I hate to get involved in these discussions where everyone has an opinion...but to blame "Congress" for current fuel prices is just looking for a scapegoat rather than the truth which may be more complex and difficult to fix.
For one: there is no shortage of gasoline or diesel that new oil discoveries would lower the price.
For another: There is no shortage of refining capacity in this country. Existing refineries have added a lot of capacity in recent years.
While there are complex reasons, there are two basic reasons contributing to the current high price of fuels:
Oil has been traditionally priced internationally in US dollars which was traditionally the most stable currency in the world. However several factors, notably our absolutely STAGGERING federal budget deficits in recent years, have caused the value of the dollar to drop relative to other currencies. And since the sellers of oil want the same value for their oil as the US dollar drops in value, they want more dollars per barrel to have the same purchasing power. If you look at the price of crude in terms of Euros it has not risen nearly as dramatically.
The other major reason that oil prices in US dollars are increasing is that for decades, we have been one of the wealthiest countries in the world and consumed by far more oil per capita (per person) than any other country in the world. Other countries are now becoming wealthier and their people want to operate cars just like we do rather than rickshaws and oxen.
Because of our massive trade deficit with China, India and other countries, they have a lot of our US dollars to spend on oil. No longer are we the only bidder. And oil is a scarce commodity. The easy oil has been found. Even if we drill in sensitive areas, that oil costs a lot more to drill for than the easy oil we've been consuming....
The worlds population is growing, they want to live with the same conveniences that we do.
And since oil long term is a good investment since there will always be a market for it, much of the capital in the world looking for a place to make more buys oil futures, pushing the prices higher eventhough right now there is no shortagein the US.
US diesel is usually not priced higher than gasoiline. However diesel demand is not very elastic as industry/trucks require it. However much of our US produced diesel is being shipped to China and other nations who are willing to pay a higher price in cheap US deflated dollars we have paid them for just about everything in a Wal-Mart or Target store or .....you name the store.
I don't really have the time to get into this however I will take the time when I start reading inaccurate easy scapegoats being blamed. "Congress" is easy to blame but they are not the cause of these high prices. Our government is responsible for the fall in the dollar but I don't want to get nto that one.
Reading this board for a relatively short time, I have been impressed by the cattle information shared.
However when I hear people start to talk about "hanging trees" for "rustlers" and Congress is to blame for everything....that talk obscures the real reasons behind things and reflects a further breakdown in society and humanity.
When we either are not told the truth or ignore the truth we are not able to see the real causes of problems and then are not able to solve them.
"You shall know the truth and it shall make you free" (with a lot of work!)
Sorry to go on so long but this thread really has me concerned.
