steven] Chu.

Obama's pump debacle.  As gasoline prices climb, President Obama's poll numbers plummet.

Chu renounces his desire for higher gas prices.  President Obama's Energy Secretary, Steven Chu, renounced his previously-stated desire to see gas prices rise to match European levels in order to motivate alternative energy research, telling the Senate today that he wants gas prices to fall for the sake of the economy.

Obama energy chief disavows '08 remark favoring higher gas prices.  Energy Secretary Steven Chu on Tuesday [3/13/2012] disavowed his 2008 comments about increasing gas prices to European levels, remarks that Republicans have pounced on in recent weeks.  "I no longer share that view," Chu said during a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing, adding that he wants to lower gas prices.

Rising gas prices hamper Obama.  Four years ago, presidential candidate Barack Obama held a photo-op news conference at a gas station near Indianapolis to decry the nation's ineffective energy policy and complain about "gas that's approaching $4 a gallon."  At the time, the price of a gallon of regular unleaded at Joe's Junction was $3.55.  Nowadays, the price of gas at the same station under President Obama has topped $3.80...

Gas prices top $3.80 a gallon.  The national average price for a gallon of gasoline rose above the $3.80 mark Monday [3/12/2012], resuming the advance that has plagued drivers throughout the winter.

Poll: Most say Obama tanking on gas.  Almost two-thirds of Americans, 65 percent, said they disapprove of the way President Barack Obama is dealing with rising prices at the pump, a new Washington Post/ABC News poll finds.  Only 26 percent — the president's lowest rating in the poll — said they approve of his handling of gas prices, while a majority, 52 percent, said they "strongly" disapprove.

Obama's Covert Plan To Raise Gas Prices.  President Barack Obama's energy plan involves radically increasing gas prices to the European rate of about $10 a gallon.  And he's well on his way, as gas prices have more than doubled since he took office in January 2009, when gasoline was only $1.79 per gallon.  And he's scheming to double prices again in his second term, with you footing the bill.

Top 10 Obama energy blunders.  Of course energy prices are exploding.  That's what the President wanted all along.  Remember his famous utterance, saying that under his policies, "electricity prices will necessarily skyrocket."  Also telling was his selection of Steven Chu as energy secretary.  Chu once said that it was important for U.S. gas prices to mirror Europe's sky-high petrol costs.  It looks like he may be getting his wish.

Why Are Gasoline Prices High (And What Can Be Done About It)?  The gas price consumers pay at the pump reflects the world price of oil, state and federal taxes, and other factors such as escalating refining costs, environmental regulations, and the Federal Reserve's monetary policy.  Understanding what goes into the cost of gasoline is key to understanding what the government could do to lower gasoline prices.

Gasoline prices jump 9 cents overnight in Houston.  Gasoline prices jumped 9 cents overnight to $3.66 in Houston today [3/10/2012], and over the past week, prices at the pump are up 10 cents, according to AAA gas gauge.  Gas prices are up 25 cents over the past month.

How Obama Is Choking Off U.S. Oil Production.  The news wires are reporting that President Obama actively lobbied Senate Democrats to defeat the Keystone pipeline yesterday.  The effect of blocking the Keystone XL Pipeline is to defer 700,000 barrels of oil per day.  And as I reported at The Weekly Standard recently, the president's policy of choking off oil production under federal leases will prevent another 1 million barrels of oil per day this year, and even more next year.  Obama will soon be personally responsible for preventing some 2 million barrels per day of possible North American crude oil production from reaching the American economy.

Obama's energy abyss: He keeps wasting money on renewables.  ["]Somehow we have to figure out how to boost the price of gasoline to the levels in Europe," Steven Chu, now the energy secretary, said in a 2008 interview with the Wall Street Journal.  A gallon of regular costs more than $8 there.  The Oil Price Information Service thinks the average price here will rise to $4.25 a gallon by the end of April.  That would exceed the record of $4.11, set in July 2008.  A gallon of regular cost just $1.85 the day before President Barack Obama was inaugurated.

Obama's Driving Americans out of Cars.  Do rising gas prices distress the leading intellects in the Obama administration?  There is good reason to believe the opposite.  John Holdren is Obama's White House science and technology adviser.  In 1973, he joined with population control advocates Paul Ehrlich and Anne Ehrlich in writing an environmentalist manifesto titled "Human Ecology: Problems and Solutions."  It called for government action to find "alternative activities" for the auto industry.

Democrats are solely and entirely to blame for high gas prices.
 Senate kills amendment to expand offshore oil drilling.  The Senate on Thursday [3/8/2012] defeated an amendment offered by Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) that would have thrown open the doors for increased oil drilling and exploration along America's coasts.  Floor manager for the pending highway bill Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) led the opposition that resulted in the 46-52 defeat...

Obama Supported Higher Gas Prices in 2008.  President Barack Obama mocked a suggestion that he wants higher gasoline prices during an election year, although as a candidate in 2008 he suggested that higher prices might be desirable if there was a "gradual adjustment."

Obama really is the non-energy president.  In his weekly radio address Feb. 25, the President said that "under my administration, America is producing more oil today than at any time in the last eight years.  In 2010, our dependence on foreign oil was under 50 percent for the first time in more than a decade." ... These claims ... are nothing but spin.  While it's true that U.S. oil and natural gas production are up, this is not thanks to, but in spite of Obama.  All the increased production has come from state and private lands, where the President has little power.  On federal lands controlled by Obama, production has actually fallen.

Oil is 'the fuel of the past', says President Obama.  President Barack Obama on Wednesday [6/7/2012] dismissed oil as "the fuel of the past" as he made an unapologetic election-year pitch for his alternative energy industry policies and sniped at Republicans over painfully high gasoline prices.  "They get out on the campaign trail — and you and I both know there are no quick fixes to this problem — but listening to them, you'd think there were," he said at a Daimler Truck manufacturing plant in the battleground state of North Carolina.

Mich. 'Drive-Off' Plan: Swipe Drivers' Licenses.  A Saginaw, Michigan business owner says requiring customers to swipe their drivers' licenses when topping off their tanks could stop drive-offs — clients leaving gas stations without paying.  Privacy advocates, however, say the new "Post-Pay" method subjects innocent customers to potential identity theft.  Bob Hohn, president of Paxson Oil Company, invented Post-Pay because he was fed up with costly drive-offs.  Post-Pay makes it easier for police to catch people who pump-and-run without paying.

The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is for emergencies — not political disasters.  With the price of gas rising, Americans are feeling pain at the pump and President Obama is feeling the heat.  Three years of his failed energy policies have done nothing to give America energy security.  About the only quick fix the president has available is to tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.  That's what he did last June when he sold 30 million barrels of oil to address rising gas prices.  It is almost inevitable that Mr. Obama will try tapping the reserve again.  The only question is when he will do it.  Raiding our emergency reserves now would be nothing more than a campaign trick.

Gas prices climb again, topping $3.76.  The nationwide average for gasoline prices rose for the 26th straight day Sunday [3/4/2012], topping the $3.76-a-gallon mark, according to the motorist group AAA.

UK: welfare to be less than what a worker earns.  With a gallon of gasoline now topping $8 — roughly $5 of that for taxes — British Prime Minister David Cameron and Parliament had to rein in government spending, and that meant entitlements.  The Welfare Reform Bill cleared the House of Lords and will cap family benefits at £26,000 a year — $40,000.

Barack's Presidency Finally Runs Out of Gas.  The most surreal episode yet of Obama's weird, contra-factual presidency recently occurred.  First, he condescendingly blocked the 1.1 million barrel-a-day Keystone Canada-to-US pipeline, in the hallowed name of environmentalism.  Then, following almost immediately, gas prices sky-rocketed.  But, Barack managed to top even this logical perversity.  He then gave a speech, apropos of nothing, defying the notion that drilling (or pipelining!) could possibly lessen USA's dependence on foreign petroleum.  He tagged this notion a "bumper sticker," i.e. a cliche representing a political hoax.  Finally, he chortled at Republican's silly belief in stateside petroleum development.

Here's another energy 'silver bullet' Obama should fire.  With gas prices heading toward $4 per gallon and beyond, President Obama repeatedly declares that "there are no silver bullets" to make the numbers on service station pumps go back down and that it is impossible "to drill our way" out of trouble.  In fact, a look at rig counts in the natural gas industry during recent years points to a different conclusion.

Return of the gasoline thieves.  [Scroll down]  As the WINK report goes on to note, there isn't much farmers can do about this, beyond camouflaging their gasoline depots from orbital detection, in the manner of SCUD missile launchers.  "With prices continuing to climb with no relief in sight," the report advises, "lock things up and always call police if you see anything suspicious."  But don't bother calling anyone about those suspicious climbing prices.  That's deliberate Obama Administration policy, working exactly the way it's supposed to.

The Gaseous Policies of Barack Obama.  So what exactly is the administration's reaction to skyrocketing gas prices?  That should be an absurd question — except that we know administration officials are either on record as indifferent to the high cost of gasoline or, in fact, hoping for higher prices.  Consider also the cancellation of the Keystone pipeline; the restrictions of new federal oil leases in the West, Alaska, offshore and in the gulf; Obama's prior promises that energy prices would skyrocket because of his efforts to enact cap-and-trade; his boast to help Brazil out by importing its new offshore oil finds; his worries only over the abrupt rate of gas increases in 2011 rather than his desire for gradual, steadier escalation; Energy Secretary Chu's various statements that high prices were not such a concern and indeed that he wished to see gas reach European levels (e.g., $8-10 a gallon); Interior Secretary Salazar's insistence that even $10 a gallon gas would not open up new federal oil lands; and on and on.

Obama: Relief from high gas prices is just 13 short years away.  Isn't this the same President who was recently flogging the slogan "We Can't Wait" to explain why he was doing end-runs around Congress?  Now he's telling you to wait 13 years for relief at the pump, when you'll be able to save "$8,000 at the pump over time," thanks to increased fuel efficiency standards that will cost you an extra $5000 per vehicle, leaving millions of Americans unable to afford a car at all.

The Editor says...
 In other words, the price of gas will still be just as high in 13 years, but your little two-seat go-cart won't use very much gas, so you should thank Barack Obama.

See?  It's not Obama's fault.  You're just driving the wrong car!
 Obama: Fuel-efficient cars an answer to gas prices.  President Barack Obama says higher auto mileage standards set under his administration and better cars built by a resurgent U.S. auto industry will save money at the gas pump over the long term, a counterpoint to Republican criticism of his energy policy.

Poll finds Obama, oil companies blamed the most for spike in gasoline prices.  President Obama is the top target of public blame for rising gasoline prices, but views on the matter are highly fragmented, a new poll finds.  The Pew Research Center-Washington Post poll shows 18 percent of people surveyed think Obama deserves the most blame, but there's a partisan divide.

About Those Gas Prices.  The Obama administration is increasingly concerned with the possibility of economic crisis, provoked by Iran, heading into election season.  Mounting tensions with the Islamic Republic are already driving gas prices toward $4 a gallon at the pump.  Taken in context of the delicate economic recovery, a global shortfall of 500,000 barrels a day — if Iran is excluded from the market — or some 10 million barrels per day — if Iran shuts down the Strait of Hormuz — spells a potential energy calamity for Obama's White House.

Chu must have told the truth.  [Scroll down]  Once in ... office, President Obama has revoked coal permits and forced at least a half-dozen coal plants to shut down.  On Tuesday [2/28/2012], Stephen Chu got caught testifying before Congress that his department could not care less about the rising price of gasoline.

Chu: Decrease dependency on oil, not gas prices.  Rep. Alan Nunnelee of Mississippi challenged Chu on rising gas prices, reminding him that it was a "cruel tax" on the poor people of his state and suggested that the Obama administration was dragging its feet on oil exploration.  Chu said that he was aware of the rising prices, and cited "agressive efforts" to develop alternative fuels for transportation such as natrual [sic] gas, electrification, and bio-fuels for American vehicles as a solution.

GOP Senator Criticizes Obama for Keeping a Campaign Promise to Send Gas Prices 'Skyrocketing'.  The chairman of the Senate Republican Conference said Wednesday [2/29/2012] that of all the campaign promises President Obama made leading up to the 2008 election, rising gasoline prices may be the one promise he kept.  "It may be the one issue where the president of the United States has kept a campaign promise because on his watch, since January 2009, gas prices have doubled," Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.).

Petrol hits an all-time high.  Petrol prices have hit an all-time high today [3/2/2012] as the cost of unleaded continues the march towards the £100 fill-up.  Prices at the pump have reached 137.44p, beating the previous record 137.43p — set in May last year — by 0.01p.  Diesel is up to 144.67p — another new record, said the AA.

Networks Skip Obama Administration Admission: 'Overall Goal' Not to Get Price of Gas Down.  The three networks have, thus far, skipped Tuesday's revelation by Energy Secretary Steven Chu that the "overall goal" of the Obama administration isn't to get gas prices down.  This is despite the fact that ABC, NBC and CBS have previously focused on the rising gasoline prices in general.  Politico reported, Tuesday [2/28/2012], "The Energy Department isn't working to lower gasoline prices directly, Secretary Steven Chu said Tuesday after a Republican lawmaker scolded him for his now-infamous 2008 comment that gas prices in the U.S. should be as high as in Europe."

Dying to be Green.  Americans complaining about high gas and oil prices can buckle up because what is happening in Europe is only a taste of what is coming this way.  Last year UK petrol prices hit 6 pounds per gallon.  That's nearly 10 dollars, though for the imperial gallon, which is greater than the US gallon.  If you think it costs a lot to fill up a tank now, consider that the UK has a better ratio of production to population than we do.  The high prices aren't an accident; they're part of the green program.  The Obama agenda isn't to make energy prices affordable.  It's to make them so horribly impossible to afford that we'll use less energy.

Like the Price of Gas? Just Wait!  The worthy journalists of the mainstream media have not seen fit to raise urgent questions about the soaring price of gas, and the current the current administration's role in causing it.  Contrast that with the intensely critical commentary directed at George W. Bush when gas spiked during the latter part of his tenure, and you can almost taste the difference.  Of course, the MSM silence is not amazing at all.  President Obama is the darling of the media, and they want desperately to see him re-elected.

Ten Indications That Obama Is Scared.  [#6]  Obama is deathly afraid of the unvarnished truth.  The Truth Team's assignment is to varnish it.  So now Obama was for Keystone XL and the 20,000 jobs that it didn't create.  High gas prices are good for the economy in the form of higher revenues and more lives saved, due to less driving.  Welfare is good for the economy, actually generating $1.85 return for every $1 spent.  That's the truth, and they're sticking with it.

Ever Get the Feeling the American People Are Going One Way and Obama Is Going Another?  The American people don't see things the way Obama does:  they certainly don't see proper governance of this country the way he does. ... He sees a green car nation although America is still a SUV nation.  People own SUVs and pickup trucks because those are the vehicles they want, and in many cases the vehicles they need, for their families or for their jobs.

Darrell Issa: Obama being fueled by Bush.  Rep. Darrell Issa on Wednesday [2/29/2012] accused President Barack Obama of "benefiting" from drilling policies enacted under President George W. Bush, as he warned amid rising gas prices that oil supplies are poised to "dry up" sooner rather than later.

Who's dishonest?
 Carney: "Dishonest" Republicans Say Drilling Or Keystone Pipeline Would Lower Gas Prices.  White House press secretary Jay Carney opened his daily briefing by saying President Obama was right, that Republicans are "politicizing the issue of gas prices."  Carney says Republicans are "dishonest" if they think "simply by drilling or approving the Keystone XL pipeline that that would lower gas prices."

Mad About High Gas Prices? Then Chu On This.  This has been a mantra of Obama's for years:  There's nothing anyone can do about gasoline prices, so the only option is to find "alternative" fuel sources.  It's total bunk.  Recoverable oil has never been more plentiful, as the industry finds new sources and develops new drilling technologies.  The oil boom in North Dakota is proof enough of that.  In fact, according to the Institute for Energy Research, there's enough oil within our borders to supply our fuel needs for 250 years.  The problem is the country has put itself in an energy straight-jacket, in deference to environmental groups who challenge any and every effort to tap new oil supplies.

Not only that, he's proud of himself!
 Obama's Energy Secretary gives himself an 'A-'.  President Obama's Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Steven Chu assigned himself an "A-" when asked him to assess his "management of the DOE resources" in light of the millions of taxpayer dollars lost through the DOE loan program.  "I would give myself a pretty good grade ... There's always room for improvement, [so] maybe an A-," Chu told Rep. Paul Broun, R-Ga., during a House hearing today [3/1/2012].

Gas prices to cost Obama.  I hate to quote the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, but the chickens have come home to roost for President Obama as higher oil and gasoline prices swamp his reelection bid. ... The president's veto of the Keystone pipeline and his refusal to drill in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge makes it crystal-clear to voters that there will be no relief coming from the north.  His stubborn refusal to issue deep-water drilling permits despite having officially lifted the moratorium he imposed after the BP spill is costing us hundreds of thousands of daily barrels in domestic production.  His relentless crusade against oil company tax privileges undermines our ability to explore, drill and produce oil.  As gas prices rise, Obama owns them.

Ten Indications That Obama Is Scared.  [#3]  Obama's energy policy is pure comedy.  When Obama took office, gasoline averaged $1.89.  Gasoline is now at its highest point in history, averaging $3.65 a gallon — and it's getting higher.  When gas crested at $3 a gallon under Bush, Democrats were quick to put Bush in cahoots with the oil companies.  Obama and other Democrats are blaming Wall Street, offering that high gas prices are "bringing families closer together" or that high gas prices are "saving lives."  Nice try.  The problem with gas prices is that they affect the lower end of the food chain the most.

Republican lawmakers step up attacks on Obama administration over rising gas prices.  As part of a week-long push, some leading Republicans continued blaming President Obama's policies for soaring gas prices.  "They seem determined to undertake policies that actually drive up the price of oil and gasoline because of their hope that we will somehow live in a world where only solar panels and wind turbines are necessary," Texas Sen. John Cornyn told Fox News.

Forget $5 gas, the new worry is $6 gas.  The first two weeks of February already have seen a surprising 18-cent jump in fuel pump prices according to petroleum Lundberg Survey, which charted a national average of $3.69 on Friday.  The online user-generated research group GasBuddy reported a slightly better national average at $3.65 per gallon with Houston clocking in at $3.54 — increases of 31 and 33 cents, respectively, from this time last year.

Worried Dems pressing Obama on gas prices.  Congressional Democrats are ramping up pressure on President Obama to tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to prevent rising gas prices from threatening the economy and their election-year prospects.

The Editor says...
 Note to Democrats:  It's the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, not the Political Petroleum Reserve.  If gas prices are too high for your political health, you only yourselves to blame.

What's Really Pushing Up the Price of Gas?  Whether China is purchasing more oil or not doesn't explain the sharp uptick in prices, because there's no apparent shortage of supply.  In fact, according to the EIA, the statistical arm of the Energy Department, inventories are unusually high.

Can you really afford four more years?  In January 2009, when President Obama was sworn in, a gallon of regular gasoline cost $1.68.  Today, it's more than double that:  The price has reached $5 in parts of California and $6 just outside Florida's Disney World.  In fact, prices have set a record, being so high so early in the year.  By Memorial Day, America's first big travel weekend of the year, gas nationwide will average $4 and above, industry analysts predict.

Gas Price Panic.  [Scroll down]  Republican Sen. John Thune of South Dakota wrote in a Thursday Politico op-ed that Obama has "systematically discouraged new energy exploration and development," citing the decline in drilling on federal lands and offshore, the rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline, and restrictive EPA regulations.  "Gasoline prices have already doubled under Obama [...] and they are expected to increase even further in 2012, with some predictions suggesting $5 per gallon by the end of May," Thune wrote.  "If the president continues to restrict access to domestic energy resources and drive up the cost of production, energy prices will continue to worsen."

7 Gas Facts Obama Cannot Escape.  President Barack Obama cannot escape the following seven gas-related facts:  1.  In September 2008, Barack Obama's "Nobel-prize winning physicist" of an Energy Secretary, Steven Chu, told the Wall Street Journal:  "Somehow we have to figure out how to boost the price of gasoline to the levels in Europe."  2. In 2008, then-candidate Barack Obama admitted that, like his future Energy Secretary Mr. Chu, he believed that high gas prices would be a good thing because they would force Americans to ween themselves off of oil, but that he would have "prefered a gradual adjustment."

Tell America the whole truth about gas prices, Mr. President.  Obama has doubled the bureaucratic delays on drilling permits, which ultimately adds to the price of gas at the pump.  As Jack Gerard, president of the American Petroleum Institute, noted last week, the increased production Obama cites is happening mainly on nonfederal lands and under permits issued before he became president.  As with so much that Obama says, his claims sound good, but he is playing fast and loose with the facts in order to steal credit he doesn't deserve and avoid blame that ought to be his.

Higher gas prices to spur hybrid sales.  Soaring gasoline prices have become a rite of summer in the 21st century.  With predictions of an imminent return to $4 a gallon gas in much of the nation, will consumers in the market for a new vehicle again take a look at hybrids and all-electric plug-ins?

The Editor says...
 First of all, "soaring gasoline prices" are entirely the fault of Barack H. Obama and the environmentalist, anti-capitalist Democrats, who hate the sight of refineries, pipelines and gasoline tankers.  If you buy a $40,000 electric car that raises your residential electric bill by $200 a month, I will still be way ahead of you, even if gasoline is $6.00 a gallon.

Gov. Daniels: Obama administration 'wanted higher gas prices'.  "Let's give the president credit for one domestic policy that works.  He wanted higher gas prices and he got them," said [Indiana Gov. Mitch] Daniels on Fox News Sunday [2/26/2012].  "Secretary Chu said $8 are about what they pay in Europe.  It would be great.  Secretary Salazar said $10 and it still wouldn't be for drilling in the places where we know there's an awful lot of domestic production.  And so, they have gotten the doubling of gas prices and perhaps worse, it's a conscious policy of this administration.  Maybe the one thing they set out to do and actually accomplished," he said.

Gas prices keep climbing.  Paying at the pump grew even more painful Sunday, as gas prices climbed for the 19th day in a row.  The price of unleaded gasoline inched higher again overnight, rising 1.4 cents to a nationwide average of $3.69 a gallon on Sunday [2/26/2012], according to the motorist group AAA.

Algae, European Gas Prices, and Born in the U.S.A.  As gas nears $5-a-gallon out west, the president, who has cancelled a key pipeline and frozen federal leases from Alaska to the East Coast, teaches us about American algae potential, in the way he used to emphasize the importance of tire pressure and "tune-ups."  He castigates the opposition for making political hay out of bad news, in the way he routinely did as a senator in compiling the most partisan voting record in the Senate.  Energy Secretary Chu cannot and will not say a word about soaring gas prices, since he is on record not so long ago hoping that they might double — that is, get to $8- to 10-a-gallon as they are in Europe.

Obama owns these gas prices.  With the average price of a gallon of gasoline rising 40 cents just last week, President Obama attacked Republicans yesterday [2/23/2012], trying to distract voters from his own failed energy policy.  "The American people aren't stupid," Obama said "You know there are no quick fixes to this problem."  And Obama is right.  There are no quick fixes to this problem.  But Obama has been in office for three years now.  There is plenty the federal government can do to lower gas prices in three years.  Problem is, everything Obama has done on energy has been designed to increase Americans' pain at the pump.

Saving this for an "October surprise"?
 Obama administration coy on possibility of tapping oil reserve as gas prices rise.  The Obama administration is staying mum about the possibility of opening up the Strategic Petroleum Reserve as a way to curb the rise in gas prices — declining to rule it in or out while insisting all along that officials are not interested in "short-term fixes."  Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner stirred speculation on Friday [2/24/2012] when, in an interview on CNBC, he said "there's a case for the use of the reserve in some circumstances."

Nancy Pelosi on Gasoline Prices.  The congresswomen's comments are so cartoonish, I don't even have to comment on them.

New Chart Shows White House Plan for Higher Gas Prices & Fewer Jobs.  In yesterday's speech defending his failed energy policies — under which gas prices have nearly doubled and are rising faster than ever — President Obama called for the kind of "all of the above" energy strategy long-championed by Republicans.

'Stupid' and Oil Prices.  'The American people aren't stupid," thundered President Obama yesterday in Miami, ridiculing Republicans who are blaming him for rising gasoline prices.  Let's hope he's right, because not even Forrest Gump could believe the logic of what Mr. Obama is trying to sell.  To wit, that a) gasoline prices are beyond his control, but b) to the extent oil and gas production is rising in America, his energy policies deserve all the credit, and c) higher prices are one more reason to raise taxes on oil and gas drillers while handing even more subsidies to his friends in green energy.

The Five Biggest Whoppers In Obama's Energy Speech.  The White House billed President Obama's energy policy speech as a response to mounting criticism of record high gas prices.  What he delivered was a grab bag of excuses and outright falsehoods.

Tired Of High Gasoline Prices Already? We Ain't Seen Nothing Yet.  It's not even March yet and already the groaning has begun over ramping gasoline prices.  Nationwide the average gallon of gas cost $3.59 last week.  That's up big from $3.19 the same time last year.  U.S. oil prices, benchmarked to West Texas Intermediate are $104 a barrel, versus just $85 a year ago.

Gasoline Prices and Dollar Prices.  Surging gasoline prices are back in the news, and President Obama shows his concern for Americans by doing what he does best.  He gave a speech.  Happy now?

Gas reaches $5 per gallon at one Washington, DC station.  As the national average price for a gallon of gas climbs past $3.58, one gas station in Washington, D.C. is charging drivers $5.00.

Dem leader Pelosi blames Wall Street for spike in gas prices.  Oil speculators, not a lack of domestic drilling, are to blame for the nation's rising gas prices, the top House Democrat argued Wednesday [2/22/2012].

Another Obama Victory: Gas Prices Hit $4.49 in NYC.  Team Obama will simply blame the "greedy" oil companies, there will be calls for hearing on "windfall profits" and his media sycophants will regurgitate every talking point without pointing out if we drilled more here prices would tumble.  But hey, it's a re-election year and they've got to carry water for their boss.

Gas price surge: Up 10% this year.  Gas prices are surging, and quickly headed toward $4 a gallon, as growing tensions over Iran sparks a run-up in oil prices.  The national average price for a gallon of gasoline jumped 3.3 cents overnight [2/23/2012], to $3.612, according to the motorist group AAA.  That's the 16th consecutive increase.

Oil and gas leaders slam Obama.  Oil and gas industry leaders lobbed criticism at the Obama administration Wednesday [2/22/2012], using the stage of an annual industry conference in Houston to assert that the domestic energy boom has occurred in spite of what they call a corrosive energy strategy out of the White House.

Skyrocketing cost of gas has commuters running on empty.  Gas prices are at the highest they have ever been this time of year and continue to soar, leaving wallets empty and drivers fearful for the future.  In the Utica-Rome area, the average price of regular gasoline increased 17 cents in the last 30 days, from $3.68 to Tuesday's price of $3.85, according to the AAA Fuel Gauge Report.

Aren't High Gas Prices What Democrats Want?  Gas prices are spiking.  That's great news, right?  We have to wean ourselves off the stuff.  At least that's what we've been hearing for years.  Oil is dirty.  We import it from nations that hate our guts (like Canada!).  And moreover, we're running out.  Oil is "finite."  Finite much in the way water is finite.  So why aren't Democrats making the case that the spike in prices is a good thing?  Isn't this basically our energy policy these days?

Florida Drivers Shelling Out Nearly $6 A Gallon At Some Gas Stations.  According to GasBuddy.com, motorists are shelling out $5.89 for a gallon of regular gas at a Shell station in Lake Buena Vista, topping out at $5.99 a gallon for premium.  It doesn't get better at a Suncoast Energy station in Orlando, where drivers are paying $5.79 for a gallon of regular.

Obama's Double Talk on Sky-High Gas Prices.  When gas prices hit $4 a gallon in 2008, candidate Barack Obama said it was due to previous failed energy policies. Now that prices are heading still higher, President Obama calls it progress.

How to Defuse Political Peril of Surging Gas Prices.  The political risk of rising gasoline prices is the emerging hot topic in Washington.

The gasoline trap.  Gas prices are much on everyone's mind right now.  They've gone up "12 cents on average in the past three weeks," as reported by Fox News, en route to $4.50 or even $5.00 per gallon this summer, depending on where you live.  A surge in oil prices is making its way toward the pumps.  Iran's decision to cut off oil exports to the U.K. and France will increase the demand those nations place upon other sources, and since America has been very deliberately prevented from developing its domestic energy supply, we're heavily plugged into the turbulent global market.

Gas prices are a huge worry.  Five-dollar gas.  I don't know how it can be stopped as long as Iran is meddling and developing nukes, other than through demand destruction.

Obama's gas-price spike.  Gasoline prices are rising rapidly and already have shattered the $4-a-gallon mark in California.  Industry analysts say the all-time national average record of $4.11 could be shattered this summer.  Some stations in Los Angeles are charging $4.93.  Americans hired Barack Obama in 2008 partly in hope of finding relief from that summer's pain at the pump.  As the agony returns, voters could be primed by November to pull the lever for anybody but Barack.

Oil price surge could dampen global recovery.  A surge in oil prices sparked by saber-rattling from Iran is beginning to weigh on the global economic recovery, with potential ripple effects on consumers, corporate profits and interest rates.  Drivers already are seeing the impact at the pump, where prices have risen by an average of 12 cents per gallon in just three weeks to more than $3.50 a gallon, according to a report out this week.

Domestic production eyed as gas prices head toward record-breaking height.  President Obama's re-elect team defended White House energy policy on Sunday as gas prices shoot toward the $4 mark and beyond, a level that could devastate voters' pocketbooks as well as Obama's chances for a second term.  Nationally, gas prices are $3.53 a gallon, up 25 cents since Jan. 1, and likely headed to $4.25 a gallon by late April.

$4.50/gallon gas by Memorial Day?  When I saw that possibility mentioned in the San Jose Mercury News (gas prices are already topping four bucks a gallon in parts of California), I went looking up some confirmation on this.  And yes, it could hit $4.50 a gallon, thanks in large part to the subtly-and-steadily-eroding situation in Iran.

Gas prices are highest ever for this time of year.  At $3.53 a gallon, prices are already up 25 cents since Jan. 1.

Obama Likes High Gasoline Prices, But Won't Admit It.  If gasoline prices so far are any indication, the pain at the pump will be severe this year.  But if you think President Obama cares, you're wrong.  If anything, he's secretly cheering it on.

$2 gallon gasoline and energy independence.  When President Obama took office in January 2009, the average price nationwide was $1.89 a gallon.  Three years into the Obama presidency, the average is $3.47 a gallon.  Today, prices like those we enjoyed three years ago seem like a fantasy — and under the president's current policies, they are.

Obama Whines About Gas Prices — Forgets to Mention Keystone.  Barack Obama whined about high gas prices today [2/14/2012] in his press statement on the budget.  He forgot to mention the Keystone Pipeline or the numerous petroleum projects he rejected these past three years.

Expert expects gas prices in Chicago to hit $4.60 by May.  After rising 19 cents a gallon in the past four weeks, regular unleaded gasoline now averages $3.48 a gallon, vs. $3.12 a year ago and $2.67 in February 2010.  And prices could spike another 60 cents or more by May.

Average U.S. gas prices hover at record-high levels.  In January, retail gasoline prices averaged $3.37 a gallon, according to the Oil Price Information Service, a private fuel information service.  That compared with the previous record average for the month of $3.095 a gallon, set last year.  In 2010, January gasoline prices averaged just $2.71 a gallon.

Already pricey gasoline may near $4 by spring.  The average gas price in Houston jumped 3 cents overnight to $3.37 a gallon Tuesday for regular unleaded.  Motorists locally now are paying 46 cents a gallon more for gasoline than they were a year ago, according to AAA.  A whole rash of reasons can be blamed for the hit to your pocketbook.  They range from high crude oil prices to the closing of refineries.

CNN Projects Gas Prices Rising to $4.25 to $5 a Gallon.  When gas prices get high, politicians love to blame the financial speculators for driving the price up.  On Saturday morning [1/28/2012], CNN's Josh Levs reported that "we have analysts telling us to get ready for national average around $4.25.  That's spring.  Summer, that's when it could go higher, $5 could happen in some cities."

Obama-EPA Moving Quietly to Impose Gas Tax.  Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.) Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, commented on the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) plan to propose a Tier 3 rule on vehicles in March and finalize it in October.  These Tier 3 standards will cause gasoline prices to rise up to 25 cents a gallon.

15 Questions The Mainstream Media Would Ask Barack Obama If He Were A Republican:  [#5]  When you took office, gas was $1.79 per gallon.  Since then, you've demonized the oil industry, dramatically slowed offshore drilling, blocked ANWR, and killed the Keystone Pipeline.  Now, gas is $3.34 per gallon.  How much higher do you anticipate driving gas prices?

The truly dismal state of the union.  Regular gasoline per gallon cost $1.68 in January 2009.  Today, it's $3.39 — that's a 102 percent increase in just three years.  (By the way, if you're keeping score at home, gas was $1.40 a gallon when George W. Bush took office in 2001, $1.68 when he left office — a 20 percent increase.)

National gas prices up 3.5 cents in past 2 weeks.  That's according to the Lundberg Survey of fuel prices, released Sunday [1/22/2012], which puts the price of a gallon of regular at $3.39.

Gas pump prices at record high on supply concerns.  Retail gas prices are at their highest levels ever for this time of year despite ample supplies and declining demand.

Gas prices may get close to $5 in some spots.  The new year has greeted Americans with the highest January gas prices ever, and some analysts say prices could get close to $5 a gallon in some areas during the warm-weather driving season.  The average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline in the United States on Monday was $3.39, according to motorist group AAA.  That's nearly 30 cents higher than a year ago.

Senators warn new EPA rules would raise gas prices.  Senators from both sides of the aisle are warning that looming EPA regulations on gasoline could impose billions of dollars in additional costs on the industry and end up adding up to 25 cents to every gallon of gas.  The senators, in a letter this week to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, urged the agency to back off the yet-to-be-released regulations.  Though the EPA has not yet issued any proposal, they claimed the agency is planning to call for a new requirement to reduce the sulfur content in gasoline.

Missing $4,155? It Went Into Your Gas Tank This Year.  It's been 30 years since gasoline took such a big bite out of the family budget.  When the gifts from Grandma are unloaded and holiday travel is over, the typical American household will have spent $4,155 filling up this year, a record.  That is 8.4 percent of what the median family takes in, the highest share since 1981.

2012 — The Year of Living Dangerously.  The trend in gasoline prices over the last three years is not your friend:
January 2009        $1.65
January 2010        $2.57
January 2011        $3.04
January 2012        $3.29
Gas prices are rising during the lowest usage time of the year.  The average price of oil will exceed $100 during 2012 resulting in the highest average gas price in history for American drivers.

We Hope Obama Will Change Gasoline Prices.  If gasoline prices aren't an issue at this point in the presidential campaign, they could be by summer.  Patrick DeHaan, a senior petroleum analyst for GasBuddy.com, told the Los Angeles Times that the gas hikes are "setting up an ugly year for motorists."  So ugly, DeHaan told ABC, that by Memorial Day he expects gasoline will be $3.86 to $4.13 per gallon.

Gasoline prices climb to record end-of-year highs ... again.  The most expensive year ever for gasoline purchases in the U.S. is heading to a close, but not without one last snatch at motorists' wallets.  Pain levels at the pump are rising again in California and across the rest of the nation, assuring that 2011 will mark the second year in a row that prices have posted record December highs.  The average price of a gallon of regular gasoline in California on Tuesday is $3.562, up 2.2 cents since last week, according to the AAA Fuel Gauge Report.

Obama is achieving his goal of higher energy costs.  As CNBC reported earlier this week, the typical American family will spend the largest portion ever of its budget — 8.4 percent — on gasoline this year.  Economists expect the average price of a gallon of gas to be $3.53, a 76-cent increase over 2010.  Growing world demand for gas caused by economic expansion in China and India only partially explains this increase.  Obama's environmental and energy policies are also a key reason why prices are constantly heading higher.

At gas pump, 2011 was the year of the big squeeze.  When the gifts from Grandma are unloaded and holiday travel is over, the typical American household will have spent $4,155 filling up this year, a record.

Gasoline: The new big U.S. export.  The United States is awash in gasoline.  So much so, in fact, that the country is exporting a record amount of it.  The country exported 430,000 more barrels of gasoline a day than it imported in September, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

'Cause-and-effect' behind high gas prices.  Speaking at the forum, Arizona Senator John Kyl (R-Arizona) said Congress has failed to appreciate the cause-and-effect relationship between too many actions.  "There is a cause-and-effect relationship between the ethanol mandates and the rising cost of food and fuel," stated the conservative lawmaker.

Oil's up, gas is down. Why?  Those anxiously watching the rally in U.S. oil prices over the past few weeks have received a pleasant surprise at the pump: while oil has shot upward, gasoline is moving in the opposite direction.  The moves may seem counter-intuitive, since crude oil is used to produce gas.  But while the two are closely related, there are a number of factors that can push their prices apart in the short term.

Obama's Disastrous Energy Record:  Since Barack Obama took office, gasoline prices have surged from $1.83 [per] gallon to $3.39 [per] gallon as of early November.  Someone who drives an average of 300 miles per week in a vehicle that gets twenty miles per gallon is paying around $30 more per week, or about $120 per month, more than he or she was when President Bush left office in January 2009.  This increase in prices results in less disposable income for consumers.

Hey Obama: Gas Up and Go.  You can tell people are filling up their cars with gasoline by the scowls on their faces.  Nearly three years into Obama-Nation and the term "gas pain" is something that Tums just can't erase.  It's the culmination of the most anti-oil, anti-energy administration this country has seen since the failed presidency of Jimmy Carter.  But the American media are doing their best to hide that fact.

Obama's Energy Plan: Chevy Volt.  Three years ago, the national average for a gallon of regular grade gasoline was around $1.70.  The price climbed to $2.60 in 2009 and $2.80 a year later.  As of November 11, 2011, gas rose to an average of $3.45 per gallon, roughly twice as much as what we were paying in 2008.  When gasoline prices hit their peak at around $4.00, Democrats were demanding Bush's head on a platter, but under Obama the higher prices are simply the new normal.

Transportation officials considering raising gas tax.  There is a new move to boost the taxes you pay every time you fill up.  A new state report shows California is hundreds of billions of dollars short when it comes to fixing its roads.  It is a funding gap that could delay more than 3,000 safety improvements.

The Editor scoffs...
 Yeah, right.  Excuses are always given when tax increases are proposed, and they always have something to do with safety, or protecting the children, or saving grandma from starvation.  That's because the people who keep tax-and-spend socialists in power respond to emotional outbursts rather than rational thinking.  For this reason, taxes never decrease or expire.

Coming soon, the £100 fill-up as the cost of petrol soars again.  Motorists were warned last night to prepare for four years of soaring costs at the petrol pumps, with the price of a full tank expected to top £100.  After a brief respite, fuel costs will start rising again next year as demand from the fast-growing economies of Asia triggers a boom in oil markets.

Slightly off-topic:
 Gas pump handles top study of filthy surfaces.  Just when you thought filling up your car could not hurt any more, researchers may have found another reason to avoid touching the gas pump:  germs. ... A team of hygienists swabbed hundreds of surfaces around six U.S. cities to see what everyday objects are breeding grounds for the worst bacteria and viruses.  The top offenders, following gas pumps, were handles on public mailboxes, escalator rails and ATM buttons.

Gasoline prices at historic highs for this time of year.  The new normal for gasoline prices continues to drain the incomes of American consumers.  Over the past week, the average price of a gallon of gasoline in the U.S. stabilized, down just 1.1 cents to $3.451 a gallon, according to the AAA Fuel Gauge Report.  But that's 22% higher than the old record for this week of the year, which was an average of $2.823 a gallon set in 2007.

Paying for the Energy Bill.  An analysis of the upbeat-sounding Renewable Fuels, Consumer Protection and Energy Efficiency Act by The Heritage Foundation concludes the bill would hike the price of regular unleaded to a national average of $6.41 per gallon by 2016.  In some states — California, Illinois, Michigan, Oregon and Washington among them — the price could close on $7 a gallon.  Lawmakers ... [are now] requiring producers to add more ethanol and other renewable fuels to gasoline.  Ethanol is more expensive to make than regular gasoline and delivers less mileage per gallon.

States where drivers pay the least for gasoline.  Fuel has dropped by nearly a cent every day for the past four weeks, the New York Times reports.  In some regions, they have even fallen below $3.00 per gallon.  Several factors affect gas prices depending on the state, but the main ones are gas taxes, the presence of nearby refineries, and what the people of the state can afford.

End Mindless Energy Policy.  Of all the absolutely mindless things coming out of Washington these days, it's hard for me to imagine anything more mindless than the Obama administration's thinking on energy policy.  His energy secretary has said he thinks we'd all be better off if gas cost $7 per gallon.

Could gas fall to $3 a gallon?  As gasoline prices keep falling at the pump, analysts are wondering how low they can go.  Crude prices could continue to drop, in part because of lingering economic woes seem likely to keep demand down.  The national average is down to $3.54 for a gallon of regular, and in the city with the cheapest gas, St. Louis, the going rate was $3.08 a gallon as of Friday, according to the Lundberg Survey released Sunday [9/25/2011].

Achieving $2 Gas.  Methanol has only about half the energy per gallon as gasoline, but is 105 octane, which means it can be burned more efficiently.  Taken together, these two factors make methanol's current spot price of $1.38 per gallon roughly competitive with $2 gasoline. ... Methanol can be made and sold profitably today for $1.38 per gallon.  At a 60 percent markup, its manufacture would be super-profitable, and massive amounts of capital would rush in to expand production.

I think that's what they used to say about ethanol.

Gasoline close to record high before Labor Day.  Gasoline is near the highest it's ever been for this time of year, just ahead of the Labor Day weekend.

Gas Price Drop of 30 to 50 Cents Per Gallon Expected in Next Few Weeks.  At a time when each day seems to bring more dire news regarding the economy, Americans have one silver lining:  the price at the pump is going down.  According to energy experts, gas prices should fall anywhere from 30 to 50 cents per gallon over the next several weeks.

When Will Obama Pivot to Gas Prices?  Since bottoming out toward the end of June, gas prices have been slowly rising.  Last week, the average price for a gallon of regular stood at $3.71, up more than 13 cents since President Obama belittled Congress into cancelling their Fourth of July recess.

Gas prices up despite use of reserves.  More than a month after the Obama administration said it would tap the country's emergency oil reserve to try to combat supply disruptions in the Middle East, gas prices at the pump actually have risen 10 cents.

Winds of Change.  Both West Texas Crude and Brent are climbing back up, and gasoline prices will soon follow.  Fuel prices are going to recover from the dip we saw a few weeks ago. ... After falling to $3.54 a gallon from May's $3.98 peak, prices have unexpectedly surged the past two weeks to a national average of almost $3.70 -- a dollar higher than levels a year ago.

Gas prices creep back up.  Drivers are paying more for gas again.  Agencies that track gas prices showed the price rising in the past week both nationally and in New Hampshire and Massachusetts.  AAA said there was a 5-cent-a-gallon increase in the past week for regular gas nationally, up to $3.68.

Could U.S. Gas Prices Rise Above $5 Per Gallon?  Oil, as measured by West Texas Intermediate crude, Friday [7/22/2011] closed up 68 cents to $99.81 per barrel.  Moreover, the price of crude is considerably higher if the price of Brent Crude is used.  Brent is considered a more-accurate reflection of current price conditions, due to a surplus of West Texas Intermediate oil at the Cushing, Oklahoma storage facility, which has lowered its price.  Brent Friday closed up $1.16 to $118.67 per barrel.

Gas prices jump 6 cents in a week.  Average retail gasoline prices in Texas have risen 6.1 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $3.57 per gallon on Sunday [7/17/2011].  This compares with the national average that has increased 3.0 cents per gallon in the last week to $3.67 per gallon, according to gasoline price website TexasGasPrices.com.

Area gas prices jump 20 cents overnight.  Bob Astor, wholesale fuels business manager at Shipley Energy, blames a June 23 announcement that the United States would release 30 million barrels from its Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the country's emergency supply of crude oil.  The news of more gas available for purchase artificially led to a price drop in June, he said.  "That was the low point of the season," Astor said.  "Since then, they've ratcheted up and ratcheted up."

Obama's gas stunt comes up empty.  The results are in from President Obama's controversial decision last month to tap into the nation's oil reserves to drive down gas prices:  none.  Like his futile efforts to revive the moribund U.S. economy by spending $1 trillion in borrowed money, the president's release of 30 million barrels from the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve produced nothing more than a brief pause in the steady rise in prices at the pump.

Obama's Plan for $10 Gas.  American drivers are angry at having to pay $4 a gallon for gas, and understandably so.  Their anger is often directed at the oil companies that supply the gas.  It should be directed at Barack Obama instead.  From the beginning of his appearance on the national stage, Obama has focused on the goal of driving up energy prices with the idea of "weaning" America off fossil fuels. ... By driving up gas prices, Obama hopes to force Americans to purchase hybrid and electric vehicles.

Gas prices drive fewer to travel, more to fly for July 4th.  Fewer Americans will hit the road during the Independence day weekend, consistently one of the heaviest travel periods of the year, but more are expected to take to the skies to reach their holiday destinations.

This material came from akdart.comTop 10 Examples Proving Obama Wants High Energy Prices.  Perhaps the strongest indication that Obama wants higher gas prices is the fact that he appointed Steven Chu as energy secretary.  Before his nomination, Chu told the Wall Street Journal, "Somehow we have to figure out how to boost the price of gasoline to the levels in Europe," which are considerably higher than the U.S. due to steep levels of taxation.

Defeating OPEC.  Squeezing the nozzle handle, staring at the ever-rising price of gas, hardworking American families are wondering when the increases will stop.  Despite temporary dips in prices, the trend toward $5 seems almost unstoppable.

Don't Expect to See Gasoline Below $3 Any Time Soon.  Gasoline prices have dropped to $3.64 a gallon nationally from a peak of $3.98 in mid-May, according to AAA.  Diesel prices at the pump have fallen more slowly but are beginning to catch up and are now averaging $3.97 a gallon.

Why Obama's hometown has the highest gas prices in America.  Chicago:  the one party town wears that crown.  What are the consequences of living in the last of the one-party machine towns, a town that has hosted the Daley family as well as being the hometown of Barack Obama and the cronies he put in power (including Bill Daley, his Chief of Staff)?  Politicians who have no problem imposing the highest gas prices in America on their citizens.

How's That Hope and Change Working Out for Obama Supporters?  When Barack Obama assumed the position of President of the United States, the average price of gasoline was $1.81/gallon.  Going into the past weekend, the average price nationwide was $3.72/gallon.  That's a mere 106% price increase under Obama.

GM's gas-tax fraud.  Government Motors has become yet another mouthpiece for the Obama administration.  General Motors Co. CEO Dan Akerson told the Detroit News Saturday that he wants a $1 per gallon hike in the gas tax.  Consumers already facing nearly $4 a gallon prices at the pump aren't going to be pleased to see that figure jump overnight to $5, but the left and its crony capitalist allies don't care what the public thinks.

GM chief pushing for higher gas taxes.  General Motors Co. CEO Dan Akerson wants the federal gas tax boosted as much as $1 a gallon to nudge consumers toward more fuel-efficient cars, and he's confident the government will soon shed its remaining 26 percent stake in the once-bankrupt automaker.

The Launch of the National Running on Empty Tour.  Americans for Prosperity Foundation will launch the Running on Empty Tour with stops throughout the United States this summer and through the fall.  The tour warns American taxpayers how President Obama's regulatory and energy policies are causing skyrocketing energy prices — particularly prices at the gas pump.  "Big government regulations have Americans running on empty.  When President Obama took office, the price of gasoline was $1.83 per gallon; it's now $3.78 per gallon, a 106 percent increase.  Since taking office, he has paid lip service to allowing domestic production but has taken every step possible to block American energy," said Americans for Prosperity Foundation President Tim Phillips.

Obama monetary policy fueling pain at the pump, report says.  The Obama administration's monetary policies have added approximately 56.5 cents to the price of every gallon of gas you pump, according to a new congressional Joint Economic Committee report.  Estimates suggest that had the dollar maintained the value it had when Obama came into office, gasoline would cost approximately $3.40 per gallon instead of around $4 per gallon in many parts of the country.

Magnifying calamity with man-caused disasters.  With $4-a-gallon gas a matter of recent news, a few members of Congress are trying again to give the federal government the job of policing gasoline prices.  No matter that in study after study, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has found that public concerns over price gouging usually are misplaced.  No matter that the FTC has repeatedly told Congress a federal price-gouging law would cause more problems than it solves.

Comin' this summer... $5 gas.  The forecast for the summer driving season:  Hit the road early.  Not to beat the traffic, but to beat the higher gas prices expected in mid-July.  Goldman Sachs' crystal ball is proclaiming that oil will soon soar to $135 a barrel, and likely have service stations jacking up fuel prices to $5 a gallon in New York just like the summer of 2008 that preceded the recession.

MSN Money Finds 10 Reasons 'You Should Love $5 Gas'.  Many have noted that homelessness seems to always become a concern for the legacy media when a Republican is president.  Similarly, during Democratic administrations, media outlets always seem to find good things about bad economic news (remember "funemployment"?).  The latest such attempt comes from MSN Money, which on Wednesday tallied ten reasons that "you should love $5 gas."

Report Finds Obama Policies to Blame for High Energy Prices.  A new report from the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform details a disturbing "pattern of evidence" indicating that not only are the Obama administration's energy policies responsible for higher oil and gas prices, but that the administration's energy policy, in fact, is higher gas prices.

Rising Energy Costs: An Intentional Result Of Government Action.  President Obama, Energy Secretary Chu and others have stated that American consumers should pay more for energy, including electricity and gasoline.  From a political perspective, increasing the price of energy (by whatever means) helps them make the case for "green" energy.  Even beyond the effort to raise energy prices through "cap and trade" legislation that Congress rejected, a pattern of increased enforcement, regulatory delay and new hurdles can be seen across numerous agencies and approval processes.  The result of this government action is less production, higher costs for producers, and more expensive energy.

The Administration's No New Energy Policy.  The Memorial Day weekend traditionally marks the beginning of the summer driving season but this year Americans are looking at the prices at the pump and reconsidering the cost of a vacation via the great American highway.  Four dollar a gallon gasoline has folks tightening their belts rather than loosening their collars and relaxing for a week or two this summer.  There are numerous forces affecting the price of gas, including monetary policy and the war on terror premium, but the principal economic force driving these prices is future supply concerns and growing demand around the globe.

Forget the gas tax — a driving tax may be next.  Washington lawmakers are kicking around a new idea to help raise funds to fix our highways and infrastructure:  a national driving tax charging motorists by the mile.  A driving tax could either replace the current 18.4 cent a gallon federal gas tax or, possibly, add to it.

High gas prices change holiday travel plans.  The high price of gas is forcing many Americans to change their travel plans for the Memorial Day weekend, according to a survey released Friday [5/27/2011].  A CNN/Opinion Research poll showed that one in four adult Americans have altered their plans for this weekend because of high gas prices, and more than half say they have changed their overall vacation plans.

Reid: No cheap gas for you.  Increasing domestic production, keeping taxes low and cutting out bureaucracy is exactly what is needed to tackle high gas prices.  Unfortunately, Democrats appear more interested in scoring political points than helping American families.  [Senator Harry] Reid's continued fight to push through a $20 billion tax hike on oil companies would only increase prices at the pump this summer.

High Gas Prices Have Driven Only 2 Percent of Americans Into Public Transit.  The high price of gasoline has caused more than half of the nation's adult population to make "major changes" but has driven only about 2 percent of Americans out of their cars and trucks and into public transportation systems, according to a USA Today/Gallup poll.

Do falling gas prices spell recession?  After two commodity price spikes in four years, $100-a-barrel crude and $4-a-gallon gasoline are starting to seem like the new normal -- the price we pay, unhappily enough, for an expanding economy.  Every twitch in the Middle East sounds the alarm for a new oil shock.  But those cursing the wallet-thinning impact of high energy prices should be careful what they wish for.

Obama the Desperate.  Energy prices affect all economic activity and threaten to put a crimp in our stilted recovery.  The administration's policies of rationing scarcity are largely to blame.  We are not drilling offshore for new oil.  We are only now taking advantage of new oil and gas deposits in the U.S., and the Environmental Protection Agency is hardly leading the way.  We are not exploiting our vast reserves of coal and natural gas.  The administration's resistance to increasing supply is born of a soggy leftist intellectual resistance to hydrocarbon fuels in favor of a wishful reliance on "green" energy sources — that won't be economically viable for decades.

Just Who is Gouging Us on Gasoline?  The taxes on gasoline at retail amount to a national average of 47 cents per gallon (including federal taxes of 18 cents, state and local taxes of 18 cents, and sales/other taxes at retail of more than 10 cents).  And before taxpayers have paid that princely sum (to people who haven't invested a penny to produce the product), the operating profits of the explorers are taxed at 34% — which is always passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices.  States get into the act here too, taxing the retailers' profits after taxing the product at the pump.

7 in 10 Americans say high gas prices hurt.  As gas prices hover near $4 a gallon, nearly seven in 10 Americans say the high cost of fuel is causing financial hardship for their families, a new USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds.

Study: Weak Dollar and Federal Reserve Responsible for Sky-High Gas Prices.  The weakening of the dollar since 2008 has added 56.5 cents to the price of gasoline, the congressional Joint Economic Committee has found.  The average price of gasoline would be $3.40 per gallon, instead of the current average price nationally of nearly $4, if the dollar hadn't declined.

Obamanomics and High Gas Prices.  [Scroll down]  At present, manufacturers cannot sell "green energy" on the market, at least not on any wide scale, because there's little or no profit to be made from it.  But if gas prices go through the roof, that will change.  By curbing and (best case, to Obama) destroying the market for gasoline and oil by making it too expensive for most people to afford, Obama thinks he can make people opt for things like wind, solar and other alternative forms of energy.

Gas Prices Are High Because the Liberals Want It that Way.  High gasoline prices are not a cause of the current economic recession, they are an avoidable and unnecessary symptom of liberal environmental and economic policies.  When President Barack Obama took office the price of gasoline was $1.83 per gallon.  Today it's over $4.00.  Understanding why that is so will give you insight into the patient game plan of the fossil-fuel-hating, combustion-engine-despising, environmentally obsessed left.  The high price of gas is not simply a function of the cost of crude oil.

Much Ado About Gas Prices.  [Scroll down]  As for the oil "subsidies," there are a few unique oil tax credits -- which, if you truly believe in free markets, should be repealed. ... Our high corporate tax rates are the reason these tax credits exist.  Historically, it has been easier to enact these tax credits than to pass overall tax reform.  The Democratic leadership has singled out the oil industry -- intending to leave the manufacturer's tax credit intact for other industries, lest they feel the wrath of unionized industries loyal to them.  Environmentalists, of course, are uniquely thrilled.  (They actually want higher gas prices.)

Obama's Scandalous War Against Domestic Oil.  Do you remember the terrible things the left was saying about President George W. Bush when gas prices soared under his watch?  Yet President Obama, whose policies and actions are actually contributing to rocketing gas prices today, gets the usual mainstream media pass.

High gas prices? Blame Bernanke.  [Scroll down]  Oil is bought and sold on world markets using the dollar.  The greenback is the official currency of oil trading. ... Just as an increase in the quantity of oil decreases the value (i.e. price) of oil, an increase in the quantity of dollars decreases the value of dollars.  On international oil markets, this means more dollars are required to purchase the same amount of oil.

Dems have no plan to bring down gas prices because they want higher prices.  Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-OK, sat down in front of a camera yesterday and patiently walked through the major myths about energy being propagated by President Obama, congressional Democrats and the liberal mainstream media.  The result is a concise, easy-to-grasp summary of energy facts.

Gasoline prices to stay high through 2012, federal agency says.  Gasoline prices will remain high through 2012, the U.S. Energy Information Administration says.  The government's prediction Tuesday [5/10/2011] assumes significant increases in global oil consumption, oil price increases to go along with that, and even stronger profits for oil companies in the short run.  But it does not mention the volatility that has beset oil markets in the last couple of weeks, driving prices to near record highs.

Another Tax On Gas?  Of all the ideas the White House has floated for taking more of your money, none is more pernicious than the latest:  slapping a tax on you for every mile you drive.  Isn't that what our gas tax does already?

More about odometer taxes.

Reality zings drivers' hopes at the pump.  A rebound in oil prices and flooding concerns at Mississippi River refineries may foil hopes that gasoline prices were headed for significant declines this week.  After several months shadowing oil on its steady upward climb, gasoline prices showed some signs of weakening over the weekend.

Obama and Reid offer hot air, not cheaper gas.  With gas prices hovering at $4 a gallon, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada reportedly wants a Senate vote this week on a measure to punish oil companies by denying them $21 billion in tax credits and deductions routinely given to other businesses.  At President Obama's request, Reid would instead use the money to fund alternative energy development projects that the Energy Information Administration says won't be able to replace fossil fuels to any significant degree for two to three decades.

Blotting out oil reality.  With polls making it crystal clear that Americans are not pleased with spiking gasoline prices, President Obama has deployed what might be called the "octopus strategy."  When an octopus is threatened, one of its survival tools is to dispense a cloud of ink to confound predators.  Likewise, in response to rising fuel prices, Mr. Obama has dispensed a cloud of obfuscation — one that scapegoats others for high energy prices when his own policies are at fault.

Politicians and pain at the pump.  When gas prices started spiking again this month, President Barack Obama turned to a move that worked in the past:  Make noise and talk tough about price gouging, then direct his attorney general to launch an investigation.  Immediately.  If that sounds familiar, it is.  It's part of the rhetorical playbook politicians have used for years when gas prices go up — that is until prices fall and what felt like urgent ideas go back on the shelf.

Crude, Gasoline Stage Sharp Rebound.  Oil futures clawed back some of the ground lost last week, pulled higher after heavy flooding and problems at a Mississippi refinery triggered a surge in gasoline prices.

Obama's Worst Enemy:  The gas crisis is something that, in its impact on the daily life of voters, should have a serious effect on Obama's chances in 2012.  So you'd expect some effort at a solution on his part.  But look as long and hard as you like -- that is something you will not find.  What you will find is an insistence from Obama and all concerned that there's nothing to be done, that oil prices are a product of forces beyond the control of even the messiah, that "we can't drill our way out of the problem."  This is nonsense.  Faced with the same predicament in 2008, George W. Bush brought oil prices down simply by announcing that new drilling areas would be opened up.  Prices dropped, an outcome that Obama would have us believe is impossible.

House Bucks Obama: Bill Jump-Starts Gulf Oil Production.  Republicans are banking on a measure approved by the House on Thursday [5/5/2011] to lower gasoline prices by accelerating offshore lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico.  "The situation we find ourselves in today is detrimental to everyone who goes to the pump to fill their cars," said Rep. Rob Bishop (R.-Utah).  "The cost of gas increases, and continues to increase because of the inaction of this administration."

Government action to reduce prices at the pump.  A very simple cause and effect was observable yesterday [5/5/2011].  The House passed a bill to force the administration to sell offshore drilling permits in the Gulf of Mexico and off the Virginia coast, and the price of oil fell 8.6% in one day, the largest drop in over two years!  Are there any voters out there that want lower gas prices?  The Republican House passed the bill, the Democratic President is threatening a veto.  Your electoral choice is crystal clear.

Gas Prices Continue to Rise While Oil Drops Below $100 a Barrel.  Gas prices continue to rise — even while the oil used to make it drops in price, say analysts.  The national average price for gas this week is $3.96, according to the Department of Energy.  Hawaii still has the nation's most expensive gasoline as of today, but the nation's heartland is catching up.

Why Gas and Food Prices Are Likely to Drop.  As every motorist knows, gas prices have jumped by about 30 percent this year, with the average pump price perched just beneath the unnerving $4 threshold.  Food prices have risen by about 6 percent over the last 12 months, with some everyday items, like beef, coffee, and butter up by more.  Spikes in the price of certain commodities, like copper, cotton, and rubber, are raising the cost of products ranging from clothes to cars, with manufacturers increasingly trying to pass the pain on to consumers.  The sting wouldn't feel so sharp if wages were rising at a healthy clip.  But many families are getting by on flat or even falling incomes.

Obama's Stance Hurts American Energy.  With gasoline prices quickly surging to $4 per gallon and beyond, pinching the pockets of families and business across the country, it's no surprise that gasoline has become a regular talking point in President Barack Obama's stump speech.  Yet instead of offering real solutions, the president is telling the American people that there's "not much we can do" about high prices.  He's waving the white flag of defeat -- essentially telling Americans to get used to paying more than $4 for gasoline.

Obama's War on Oil.  As a guest on a black radio talk show recently, I suggested that someone ask President Obama what his plan is for bringing down high gasoline prices.  What a gaffe that question would be.  The current high gas prices, and more, are precisely the President's plan.  President Obama's Secretary of Energy is former Berkeley physics professor Steven Chu, who said in 2008, "Somehow we have to figure out how to boost the price of gasoline to the levels in Europe."

Rental car gas prices hit more than $9 a gallon.  The price of gasoline has reached more than $9 a gallon for drivers who don't pay ahead of time and who return their rental cars without a full tank.  A USA Today survey of auto rental gas prices at 13 big airports on April 25 found Hertz was charging $9.29 a gallon at all 13.  Dollar and Thrifty were charging $8.99 a gallon at two.

'Why does my gas cost $4.00 per gallon?'  Nearly seventy percent of the price of a gallon of retail gasoline is the price of the crude oil it is refined from.  Two graphs from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) make that point.  The first shows the price of a gallon of gasoline plotted against the price of a gallon of crude oil.  The two move in virtual lock-step; if you know the crude oil price per gallon, add $1.00 and you'll know the price of gasoline within a few cents.

Tornadoes contribute to gasoline price surge.  The deadly storms temporarily shut down seven refineries, which helps boost the national average for a gallon of regular to $3.963.  Gas is at an all-time high in Chicago.

Pump shock: Gas average near $4.  The Bay State's average gasoline price rose sharply over the past week, creeping closer to the psychological level of $4 per gallon and sparking fears of pain at the pumps this summer.  In July 2008, gas prices peaked at $4.09 a gallon in Massachusetts and $4.11 a gallon nationwide.

Michigan gas prices hit new record of $4.21.  Average gas prices have surpassed their summer 2008 peak in most of Michigan, as prices jumped between 5 cents and 10 cents a gallon between Sunday and Monday [May 1-2, 2011] as crude oil and wholesale prices fell in the wake of the U.S. killing of Osama bin Laden.  Michigan's average is now a record high of $4.217.  It's topped only by Hawaii ($4.57), Illinois ($4.28), California ($4.26), Connecticut ($4.26) and Alaska ($4.245).

Survey: Gas Prices Cause Shoppers To Downgrade.  Rising fuel prices are getting the attention of car shoppers and compelling many to shift their priorities for picking a new vehicle.  More than half of consumers surveyed said they have already lowered their sights somewhat regarding the next cars they plan to buy.

Gas could top $4 nationwide this week.  After jumping more than 3 cents over the weekend, gas prices across America could top $4 a gallon this week, according to one industry analyst.

Gas tops $3.90 nationwide.  The average price of a gallon of gasoline reached the $3.90 mark Friday [4/29/2011], after climbing 2 cents overnight, according to a survey by motorist group AAA.

Thefts rise as price of gas goes up.  As gas prices approach record highs, gas-related thievery is on the rise.

Obama running on empty.  Skyrocketing gasoline prices have sent President Obama's public-approval ratings plummeting.  The White House is searching for someone to blame, but the problem rests not with the pumps but with the president.

The General Motors Debacle.  [Scroll down]  I don't know anyone in America who doesn't want cheaper gasoline except for President Barack Obama and his Secretary of Energy, Stephen Chu.  And therein lies the problem because, between moratoriums on deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, obstacles to increased drilling in Alaska (not even including ANWR), and the general ban on any offshore drilling along U.S. coastlines, the likelihood that Americans will have access to their own less costly oil, barely exists.

The Gas-Price Blame Game — Round 36.  Pump prices keep climbing, so what do those mainly responsible for the run-up do?  Try to pin it on someone else, of course.

Gasoline rises a penny to $3.87 per gallon.  Gas pump prices have climbed for 35 straight days even though industry surveys show Americans have started to drive less.

Are Sky-High Gas Prices Good?  From 2007 to 2008, Steven Chu, now secretary of Energy, weighed in frequently on global warming and the desirable price of traditional energy.  At one point, Chu asserted, "Somehow we have to figure out how to boost the price of gasoline to the levels in Europe."  Chu also lamented, "We have lots of fossil fuel; that's really both good and bad news.  We won't run out of energy, but there's enough carbon in the ground to really cook us."  In other words, $10 a gallon for gas would be desirable, while an enormous amount of recoverable American oil, gas, coal, tar sands and oil shale should be left untapped.

Pelosi Blamed 'Oil Men in the White House' for Gas Prices in '08, Now Who's To Blame?  Back in 2008 then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) knew where she wanted to place the blame for high gas prices.  "The price of oil is at the doorstep — 4 dollars plus per gallon for oil, is attributed to two oil men in the White House," Pelosi said in a CNN interview on July 17th, 2008.  Now that President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney are out of the White House, Pelosi has been silent on the issue.  She has made no public comments on gas prices over the past few months.

CNN's Vastly Different Reporting On Bush, Obama Gas Prices.  Read the article ... and see for yourself how CNN defends President Obama's actions regarding oil prices.  CNN showcases Obama's recent rhetoric about gas prices, while conveniently neglecting to fact check any of President Obama's claims (as CNN did when covering President Bush's gas price rhetoric in past years).

Spotting Media Bias in Story Choices.  Media bias can be easily noticed in what the media say, but sometimes the worst cases of bias involve what the media do not say.  A perfect example of this is the current media coverage -- or non-coverage, if you will -- of the recent gas price crisis nationwide.  When President Obama first took office, prices were $1.86 per gallon.  On 25 April 2011, the average price of fuel in America was $3.789.  Yet where is the media outcry about gas prices?

Obama's Real Strategy:  Watching the machinations of Barack Obama, it seems as though he is creating what the Marxists call "internal contradictions."  Gas prices ready to breach the $5 mark, but a relentless Administration campaign against increased domestic energy production...

The Gas Price Freakout.  Mr. Obama usually begins his gas price narrative, now a campaign trail staple, by explaining that there aren't easy solutions.  That's true — there's not a lot the political class can do to change gas prices in the short run — but then the President goes on to mention that there happens to be one easy solution:  raising taxes on the oil and gas industry.  This is also his stock answer on the budget deficit, world hunger and everything else.

Gas Pains and Infinite Liberal Stupidity.  The Obama Administration is clearly the most anti-energy administration ever.  Will Collier has a noteworthy item up today over at PajamasMedia on soaring gasoline prices and the Obama Administration's hypocritical policy of paying lip service to increased oil production at home while doing everything possible to hinder any real increase in domestic oil production.

Obama faces trouble with $4 gasoline.  Presidential campaigns are all about numbers — dollars raised, voters registered, poll results.  In the early days of his reelection bid, President Obama is focusing on one number:  $4 per gallon gasoline.

High gas prices starting to devour Obama.  I hope there's no one out there actually rooting for higher fuel prices, but it seems clear that President Obama's political fate will probably be tied to the cost of a gallon of gas on election day. ... This is why Obama has gone on the offensive against oil companies and "speculators."  The only thing he can do is try and shift blame for a situation caused by his own miserable energy policies.

Reality Clashes With Obama's Promised Utopia.  In an unfolding financial disaster that was wholly predictable by any who understand basic economics, gasoline prices are skyrocketing which means that Americans will have less disposable income with which to spur real growth.  Thus the much trumpeted but very anemic "recovery" will quickly evaporate into thin air.  No doubt those "evil oil company executives" will receive the blame, ... [but] this ruse will not enhance the nation's fuel supply by a single drop.

Hot Air About Gas Prices.  Rather than spending more millions of our tax dollars on even on more government employees looking into whether private companies are doing anything wrong, it would be nice if the President would look for ways to incent private companies to do something right.  The only good thing about $4.00 gasoline is, Obama will not be able to push for what his Liberal allies want most of all:  A dollar-per-gallon tax on gasoline to cut consumption.

Obama is a quick study on creating commissions.  As a candidate for president, Barack Obama called study commissions created by politicians "Washington-speak for we'll get back to you later." ... Most recently, Obama announced he was creating a commission to investigate whether manipulation of the oil markets was causing gas prices to soar.

President Obama's Lack of Action on Gas Prices Hurts America's Seniors and Poor.  Gas prices have spiked 37% since October of last year, according to AAA, and in some states, average prices have passed the $4 per gallon.  That spike hits the constituents that President Obama purports to care about the most — our most vulnerable Americans.  High gas prices hit seniors and the poor the hardest.  And they hit seniors and the poor who live in rural areas even harder.  What is AARP's response?  And anti-poverty groups?  Silence.  And don't hold your breath waiting for any protests from liberal organizations like those to call for more drilling.

Gas Prices Top $1-a-Gallon Higher than Year Ago; Media Don't Blame Obama.  The average price for a gallon of unleaded gasoline hit $3.86 on April 25, more than $1-a-gallon higher than a year earlier and less than 25 cents away from the record high price of gasoline set in July 2008.  In fact, per gallon prices are more than $2 higher than when Obama took office Jan. 20, 2009.  Yet the president has been nearly exempt from criticism on the issue of rising prices, despite a six-month drilling moratorium and more regulatory hurdles for industry.

Orlando gas station charges $5.69 a gallon.  Gas prices are on the rise nationwide, but one filling station in Florida has earned the dubious distinction of having the highest prices in the country.

Gasoline Prices and Speculators: They Think You Are Stupid.  It is with great interest that I read this past week about the President's initial response to rising gas prices.  What or who was to blame?  According to the President...speculators.  Nameless, faceless speculators.  They are to blame for the rising price of crude oil up and the accompanying price at the pump!

Obama publicly declares war on capitalism.  Just days ago, Mr. Obama publicly blamed "speculators" for the rising price of gas.  Mr. Obama publicly announced a war on speculators and speculation, imposing the Justice Department, government lawyers, Cabinet heads and the whole Big Brother kitchen sink on this "evil" bunch of capitalists.

President "Necessarily Skyrocket" Obama Baffled by Rising Gas Prices.  The same person who promised to bankrupt coal plants and cause electricity prices to "necessarily skyrocket" as a candidate would have us believe that he has nothing to do with Americans paying $4 or more a gallon at the gas pump now that he is President.  According to Obama, it's all a mystery to him.

Gasoline and Dollars: Supply and Demand.  Gasoline has exceeded or approached $5.00 per gallon in some parts of the United States long before the normal peak travel season has begun.  Already the politicians, headline writers, and some cable and talk show pundits are pointing to the usual suspects.  But they have avoided or are unaware of where the fault actually lies.

Gas price hikes just keep coming.  Maybe this is a conspiracy to get everybody to ride the bus.  Omahans who drove past ethanol gas for $3.659 a gallon on Thursday night could only shake their heads Friday when they saw the signs advertising $3.799 for ethanol and $3.899 for regular gas.  This is getting old.

The Editor says...
 I believe it may in fact be "a conspiracy to get everybody to ride the bus."

High Gas Prices Catching Up to Obama?  Boy Obama's deep thinking on energy can get confusing, with yet another 'green electricity' plant, in Reno, for some reason serving as today's backdrop for him to defend high gas prices.

No Break at the Gas Pump This Spring.  With gas prices above $4 in some states, Americans are canceling spring break plans and rethinking summer vacation, and some tourist destinations are offering gas vouchers of as much as $50 to talk people out of giving up and staying home.

Could gas prices hit $6 a gallon?  Planning to hit the road this summer?  You might want to keep an eye on the AAA Fuel Gauge Report, which takes the daily temperature of gas prices around the nation.  The national average today for regular gas is $3.85 a gallon — up 99 cents from a year ago.  That's a 35% increase, and it shows no signs of slowing.

Gas Price Problem, Mr. President?  Rather than look in the mirror, President Obama has reached again for his dog-eared copy of Rules for Radicals and searched out a culprit to demonize.  And the winner is ... those bad "traders and speculators," who, he suggested yesterday [4/21/2011], could be "taking advantage of American consumers for their own short-term gains."  In order to carry out this farce, he has directed his ever accommodating attorney general, Eric Holder, to head up a "task force" to "look into any cases of price gouging."

Attorney General Holder To Investigate Law Of Supply And Demand.  In a sign of just how frantic and disoriented the White House is over rising gas prices, it announced Thursday [4/21/2011] that it tasked Attorney General Eric Holder with investigating "potential violations of criminal or civil laws" in the energy markets.  In other words, it was making a show about telling Holder to do what is the attorney general's job anyway.  What was conspicuously lacking from the White House announcement was any data that there was any kind of fraud actually being perpetrated.

Burn the witches with gas.  Last month, the President of the United States of America sicced his dogged army of regulators and prosecutors on the petroleum industry.  Not for oil spills, mind you, but for raising prices.  Actually, he instructed his teams of lawyers and other federal operatives to work with state agencies looking for fraud in fuel markets.  In the last few days, he's made much of his crusade, talking it up on TV and radio.  Backing up the prez, the Attorney General just formed the Oil and Gas Price Fraud Working Group.  The group is most interested in the role of speculators.

$6 Gas? Could Happen if Dollar Keeps Getting Weaker.  A dollar plumbing three-year lows is hitting Americans squarely in the gas tank, and one economist thinks it could drive prices as high as $6 a gallon or more by summertime under the right conditions.

Can a Lizard Raise Your Gas Prices?  Here we are, looking at $5.00 a gallon gas and rocketing prices on consumer goods and what are the feds doing here in New Mexico, one of the nation's leading oil and gas producing states, to help alleviate our pain?  Would you believe me if I told you they may be trying to drastically reduce gas and petroleum production in Southeast New Mexico, and perhaps West Texas for the really important reason of protecting the continuing viability of a creature I'm sure you all know and love, the Dunes Sagebrush Lizard?

Ten states where gas prices bite hardest.  The price of gasoline has risen to $3.815, according to the American Automobile Association. ... Gas prices fluctuate sharply from state to state.  Regular unleaded fuel costs $4.17 per gallon in Alabama, while the price is below $3.50 in some other states.  Part of the reason for these discrepancies is differing gas taxes, and another part has to do with the cost of transporting fuel.

Gasoline prices up 40% this summer, U.S. says.  Gas prices will jump 40% for the summer driving season compared with 2010, according to a federal projection released Tuesday [4/12/2011].  Retail prices for a gallon of regular-grade gasoline will average $3.86 from April through September, up from $2.76 for the comparable period last year, said the Energy Information Administration, the statistics arm of the Department of Energy.

Drivers Flock to Mexico for Cheaper Gas.  Gas prices are averaging $3.82 a gallon, according to Sunday's AAA Fuel Gauge Report.  But Reuters reports that a regular tank of gas in Mexico is 34.4 pesos per gallon, a price equivalent to $2.94.  But is the roughly 90-cent difference worth the hassle?

The Editor says...
 People go to Juarez for eye surgery, too, if they're really desperate to save money.

Gas in 6 States and D.C. Tops $4 a Gallon.  Add New York to the growing list of states where gas prices are topping $4 per gallon.

Gas prices could top record highs by Memorial Day.  Gasoline prices, on the rise for more than three weeks, could top all-time highs by Memorial Day.  Nationally, a gallon of regular averages $3.81 — up 10 cents in the last week and nearly 96 cents above year-ago levels.  Industry experts say prices could surpass July 2008's record $4.11 nationally as seasonal demand, speculators and political uncertainty in Libya and the Middle East propel oil prices.

Gas at $4 in nation's capital, 5 states; NY next.  Hawaii, Alaska, California, Illinois and Connecticut already have pump prices above that mark, according to AAA's Daily Fuel Gauge.

How we will end up paying $6 a gallon for gas:  Someday, you will be pumping gas, staring at the digital numbers racing by, and you'll wonder:  "How could I possibly be paying $6 a gallon for gasoline?"  You also will be wondering why so many of your friends and relatives are still looking for work.  Or why America is more dependent on foreign oil than ever before.  If you look back to today, you'll remember why:  President Obama's de facto moratorium on deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.

The Attack of the Cash Register.  President Obama's support among blacks and Hispanics has fallen to new lows according to a Gallup poll.  Black support declined by 7% and among Hispanics by 11%, farther than at any point since his inauguration. ... But there's another possible reason besides Libya and the deficit:  inflation, starting with energy prices.  The poor, including and especially blacks and Hispanics, are being hardest hit by increasing energy costs.

"Somehow we have to figure out how to boost the price of gasoline to the levels in Europe."

— Steven Chu, United States Secretary of Energy.    
Sources:  [1] [2] [3] [4]    

Hawaii gas prices leads nation at $4.46 a gallon.  Hawaii's average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline hit a nation-leading $4.46 on Thursday, 28 cents higher than second-place California.

Small businesses bitten by higher gas prices.  Across the Washington region, gas prices are approaching all-time highs, rivaling the post-Hurricane Katrina prices that topped $4 per gallon.  Before that, the biggest spike was in 1981, when inflation-adjusted gas prices reached about $3.63.  "The effects will be varied, but significant," said Peter Morici, a business professor at the University of Maryland.

Drivers cut back as gas inches toward $5 a gallon.  The national average price for gasoline is still under $4 a gallon, but many Chicago stations are not far from the $5 mark.  Nationally, prices have shot up 19 cents in the last three weeks to an average of $3.76 for a gallon of regular, according to the latest Lundberg Survey.

Down Memory Lane: Gas Pump Edition.  With the Democrats in the driver's seat, things have sure changed.  $4 a gallon gasoline?  Stunning!  But just wait:  Obama's anti-energy policies may bring us $5 a gallon gasoline by Memorial Day.  Oh, and about that 5.5% unemployment rate?  The Obama administration considers anything below 9% a victory.

Are rising gas prices a laughing matter to you?  If you go to www.realclearpolitics.com, you can watch a video clip of President Obama joking about those who think he's out of touch with gasoline prices.  "I don't pump gas now, but I remember what it was like pumping gas," he said to applause and some laughs. ... This issue is not one to poke fun at, as the president is doing.  A study conducted by the Pew Research Center reported that a majority of Americans say gas prices have a "substantial impact" on their household financial conditions.

Gas prices: Up 20% from January.  Gas prices have risen for 15 days straight days and are getting closer to the all-time high of $4.114 a gallon, reached in July 2008.  The average price of unleaded jumped 2.2 cents overnight to $3.707 a gallon, according to motorist group AAA.

Gas Prices Could Rise To $5.  As gasoline prices continue to climb, the oil industry said this week that by 2012, we could be paying not $4 per gallon, but $5.

Obama's War on the Young.  President Obama needs to reinvent reality, so where does he go?  A college campus.  And why not?  With gas doubling in price toward $4 a gallon, what better place to talk energy than to back-packing cyclists at trendy, urban Georgetown University?  It's a far friendlier crowd than, say, one composed of truckers, commuters or laid off workers.

Obama promised higher energy costs. He wasn't kidding.  President Obama held a town hall meeting Wednesday at a wind turbine manufacturing plant in Fairless Hills, Pa., to promote his Big Green energy agenda.  Not everyone in the audience was receptive to his message. ... "There is no magic formula to driving gas prices down," the president also said Wednesday.  Maybe so, but Obama has figured out a pretty good formula for driving gas prices up.

U.S. gas prices rise 9 cents, hitting April record.  U.S. gasoline prices soared nearly 9 cents over the last week to $3.68 a gallon, the highest pump price on record for April, the Energy Department said on Monday [4/4/2011].  The national price for regular unleaded gasoline is up 86 cents from a year ago, based on the department's weekly survey of fuel prices at service stations.  Cleveland and Chicago had the biggest weekly gasoline price increases, rising 19 and 18 cents a gallon, respectively.

Obama's 'Let them eat cake' moment deep sixed by media.  As gasoline prices soar, while domestic oil production struggles under regulatory and permitting burdens imposed by the Obama administration, the American public is suffering, and so are Obama's reelection prospects.  The sad fact is that Obama wants high energy prices. ... When do suppose the last time was that Obama filled the tank on his own car?

Weekly Gas Prices Show Ninth Consecutive Increase.  The average price of gasoline hit $3.68 per gallon, said the Department of Energy this afternoon [4/4/2011], up 86 cents from a year ago and nine cents from a week ago.  The last time gas rose higher than $3.50 was Sept. 29, 2008, when the weekly average hit $3.64.

Class warfare at the gas pump.  Instead of pivoting away from his disastrous energy policies, the president called an Ides of March press conference to boast of booming domestic crude production.  In fact, from 10 million barrels a day, U.S. production has fallen to 7 million barrels and is heading toward 6 million.  With worldwide energy consumption rising despite the still-bleeding wounds of the 2008-2009 financial crisis, supply has maxed out. ... Government regulation — which Mr. Obama intensified after the BP Gulf spill — has throttled U.S. production.

Wrecking a Nation.  Here's how the economic and political system of a nation is destroyed.  Every price increase of just a dime per gallon of gasoline at the pump extracts approximately $5 billion from the pockets of U.S. consumers over the course of a year.

Gas tops $4 a gallon in San Jose.  If you haven't filled up in the last couple of days, be prepared:  The average price of regular unleaded gas topped $4 a gallon in the Bay Area and could go much higher.  Premium gas already was selling at $4.20 on Thursday [3/24/2011], but you could still get regular at some stations for $3.99.

A Man-Made Energy Crisis.  Gas is well over $4 a gallon in most places in California — and soaring elsewhere as well.  But are such high energy prices good or bad?  That should be a stupid question.  Yet it is not, when the Obama administration has stopped new domestic offshore oil exploration in many American waters, curbed oil leases in the West, and keeps oil-rich areas of Alaska exempt from drilling.

Energy Secretary Denies Administration is Intentionally Seeking Higher Prices.  On the day President Barack Obama announced his energy agenda, Energy Secretary Steven Chu rejected Republican claims that the administration sought to push up energy prices in order to promote a green agenda.

When Inflation Comes, Blame Big Government.  Raw food commodity indexes, for example, have hit all-time highs.  And the broader CRB Commodity Index, including food, energy and industrial commodities, has run up 32% the past 12 months.  As anyone who owns a car or truck knows, oil prices have jumped 29% in the past year to more than $108 a barrel.  This has pushed gasoline prices over $3.60 a gallon nationally, twice what they were when President Obama entered office.

The incoherence of Obama's energy policies:  As Americans watch skyrocketing gasoline prices (up an average of nearly 80 cents a gallon from this time last year) frustrate their hopes for economic recovery, they should be outraged by a new report on America's energy resources from the Congressional Research Service.  The report shows that the United States is sitting on the largest batch of energy resources on the planet.  In fact, these vital fuel sources add up to more than the resources of energy-rich Saudi Arabia, China and Canada combined.

Gasoline up 100% under Obama.  Feeling pain at the pump?  Gas prices have doubled since Mr. Obama took office.  According to the GasBuddy gasoline price tracking web site, the price of a gallon of regular gas was around $1.79 when Mr. Obama took office.  Today the national average is $3.58.  The lowest average price in the continental United States is $3.31 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the highest is $4.14 in Santa Barbara, CA.  Four-dollar-a-gallon gas has arrived on average throughout California, and a number of other states are headed in that direction.

President pumps politics.  President Obama's promise Wednesday to do something about rising gas prices was drowned out by the giant sucking sound of American dollars being funneled into OPEC pockets.  Not that many expected his plan to make much difference anyway.  A president who, as a candidate, said he didn't mind high fuel prices is not likely to be the one leading the nation toward energy policy sanity.

The Energy Choke.  Jobs and economic growth are being deliberately strangled.  Our economy is just beginning to feel the choking grasp of soaring fuel prices around its throat.

Energy Secretary Chu Embraces High Gas Prices, Again.  This weekend, Energy Secretary Steven Chu appeared on Fox News Sunday and host Chris Wallace asked him about his desire in 2008 for Americans to punitively pay more at the pump in order to wean them off of gasoline.  Shockingly, Chu did not walk back his comments as he has attempted to do in the past.  In fact, he embraced the strategy noting that his focus is to ease the pain felt by his energy policies by forcing automakers to make more fuel-efficient automobiles.

Average cost of gasoline rises to $3.57 a gallon.  The national average for a gallon of self-serve, regular gasoline was $3.57 on March 18, according to the Lundberg Survey of about 2,500 gas stations.

Pump prices may put Obama in peril.  Consumers' pain at the gas pump will likely be shared by President Obama at the polls in 2012 and could cost him a second term unless energy prices take a drastic turn for the better in the next 18 months.

Obama: The 'Pay More at the Pump' President.  President Obama's continuing war on American energy is dramatically increasing the price of gas and diesel.  To be fair, President Obama is in favor of drilling... but just not in the United States.  His numerous bans, restrictions, and proposed taxes are hamstringing America's ability to produce more oil and gas and are thereby increasing gas and diesel prices.

Soros Group Blames High Gas Prices On Speculators, Not Demand Or Mideast Turmoil.  Like the opening of the cherry blossoms on the national mall, every spring in Washington seems to bring with it another round of conspiracy theories regarding some hot public-policy issue.  With gas prices high, energy is a favorite this year.  The other week, it was that gas prices were rising because oil companies were engaged in a conspiracy not to drill — and thereby deny themselves profits — while demand was high.  This week, liberals say, the villains are oil speculators who have fiendishly been driving up prices for no other reason than their greed.

Hawaii is the first in the U.S. with $4-a-gallon gasoline.  It's a race no state wanted to win, but someone apparently had to.  Hawaii became the first in the nation to top $4 a gallon for regular gasoline, on average, over the weekend.

Palin Vs. '$4-A-Gallon President'.  We recently asked if President Obama actually wanted $8-a-gallon gas, a level reached by Europeans when Steven Chu, now his secretary of energy, said in a September 2008 interview:  "Somehow we have to figure out how to boost the price of gasoline to the levels in Europe."  Notice he said "boost" and not "allow to rise, or fall, in accordance with the law of supply and demand."  Of course, restricting supply is one way to "boost" gas prices, whether by designating oil-rich areas off Alaska as "critical" habitat for an abundant and growing polar bear population or by imposing a de facto moratorium on offshore drilling because one well exploded.

Gas prices under Obama

The One Campaign Promise Obama Has Kept:  That is, his promise to increase the price of gasoline. ... Barack Obama took office as a naive leftist with essentially no knowledge of how our economy works or how wealth is created.  He subscribed to the leftist view that America is too rich and too powerful.  He therefore took office intending to make America poorer and weaker.  The single easiest way to accomplish this goal is by making energy more expensive.  Obama said that he would increase gasoline prices gradually and cause the cost of electricity to "skyrocket."  I'm not sure he has fulfilled any other campaign promise, but he has certainly made good on that one.

Obama policies drive up gas prices.  With gasoline prices at a two-year high, President Barack Obama, March 11, called for a crackdown on "price gouging" at the pump.  Some consumers may feel relief to hear that the White House intends to protect them from supposedly unscrupulous suppliers.  But the President's energy policies are a lot more to blame for the current high prices than any market manipulation.

Solving US Energy Problems:  [Scroll down]  Over five years ago, I wrote a book, Why Your Gasoline Prices Are High.  If you do not like high gasoline prices, demand that your government allow drilling for US oil.  If oil is worth fighting for in the Middle East, it is worth drilling for in the United States.

None of the Above on Energy.  [Scroll down]  The question is, why does Obama want to forestall access to so many of our energy resources just at the moment when gas prices are hitting $4 a gallon and experts are predicting they will go higher?  Either the President is out of his mind, or he is intent on wrecking our future.

An Energy Policy Designed to Fail.  Gasoline prices are on the rise again, mostly due to a combination of turmoil in the Middle East and increased worldwide demand that has driven crude prices up over $100 per barrel.  When refiners switch to EPA-required summer blends starting on May 1, gasoline prices will increase even more.

Obama's First Two Years a Disaster for America.  As of March 14, the average price of regular unleaded gasoline was $3.57/gallon.  When Obama took office in January 2009, the price was $1.81/gallon.  That represents more than a 90% increase in just over two years. ... The pertinent question we might ask is, "What has President Obama done in the past two years to limit the rise of oil and gasoline prices, if anything?"  The answer is... nothing.  If anything, his policies have contributed towards rising prices.

Green Goons.  It's getting so people are afraid to drive more than 150 miles for fear that they won't be able to afford the gas to get home again.  Still, President Obama refuses to allow oil development either on government-owned land or just off our coasts.  We have enough petroleum in the ground right here in the United States to last us centuries but Obama, the Democrats and their green goons won't let us get at it for fear there might be a spill and a sea gull might get oil on its wings.  It's all right though to send $1,000,000,000 a day to Muslim countries who use much of it to finance jihad against us in their radical quest to destroy western civilization.  Our liberal Democrat rulers want fossil-fuel energy prices to go up in hopes that Americans will turn to solar panels, windmills and Chevy Volts.

Energy in the Executive.  Anyone who's been to a gas station recently knows the feeling.  There you are, about to refuel, when you see the price of regular gasoline:  about $3.52 per gallon, up 77 cents since 2010.  Your pulse quickens.  Your stomach sinks.  Because this is not a dream.  The days of $4.00-a-gallon gas are about to return.  How we got here is no mystery. ... [President Obama] doesn't grasp that supply must increase by a lot more, and a lot more quickly, if Americans are to enjoy affordable fuel.

Gas prices: Up 37 cents and counting.  If you think gasoline is expensive now, just wait.  In the weeks to come, you'll be looking back at today's prices with a poignant sense of longing, if the forecasts become reality.  Gasoline prices just keep going up.  Prices jumped for the 17th straight day Friday [3/11/2011], increasing by 37 cents since Feb. 22 to a nationwide average of $3.542 per gallon, according to motorist group AAA.

Gas Prices Have Gone Up 67 Percent Since Obama Became President.  Ah, January of 2009.  Hope was in the air, but more importantly, gas was under two dollars a gallon.  Since then gas prices, have gone up 67 percent and it's an ominously upward trend.  Interestingly enough, the Heritage Foundation also took a look at the first 26 months of Bush's presidency — gas only rose 7 percent during that time frame.

Suspend the gas tax.  Republicans should demand the immediate suspension of the 18.4-cent federal gasoline tax and, at the state level throughout the nation, the suspension of the additional 30-cent average local tax.  When gas prices drop again — likely not for several years — the taxes should resume.  All told, federal, state and local excise and sales taxes account for almost 50 cents of the price of gasoline at the pump.

Gas prices continue climb, up 34 cents in 13 days.  Gas prices continued to rise Monday [3/7/2011], driven higher for nearly two weeks straight by the turmoil in Libya, with analysts expecting prices to keep climbing.  The national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline rose six tenths of a cent to $3.509, according to a daily survey by motorist group AAA.

What are Republicans Waiting for?  Americans feel the price at the pump.  And they feel it often.  They're far less concerned with a "Continuing Resolution" and other such Washington techno-speak.  The national average for a gallon of gas is $3.43, and it's only March.  In fact, gas prices have skyrocketed 21% since the protests in Libya began two weeks ago.  Again, it's only March.  What happens when Americans start taking their summer vacations en masse and it's $4 a gallon, $5 a gallon, or higher?

Why are gasoline prices rising so much — even in Texas?  U.S. gasoline prices averaged $3.47 a gallon Friday [3/4/2011], the highest level since Oct. 6, 2008.  Gasoline prices have jumped by 6 percent in Texas this week alone, to an average $3.36 a gallon, at a time when fuel prices historically have yet to begin their run-up before the summer driving season, the American Automobile Association tells us.  And with unrest in the Middle East and North Africa continuing — it's already pushed the price of crude oil above $104, a 29-month high — analysts say pump prices likely are headed even higher.

Just How High Will the Gas Prices Go?  Since the beginning of the year gas prices have jumped about ten percent and seem to shoot up every day.  With oil prices soaring to more than $104 a barrel the impact is being felt at pumps across the country and Arkansas is not immune.  Gas prices are at their highest levels in more than two years forcing folks who are already cash-strapped to make tough decisions.

Gas prices headed toward $4 a gallon.  It won't be long before we're paying $4 a gallon for regular unleaded gasoline, at least if prices keep going up at their current pace.  Prices have already surged 38 cents a gallon in metro Detroit since President's Day and likely will jump again by early next week as crude oil prices shot up nearly $3 Friday to $104.63 a barrel.

Obama's energy transformation.  President Obama has intentionally hamstrung domestic energy production under the delusional theory that the U.S. economy can thrive on so-called green power.  As Mideast turmoil threatens the oil supply, the price of domestic crude has jumped above $100 a barrel and gas at the pump now exceeds $3.46 a gallon.  This shows just how dangerous the Obama administration's economic and energy policies can be to our wallets.

Is Your Wallet Screaming "Inflation"?  I need not mention what we are seeing at the gas pump these days.  The price of a gallon of gasoline has skyrocketed (in my home state of Florida) from just over $1.50 per gallon at the end of the Bush administration to close to $3.50 for that same gallon today.  Anybody that believes that inflation is really 1.63 percent (as told to us by the federal government's Bureau of Labor Statistics in its Consumer Price Index summary) is not living in the real world.

Gas Price Increases Are Intentional.  Gas prices continue to go up.  When George W. Bush was President of the United States, Democrats constantly demanded he open the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to help lower prices.  Some even wanted a temporary suspension of the gas tax.  With Obama?  Crickets. ... The left could use gas prices as a political wedge issue against George W. Bush because they knew he did not actually want higher gas prices.  Barack Obama, on the other hand, wants higher gas prices.  His Energy Secretary, Steven Chu, wants the same.

Gas prices are going lower. Really.  So long as oil supplies from the Persian Gulf remain relatively undisrupted — and most analysts think they will — there's a strong case that gas prices could fall 25 to 75 cents a gallon from their current perch of $3.43.

Cut with a machete.  [Scroll down]  $4 per gallon.  That's the price point where we start to appreciate the beauty of an inert automobile.  It's also the point where we start looking askance at a seemingly inert president who may be a bit out of touch with what's going on with the rest of us on a day-to-day basis.  It's when we start throwing around words like ANWR and offshore drilling in everyday conversations, and we begin to point fingers at a president who seems more concerned with his ideological political base than our travails at the gas pump.  $4 serves as a trigger.

Media Hides Real Reason for Rise in Gas Prices.  Fill 'er up folks.  Gas prices in Southern California have hit $4.59 a gallon.  Oh, the media has finally started covering "Pain at the Pump" but they are not giving us the real reasons for the jump.

Food prices could reach 2008 level.  U.S. consumers could see food costs spiking to levels seen during the food crisis of 2008 as higher commodity and energy prices force companies to raise prices on products lining grocery store shelves, the Agriculture Department said on Thursday [2/24/2011].

How gas spikes 6 cents in one day.  Gas prices spiked 6 cents Friday [2/25/2011], the biggest one-day jump in two years, and drivers are probably wondering how prices can rise so much in such a short period of time.  Sure, oil prices surged past $100 a barrel Thursday [2/24/2011] in the wake of violence and protests in the Middle East.  But the gas you're pumping at the station was probably made two or three weeks ago, when U.S. crude was trading in the high $80s.  So why the 6 cent jump?

Five Dollars a Gallon?  Conservative thinkers have been saying for years (decades?) that we need to build up our own oil resources here at home so we're not at the mercy of the oil Imams of the Middle East.  We should have allowed more off-shore drilling.  We should have allowed Alaska drilling.  And shale.  There are ways to do these things safely and cleanly.  But it wasn't done.  The environmentalists wouldn't let it happen.

U.S., Chicago gas prices spike 6 cents overnight.  U.S. gas prices jumped 6 cents overnight, as the recent spike in oil prices begins to hit filling stations across America.  That marks the third day in a row that prices have risen, and brings the national average to the highest level since October 2008.

Does Obama Want $8 Gasoline?  While we sit on abundant oil and natural gas reserves, prices at both the wellhead and the pump are rising on fears of spreading Mideast turmoil and short domestic supply.  But then, maybe that's the plan.

The inflation disaster is near.  Five dollar a gallon gas will shatter the Federal Reserve's tightly constrained lid on inflation and accelerate the other half our long anticipated "double dip" recession. ... 91% of House Republicans have historically voted to increase the production of American-made oil and gas, while 86% of House Democrats have historically voted against increasing the production of American-made oil and gas.

After Obama, the Deluge.  Gas prices in many parts of the country are nearing $4 a gallon; it could get even worse as unrest spreads throughout the oil-exporting Middle East.  Yet the Obama administration once again seems to see no crisis.  It has curtailed new leases for offshore oil exploration for seven years and exempted thousands of acres in the West from new drilling.  It will not reconsider opening up small areas of Alaska with known large oil reserves.

The left's drive toward $8 gas.  A perfect storm of foreign and domestic policy choices by the Obama administration has paved the way for European-style energy prices to arrive on these shores.  Far from being alarmed, President Obama sees the prospect of $8 a gallon gas as an opportunity. ... Making energy more expensive is exactly what the administration's "cap and trade" scheme is meant to do.

Oil Shock.  The price of oil on the international market at yesterday's close was $93.57 per barrel, an increase of $7.37 in one day.  That increase was because of the unrest in Libya which is, unlike Tunisia, Egypt, and Bahrain, a significant oil producer.  According to the AAA, prices at the pump have increased to $3.17 a gallon for regular gasoline, an increase of six cents in a week.

Gov. Barbour on Obama's Energy Plan: 'Drive Up Prices'.  The turmoil and unpredictability in the Middle East right now is just one of many reasons America should be robustly producing her own energy, says Haley Barbour.  "This should be America's energy policy:  More American energy."  But as the Mississippi Governor noted, the Obama administration is hell bent on driving up the cost at the pump so that Americans consume less energy.

Gas Prices Going Up.  Why are gas prices going up?  "In a word:  Libya," says petroleum expert Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates in Houston.  He has been following gas prices one way or another for more than 30 years.  Unlike Egypt and Bahrain, he says, Libya is a significant exporter of light sweet crude.

U.S. Gas Prices Hit 28-Month High.  Gasoline pump prices reached a 28-month high Wednesday [2/16/2011] even though oil and gas supplies in the U.S. continue to grow and demand for gas is weak.

Gas pump prices highest ever for this time of year.  The national average hit $3.127 per gallon today [2/11/2011], about 50 cents higher than a year ago.

EIA projects gasoline retail prices to average 3.15 per gallon in 2011.  The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) issued its Short Term Energy Outlook update, which shows the trend for gasoline rising to $3.30 through 2012.

U.S. gasoline prices rise to $3.11/gallon.  The average price for a gallon of gasoline in the United States rose 2.99 cents in the last two weeks and was likely to remain steady for now, according to an industry analyst.  The national average for self-serve, regular unleaded gas was $3.11 a gallon on Jan. 21, compared with two weeks ago when the price was $3.08, according to the nationwide Lundberg survey of some 2,500 gas stations.

Md. bill would create sales tax on gasoline.  Democratic leaders in the Maryland Senate are proposing a new sales tax on gasoline — roughly equal to $2.16 per tank — with a bill that would steer one-quarter of the revenues from Montgomery, Prince George's and Baltimore counties to the jurisdictions' billion-dollar light rail projects.  Maryland currently charges drivers a fixed 23.5-cent-per-gallon tax on gasoline.  Tacking on a sales tax would not affect the state's per-gallon rate, but instead would tie any tax increases to the cost of gas.

Gas prices high — and might get higher.  Strong worldwide oil demand and lack of supply are to blame for steadily rising gasoline prices in the United States, an oil industry group said Friday [1/21/2011].  The American Petroleum Institute made no specific price forecast for 2011, but didn't seem to see a drop anytime soon.

Obama's Solar Nightmare:  The Obama administration has tried to kill off the oil industry.  Offshore moratoriums have been unilaterally imposed by executive orders and justified using scientific panel studies that were misrepresented — if not distorted — by the administration.  The drilling permitting process has been afflicted with sclerosis.  Federal lands are becoming less and less available for development. ... Hence, gas prices approaching $4 dollars a gallon — and this is not yet the summer driving season that typically boosts gas prices as demand increases.

Cost of gas up about 9 cents in the last 3 weeks.  The twice-monthly Lundberg Survey has found the price of regular gasoline has risen about nine cents a gallon over three weeks to $3.08.

Oil's surge in 2010 paves the way for $4 gasoline.  The price of oil is poised for another run at $100 a barrel after a global economic rebound sent it surging 34 percent since May.

Experts:  Gas could climb to $3.75 per gallon.  Drivers in the USA could be paying as much as $3.75 a gallon for gas this spring, oil experts predict.  Prices at the gas pump have inched up all year as the cost of crude oil neared $100 a barrel.  On Christmas Day, the average nationwide price of self-serve regular hit $3, a record for that day.  By year's end, the average price reached $3.06.

Dramatic spike in gas prices forecasted.  Oil and gasoline prices have risen to their highest levels in two years, and analysts say prices could shoot up dramatically this year as the thirst for fuel grows in the U.S. and around the world.  The former head of Shell Oil has warned that gas prices could hit $5 a gallon by 2012 because of fast-growing demand in emerging countries such as China and India, where more and more people are buying cars, combined with restraints on drilling in the U.S. in the wake of last year's disastrous Gulf oil spill.

The Administration's Administrative Tyranny Marches On.  [Scroll down]  The Heritage Foundation notes that gas prices decreased 9 percent during Dubya's eight-year tenure, but they've been on a steady rise under Obama.  The EPA emission rules will clearly make it more expensive to convert fossil fuels into energy, putting even more upward pressure on gas prices.  That's not all.  Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has decreed that the Bureau of Land Management will establish new rules to make it more difficult to develop natural resources on government-owned land, which will also drive up the cost of gas and electricity and increase our dependency on foreign energy sources.

Will It Be Slow Enough for Obama This Time?  While campaigning for the presidency in 2008, Barack Obama spoke to the $4 a gallon gasoline prices Americans were facing by making it clear he had no problem with gas prices at that level.  He simply "would have preferred a gradual adjustment" toward that price.  In other words, he wasn't bothered that gasoline hit $4 a gallon, just that it did so too quickly.  Fortunately for the American consumer, shortly after fuel prices had skyrocketed to those levels they dropped enough that when Obama took office they were hovering around $1.81 a gallon.  But two years into the Obama presidency, and one offshore drilling moratorium later, prices are well over $3 a gallon in much of the country and climbing fast.

Oil up 34% since May; average gas price hits $3.07.  The price of oil is poised for another run at $100 a barrel after a global economic rebound sent it surging 34% since May.

U.S. gasoline appetite shrinking.  After seven decades of mostly uninterrupted growth, U.S. gasoline demand is at the start of a long-term decline.

Gas Prices Back Above $3, Networks Don't Question Obama Policies.  Gas prices are "soaring" again, crossing the $3-a-gallon threshold on Dec. 23 for the first time since Oct. 17, 2008.  Back then the benchmark was a relief as prices plunged from the highest price ever of $4.11.  Pump prices have been climbing all month, yet network reports downplayed the pain and suffering of consumers.

Gas price rise may thwart economic recovery.  Gas prices are spiking again, setting off new fears for the economy even as it heads toward recovery.  Gasoline costs $3.13 a gallon in Metro Detroit and Michigan — up 23 cents from last month and 46 cents or 17 percent from the same time a year ago, according to AAA Michigan.  It's the highest price in more than two years — since mid-October 2008.

$5 Gas Predicted Under Obama — What, No Pitchforks?  During President George W. Bush's administration, we constantly heard demands to hold the President accountable for "Big Oil's price gouging."  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., just two years ago, knew exactly whom to blame for "skyrocketing" oil prices:  "The price of oil is at the doorstep; $4-plus per gallon for oil is attributed to two oilmen in the White House and their protectors in the United States Senate."  In 2007, when the average national price ranged from $2.17 to $3.22, then-Sen. Barack Obama demanded that the Federal Trade Commission investigate Big Oil for "price manipulation."

Gas Prices Predicted to Soar.  Two summers ago, Americans were reeling over the exorbitant gas prices that averaged $4.50 per gallon.  As gas prices are once again beginning to inch their way back to those numbers, former president of Shell oil John Hofmeister predicts that America will witness a continued rise to well over $5 per gallon in two years.

Gas pump prices rise above $3.  The national average for a gallon of regular gasoline topped $3 on Thursday [12/23/2010].

Ex-Shell president sees $5 gas in 2012.  The former president of Shell Oil, John Hofmeister, says Americans could be paying $5 for a gallon of gasoline by 2012.  In an interview with Platt's Energy Week television, Hofmeister predicted gasoline prices will spike as the global demand for oil increases.

What you can do about outrageous gas prices.  Gasoline isn't the type of product you can stop using.  So a consumer boycott is out of the question.  And the way the energy markets are being gamed shows a boycott wouldn't be effective anyway — as gasoline usage is already down sharply.  But you can call the people who invest your money — your broker, your retirement plan and even the college you attended.  See if they are participating in fleecing American consumers by investing in energy future contracts.  And tell them to stop the nonsense.

Gas zooms up 8 cents per gallon in 1 week.  Gasoline prices spiked 8 cents a gallon in Chicago in the past week.  The average price of unleaded regular gasoline jumped to $3.10 a gallon Monday [12/6/2010] from $3.02 a week earlier, according to AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and Wright Express.  Nationally, prices rose by an even larger margin, but the average still remained below that in Chicago.  The average per gallon price was $2.95 nationally, up 9 cents from $2.86 a week earlier.

Gas up $1 a gallon on Obama's watch.  Gas prices have risen $1 since just after President Obama took office in January 2009 and are now closing in on the $3 mark, prompting an evaluation of the administration's energy record and calls for the White House to open more U.S. land for oil exploration.

The Editor says...
 A dollar?  Really?  Gas prices in my neighborhood have gone up maybe 30 cents in the last two years.

New gas pains:  Motorists face new rounds of increases.  For the second time in a week, local gasoline prices have increased — this time to more than $3 a gallon, a price the local area hasn't seen since the fall of 2008.  And gas prices across the country could rise by another 25 cents in the near future if a proposed federal fuel tax is enacted.

Gas prices rise, breaking pre-election pattern.  Gasoline prices haven't gotten much attention amid all the other bad economic news for Democrats heading into a final week of campaigning, but the price per gallon has climbed nearly 15 cents since Labor Day — a surprising jump, given that prices usually plummet before an election.

Gas Prices Back on the Rise.  The average price of regular gas is up about 10 cents in Orange County.  According to AAA and Oil Price Information Service figures, the average price is now $3.08.  Marie Montgomery of the Automobile Club of Southern California said that the only thing they can attribute to the rising prices is "the fact that crude oil prices have shot up."

Chumps at the pump.  We all remember how painful it was when gasoline prices surged past four bucks a gallon a couple years ago.  The price is now around $3 a gallon.  That steep sum will seem like chump change if global-warming alarmists in Congress have their way.

Santelli:  $4 Gas, $150 Oil Coming This Summer.  With summer driving season upon us, it's important to note that there's a traditional jump in gas prices.  But will this seasonal adjustment benefit commodities, specifically oil and make the price of gasoline even higher?  That could happen if those forms of energy lure investment from what seems to be an over-valued equities market, brought on by what some claim is cheap money.

The Debt and Energy Conquer Even Hope and Change.  [Scroll down slowly]  Should gas hit $4 a gallon, when oil, new natural gas finds, and nuclear power went untapped amid Al Gore-Van Jones-like sermonizing, the present Tea Parties will seem tame in comparison with a new round of populist anger.  Nothing quite ticks people off like $1.50 more a gallon at the pump, and the knowledge that local, state, and federal tax increases led to greater, not lesser, annual deficits, together with cuts, not expansions, in public services.

Gasoline, Oil Break out to 18-Month Highs.  New reports showing improvement in the housing and services sectors combined with encouraging employment data to send oil and gasoline prices to an 18-month high Monday [4/5/2010].  After months of trading in a range of $75 to $85, a recent rally driven by positive U.S. economic news has some analysts wondering if oil could make its first foray into triple digits since late 2008.

Gasoline Prices:  Increases in retail gasoline prices from 2000 until fall 2006, and their sudden decline in September of that year, led to claims of price manipulation by oil companies, with Democrats accusing Republicans of being "in the pockets" of oil and gas companies.  In fact, gasoline prices at their peak only matched their inflation-adjusted prices of the 1980s, and oil industry profits, while large in dollar terms, are not higher than the profit rates reported by other industries.  Repeated investigations of oil industry practices have failed to find evidence of price-fixing or anti-competitive behavior.

The Real Reason Gasoline Costs More:  The popular myth about Big Oil is that it wields such great power that nation states cannot resist them.  The reality is that, faced with dictators like [Hugo] Chavez, often the only alternative is to leave or cut the best deal they can.  The other reality is that Venezuela's oil production has declined 25 percent since Chavez, a committed Communist, crushed the strike.  With the major oil companies departing, how much greater a decline lies ahead?  That is just one reason gasoline will cost more.

An Incurious Media or a Four-Leaf-Clover President.  [Scroll down]  Remember when we were supposedly in Iraq to steal oil?  We've certainly been there long enough to drain that nation dry.  Only one problem — we didn't do it.  Or maybe it was the oil company conspiracy to lower gas prices and fix the election.  CNN's Jack Cafferty was just one of many media voices to say "if you were a real cynic, you could also wonder if the oil companies might not be pulling the price of gas down to help the Republicans get re-elected in the midterm elections a couple of months away."  That conspiracy was also proven bogus when gas prices didn't plummet until after the 2008 elections.

Find the lowest gas prices in your zip code.

State-by-state gasoline averages from AAA.

Federal Gasoline Excise Tax Rate, 1932-2007.

Gas prices state-by-state  (Map)

More Oil and Gas News.

Gas Buddy can help you find cheap gas prices in your city.  It is a network of more than 179+ gas price information web sites that helps you find low gasoline prices.

Gas price up $1 a gallon on Obama's watch.  Gas prices have risen $1 since just after President Obama took office in January 2009 and are now closing in on the $3 mark, prompting an evaluation of the administration's energy record and calls for the White House to open more U.S. land for oil exploration.

Obama's a pain at the pump.  The U.S. Energy Information Administration is predicting gas prices will spike soon to more than $3 a gallon, and some areas have already exceeded that price.  Contrary to its posture of attentiveness toward America's energy needs, the Obama administration actually has imposed a two-year delay on new drilling — from 2010 until 2012.

Oil companies look at permanent refinery cutbacks.  Some of the nation's biggest oil companies are looking at permanently reducing how much gasoline and diesel fuel they make, a move that analysts say would almost certainly trigger higher prices for drivers.

$7-A-Gallon Gas Needed to Meet Government's CO2 Cuts.  As the national average of gasoline creeps to three dollars a gallon, economists are warning that high gas prices in the United States could slow the economic recovery.  Other countries' economies are recovering more quickly and increased production and activity is putting upward pressure on oil prices.  That coupled with a relatively weak US dollar spells trouble for American drivers.  Throw in carbon dioxide cuts and gasoline prices could reach unprecedented levels.

Why Ethanol Doesn't Reduce Oil Imports.  Even our biggest source of alternative fuel is taking very little bite out of our petroleum consumption.  Much more effective has been high prices and recession.  In fact, I believe it unlikely that any combination of biofuels will ever replace even 50% (net) of our present petroleum consumption.

Is gasoline losing steam?  Gasoline markets have exhibited the first signs that an extended rally in pump prices is nearing an end after 52 straight days on the rise.  Gasoline futures started falling midweek after a government report showed a surplus.

A shock at the pump?  They're back.  Rising gasoline prices, that is.  Millions of Americans hitting the roads over Memorial Day weekend faced prices for regular gas averaging $2.35 per gallon, a full 30 cents higher than at the beginning of the month and nearly 60 cents more than at the start of the year.  But don't expect any help from Congress.  In fact, Washington is working on a bill that would raise costs further.

Why has the price of gas jumped 18 cents a gallon?  Why are gasoline prices going up so much?  I suppose I should be happy I am paying only $2.69 a gallon for mid-grade, instead of the $4.10 I paid in 2008.  But it seems like the economy is not booming and oil supply exceeds demand, which would suggest oil prices — and hence gasoline prices — should be dropping.  But they're not.  And the reason is the same as last year — speculators.

Gasoline prices continue slow climb.  Pump prices in California and around much of the nation continued their ever-so-slow crawl higher over the past week, the Energy Department said Monday. ... Crude oil futures for June delivery were up $1.27 to $54.47 a barrel Monday on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the market's best close since November, analysts said.

Are Wall Street speculators driving up gasoline prices?  Oil and gasoline prices are rising fast as Memorial Day weekend approaches, but not because supplies are tight or demand is high.  U.S. crude-oil inventories are at their highest levels in almost two decades, and demand has fallen to a 10-year low, but crude oil prices have climbed more than 70 percent since mid-January to a six-month high of $62.04 on Wednesday [5/20/2009].

Gas prices jump significantly.  You may have gotten a real shock at the pump if you noticed around a 30 cent jump almost overnight.  Prices were coming in at around $2.27 a gallon for regular unleaded.  That's up around 30 cents from where it has been.  AAA says there are several things at play here.

Why haven't gas prices gone down with the lower price of crude oil?  Crude oil prices are down, so why hasn't the price of gasoline dropped at your local station?

Crude oil is getting cheaper — so why isn't gas?  Crude oil prices have fallen to new lows for this year.  So you'd think gas prices would sink right along with them.  Not so.  On Thursday [2/12/2009], for example, crude oil closed just under $34 a barrel, its lowest point for 2009.  But the national average price of a gallon of gas rose to $1.95 on the same day, its peak for the year.  On Friday gas went a penny higher.

A Funny Sort of Depression.  The sudden crash in energy prices may be hurting Iran, the Gulf monarchies, Russia and Venezuela.  Yet Americans, who import 60 percent of their transportation fuel, along with natural gas, have been given about a half-trillion-dollar annual reprieve.  The reduced price of energy could translate into more than $1,500 in annual savings for the average driver, and hundreds of dollars off the heating and cooling bills for the homeowner.

California adopts first regulation to limit greenhouse gas emissions from fuel.  California took aim today at the oil industry and its effect on global warming, adopting the world's first regulation to limit greenhouse gas emissions from the fuel that runs cars and trucks.  The state Air Resources Board voted 9-1 in favor of the complex new rule, which is expected to slash the state's gasoline consumption by a quarter in the next decade.

Commission recommends federal gas tax increase.  As Washington struggles to find ways to fund highway improvements, a congressionally created commission on Thursday [2/26/2009] called for a 10-cent-a-gallon increase in the federal gas tax, while proposing that the country move to a system of charging motorists for how much they drive.  The idea of a tax increase would probably face strong resistance from lawmakers seeking reelection and consumers already reeling in a tough economy.

California Gas Stations Shut Under Expensive Mandate.  Nearly 100 California gas stations are being forced out of business by a statewide mandate requiring them to implement expensive new equipment to reduce vapor emissions at the pump.  The mandate, issued by the California Air Resources Board (CARB), is known as Phase II of the state's Enhanced Vapor Recovery program.  It requires gas station owners to purchase and install devices to prevent vapors from escaping when customers fill their cars.

Commission Urges 50 Percent Hike in Federal Gas Tax.  Motorists are driving less and buying less gasoline, which means fuel taxes aren't raising enough money to keep pace with the cost of road, bridge and transit programs.  A federal commission created by Congress to find a way to make up the growing revenue shortfall in the program that funds highway repairs and construction is talking about increasing federal gas and diesel taxes.  A roughly 50 percent increase in gasoline and diesel fuel taxes is being urged by the commission until the government devises another way for motorists to pay for using public roads.

Gag The Guzzlers.  Congress is considering legislation that would give drivers of gas guzzlers a financial incentive to get rid of their cars.  Where was this program when gasoline prices were at $4 a gallon?

Truckers protesting high fuel prices.  Independent truckers around the country pulled their rigs off the road and others slowed to a crawl on major highways in a loosely organized protest of high fuel prices.  Some truckers, on CB radios and trucking Web sites, had called for a strike Tuesday to protest the high cost of diesel fuel….

Bush and Congress Should Lift Environmental Restrictions on Energy Production.  With American consumers currently paying the highest gasoline prices in recent history, and after another winter of high heating costs, many Americans are properly concerned about America's energy future.  Predictably, many politicians and commentators blame the "greed" of U.S. energy companies for the soaring prices.  The truth, however, is that prices rise when demand increases relative to supply, and that the American supply of energy is being strangled by the policies of U.S. federal and state governments.

Astonishing!
 Gas Shenanigans:  During this unprecedented increase in oil and gas prices, … we, the United States, are allowing the sale of gasoline refined domestically.  That's right … we're sending gasoline out of the country.  The very same gas, is refined here, then shipped to Mexico — where subsidies put in place by the Mexican government allow Mexican citizens to purchase gas at half the price Americans pay.

Gasoline, Oil and the Economy:  Despite the current gas price relief, growing numbers of Americans remain wary of domestic gasoline supply, gas prices, and fear for their economic future.  They are wary of the OPEC nations, who can throttle supply on political whim; and, they fear that, should they lose their job, how will they be able to buy food, gas, and pay for their home.  Their worry is understandable.  Perhaps, it is also wise — if their worry serves as a catalyst for demanding specific action by elected officials.

High gas prices lead to surge in mass transit.  It's standing-room-only on many commuter buses from Washington's suburbs.  Rail systems from Boston to Los Angeles are begging passengers to shift their travel to non-peak hours.  And some seats have been removed from San Francisco's subway cars to allow more people to cram in.  Around the country, high gas prices are helping to push more people to leave their cars at home and crowd onto trains, buses and subways.

More information about Mass Transit and Car Pooling .

What makes up the price of gas?  Once oil is pumped from the ground, it can be sold on the spot market, a last-minute trading arena where oil companies and distributors buy and sell to each other, or straight to refiners.  After it's brewed into gasoline, the product can again be sold on the spot market, or directly to wholesalers, who in turn can supply their own stations or sell it to other retailers.  Each step of the way, buyers and sellers negotiate a price until, finally, drivers pay the ultimate tab at the pump.

Speaker Pushing Stealth Renewal of Congressional Energy Embargo.  Having failed to pass the required measures to fund the government for the next fiscal year, Congress must now pass what is known as a Continuing Resolution (CR) in order to avoid a government shutdown.  A draft of the resolution contains a provision taken from the recently passed House bill, H.R. 6899, to continue the ban on energy exploration and production on nearly all of the taxpayer owned Outer Continental Shelf in the lower 48 states for another year.

Gas prices blame game:  [Scroll down]  It's also worth noting that oil companies are probably the most investigated companies in America.  Every few years, outraged legislators demand that the Federal Trade Commission determine whether oil companies are colluding to inflate prices.  Repeatedly, federal regulators find that they aren't.

Average gas price drops below $3 a gallon.  The national average price of a gallon of gasoline has fallen below $3 for the first time since February.  The average price for a gallon of regular gas was $2.991 Saturday [10/18/2008], according to the AAA's daily survey of up to 100,000 self serve gas stations by the Oil Price Information Service and Wright Express.  That's down from $3.040 Friday.  A year ago, the national average price of a gallon of gas was $2.81, according to AAA.  A month ago, it was $3.835.

Republican talks fuel prices; Dems tout their agendas.  Sen. John McCain on Tuesday [4/15/2008] called for a summer-long suspension of the federal gasoline tax and several tax cuts.  To help people weather the economic downturn immediately, the Republican presidential nominee-in-waiting urged Congress to institute a "gas-tax holiday" by suspending the 18.4 cent federal gas tax and 24.4 cent diesel tax from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

Global Warming Holiday:  Most of the price of gasoline is determined by the global price of crude oil, which is spiking now due to a combination of the weak dollar and commodity speculation.  The source of the problem isn't the tax.  Domestic demand for gas always goes up with summer driving, but the McCain holiday doesn't affect production, and anyway, only applies over the short term.  More notably, it makes a hash out of the climate-change policies that the candidate purports to favor.

Shell Oil president:  To cut price, produce more gasoline in U.S..  John Hofmeister, president of Shell Oil Co., the U.S. division of Royal Dutch Shell, addressed rising gasoline prices during an interview Wednesday [4/30/2008] with John Roberts on CNN's "American Morning." … "I say we need more gas to be produced in this country.  I've been saying that for three years, ever since I took this position [as president of Shell].  If the U.S. set a goal to produce 2 to 3 million barrels more a day in this country, we would send a shock around the world that would immediately say to the speculators, hey, U.S. is serious."

Aging refineries drive price at the pump.  It is not ExxonMobil or Middle Eastern oil producers who are driving the price of gasoline you pay at the pump.  It is shortages of gas and other problems at aging refineries in your neighborhoods.

Group trying to stop BP refinery expansion.  The Natural Resources Defense Council filed a federal court appeal Wednesday [7/9/2008], alleging that BP Whiting's air permit will allow an expanded refinery to emit substantially more pollution than the Clean Air Act allows.  The environmental group hopes the lawsuit will send BP and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management back to the drawing board to draft a new, more stringent permit.

Environmental Group Sues to Block Oil Refinery Expansion.  An environmental group on Wednesday filed a lawsuit intended to stop the expansion of a BP oil refinery in Whiting, Indiana.  A shortage of oil refining capacity is often mentioned as one reason for soaring gasoline prices.

Gas could fall to $2 if Congress acts, analysts say.  The price of retail gasoline could fall by half, to around $2 a gallon, within 30 days of passage of a law to limit speculation in energy-futures markets, four energy analysts told Congress on Monday [6/23/2008].

Gulf Oil CEO says gas could hit $1 next year.  Gulf Oil CEO Joe Petrowski said on Wednesday [12/3/2008] that the price of oil could sink to $20 per barrel, and there is a chance gasoline prices could drop as low as $1 per gallon by early next year.  Speaking at a South Shore Chamber of Commerce breakfast at Lombardo's in Randolph, the Brockton native said that after speculators drove oil prices up, there is a chance that the market will overshoot on the way back down, resulting in much lower prices at the pump.

Who Is Really Responsible For The High Prices You Pay For Gasoline?  For the last 28 years, Democrats in Congress and a few Republicans have again and again opposed our drilling for oil in Alaska's ANWR area when we knew it contained at least 10 billion barrels of oil we could be using now.  For the past 31 years, Congress repeatedly prevented us from building any new oil refineries that we now badly need.  More recently, congressional Democrats defeated and discouraged any bill that would let us drill in the deep sea 100 miles out.  However, it's somehow OK for China to drill there.

Top 10 reasons to blame Democrats for soaring gasoline prices:  If Bill Clinton had signed into law the Republican Congress's 1995 bill to allow drilling of ANWR instead of vetoing it, ANWR could be producing a million barrels of (non-Opec) oil a day — 5% of the nation's consumption.  Although speaking in another context, even Democrat Senator Charles Schumer, no proponent of ANWR drilling, admits that "one million barrels per day," would cause the price of gasoline to fall "50 cents a gallon almost immediately," according to a recent George Will column.

Turn up the heat on Congress to bring gas prices down.  Senators and representatives know there is growing anger and frustration in the body politick over rising gas prices.  They know their excuses for inaction are not flying with the public, says the editor and founder of WND.  Joseph Farah is taking the unusual action of launching an ad hoc political movement in the waning days of the second session of the 110th Congress.

Blame Democrats for high gas prices.  Two years ago then Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi boldly proclaimed, "Democrats have a common-sense plan to help bring down skyrocketing gas prices."  Since she became speaker of the House, gas prices have skyrocketed from about $2.33 per gallon to $3.85 as I write this.

Energy a Democratic minus?  Gasoline prices are flattening consumer wallets and hobbling our economy, while the Democrats sit back and play politics with the issue.  Voter surveys show the economy and gas prices top the list of the most critical issues facing our country.  A Washington Post/ABC News poll reported last week that 85 percent of voters polled said gas prices will be either extremely or very important to their vote in this year's elections.

Drivers blame D.C. for high gas prices.  Fed up with record gas prices, drivers often scapegoat big oil companies for high prices at the pump, but in a recent survey, more Americans directed their scorn towards Washington lawmakers.  According to a Consumer Reports Auto Pulse Survey released Thursday [6/26/2008], 77% of consumers said the root of high gas prices lies with the government's failure to implement an effective energy policy.

Cussin' At The Pump Won't Fix The Problem.  These days, each gas station and each grocery store receipt shows American citizens how much they are paying for politicians who sold out to radical environmentalists and liberal social engineers.  That's the cost of bad political leadership.  How so?  Since the 1970s, liberal politicians in Congress have passed laws that have locked up most of our oil reserves, stopped the construction of refineries and virtually banned the building of nuclear power plants.  Every time we buy food, pump fuel or pay a natural gas or electric bill, we pay a price for these foolish policy decisions.

What's not to like?  Time magazine's recent piece "10 Things You Can Like About $4 Gas" exposes the twisted thinking of watermelons (green on the outside, Red on the inside).  While acknowledging Americans' only recourse today is to "adapt just by suffering," the article celebrates the benefits of record gasoline prices.

Democrats Float Bill to Curb Gasoline Demand.  Anxious to look like they're doing something about rising oil and gas prices — but unwilling to expand domestic oil drilling — Democrats have introduced a bill that's supposed to ease pain at the pump by offering alternatives to driving.  The bill does nothing to increase domestic energy supply.

Fossil Fool.  As pressure builds to develop America's domestic energy resources, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid now says it's a health issue.  Coal and oil, he says, make us sick.  So why does he oppose nuclear power?

How much have the Democrats cost you at the pump?  Senator Chuck Schumer claims that coercing Saudi Arabia to increase oil production by 1 million barrels a day would drop the per barrel price by $25, saving Americans 62 cents per gallon at the gas pump.  Yet, somehow, that same amount of oil coming from Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge would only ease oil prices by a penny.

When You Fill Up the Tank Thank Congress for High Gas Prices.  Left-wingers want to have their cake and eat it too, of course:  they simultaneously insist that oil is running out, its use is ruining our environment and should stop as soon as possible, and that oil gas should still be cheap at the pump. … How stupid do they think we are?  How is it possible to simultaneously wean ourselves from oil and the carbon dioxide emissions that stems from it, keep oil cheap and abundant, drill for oil absolutely nowhere, and sue oil companies without hurting consumers?  Oh, and don't forget to slap a "windfall profits" tax on the oil companies just for good measure.

Ball Squarely In Congress' Court.  If this "lame duck" president succeeds in exposing this do-nothing Congress' self-serving pettiness in the midst of so much consumer pain at the pump, things might not turn out as badly for Republicans this November as the pundits predict.

The Marxist tactic of Crisis revolution:  The current revolutionary cry is to tax the "greedy," American-owned oil companies for their "wind-fall" profits.  In much the same way that [Bill] Clinton spoke of gun companies in the 1990s, today's Democrats demean oil companies with their "shame on you for what you're doing to the American people" approach, while simultaneously refusing to allow domestic drilling, to increase offshore drilling, or to drill in ANWR.  Like Clinton, the Congressional Democrats, who have created the current crisis, will allow a certain degree of suffering on the part of the people in order to insure their agenda is furthered.

Dems Skip Town:  Empty Promises Revealed.  Right now middle-class Americans are suffering from expensive-energy induced inflation.  We all know the adverse consequences pain at the pumps has wrought.  So what does "the most open" House majority of all time do when a fair and honest debate over drilling doesn't exactly help them?  They dodge the debate for weeks.  They disingenuously lead the American people to believe that oil and gas won't necessarily be a part of our energy needs in the future.

Fueling a Furor:  Beyond the finger-pointing, it's important for Americans to understand that America's "big oil" industry did not place us in our current predicament.  Congress and state legislatures — with the aid of special interests groups — are largely to blame.  The inescapable reality is that our nation needs and uses a lot of energy.  And without policies that encourage increased domestic production of energy, fuel will get even more expensive.

Too "Complex"?  The problem is not that supply and demand is such a complex explanation.  The problem is that supply and demand is not an emotionally satisfying explanation.  For that, you need melodrama, heroes and villains.  It is clear that many people prefer to blame President Bush.  Others prefer to blame the oil companies, who have long been the favorite villains of the left.  Politicians understand that.

Common glitch at pump adds to gas costs, also cheats station.  Angry about the price of gas?  Just imagine paying for gas you don't get.  Some alert consumers have noticed it over the years:  A pump that seems to hesitate a second when the lever is squeezed.  Anywhere from 2 to 6 cents tick off before the rush of gasoline starts.  That's what happens with a common, hard to diagnose and mostly ignored problem with the "check valve," which is supposed to make sure gas flows at the same time the price meter starts.  But even if your gas pump works, it can still be off as much as $5 for every fill up.  Tests by local regulators allow a pump to charge as much as 6 cents more than the gas delivered in a five-gallon test.

As gas nears $4, Minneapolis eyes limits on engine idling.  Minneapolis City Council members today [5/15/2008] will hear from city staff members about a proposed ordinance to restrict vehicle idling in most cases to 3 minutes.

Update:
 Minneapolis limits vehicle idling to three minutes.  The Minneapolis City Council and Mayor R.T. Rybak approved changes Friday [6/6/2008], to the city's vehicle idling ordinance that aims to reduce air pollution.  The ordinance limits mostvehicle idling to three minutes, except in traffic.

Should Madison ban the drive-through?  First it was a proposed ban on plastic bags.  Now, a member of the influential Madison Plan Commission wants to ban the restaurant drive-through — or at least restrict the ubiquitous symbol of America's auto-centric lifestyle.  "Given the concern about all the carbon going into the atmosphere, I'm not sure we should be building more places for people to sit idling in their cars," says Eric Sundquist, who was appointed to the citizen panel by Mayor Dave Cieslewicz this spring.

Chicanery alert!
 There is a big difference between "carbon going into the atmosphere" and carbon dioxide going into the atmosphere.

Gas thefts are on the rise.
 A New Way to Guzzle Gas:  In the past the most common form of fuel theft was to drive away from the station without paying.  Station owners have fought back in recent years by forcing drivers to pay before fueling.  These days 99 percent of the nation's million-plus pumps have that requirement, according to the NACS. … Because of the prepayment requirement, thieves have had to devise more creative schemes.

Thieves Find Easy, Lucrative Work In Siphoning Fuel From Cars, Stations.  With average prices of more than $4 a gallon for unleaded and $5 for diesel fuel, siphoning has become an easy and profitable crime of opportunity, officials said. … Pilfering gas requires little more than a hose and a container, although the low-tech method might involve a mouthful of fuel to get the flow going.

U-Haul:  Crooked renters refill gas tank with water.  Crooks have come up with a new scam to get out of paying for gas, and it's costing truck rental companies thousands of dollars.  Crooks reportedly rent U-Haul trucks then, when the time comes to return the truck, top off the tank with water instead of gas, wrecking the engine.  U-Haul dealers say the scam has become more prevalent as gas prices continue to rise.

Take it from UPS:  Left turns waste gas.  UPS routes are designed to avoid left turns.  Idling while waiting to turn left wastes time and gas.  This tip shaved 29 million miles off its U.S. drivers' routes last year, saving UPS more than 3 million gallons of gas.

At $9 per gallon, British driving habits change.  Pump nozzle in hand, Lisa Atkins keeps a close eye on the digital display rapidly adding up the pounds.  Gone are the days when she'd routinely fill the gas tank to the brim.  She now has to be more cautious.

House Republicans vow push on oil drilling.  With the November congressional and presidential elections looming, Republicans and Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives are blaming each other for rising energy costs and gasoline prices that are topping $4 a gallon.  Republicans cited Democratic opposition to opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and more offshore areas to oil and gas exploration and drilling.

The Moral Imperative for Drilling:  The other day in a poor part of Central California, I talked with a number of folks at a rural gas station.  Most drove second- and third-hand pickups, large cast-off sedans or used SUVs.  They didn't have the cash to buy a new fuel-efficient Honda or Toyota.  And they were now spending a day or two of their wages just to fuel their cars.

Congress, Get Off Your Gas, and Drill.  With gas at $4 per gallon, roughly two cars in every household, and the average annual gas usage at 700 gallons, you do the math.  Americans are being forced to use their hard-earned money that once put food in their stomachs to put petroleum in their tanks and to drive the exact same distances they drove a decade ago for four to five times the price.

Senators Warn Bill Could Spike Gas $1.50 to $5 a Gallon.  Worried about gas prices hitting $4 a gallon and beyond?  Imagine if they were $6, $7 or even $8 a gallon.  Those levels are a certain possibility should Congress pass cap-and-trade legislation, which could face a vote in early June.  Oil is trading at record levels, in excess of $120 a barrel.  Leading Republican Sens. James Inhofe (Okla.) and Jeff Sessions (Ala.) both told the Business & Media Institute (BMI) energy prices would drastically increase if the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act (S. 2191) is signed into law.

Price of petrol to stay high for 8 years.  As oil prices reached an all-time high, experts forecast the cost of petrol could hit an average of £1.21 per litre within months.  Over the next two years it could even climb as high as £1.46, they said.  Petrol currently costs an average of £1.13 per litre following a month of almost daily price rises.

Gasoline May Soon Cost a Sawbuck.  Get ready for another economic shock of major proportions — a virtual doubling of prices at the gas pump to as much as $10 a gallon.  That's the message from a couple of analytical energy industry trackers, both of whom, based on the surging oil prices, see considerably more pain at the pump than most drivers realize.

$4 a gallon could seem cheap, analysts say.  If oil reaches $200 a barrel as some analysts have said it could, forget $4-per-gallon gasoline.  Think $6.64, according to a Rice University analysis of the link between prices of crude and gasoline.

Petrol-buying panic in Britain.  British motorists are in a petrol-buying panic after a North Sea pipeline that supplies 40 percent of the country's oil and gas was shut down because of a strike at a major refinery. ... The pipeline takes more than 700,000 barrels of crude oil ashore every day and supplies Britain and international markets.

Gas crisis?  Think back about 35 years.  Amid the $4-a-gallon mutterings — and, hey, I'm not thrilled about gas prices either — some perspective, please.  This is nothing compared to the gas crisis nearly 35 years ago.

Gas Prices — Dems are getting exactly what they fought for.  The world knows that with the power structure in Congress that's been in place since long before the Democrats took over the majority, the Dem will fight against and, in fact, will not allow 1) any more domestic oil production; 2) any more domestic refining capacity; and 3) the further development of any existing technology, such as nuclear, that could have an immediate and significant impact on our domestic energy production.  Couple that with domestic policy thrusts that are designed to increase the price of gasoline at the pump... you get the picture.

Bush faults Democrats for gas prices.  President Bush yesterday characterized Capitol Hill Democrats as hypocrites for demanding that Saudi Arabia pump more oil while blocking attempts to increase domestic drilling in such places as Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico.

As Gas Prices Rose, Democrats Ignored Opportunities to Help Production.  Gasoline today at the pump is $1.25 more, on average, than it was when the Democrats took over Congress.  Why is that a good place to measure?  Because during that period, we've had an opportunity to build more refineries, and the Democratic majority voted it down.  We've had an opportunity to open up additional parts of the Outer Continental Shelf and the Democratic majority voted it down.  It's clear that on the production side of the equation, this new majority is not interested in doing anything.

Like Your $5 Gas?  When it comes to crippling, racist, and economically debilitating energy policy liberals have truly paralyzed America.  And they seem proud of their efforts.  In the left's refusal to allow us to seek new energy sources they are stunting a nation's economy, they are hurting the average family, and they are starving hungry children. … They also express abject resentment towards anyone who dares to mention the obvious — that it is their policies that put us in this mess to begin with and disallows our escape from it.

Democrats Solve Oil Crisis!  Democrats have been in charge of the House of Representatives for more than two years now, and the price of gas is a whopping $1.61 higher than it was when they took control of the House and Senate — a 58 percent increase!  What was their plan in 2006?  It was to empower the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute oil companies engaged in price gouging and market manipulation.  How would they prove this?  By doing what they do best:  Govern by subpoena.

Democrats Fumble Ball On Energy.  [Nancy Pelosi] and congressional Democrats have pursued energy "price-gougers," even though more than 17 studies have shown the practice is virtually nonexistent; they've punished "Big Oil" with higher taxes, while handing subsidies to alternative energy; and they've sought to punish "market manipulators."  None of these ideas work.

Image courtesy Gateway Pundit

The Drill-Nothing Congress.  The average price for regular gas hit $4 a gallon over the weekend.  Gas prices have risen 75% since Nancy Pelosi took over.  Where's the energy independence Democrats promised two years ago?

Voters Say "Drill".  Public worry number one is now oil, jobs, and the economy, with the inflationary woes of the U.S. dollar right underneath.  The candidate who can connect with these issues will win in November.  But so far neither Obama nor McCain are dealing with the new political reality.  In fact, it's all about oil right now.  The price has doubled over the past year while the economy has slumped.

Why So High?  One major reason for this overall rise in prices is because the dollar does not buy as much as it used to.  And the reason the dollar does not buy as much as it used to is because the Federal Reserve System (along with the U.S. Treasury Department) is inundating our economy with newly created dollars.  Their intent is to finance the federal government's massive expenditures as well as to prevent a deepening recession.

Pump price vapors:  Regulation of gasoline prices doesn't work, and, by and large, our politicians know it doesn't work.  There's no escaping those remorseless facts.  Why worry at this point about regulation of energy?  The numbers on the gasoline pump tell us.  Anything above $3 a gallon is bad news, unless we adjust our expectations or start riding bicycles.  Then, memories of past government interventions — the price controls of the '70s and the lines that ensued at the gasoline pump, the "windfall profits" tax on oil profits — make chillier the sensations moving up and down the spine.  Regulation isn't equivalent to "solution" of anything.

Gas prices and $100 oil.  This week, a barrel of oil closed near $100, but why are gas prices still the same as when oil was $75 per barrel?  The refiners say gas prices are two-thirds controlled by the crude price.  If that held true from one gas price to another, gas should be at $4 right now.  Well it's not that expensive, but gas is headed higher in a time when it should be slumping.

Gasoline prices hit new high.  U.S. average retail gasoline prices have reached a new high of almost $3.20 per gallon and will likely jump another 20 to 30 cents in the next month, worsening the pain of consumers struggling to make ends meet in an economic downturn.  Gasoline prices are rising sharply as refiners, who have kept prices down in order to compete for sales, become more willing to pass on their higher costs of crude oil, according to an industry analyst on Sunday [3/9/2008].

$4-a-gallon gas forecast in some areas.  Gasoline prices in the coming months are likely to top $4 a gallon in some parts of the country, and perhaps nationally, the government said Tuesday.  According to the monthly report of the Energy Information Administration, the non-partisan statistical arm of the U.S. Energy Department, the monthly nationwide average gasoline price is likely to peak at $3.48 a gallon in May and June.

How Close Is $4-Per-Gallon Gasoline?  Would the price of crude oil have to rocket up $40 more per barrel for us to see $4-per-gallon gasoline?  If you use the back-of-the-envelope calculation that the government's chief energy forecaster employed Monday [11/12/2007] to gauge how much more pain at the pump is headed our way, it would indeed take nearly $140-per-barrel crude oil to add a dollar to the pump price.  But we may not have to wait that long.

Gasoline at $4 Coming to a Pump Near You.  Whether it's $50 to fill up your Prius or $130 for the Ford Expedition, $4-a-gallon gasoline is coming to a pump near you.  Fuel prices are rising at a pace not seen since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita knocked out a third of the U.S. oil refining industry in 2005.

Oil hits a high; some in U.S. see $4 gas by spring.  Gasoline prices, which for months lagged the big run-up in the price of oil, are suddenly rising quickly, with some experts fearing they could hit $4 a gallon by spring.  Diesel is hitting new records daily and oil closed at an all-time high on Tuesday of $100.88 a barrel.

Or maybe not...
 Gasoline could drop 50 cents/gallon by spring.  U.S. drivers could enjoy a drop of up to 50 cents per gallon in gasoline prices by this spring as high fuel prices and the threat of a recession force them to conserve, experts said on Wednesday [2/6/2008].  U.S. gasoline supplies hit a near-14-year high of 227.5 million barrels last week, helped by falling demand for the fuel, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.

Or maybe so...
 Price at the pump likely to reach $4.  Gasoline prices could break the $4 barrier in some places this summer despite falling demand in the United States, the world's largest oil consumer, the government's energy forecasting agency said yesterday [4/8/2008].  Diesel prices already have soared past $4 a gallon, and prices for regular gas are verging on $4 in high-cost states like California.

Michigan Congressman Wants 50-Cent Tax Hike on Every Gallon of Gas.  A Michigan congressman wants to put a 50-cent tax on every gallon of gasoline to try to cut back on Americans' consumption. … Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., wants to help cut consumption with a gas tax but some don't agree with the idea, according to a new poll by the National Center for Public Policy Research.

The Editor says...
 Apparently the congressman doesn't understand the concept of supply and demand. The high price of gasoline will reduce consumption without government intervention. He's just looking for an excuse to raise taxes, and a way to make the US economy look worse than it really is during an election year.

Oil investors welcome high prices at pump.  Regular gasoline prices vaulted to a once unthinkable record of $3.42 a gallon yesterday [4/17/2008], paining most Americans but pleasing a growing contingent of investors who are profiting from the fast-rising price of fuel.  Scott Lee, a small investor from Georgia who owns oil company stock, said it's the reason he is not bothered by rising pump prices.

The Wacky World of Oil:  Throughout the USA, the number of gasoline stations has been systematically cut in half since the 80's.  This cuts supply outlets and reduces retail outlet competition.  In California and elsewhere, states now require gasoline stations over a certain age to dig up and replace their worn out underground storage tanks and clean up these alleged "hazard pollution site" — whether they are leaking or not.  Independent, privately-owned gasoline stations can't afford the hundreds of thousands of dollars to comply, so they often close down.

Bicyclists, transit officials and environmentalists are happy about high gas prices.  The $3 gas prices posted at the station he passes on the way to work give Kevin Ishaug 20 miles to gloat over how much he saves commuting by bike.  Ishaug, owner of the Freewheel Bike shop in Minneapolis, is one of those people who welcome higher prices at the pump.  It brings more people into his shop for new bikes or repairs, as they switch to muscle-powered transportation to save money.

Refusal to drill impacts gas prices.  You no doubt have noticed all of the headlines concerning the recent escalation in the price of oil. … While these headlines caught your eye, there was another one that probably didn't:  "SF County Approves Drilling Moratorium."  With a unanimous vote the Santa Fe County Commission, with the governor's full support, laid down a moratorium of at least one year on the granting of any drilling permits in the Galisteo Basin.  The 100 people in attendance stood and cheered the Commission's decision.

RV sales up despite high gas prices.  Americans are defying high gas prices and jumping into gas guzzling recreational vehicles for their summer vacations. … Sales of RVs have shot up 22% in the past three calendar years.

The Editor says...
 I suspect the popularity of RV's is partly because of the inconvenience, delays and invasive searches people routinely encounter at the airports.

Energy Bill Won't Bring Gas Price Breaks for '08.  Despite claims that the newly passed energy bill will reduce the amount that consumers pay at the pump, recent government projections show the cost of energy rising over the next year in the United States.  The president signed the energy bill in late December.  The week before the bill was signed into law, the Energy Information Administration at the Department of Energy estimated that the cost of gasoline would average well over $3 per gallon in 2008, with gasoline prices peaking at over $3.40 per gallon this spring.

Big Gas Price Hike Likely Come Springtime.  Experts are predicting pump prices, which jumped by almost a dollar a gallon in each of the last two springs in many parts of the United States, will spike again this year as refiners and gas stations switch from winter- to summer-blended fuels.

Gas whine is a sure sign.  Funny isn't it that charges of price fixing are never levelled at gas retailers when prices go down all at once?  A report released yesterday by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives called, Gas price gouge:  The sequel, claims that Canadians have been ripped off at the pump ever since Hurricane Katrina wreaked havoc with refineries in the fall of 2005.

Canadian drivers should expect record gas prices.  Canadian drivers should brace themselves for record gasoline prices this spring if crude oil stays in the $90-a-barrel range, experts say.  "They could be getting into the $1.30, $1.40, maybe even the $1.50 range per litre," said Jason Toews, one of the founders of GasBuddy.com, a website designed to help motorists find the best deals at the pump.

CNN's Wastler Backs $1 Gas Tax Hike.  Gas prices are high, but CNN wants them higher.  Lots higher.  CNN's Allen Wastler told viewers April 28 that the government should increase the price with a huge new tax.  "Put in a tax to make it $4 a gallon right now," he urged.

Gas prices:  How high?  Could Americans actually see a $4 price tag on a gallon of gasoline?  There are analysts out there that would argue yes — in fact, they're saying it could happen as soon as this summer. … [Glen] Schuler says uncertainty is the culprit — uncertainty of the Gulf of Mexico hurricane season, in Iran, Nigeria and in oil-producing countries in general.  That is pushing the price of oil higher, which in turn makes gas more expensive at the pump.

Michigan's gas prices among highest in the country.  On the eve of a proposed nationwide protest, Michigan gas prices reached $3.27 a gallon, their highest levels ever, making the state's gas the third most expensive in the country.  Since Jan. 22, Michigan consumers have seen pump prices shoot up a total of $1.31.  In addition, Michiganders are now paying 20 cents more than the national average, as industry observers continue to blame refinery outages and capacity issues for the sharp increase in costs.

Iranians lose access to unlimited cheap fuel.  Iran's parliament this week set May 22 as the day when the country's 15 million motorists lose access to unlimited cheap fuel.  Pump prices, frozen for three years at 80 tomans (or 9 cents) a litre, have boosted consumption far beyond the capacity of Iran's oil refineries and meant that 40 percent of petrol has had to be imported.

Econ 101:  How to Reduce Gas Consumption.  In 1931 Harold Hotelling published a paper, "The Economics of Exhaustible Resources," that showed that the market process efficiently allocates the exploitation of a non-renewable resource over time.  His basic point is that as the supply of a resource shrinks, the price begins to rise.  That leads to an effect on the demand side.  As the price of oil rises, people will use less oil.

Fill 'er up, Cheyenne.  In a turnaround from last fall, gasoline prices in Cheyenne now rank among the lowest of all the state capitals in the nation.  Back then, the price of gas here stubbornly remained higher than in neighboring states that have a history of charging more for a gallon of regular unleaded.  On Monday [1/8/2007], when the twice-monthly Lundberg Survey of gasoline prices was released, Cheyenne topped the list of low prices at $2.09 a gallon.

Greens all talk, no action on global-warming cuts.  A survey by Deloitte & Touche in the summer found virtually no change in consumer energy use and driving habits despite grumbling about skyrocketing heating and electric bills and gasoline prices that twice reached more than $3 a gallon since 2005.  Americans also have been slow to spend more to buy more fuel-efficient cars and appliances and make their homes more energy efficient.

Soaring gas prices drive scooter sales skyward.  Record gasoline prices are fueling a boom in sales of fuel-efficient scooters across the United States, as commuters ditch their gas-guzzlers and don helmets and goggles to beat high prices at the pump.

If you own a yacht or a limo or an airplane I do not feel sorry for you.
 High fuel prices keep boaters closer to harbor.  Bill Bouwens relaxed on his 36-foot express cruiser this week in Waukegan Harbor, where his boat will stay docked a lot more often this summer.  That's the sacrifice Bouwens says he'll make because filling up his 300-gallon tank costs a whopping $1,300 or more.

With RVs, the road's less traveled.  Bill and Barbara Wright sold their house in Georgia two years ago and drove off in their RV with plans to visit 50 states in five years.  But record fuel prices have forced them to cut their annual mileage in half, add at least a year to the schedule, and give up their dream of driving to Alaska.

Driving less?  It's costing the state.  High gas and parking prices are convincing people to drive less.  Statewide, traffic volumes are down by two percent. … The high price of gas is the real problem.  It's got most of us trying to figure out where we can cut back.  But every time you save a gallon, it costs the state 36 cents.

Funds for Highways Plummet As Drivers Cut Gasoline Use.  An unprecedented cutback in driving is slashing the funds available to rebuild the nation's aging highway system and expand mass-transit options, underscoring the economic impact of high gasoline prices.  The resulting financial strain is touching off a political battle over government priorities in a new era of expensive oil.

Oklahoma's painful car culture:  For many people in Oklahoma, life is built around the car.  With several refineries in the region, years of cheap fuel have made it possible for many people to live far from their jobs.  Now the situation is unraveling.

Gasoline at $6 vs warming?  It's hard to say which is scarier — apocalyptic global warming scenarios or the economic impact of some of the proposals designed to prevent them.  A recent European Environment Agency (EEA) study reported greenhouse-gas emissions from motor vehicles continue rising due to increased driving, despite heavy fuel taxes that boost prices there above $6 per gallon.  Even with gas prices more than twofold that in the U.S., Europe falls short of its global-warming goals.

You Can't Fuel All of the People All of the Time.  Environmentalists are constantly clamoring for higher gas taxes as the cure-all to their insane global warming theory.  Clinton proposed a 26-cent tax on gas.  John Kerry said it should be 50 cents.  Gore endorsed the Malthusian proposal of Paul and Anne Ehrlich in "The Population Explosion" that gas taxes be raised gradually to match prices in Europe and Japan.  The result is consumers now pay about 46 cents per gallon in gasoline taxes.

Prices at the pump: how low will they go?  Amid the recent avalanche of bleak economic news, one small bright spot has emerged:  Gasoline has gotten a lot cheaper.  After topping $4 nationwide this summer, pump prices are down more than a dollar a gallon in the past month alone and even have fallen below $2 in parts of the country, including some stations in Houston.



The Return of the 55 MPH Speed Limit

Trucking industry proposes limiting speed to save fuel.  Struggling with record diesel prices, the trucking industry's main trade group yesterday [5/8/2008] introduced a plan to reduce fuel consumption and emissions over the next decade mainly by having its members slow down.  The American Trucking Associations [wants to] limit the speed new trucks can travel to no more than 68 mph and reduce the national speed limit to 65 mph for all vehicles.

The Editor says...
 Get a clue.  That idea has already been tried, and it flopped.  Richard Nixon implemented a 55 mph national speed limit, which was nothing but an annoyance, although it provided a big boost to the electronics industry.  There was a surge in the sales of CB radios, radar detectors and more advanced radar guns.  The so-called Criminal Band was expanded from 23 to 40 channels, even though 90% of the activity was on Channel 19.

Is 55 in Our Future?  If there's one thing that's worse than paying $4 per gallon for gasoline, it's the resurgent talk of lowering speed limits to conserve fuel.  Because, of course, these lowered limits won't be enforced as a "conservation" measure.  Any curtailment of speed limits will be treated as a saaaaafety issue — just as happened during the Dark Decades of the 55 mph National Maximum Speed Limit.  "Speeding" tickets will be issued and "points" assigned.  At the stroke of a lawmaker's pen (and the cop's, too) driving "x" MPH will suddenly become "unsafe," rather than merely wasteful.  This is the most intolerable aspect of the whole scam.

Higher gas prices not slowing drivers.  Even in a time of $4-a-gallon gas, the slow lane is lonely these days.  For all the griping about gas prices, there's no clamor for the return of the 55 mph speed limit of the '70s and '80s — though most agree it reduces consumption and saves money.

Return of the 55-Miles-Per-Hour Speed Limit?  Republican Senator John Warner of Virgina has asked Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman to calculate what speed would provide optimum gasoline efficiency under current technology.  In a letter to Bodman, Warner cited studies that show the 55-mile per hour national speed limit saved 167-thousand barrels of oil a day — after it was imposed by Congress in 1974 because of the Arab oil embargo.  That speed limit was repealed in 1995.

The Editor says...
 The "optimum" speed is different for cars and trucks.  Why not also impose a speed limit on locomotives and buses and cargo ships?

The Insanity of Drive-55 Laws.  It didn't seem possible that politicians could think up a sillier energy proposal than Barack Obama's windfall profits tax on oil companies, but Republican Sen. John Warner of Virginia has done just that.  Earlier this month, Mr. Warner suggested a return to the federal 55-mile-per-hour speed limit on America's highways, as a way to save on national gasoline consumption.

Campaign For 55 MPH Speed Limit Renewed.  Nearly 15 years after it was removed by Congress, the effort to limit driving speed in the United States to 55 mph is back.  The national 55-miles-per-hour speed limit was introduced in 1970s.  Proposed by President Nixon and enacted in January 1974, the nationwide speed limit was supposed to be a temporary emergency response to oil shortages and was to expire in mid-1975, but Congress quickly made it permanent.



The Federal Price Gouging Protection Act

Who Is Gouging Whom?  The real gouger driving up gasoline prices is not the private sector, it is our government.  To "gouge" means to extort, to take by force — something that oil companies and gas stations have no power to do.

Gasoline Price Gouging Laws Will Not Benefit Consumers.  Sometimes the simplest solution is the best one, but not in the case of high gasoline prices.  Previous federal efforts to simply outlaw high prices through gasoline price controls have a bad track record, actually hurting consumers rather than helping them.

The Coffee Talk on Gas Prices That Isn't:  To highlight their empathy before a frustrated public, Democrats and Republicans alike in the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Federal Price Gouging Protection Act.  According to a study recently issued by American Council for Capital Formation (ACCF), the likely impact of this legislation and others like it is the imposition of price controls on gasoline similar to those in the 1970s which caused major supply disruptions, rationing and endless waiting lines for gasoline.  History is set to soon repeat itself if these bills become law.

Pumping Politics:  So if history shows that proposed anti-price-gouging legislation has fallen flat on its face, and if two federal agencies have said they haven't found any evidence of price gouging by oil and natural gas companies, and no one has been prosecuted under existing laws for price fixing, then why the new legislation?

Congress Should Not Criminalize "Price Gouging" of Gasoline.  Congressional demagoguery over prices at the pump has reached new heights in the "Federal Energy Price Protection Act of 2006" (H.R. 5253).  Though the conduct at issue, "price gouging," goes undefined in the legislation, it (whatever it is) could be punished with civil and criminal sanctions that include a $150,000,000 fine and imprisonment for up to two years.  In addition to being economically harmful, the criminal provisions of H.R. 5253 are potentially unconstitutional and certainly immoral.

What to Do About High Gasoline Prices:  In response to recent rises in gas prices, we are once again hearing calls for the government to "do something" to force prices lower.  But no matter what the price of gasoline is, such calls are wrong.  All market fluctuations in the price of gasoline, up or down, are a good thing — and none of the government's business.

Who Is "Gouging" Whom?  Last Wednesday, 79 members of the House of Representatives introduced a bill instituting criminal and civil penalties on any corporation or individual found guilty of gasoline "price gouging."  But the real gouger driving up gasoline prices is not the private sector, it is our government … which has engaged — with popular support — in the gouging of both the producers and consumers of gasoline.

'Price gouging':  One lawmaker has a plan.  Even though she admits the "problem" has not arisen in Nevada in recent memory, state Sen. Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, now offers Senate Bill 82, which seeks to ban "price gouging" by classifying as an illegal "deceptive trade practice" the sale of a consumer good or service "for an unconscionable price before or during a state of emergency."

The Gouge Party:  America was saved Tuesday from a Democratic Congress determined to do more damage to our economy and raise oil prices still higher.  Energy taxes and eco-extremism make Democrats the real oil gougers.


Requiem for a heavyweight?  The fate of the Hummer brand is up in the air.  GM, which bought the brand from military contractor AM General in 1998, has plowed a load of capital into Hummer, including $250 million for a plant expansion in Shreveport, La.  It has a pickup truck version of the mid-size H3, the H3T, in the pipeline for a summer release.  Meanwhile, product development is well along on a Jeep Wrangler-size 4x4 called the H4.

Hummer, How We Need Thee.  No set of wheels since the hapless Edsel has been as persistently reviled as the Hummer.  [But] America needs the Hummer to remind us of what has always made our automobiles stand out, from the tailfin 1950s to the muscle car 1960s and '70s: swagger.  Americans don't just drive their cars — they proclaim something about themselves by driving them.

Car rental companies caught short as demand for smaller vehicles soars.  David Sikorski went to a Hertz in Austin, Texas, last month to rent a car for a business trip to Dallas.  He'd booked a fuel-efficient mid-size sedan, hoping to keep expenses down on the 400-mile round trip.  What he got was a 16-mile-per-gallon Ford Explorer sport utility vehicle.  "I walked right back in and asked for something smaller," said the Austin computer data specialist, who eventually was given a Hyundai.  "They claimed it was an upgrade, but I sure don't want an upgrade if it means driving an SUV."

Soccer-mom stigma helping to slow down minivan sales.  Asked recently how the U.S. minivan market has been faring, Nissan Motor Co.'s Dominique Thormann had a concise answer.  "It collapsed," said Thormann, a senior vice president of Nissan North America.  While the rapid sales decline of pickup and sport utility vehicles has been grabbing the headlines, minivan sales have also taken a tumble, falling 20% during the first five months of this year.

"Supply and demand" at work:
 Gas-hog owners can't sell them.  Tammy Fontanilla loves her red 2004 Dodge Ram pickup truck, but when gas prices began to soar last year, she felt she had no choice but to put it up for sale.  Problem is, there's little demand for a vehicle that gets 13 miles per gallon and costs nearly $100 to fill up.

Natural-gas stations fall behind.  Drivers of vehicles that run on natural gas have escaped prices above $4 per gallon for gasoline, but they're having to wait longer, or search harder, to fuel up along the Wasatch Front.  Many drivers of natural-gas vehicles say they have gone to filling stations in recent weeks only to find that increased demand has created insufficient pressure in the station's tank to pump the fuel.

Priceless politics, Part II:  What do prices do?  Prices impose the most effective kind of rationing — self-rationing.  Why is rationing necessary?  Because what everybody wants always adds up to more than there is.  It doesn't matter whether you are talking about a capitalist economy, a socialist economy, a feudal economy or whatever.  Resources are limited but desires are not.  That is the basic and defining problem of economics.

Wal-Mart sales may reflect gas costs.  While retailers that attract higher-income consumers continued to do well in November, others, especially Wal-Mart, may still be feeling the pinch of high fuel prices.  Wal-Mart's November sales were down 1%, and the company predicted December sales would be flat or up just 1%.

Big Oil's New Conspiracy:  We have heard much in recent months about the plot by oil companies to gouge consumers at the pump.  Now, I am writing to report another insidious plot on the part of Big Oil.  They are scheming to lower prices.  Shocking, I know.  But it is all true.

CNN talking head's conspiracy theory runs out of gas.  When gas prices shot up in spring, some in the media were quick to criticize "corporate greed," but as prices plummet, even that decline has to be a "conspiracy."

Enron and Today's Oil and Gas Prices.  If a Senate study concluded that legislation signed by George W. Bush and supported by Halliburton was partially responsible for today's high oil and gas prices, do you think you would have heard about it?  Well, such a report was released by the Senate.  However, the president that signed the law in question was William Jefferson Clinton, and the company that strongly lobbied for its passage was Enron.  Yet, mysteriously, this study was almost completely ignored.

Pain at the Pump:  Gas Prices Rise on Democrats' Watch.  Well, remember that?  The Democrats blaming the president for high gas prices, pledging to do something about it if they took control of Congress.  Well, since Election Day, the price of a gallon of gas has jumped nearly 40 percent.

Gas tax trial balloon.  A 2004 Congressional Budget Office paper concluded that if CAF standards were raised by 3.8 miles per gallon, it would take 15 years for gasoline consumption to fall by just 10 percent, and the economic cost would be high.  Raising the gas tax by 46 cents would also cut fuel consumption by 10 percent, but do so much more promptly.

More about Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards can be found here.

Paying at the Pump:  Gasoline Taxes in America.  Early gasoline taxes in the states were explicitly created in an attempt to charge road users for the privilege of using roads.  However, from the very inception of gasoline taxation, public officials have faced temptation to divert gasoline tax revenue to projects that are only tangentially related to transportation and that are often purely politically motivated.

Hawaiian gas prices dip under $3.  While still the highest in the nation, Hawaii's statewide average for gasoline has dipped below $3 a gallon for the first time in six months.  Yesterday's average for regular, self-serve unleaded was $2.98 a gallon, according to AAA's Fuel Gauge Report.  Next highest were Alaska at $2.76 and Washington state at $2.57.

Image courtesy The People's Cube 7-Eleven Drops Citgo as Supplier.  7-Eleven Inc. dropped Venezuela-owned Citgo as its gasoline supplier after more than 20 years as part of a previously announced plan by the convenience store operator to launch its own brand of fuel.  7-Eleven officials said Wednesday [9/27/2006] that the decision was partly motivated by politics.

7-Eleven Dropping Venezuela-Backed Citgo.  Convenience store operator 7-Eleven Inc. is dropping Venezuela-backed Citgo as its gasoline supplier at more than 2,100 locations and switching to its own brand of fuel.

The Editor says...
 Petro Express is owned by the same people as Citgo, according to various sources [1] [2] [3] [4].
I first heard of the connection from the RF Cafe.

The Russians are coming… with another Lukoil gas station.  The gas station down at the corner is taking on a bold new look.  The latest player on the block is Lukoil, a Russian oil company that holds the second largest oil reserves in the world behind only ExxonMobil.  In the past 16 months, Lukoil has been rapidly converting hundreds of Mobil service stations in the region to its own distinctive brand.

Terror Free Oil:  The gas station at 131 Street and Q used to show a Sinclair dinosaur.  Now, in big bold letters "Terror Free Oil."  The idea is to sell gasoline made from oil orginating in countries friendly to the United States.  On its website, the terror free oil organization says the U.S. is funding its own demise.

Conspiracy theories run out of gas when drivers fill their tanks.  When gasoline prices topped $3 a gallon in mid-summer, motorists were justifiably aggravated about the high price.  So now that gasoline has plunged below $2 a gallon you would think everybody would be happier.

State-by-State Motor Fuel Taxes.  Here are the latest state motor fuel tax rates effective 7/1/06. … This comprehensive summary looks at both gasoline and diesel tax rates.  Bar charts illustrating the state taxes are included. [PDF]

Decline in Gas Prices Isn't Buoying Detroit.  Just when $3-a-gallon gasoline looked as if it were here to stay, it left.  But it was around long enough to devastate Detroit's automakers by convincing many car shoppers that smaller is better.

This logic only makes sense if you're an environmentalist.
 Could Lower Gas Prices Be Bad?.  From the way some people are carrying on, you would think it was the sky that was falling, not gas prices.  Heading up the field is Daniel Akst, whose op-ed piece in The New York Times today lays out the case for the negative effects of lowering gas prices.  "Anything that reinforces the role of fossil fuels — particularly oil — as the world's primary energy source, is bad, not good," Akst writes. … "Lower oil prices would promote more driving," Akst notes.

Has Citgo become a political tool for Hugo Chávez?  One of the USA's largest refiners, Citgo is a subsidiary of Venezuela's state-owned oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA).  As such, it ultimately belongs to Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, an avowedly anti-American leader who counts Fidel Castro among his closest friends and mocks President Bush as a "genocidal murderer."

Katrina and the punch at the pump:  Lost amid the anniversary articles about Hurricane Katrina is how we've dealt with the energy fallout.  We've had a year to get used to $3-per-gallon gasoline and to come to grips with the vulnerability of our energy supplies.  What have we learned?  We've learned that the impact didn't have to be so bad and that Washington can take measures to ensure that the next big storm won't hurt drivers and homeowners as badly.

High Gas Prices Courtesy of Environmental Rhetoric.  As a matter of national security and as a significant boost to the American economy, it makes no sense to not assure and achieve a higher level of energy independence.  So why, in mid-May, did the House of Representatives reject an end to the quarter-century ban on oil and natural gas drilling in 85 percent of America's coastal waters?

An Energy Lesson from Cuba and China.  An unlikely political figure is willing to fight for lower gas prices.  His name:  Fidel Castro.  He's working with foreign investors, including China, to find oil off the Cuban coast, close to American waters.  In contrast, American companies aren't looking for oil off the Florida coast, because it's part of the 85 percent of the nation's offshore areas where drilling's not allowed.

House Roll Call Vote on Offshore Drilling.  The 232-187 roll call Thursday [6/29/2006] by which the House voted to end the offshore drilling ban.

Cuba oil probe spurs calls for U.S. drilling.  Congressional proponents of oil and gas drilling are pointing to Cuba's exploration off the coast of Florida — with help from China — as a prime reason to open up U.S. drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico.

FTC chief sees a gas-price-gouging law passing.  The head of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission said on Thursday [11/16/2006] that Congress will probably pass a law designed to stop gasoline price-gouging after it convenes in January, despite objections from the agency.

Who is "gouging" whom at the pumps?  [Rising oil and gas prices] is an issue that affects many Americans and Democrats hope to convince those Americans that greedy Bush oil buddies are to blame.  But as usual, the real facts are quite different from the bogus campaign rhetoric … Who is getting rich at the gas pumps?  For starters, many average Americans who hold stock in the oil companies, either directly or indirectly through their 410k or mutual fund.  But the fact is, the gross profit margin for a gallon of gas in America today, is what it has always been, on average, .08 cents per gallon.

The Big Three Pump Up While Drivers Pay Out.  Detroit is pushing hot wheels this summer, figuring Americans want to play NASCAR driver in new versions of vintage muscle cars.  But a let's-burn-rubber message seems likely to stall in an era of $3-a-gallon-gas and more fuel-efficient foreign brands.

Some relief appearing at the pump.  Are gasoline prices, after hovering just below $2.90 a gallon for weeks, actually on their way down?

Big Media are Repeatedly Wrong Claiming 'Record-High' Gas Prices.  Since Hurricane Katrina swept ashore on the Gulf Coast, we've heard seemingly countless reports of "record high" gas or oil prices.  From the beginning of September last year, the big three networks — ABC, CBS and NBC — have told us about record high gas or oil prices close to 100 times.  They've been wrong each and every time.

Claim of Record High Gas Prices Tanks Under Scrutiny.  Don't believe the media hype:  Prices at the pump aren't as bad as you've been lead to believe.  Compared to what they were nearly 25 years ago, today's gas prices are a bargain.  And they're a bargain compared to other necessities, too.  According to Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average cost of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline in U.S. cities was $1.41 in April 1981.  Excluding federal and state gas taxes, this meant the price was around $1.26.  In today's dollars, that would be about $2.83 per gallon.  But in May, the before-tax cost of a gallon of unleaded gasoline was just $2.29 — about 19 percent lower than that.

Governmental Viscosity Breakdown:  Members of Congress, such as Pennsylvania's Arlen Specter, who … manages to exude split-atom energy when it comes to cheerleading for bad ideas, are calling for a windfall profits tax on the oil companies.  Of course, the tax would be passed on to consumers, but Congress will deal with that later — it'll be good fodder for calling for the federalization of the oil industry.  In a Beltway culture that confuses motion with action, windfall profits taxes are but flailing victims in the quicksand of lunacy.

Higher Gas Prices Require Higher Minimum Wage, Dems Say.  Before leaving Washington, D.C., for the Memorial Day recess, Democrats in the U.S. Congress Thursday [5/25/2006] criticized Republicans for failing to "lower skyrocketing gas prices" and called for the GOP to show "real leadership" by raising the minimum wage.

Did someone mention the Minimum Wage?

Consumer mood rises on lower gas prices.  U.S. consumers were more optimistic in June as once-soaring gasoline prices eased, and the government reported that a key measure of the nation's trade deficit narrowed more than expected in the first quarter.  The University of Michigan's preliminary June index of consumer sentiment read 82.4, up from May's final reading of 79.1 and above Wall Street expectations for a reading of 79.0.

'Green' Politicians Add to Gas Price Woes.  Certainly increased demand for oil from the growing Chinese and Indian economies and instability in the Middle East are major pressures on oil prices, but both Republicans and Democrats have added to these pressures by allowing the environmental movement to tie our energy policy in knots.

Reporting on the economy is worse than the economy.  The same people who blame Bush for higher gas prices resist allowing the president to do the things he can.  This includes a suspension or reduction of taxes, permission to drill in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the outer continental shelf, and allowance for the construction of nuclear power plants.

No Way to Handle a Fuel Crisis.  There is no big oil "collusion;" the crude oil price is universal.  It was 54.8 percent of the cost of a gallon of gasoline in March and rising in response to supply concerns amid geopolitical tensions in oil-producing countries.  Federal and state taxes account for about 24 percent of the price.

We are all Marxists now.  National Public Radio's Juan Williams, appearing on Fox News Sunday, insisted repeatedly that "supply is at an eight year high" as proof that the oil companies are cheating us.  He kept repeating the phrase, as if that would make it a more sensible statement.  It didn't. … Frustrated by his inability to convince others of his nonsense, Williams then insisted that there is no connection between supply and demand.

Pumping Gas:  The facts are not pretty.  Gas prices at the pump are not going to drop significantly in the foreseeable future, no matter what Congress or federal and state governments do.  Sure, they can lower their take on a gallon of gas, which … is an average of 45 to 46 cents.  At best that would be a temporary solution.  After all, what government would be willing to long forego a great source of tax revenue?

Incendiary Ignorance:  I'd planned on ignoring the inferno of idiocy raging in the nation's capital over gas prices, but it's looking like an eternal flame.  First came the Democrats.  For more than a decade their leading lights have extolled higher gas taxes, and hence higher gas prices, to pay for everything from school roofs to the development of alternative energy sources that would usher in the economic Shangri-La of "energy independence" — whatever that is.

Say It With Me:  Supply and Demand.  Precisely 10 years ago (April 29, 1996) as gas prices reached a shocking $1.27 a gallon, President Clinton ordered his Energy and Justice Departments to launch investigations to find out why.  In my column that week, I offered a wild guess as to why:  "Supply is down and demand is up."

Energy Policy for Idiots:  In the short run, the supply of gasoline is fairly inelastic.  Current inventories of crude oil and refined products are fairly difficult to adjust, so that the supply of gasoline is what it is.  That is why it is pretty certain that drivers face a "tough summer," in the words of the President.  If the supply of gasoline is what it is, then the price of gasoline will be whatever it takes to limit demand to meet the supply.  If that means $3.00 a gallon, then consumers are going to end up paying $3.00 per gallon, no matter what the tax is on gasoline.

High gas prices cause more hot air.  The Congressional Research Service estimated in 1990 that [Jimmy] Carter's windfall profits tax (really an excise tax) decreased domestic oil production by 3 percent to 6 percent, while pumping up dependence on foreign oil by 8 percent to 16 percent.  Thank you, Congress.

Brazilian drivers opt for ethanol-gas mix.  [In Brazil], ethanol is a sort of like a miracle drug, having helped Brazil to kick its own dependence on foreign sources of oil by the end of last year.  In the United States, Brazil's success story is either a free-market solution the United States should try to match, or a pipe dream that is impossible — and dangerous — to try to copy.

Which costs more, ethanol or gasoline?  With oil topping $135 a barrel, ethanol must be cheaper than gasoline, right?  Not if you adjust for the fact that ethanol has about 30% less energy content than gasoline by volume.

Mixing gasoline and moonshine:  The House approved by a vote of 389 to 34 a plan to impose criminal penalties and fines of up to $150 million for refiners and wholesalers for "gouging," with a fine of $2 million for retailers.  It is pitiable that 389 members of the House were so eager to make a public spectacle of their economic illiteracy.  It is revealing that they totally exempted congressional moonshine — otherwise known as ethanol.

More derogatory information about ethanol can be found here.

Congressional squawking won't bring fuel prices down.  When a crisis strikes, Americans can count on Congress to swing into action.  So as gasoline prices soared toward $3 per gallon, lawmakers did what they do best:  They complained.

Gas prices and hot air:  Political hot air will not bring down gas prices.  Last week Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) claimed that gas prices are rising because too many oil companies have been allowed to merge in the last decade.  If one could identify 100 factors responsible for causing high gas prices, mergers would be number 101.

Think $2.90 for Gasoline Is High?  Try $5.17.  Public hysteria over high gasoline prices is unwarranted, according to [Jerry] Taylor.  "I actually saw an MSNBC story the other day which interviewed a pawn shop owner who said people were selling earrings and diamonds and what not to pay for gasoline.  Those kinds of stories just make me very annoyed because they are utterly unhinged and they lack a tie to reality," he said.

Government Gasoline Help?  Someone messed up all right but it was not the terrified oil executives.  Congress did it with an assist from a nervous Executive afraid to veto the bill that caused the crisis.  The one thing Congress does not promise that would actually work is for it to stop "solving" the problem.

Serious About Gas Prices.  It is disappointing that President George W. Bush has decided to make cheap political points about high gas prices instead of promoting policies that will lead to more domestic oil production and lower prices.

Gas gouge?  ExxonMobil paid $23 billion in taxes last year, which gives us some idea of the scale of an activity whose gross income exceeds the combined income of IBM, General Motors and AT&T.

Bush orders suspension of gas rules.  President Bush yesterday [4/25/2006] ordered a temporary suspension of environmental rules for gasoline, which are creating bottlenecks in U.S. gasoline markets, and announced a federal investigation into potential manipulation of gas prices that have topped $3 per gallon.

Bush on Gas Prices:  Who's He Kidding?  With gasoline prices close to $3 a gallon, President Bush this morning [4/25/2006] gave a disingenuous speech to an alternative fuels association about what he was going to do to stem the rising tide.  There were a few flashes of candor and insight, but, on the whole, it was a sad example of political capitulation by a former Texas oilman who certainly knows better.  What Bush clearly understands is that prices rise when demand increases faster than supply, and that supply is being limited in the United States by government.


$100 Rebate Checks

Here is another bad idea that went over like a lead balloon.

Senators to push for $100 gas rebate checks.  Most American taxpayers would get $100 rebate checks to offset the pain of higher pump prices for gasoline, under an amendment Senate Republicans hope to bring to a vote Thursday [4/27/2006].

The Editor says...
 Let me make a prediction:  Many of these checks will end up in the hands of people who ride the bus to work and don't buy gas.  (Need I remind you of last year's FEMA debit card fiasco?)  And where do you suppose the $100 is going to come from?  Your paycheck, of course.

Senate GOP backs off from oil tax increase.  Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, under pressure from business leaders, retreated Monday [5/1/2006] from a plan that would have used a tax increase on oil companies and other businesses to fund a $100 gasoline rebate for millions of motorists.

The $100 rebate plan is a loser.  Last week Republicans announced a plan to mail a $100 rebate check to voters to offset the rising price of gas.  The plan has not gone over well with anyone.

Gas Fumes Obscure GOP Base.  In short, the Republican base wants to know:  Where's all this partisan extremism we were promised? … The actual GOP response?  Hundred-dollar rebates.  Cash money, friend, just for drivin'.  We feel your pain:  Here, have some money we borrowed from someone else.


Stupid Petrol Tricks:  Dems Feign Pity for Consumers.  The Democrats are sounding terribly concerned about the high prices we're paying for gasoline these days.  Upon closer inspection, however, we can see that they have no problem with gas prices being higher than three dollars a gallon.  In fact, they prefer it that way.  Their only real objection is about where the bulk of that money is going.

A Self-Inflicted Energy Mess:  It's always tempting to blame soaring energy costs on some nefarious foreign plot and be done with it. … But, as we've written before, those aren't the only things to blame.  The federal government, with its balkanized gasoline requirements, its taxes and its myriad regulations, deserves a large measure of responsibility for the soaring cost of gasoline.

It's Hard Out Here for a Pump.  I would be more interested in what the Democrats had to say about high gas prices if these were not the same people who refused to let us drill for oil in Alaska, imposed massive restrictions on building new refineries, and who shut down the development of nuclear power in this country decades ago.

Price-gouging in the public interest.  Today, the U.S. must import 10 percent of its gasoline as well as 57 percent of its oil.  Thus, even the temporary closure of several refineries by Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita sharply inflated pump prices.  Environmental regulations, backed by activists who mix demonstrations and lawsuits, create delays and inflate costs.  One Arizona project begun a decade ago is still at least five years away from completion.

Oil industry helped Texas craft storm strategy.  By the time [Hurricane] Rita's 175 mph winds followed Katrina into the Gulf of Mexico and made a beeline for Texas, motorists had tapped just about every drop of gas available in Houston and the surrounding area.  Complicating the exodus was that until Rita, no Texans had ever been told they must evacuate from a storm area. ... Damaged production platforms and evacuated refineries left the oil industry vulnerable to the crush in demand for gasoline.

Skip The Gas Profit Tinkering.  Though many Americans seem to feel low gasoline and oil prices are their birthright, price controls are disingenuous and counterproductive, leading to reduced investment in oil and gas exploration and possibly gasoline shortages — the exact opposite of what consumers and the country need.

Of Price and Men.  There has been much talk about "price gouging" by the oil companies, as we witnessed the average gasoline price rise to about $3.10 before falling to pre-Katrina levels most recently.  But as I listened to well-paid pundits pillory the oil industry for being slick, I was left wondering:  what is gouging?

The consumer rip-off.  Since allegations of oil company price-gouging have become topical, let's look at real price manipulation.

How congress pumps up prices.  At the same time oil companies were blistered in Senate hearings because their companies earned hundreds of millions of dollars in the recent quarter of 2005, the Tax Foundation's Scott Hodge reported that in the last 25 years, oil companies paid more than $2.2 trillion (that's right trillion) in taxes to federal and state governments.  That's more than threefold the oil companies' profits in the same period.


How Big is a Hawaiian Gallon?

Oil industry resists adjusting gas pumps for hot climates.  The Hawaiian gallon contains nearly 234 cubic inches of fuel — about 3 cubic inches more than is dispensed in the rest of the United States.  The extra volume, required by state law, helps offset the higher temperature in this tropical climate, which causes the gasoline to expand.  If the gallon weren't temperature-adjusted, Hawaiians would receive less energy per gallon than called for under the government standard.  That's because for nearly a century, gasoline and diesel have been measured across America as if they were being dispensed at a temperature of 60 degrees, a more condensed gallon of 231 cubic inches.

The Editor says...
 I see nothing about a Hawaiian gallon in 15 USC Chapter 6, or in NIST Handbook 130, and I'm waiting for a reply from the weights and measures people at NIST.  Of course, it's a lot hotter in Texas than in Hawaii, but keep in mind that most gasoline storage tanks are underground, where the temperature is closer to 60 degrees.  Smart gasoline pumps could measure the temperature of the fuel as it is delivered and adjust the price accordingly, but I doubt if that will ever happen.

But again, gasoline expands as it heats, which is good news for the consumer.  The expansion means that as gasoline comes out of the cold underground storage tank at the gas station, it occupies less space than it will when it warms up in your gas tank.  On a hot day, you may end up with two percent more gas (by volume) than you paid for.

Updated 8/30/2006:
 Upon further reflection, I'm starting to have my doubts about this Hawaiian Gallon story.  First of all, gasoline has a coefficient of expansion of 0.00060/°F.*  So, if my calculations are right, gasoline expands by one percent for every sixteen degrees of temperature increase.  That's not much expansion.  And in any event, if Hawaii really is so hot -- consistently hot year round -- the way to accommodate the difference is to adjust the price, not the definition of a gallon.

Updated 6/19/2007:
 When it's hot, you lose at gas pump.  Almost a century ago, the industry and regulators agreed to define a gallon of gasoline as 231 cubic inches at 60 degrees. … During the energy crisis in the 1970s, tropical Hawaii decided to set a base fuel temperature of 80 degrees, meaning that consumers there get more bang for their buck because retailers now dispense 234 cubic inches of gas per gallon rather than 231.

[That's only 1.3 percent.]


Basic economics:  In the wake of the spike in fuel prices, many Americans demand that politicians do something.  You can bet the rent money that whatever politicians do will end up harming consumers.

The Left Caused Higher Gas Prices.  Because of environmania, the left has prevented domestic exploration of energy sources such as those to be found in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.  But the fear by a myopic but noisy few with poor science on their side that caribou would be upset or displaced by exploration, is inhibiting the growth of our national economy and requiring us to beg for mercy from [OPEC] dictators who have no reason to offer any.

"Fueling our enemies' engines".  In order to "feed their habit," addicts must pay out mountains of cold hard cash to very unsavory characters who are often as deadly as the addiction itself.  That's always been the case with heroin or crack and today it's increasingly true of petroleum.

On the other hand...
 We're Not Addicts!  It's a confused and confusing debate but it can be boiled down to this:  On one side are those who believe the answer is for us to slash our demand for energy.  On the other side are those who believe the answer is to greatly increase our supply.

Gas price vapors:  Now that the gasoline price has plummeted across the country, shouldn't the Senate committee that berated oil company executives when prices were up now praise them?  If the price of gas can be so easily manipulated by the oil companies, shouldn't the senators give those corporate execs medals instead of tongue-lashings?  Fair is fair.

EPA Rules Raise Gas Prices.  While it is possible to expand domestic refinery capacity without constructing new refineries, current and planned EPA rules act as disincentives to refinery expansion.  In 1997, the EPA made air quality standards across the country more stringent. … These standards were not based on sound science and, consequently, aren't likely to produce benefits commensurate with their $100 billion annual cost.

Katrina Reveals Gas Price Folly.  A new oil refinery has not been built in the United States since 1976.  During that time, our gasoline use has increased over 25 percent.  The nation's 149 existing refineries have been running at maximum capacity trying to meet record demand and, as a result, not only do we import oil, we actually have to import 10 percent of our daily gasoline from refineries overseas.

The Petro sky is not falling.  This "crisis" will push us — finally — to tap America's significant reserves in ANWAR and offshore California and Florida.  Fanatical tree huggers' silly politics for years have blocked development of huge fields which will finally come online during the next 10 years. … The petroleum sky is not falling.  We have and will continue to have enough energy resources.  Current upward price swings have little to do with current and projected supply.

No Easy Answers For Post-Katrina Gas Prices.  The hurricane's impact on already-high gasoline prices is hard to ignore.  Politicians are coming up with the usual list of easy answers to ease pain at the pump, but unfortunately, they are the wrong answers.  Setting price caps, pumping lots of oil out of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, and going after industry "price-gouging" and collusion will not have much of an impact, and each comes with problems of its own.

Ignoring economics:  Part II.  What all this boils down to is that prices higher than what observers are used to are called "gouging."  In other words, prices under normal conditions are supposed to prevail under abnormal conditions.  This completely misunderstands the role of prices.

Running out of gas.  Everyone knows what the problem really is.  It's Economics 101:  increasing demand and precariously tight supply.  Yet for three decades we have done criminally little about it.  Conservatives argued for more production, liberals argued for more conservation, and each side blocked the other's remedies — when even a child can see that we need both.

Oil Company Executives Defend Profits.  The chiefs of five major oil companies defended the industry's huge profits Wednesday [11/9/2005] at a Senate hearing where lawmakers said they should explain prices and assure people they're not being gouged.

Windfall for the dimwitted.  Sen. Byron Dorgan, the North Dakota Democrat, … recently got 34 colleagues, none of them Republicans, to vote for his measure to punish oil companies for earning profits that, relative to revenue, were unimpressive.

High Taxes Cause High Gas Prices.  Americans everywhere have felt the impact of higher gasoline prices during the past year.  In response, our government officials have offered up the usual "solution":  greater regulation of the oil industry.  Administration officials have ordered an FTC antitrust probe, while vote-seeking politicians have condemned the oil industry and called for an investigation into collusion and price gouging.  The truth is that costly federal taxes and regulations largely are to blame for high fuel prices, not convenient scapegoats like OPEC and the oil companies.

High gas prices aren't as bad as some think.  Our immediate spike in gas prices was brought on by the destruction Hurricane Katrina caused in the oil-rich Gulf of Mexico.  But even if this had not happened, and even if there were not a war in Iraq, the price of gas was bound to rise.  China and other highly populated countries are developing rapidly and will demand gas as they join the "I love my car" club.

Feds' Gas Tax Has Lived Too Long.  The federal gas tax was levied back in 1956 with the promise of finishing the interstate highway system.  Well, that system was completed by 1982.  To no one's surprise, the tax didn't stop then.

Overtaxed at the Pump:  What's Behind the High Gas Prices.  Federal and state taxes make up the largest component of the retail price of gasoline beyond the cost of a barrel of crude oil.  Taxes can add between 26 cents and 53 cents to the retail cost of a gallon of gas.  The total annual gasoline tax bill for motorists is $53 billion per year.

The Burden of Hidden Taxes:  When you buy a gallon of gasoline, the government receives the largest chunk of your money.  According to one report, for a dollar's worth of gasoline, 34 cents are accounted for by exploration and production, refining takes up 6 cents, wholesalers get a nickel, and the service station owner gets 12 cents.  Taxes take up the rest.

 Here's a Hint:   100 - 34 - 6 - 12 = 48

High-gas-price blues?  Blame the greens.  Americans have every right to be angry, as they watch the rising price of gasoline take a bigger bite out of their paychecks.  But their anger should be directed toward the real cause of the unnecessary price increases:  irresponsible reverence for the environment.

Global Warming and the Price of a Gallon of Gas:  You may want to give credit where credit is due to Al Gore and his global warming campaign the next time you fill your car with gasoline, because there is a direct connection between Global Warming and four dollar a gallon gas.  It is shocking, but true, to learn that the entire Global Warming frenzy is based on the environmentalist's attack on fossil fuels, particularly gasoline.

What's the Answer for High Gasoline Prices?  Nothing.  At the end of the day, the best remedy for high gasoline prices is… high gasoline prices, which provide all the incentives necessary for motorists to conserve, for oil companies to put more product into the marketplace, and for investors to look into alternatives fuel technologies.  Government has never demonstrated an ability to do better.

Local, State and Federal Gas Taxes Consume 45.9 Cents Per Gallon on Average.  Record gasoline prices are constantly in the headlines, which leaves many asking why prices are so high.  While supply and demand are the primary determinants of gasoline prices, a significant portion of the price consumers pay at the pump can be attributed to gasoline taxes.  In fact, the federal gas tax alone equals 18.4 cents for every gallon purchased.

Oh, Those 'Enormous and Unreasonable' Oil Profits.  Convenience store operators make their profits from merchandise sales and gaming machines, not gasoline sales.  The gas pumps are there just to get you into the store.  [On the other hand,] the federal tax on gasoline is 18.4 cents per gallon.  The State of Nevada levies an additional 33.7 cents.  That's 52.1 cents a gallon going to the government.  Residents of the Silver State pay the third highest gasoline tax in the nation, behind only New York and Hawaii.

Chafee Votes to Keep Gas Prices High.  Environmentalists opposed [Chairman Jim Inhofe's Gas PRICE Act (S 1772)] for its provisions to expand refinery capacity, streamline refinery permitting and simplify so-called boutique fuel requirements.  It also would have provided federal assistance for the construction of refineries on closed military bases, which could have been producing gas in about two years, Inhofe said.

Statement of Jonathan Adler before the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment & Public Works:  Gasoline markets' ability to respond to supply disruptions and price changes have been severely hampered by federal fuel content mandates under the Clean Air Act.  Imposing various boutique fuel mandates on different regions of the country has balkanized domestic gasoline markets and increased prices for consumers for minimal environmental benefit.  By segmenting national gasoline markets, these requirements have made some regions more vulnerable to supply disruptions and volatile gasoline prices.  Some boutique fuel requirements have further strained gasoline supplies by reducing the volume of saleable product that can be produced.  Yet since passage of the 1990 Clean Air Act, such mandates have been expanded, not reduced.

Congressional Mandates Contribute to Higher Gas Prices.  Four major components drive the retail price of gasoline:  the cost of crude oil, refinery processing costs (including environmental regulations), distribution and marketing costs, and taxes. … Distribution and marketing costs [account] for 11 percent of the retail price of gasoline.  The wide variety of specialized regional gasoline formulas required by federal and state regulators make storage and distribution more difficult and increase the potential for supply disruptions and short-term price spikes.  Moreover, specialized blends required for one area of the nation may not be suitable for another area.  Furthermore, not every refinery can produce every grade of gasoline and pipelines have limited flexibility to move different grades of gasoline to different places.

The Gas PRICE Act:  A Modest Step Forward in the Post-Katrina Energy Debate.  Sen. James Inhofe's (R-OK) new energy bill … contains several sections that could help reduce motor fuel prices over the long term.  One would allow states to streamline refinery permitting, transforming a process that now drags on for years into one that must be completed in months.  This should encourage expansions of existing refineries.  By reducing some of the costs and uncertainties involved in undertaking such projects, these provisions would facilitate bringing badly-needed additional capacity online.

The case for more uniform fuel standards:  An even bigger concern may be the effect that this market segmentation has in combination with two other developments.  The first is the fact that over the last quarter century, half the refineries in America have shut down and no new ones have been built.  The second is the number of mergers and acquisitions that we have seen in the petroleum industry over the same period.

Map of US Gasoline Requirements.  This map shows the nature of the proliferation of fuel standards.  It indicates that you could drive through seven contiguous counties in Arizona, California, and Nevada, and be required by law to put a different formulation of regular gasoline in your vehicle in each one.

A Nice Overview of the Problem with Boutique Fuels.  Boutique and reformulated gasolines have balkanized our nation's gasoline markets, creating virtual islands of gasoline blends that are subject to more severe price spikes than the rest of the nation.

NACS Voices Fuel Price Volatility Concerns to Congress.  The overlapping federal, state and local regulations that dictate specific fuel formulations for distinct markets must be replaced with a more uniform system.  A reduction in the number of boutique fuels is essential to stabilizing both supplies and prices.  This need not result in a reduction in environmental protections.

Chart shows Boutique Fuel Requirements Across the U.S..  There are more than 300 local and state fuel regulations in the U.S.  These regulations result in a patchwork of gasoline zones across the country where only certain fuels can be sold, creating price disparities across the country.



Don't Increase Federal Gasoline Taxes — Abolish Them.  Many experts believe that gasoline taxes should be increased for a variety of reasons.  Their arguments are unpersuasive.  Oil is not disappearing, and when it becomes more expensive, market agents will substitute away from gasoline to save money.  The link between oil price shocks and recessions, although real in the 1970s, has been much more benign since 1985 because of the termination of price controls.  Market actors properly account for energy costs in their purchasing decisions absent government intervention.  Pollution taxes, congestion fees, and automobile insurance premiums more closely related to vehicle miles traveled are better remedies for the externalities associated with automobile travel than a simple fuel tax.  Gasoline consumption does not necessarily distort American foreign policy, impose military commitments, or empower Islamic terrorist organizations.

The Factors Influencing the Price of Gasoline.

Chart:  U.S. Gasoline Distribution System.

Where Does Your Gas Dollar Go?  Most consumers don't know that 90 percent of the price of gas is determined before it even reaches their local convenience store.

Gasoline prices:  Some Americans are demanding that the government do something about gasoline prices.  Let's think back to 1979 when the government did do something.  The Carter administration instituted price controls.  What did we see?  We saw long gasoline lines, and that's if the gas station hadn't run out of gas.  It's estimated that Americans used about 150,000 barrels of oil per day idling their cars while waiting in line.

Why High Gas Prices?  When three socialist amigos like Senators Charles Schumer of New York, Barbara Boxer of California and Harry Reid of Nevada all urged the Bush administration recently to help ease gasoline prices by releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), you know what's up. … You'd think that Martha Stewart owned Exxon the way [Senator Reid is] acting.  Reid forgets that Bill Clinton tried that trick in 2000 and the effect at the pump was negligible.

See which U.S. cities have been hit the hardest and the least hard by rising gas prices.  Ironically, New Orleans is #2 on the list of cities that have been hurt the least by rising gas prices.

Hillary's hurricane rule.  Sen. Hillary Clinton sometimes talks as if she wants oil and gas to be cheap and abundant, but she never stops working to make them expensive and scarce.

Are We Out of Gas?  Let's get a little historical perspective.  In 1914, the U.S. Bureau of Mines predicted American oil reserves would last merely a decade.  In both 1939 and 1951, the Interior Department estimated oil supply at only 13 years.  "We could use up all of the proven reserves of oil in the entire world by the end of the next decade," declared President Jimmy Carter gloomily in 1977.  In fact, the earliest claim that we were running out of oil dates back to 1855 — four years before the first well was drilled!

Outdated Car-Mileage Tests Steer Buyers Off Course.  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's test for mileage hasn't changed since 1974.  Consequently, the tests likely overstate the actual mileage, note observers.  The EPA's "current" mileage tests assume that no one drives more than 60 miles per hour when many states have set the limit at 65 or higher since 1995.  And they assume that no one uses air conditioning, which can cut mileage by as much as 21 percent.

High Pump-Price Fairy Tales:  Gasoline markets today are increasingly global rather than regional in nature.  For example, European governments tax diesel fuels less than gasoline and European motorists have responded by using diesel.  Accordingly, European refineries make more gasoline than they can use and it's cheaper for us to import that gasoline than to produce it here at home.

National Security and Energy:  While most of us suffer from the escalating cost of filling our gas tanks, some "public interest" activists likely don't share our concern.  After all, increasing the price of natural resources, mostly by curtailing domestic energy production, has been a longstanding goal of environmental elitists.  They think this is the best way to reduce supposedly rampant automobile pollution and force development of "alternative" fuels.

$1 billion wasted on study of efficient cars.  American taxpayers have forked out more than $1 billion over the last nine years helping the Big Three automakers develop cars efficient enough to travel 80 miles on a single gallon of gas.

 Editor's Note:   Ask yourself this question — What would an 80 mpg car look like?  It would probably make a Yugo look like a limousine by comparison.  Even the smallest motorcycle on the road today doesn't get that kind of mileage.  There is a finite amount of energy available from the combustion of one gallon of gasoline, even with pure oxygen fed into the air intake of an automobile engine.  Eighty mpg is an unreachable goal.

Government Policies Make the Gas Situation Worse.  Since the OPEC oil embargo of 1973, personal income has gone up twice as fast as the price of gasoline.  The role of taxes in keeping prices high cannot be neglected.  Start with the federal tax of 18.4 cents per gallon.  Add to that state taxes of various sorts.

Don't be fooled by that 9/10th in price at gas pumps.  As millions of Americans make the filling station the first stop on their Memorial Day vacation this weekend, the traditional start of the busy summer driving season, some may wonder:  "Why does the price for gasoline always have that 9/10 number at the end of it?"

Natural Gas Needs No Dinosaurs to Form.  Credible scientists have now demonstrated that methane, the main ingredient of natural gas, can form inorganically, as a result of natural processes that involve no biological material whatsoever — no dead dinosaurs, no rotting ancient forests, not even any little plankton trapped in the soil.

Drillers target huge natural gas field under Appalachia.  Geologists and energy companies have known for decades about the gas in the Marcellus Shale, but only recently have figured out a possible — though expensive — way to extract it from the thick black rock about 6,000 feet underground.  Like prospectors mining for gold, energy executives must decide whether the prize is worth the huge investment.

Gasoline Expected to Remain Cheap This Summer.  Gasoline prices are expected to be relatively low this summer, so motorists might want to take to the road despite the dismal economy if the federal government projections hold.


Inflation

It's not just gasoline -- the price of everything is going up.

World Food Prices Spike As Soy Harvest Collapse.  Middle class Americans grumble when prices go up at the supermarket ($5 bucks for a box of cornflakes?  Are these people insane?) but for billions of people all over the world rising food prices can mean the difference between happy kids and hungry ones, between having a little money for extras at the end of the week and skipping meals.

Pain At The Pump And Pain At The Checkout Line.  From the clothes on your back to the shoes on your feet to that backpack for junior, rising oil prices made worse by restricted domestic supply have affected the cost of far more things than we realize.  When the railroads and trucks that deliver food to the supermarket pay more for diesel fuel, the added cost shows up when you pay for your groceries at checkout.

Sticker shock! New car prices jump nearly 7% to record.  After several years of heavily discounting their products in a desperate bid to keep assembly lines rolling, automakers are finding themselves back in the driver's seat again — pushing prices to record levels.  And it's "not a blip," warns one senior analyst, who expects the trend to continue for several years.

Food inflation seen back on the table as prices rise.  World food prices are likely to rise for a third successive month in March, and could gain further beyond that, with expensive oil and chronically low stocks of some key grains putting food inflation firmly back on the economic agenda.

Ham Prices High Heading Into Easter Holiday.  Ham prices have been higher than usual for the past two years because the cost of pig feed has gone up, and some major pork producers are spending millions to convert barns as they phase out cramped cages used to confine pregnant sows.

No, you're not imagining it; your grocery bill is going up fast.  Inflation is under control, we're told.  The Fed?  No worries says Bernanke.  The White House?  Never heard the word "inflation" before.  But you, me, your neighbors, and anyone who goes shopping at the grocery store these days knows [very] well that prices are going through the roof.

No Inflation? General Mills Begs to Differ.  General Mills came out Wednesday [3/21/2012] with their Q3 earnings, and what do you suppose was one of the top points they wanted to make to their investors?  Just that they were experiencing significantly higher input costs year-over-year.

Denny's to raise menu prices.  One day after Starbucks announced it was increasing prices on some of its beverages, Denny's, the national restaurant chain with just over 1,600 locations, said it too is considering a price hike this year.

Hyperinflation: Can It Happen Here?  In the middle of 1914, just before the war, a one pound loaf of bread cost [the equivalent of] 13 cents [in Germany].  Two years later it was 19 cents.  Two years more and it sold for 22 cents.  By 1919 it was 26 cents. ... In 1920, a loaf of bread soared to $1.20, and then in 1921 it hit $1.35.  By the middle of 1922 it was $3.50.  At the start of 1923 it rocketed to $700 a loaf.  Five months later a loaf went for $1200.  By September it was $2 million.  A month later it was $670 million.  The next month it hit $3 billion.  By mid month it was $100 billion.

Get your peanut butter — before prices soar.  Prices for a ton of runner peanuts, commonly used to make peanut butter, hit nearly $1,200 this week, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.  That's up from just $450 per ton a year ago.

Prices of OJ, Milk and Gas Skyrocket.  Mornings for Americans are about to get a lot more expensive:  The prices of orange juice, milk and gas are spiking and all are expected to go even higher.

Sticker shock at the grocery as soaring wheat prices mean more expensive food.  If you think the cost of gassing up your car is outrageous, wait until you need to restock your pantry.  The price of wheat has more than tripled in the U.S. during the past 10 months, making Americans' daily bread — and bagels and pizza and pasta — feel a little like luxury items.  Baked goods aren't the only ones getting more expensive:  Experts expect 80 percent of grocery prices will spike too, and could remain steep for years.

Hyperinflation is a Small Price to Pay?  Despite government propaganda every shopper knows inflation is already a serious problem.  The Financial Times presented annual price increases for various items, which included the following:
  •   heating oil +41%
  •   copper +59%
  •   silver +91%
  •   palladium +212%
  •   corn +91%
  •   wheat +79%
  •   cotton +143%
These data indicate that inflation is upon us.  The magnitude of these numbers suggests hyperinflation.

Companies Warn That Higher Prices Are Looming.  Cotton prices are near their highest level in more than a decade, after adjusting for inflation, and leather and polyester costs are jumping as well.  Copper recently hit its highest level in about 40 years, and iron ore, used for steel, is fetching extremely high prices.  Prices for corn, sugar, wheat, beef, pork and coffee are soaring.  Labor overseas is becoming more expensive, meanwhile, and so are the utility bills to keep a factory running.

Hyper-caffeinated coffee prices hit 14-year high.  Coffee prices hit a 14-year high this week, and it's only a matter of time before java lovers will have to pay more in stores and coffee shops.

Boiling Middle America Slowly.  The Associated Press begins a story about the rising cost of basic necessities as follows:  "Wholesale prices jumped last month by the most in nearly two years due to higher energy costs and the steepest rise in food prices in 36 years.  Excluding those volatile categories, inflation was tame."  Whew!  Glad inflation is tame!  It would be awful if we had to deal with rising costs for essential goods... oh, wait.  That is what's happening.

Supermarket prices soar in Manhattan and across the country.  What's in your wallet?  Not much — especially after a trip to the supermarket. ... The price index for groceries is expected to surge 3 to 4 percent nationally this year, according to the US Dept. of Agriculture.

Inflation Rears Its Ugly Head.  Food prices today are the highest on record, rising at double-digit rates.  Meanwhile, gasoline tests the $4-a-gallon level, the dollar is weakening and gold is near its all-time high.  At this pace, prices for the basics used by businesses will double in less than a decade, pushing millions of Americans down the economic ladder as they struggle to keep up.

US food price rise is steepest in decades.  The cost of producing finished foods jumped 3.9pc last month from a year earlier, as harsh winter weather exacerbated the already increasing price of many basic ingredients used in food.  The increase was the steepest since November 1974.  With oil prices having spiked on the political upheaval in North Africa and the Middle East, energy costs were 3.3pc higher in the month, according to a report on producer prices from the Labor Department.

Beef prices soar.  If you're already shocked by how much your favorite cut of beef costs at the supermarket, brace yourself because prices will keep going up.  Surging commodity prices already have consumers paying more for groceries such as eggs, milk, cereal and meat.  The price of beef in particular has shot through the roof.

The Editor says...
 Somehow the writer of this article managed to avoid mentioning ethanol, which I suspect is the primary cause for the increase in the price of beef and many other foods.

Rising Food Prices Fueling Global Problems.  Corn affects most food products in stores.  It is used to feed cattle, hogs, and chickens that fill the meat aisles.  It also sweetens most soft drinks and many other foods.

More about ethanol.

Government's Stealth Takeover of Food:  Been to the grocery store lately?  Prices are up and food packages are shrinking.  Call it stealth inflation.  There's no hiding the skyrocketing price of gas that hits you in the face every time you fill up the tank.  But food?  Last year's steep rise in the price of wheat, corn, coffee, and chocolate is now rippling through the food chain, but the food industry is working overtime to mask food price inflation.

Rising food costs could be politically troubling.  Presidents aren't used to worrying about the price of meat and milk.  But inflation has tripped up a president before.  Ask Jimmy Carter.  Now, President Barack Obama faces the twin prospects of rising gasoline and food prices as he prepares to gear up a re-election campaign.

Inflating Our Way to a Government-Controlled Economy.  Spiraling food prices, record energy costs and federally mandated health insurance reflect this Administration's slavish ideological devotion to the centralized planning of key sectors of the American economy.  So, what are the current results of Obama's indoctrination of America into progressive collectivism?  Global food costs have risen an astonishing 29% in the past year, and almost 4% a month between October and January of 2011.

Gold tops $1,500 for first time.  Gold prices topped a record $1,500 for the first time ever on Tuesday [4/19/2011], shattering an important psychological barrier as investors seek out investments thought to be safe during times of upheaval.

Coffee prices highest in 34 years.  Coffee prices have topped $3 a pound for the first time in more than 34 years.  A drop in supplies of high-grade arabica coffee beans and a growing taste for upmarket coffee among the middle classes of China, Brazil, Indonesia and India are blamed for the sharp rise.

The voters are making the connection between Obama and the cost of their milk and their gas.
 Obamaflation Arrives.  President Obama will not be re-elected.  Period.  Why?  Obamaflation has arrived, and this is what it looks like.  Milk.  A gallon of skim.  At the local Giant in Central Pennsylvania:
January 11, 2011: $3.20
February 28, 2011: $3.24
March 6, 2011: $3.34
April 23, 2011: $3.48
That would be a 28 cent rise in a mere 102 days, from January to April of this year.

Be prepared to pay more at checkout.  Households reeling from gasoline near $4 a gallon also face bigger bills for everything from changing their babies' diapers to wiping their noses to treating themselves to ice cream.

Obama Economy Worse Than 1970s.  America's middle class is getting poorer; a record number of middle class workers are out of work.  If you are lucky enough to have a job, your wages aren't going up, but you are facing higher prices for everything.

Starbucks to raise packaged coffee price by 17 percent.  Starbucks Corp. is raising the cost of its packaged coffee sold in its U.S. retail stores by an average of 17 percent, its first such increase since 2009, a spokesman said on Wednesday [5/25/2011].

Beef prices expected to climb for the next two years.  The smallest cattle herd since the 1950s likely will mean higher beef prices at the supermarket for the next two years.

Gasoline Prices and Dollar Prices.  It's not that gasoline is more expensive; it's just that your dollars are worth less.  But neither the media nor the political establishment wants you to realize the real reason Americans are experiencing pain at the pump.


Editor's note:
 In an attempt to combat high gas prices, you may be tempted to purchase a hybrid vehicle.  But before you do, you should look at the information on this page.

Note:  The automatic gas price graphic was removed 4/19/2011 because it was wildly inaccurate.  If you own a car, you probably know what the price of gas is, in your neighborhood, this week.

Jump to Environmental False Alarms
Jump to Lies about energy production
Back to the Home page

 Bookmark and Share

Custom counter developed in-house

Document location http://www.akdart.com/gas.html
Updated May 14, 2012.

Page design by Andrew K. Dart  ©2012