Folks, come on, we're being enronned. The only "reason" for these price increases is the greed of speculators and the unregulated nature of the commodities markets. If you want to look into some serious manipulation of prices, check out natural (heating) gas prices, which have risen something like 700% since 1990 and for which there are no "shortages" to speak of. In fact, according to the DOE website itself, overall US demand for natural gas was LOWER in 2005 than 34 years earlier, in 1973. (Check out: http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/aer/txt/ptb0605.html.) This is in spite of all the natural gas-fired elctric plants built in the 1990s, etc., etc. Supply is on a similar level. Nothing whatsoever to explain 700%. Except perhaps the Bush family friends at the head of the F.E.R.C. Please don't delude yourselves about supply and demand, folks, this is robbery. One president to the next, they've sold us on deregulation, union-busting, and job exportation, all with the American public's assent. The SEC will jail a few traders to make it look as if there's some oversight, then on to the next round of economy-breaking price increases. The next commodity to explode: water. Wait and see, especially in the West. Bechtel learned a few lessons in Bolivia, but they'll be back. Let me ask a question. How come NO ONE really believes what the oil companies are telling us, and we live in a democracy, and nothing is being done? Ok, end of rant. This stuff just gets me going. |
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