GAS: Leap into the price debate

Definition: Oligopoly, control over the production and sale of a product or service by a few companies.

The Supreme Court broke up Standard Oil’s oil production monopoly in 1911. Now a hundred years later, the president tells us over and over that there is no silver bullet that will lower gas prices. Perhaps he should dig around in his predecessor’s arsenal. There must be some magic missile in there that caused the U.S. average gas price to drop from $4.12 a gallon in August 2008 to $1.61 a gallon in November 2008. Even though that magic bullet was not powerful enough to propel John McCain into the White House, it propelled me considerably farther down the highway when I filled ‘er up at a buck thirty-nine a gallon in Chandler, Ariz., that winter. Of course, the new energy secretary’s mantra of “American oil prices bad, kill Polar Bear;” “European oil prices good, make Green Energy” soon put a stop to that. That was back when he favored high oil prices before he favored low oil prices.

Folks, it’s leap year again and November approaches. That’s when the planetary alignment seems to cause oil prices to drop. It must be the oligopolistic law of leap year autumnal mobility regeneration. Bring it on and we’ll be singing in the sunshine once again this winter!

BOB LaRUE

Hauser