Brother Can You Spare an Electric Car?

Okay, can I complain about gas prices for a second?

My complaint is not the price itself (although paying $40+ for a tank of gas is shocking to me), it's the reason cited for the high price.

Supposedly, refining is down because refineries are undergoing much needed maintenance. Well, just as it's not a good idea to renovate a school during the school year, it seems odd to me that refineries would undergo maintenance just before the season when demand is at its peak.

In other words, why cut production when demand is rising?

Add that oil companies have had at least 6 consecutive quarterly earning records, and I'm frustrated.

I heard a news story indicating that deregulation (under Reagan) allows the artificial manipulation of supply to increase price (and revenue...income).

Whatever the reason, it strikes me as a bad idea to allow a resource that ultimately impacts the cost of everything to be so vulnerable to the basest corporate skullduggery.

It also slays me that the political party that claims to favor small business is fiddling away while the fire rages.