97snakedriver:
Thanks for the comments...good points.
Re: Population. Don't forget immigration, mostly illegal - and even illegals drive cars. Our highways are choked because not only are there more of us but everyone owns two or more cars. It adds up to lot of demand for fuel, along with other reasons offered, such as urban sprawl.
Demand means higher prices. Always does when the source is finite and you can't simply 'make more'. Simple.
I don't believe there is all that much 'price-gouging' going on, although profit-taking is a given and no crime, if not manipulated by secret agreement.
The oil companies have been 'investigated' time and again (last year in fact, by a liberal Democrat administration) and never found to be doing much of anything illegal.
If they had, you would have known it by now - trust me.
I think the cry of "price-gouging" becomes a straw man for politicians and the media, who need a villan to attack and blame, every time the gas price goes up. Bush has a reasonable plan but the Democrats have to reject it; it's a knee-jerk reaction for them. Lots of non-political folks just want the price to come down - "NOW, dammit!" - and have no concern with how we got here and how to insure long-term stability for our energy supply and pricing. This feeds the cycle.
As for China (sub-issue): They are a third-world country run by thugs with guns who are dangerous and no friends of ours.
I don't care what the Chinese 'leaders' think about anything, as long as they realize that they have no chance of winning a conflict with the U.S. and that we now have a President that will not kiss Chinese butt to avoid a conflict of any kind, while they do as they please. Again; China is a captive, third-world country run by gangsters and is not a 'partner' with the U.S., just because we buy Chinese goods. That could end if they push it too far, and they would lose way more than us. We're fortunate to have a President that knows his friends and knows who to keep an eye on at all times.
China is rich in soldiers but poor in every other area, including weapons, and they know it as well as we do. Don't help these thugs who murder their own people to stay in power and threaten neighbors, and us. Buy American.
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