High Gas Prices: It's Time for a Revolution!

The oil and gas crisis is putting an escalating number of Americans in peril of losing their livelihood. Skyrocketing fuel prices are affecting everything from the five-day work week and family vacations to essentials like clothing and food. In Hawaii, for example, residents are paying $8 for a jar of Jif peanut butter, $5.50 for a loaf of white bread, $6.50 for a gallon of milk and $7.19 for a half-gallon of orange juice.

Everywhere you turn, from bakeries, grocery stores and restaurants to ice cream shops, owners are posting signs apologizing for having to raise their prices. Small towns are being wiped out. The ability of the average American to make ends meet is getting harder and harder. And we haven't even hit winter yet, when heating bills will kick in with a vengeance.

With retail gas prices in the United States expected to surge well over $4 per gallon by August, Americans are understandably feeling powerless and frustrated. And to hear the politicians talk, there's not much they can do about it.

Granted, there are a lot of factors that contribute to the skyrocketing price of gas. But if the American government really wanted its citizens to have access to cheaper oil and gas, surely it could find a way that does not involve invading another Middle Eastern country.

After all, the five largest oil companies in the world -- ExxonMobil, BP America, Shell, ConocoPhillips and Chevron -- are all based in the U.S. Yet in typical fashion, Americans are paying record gas prices at the pump, while these companies (which made record profits of $123 billion last year) continue to receive billions of dollars in tax breaks -- at taxpayer expense.

The United States buys more oil than any country in the world (although China and India are not far behind). That gives us bargaining power. It's time to put that power to work and play hardball with the oil companies. In other words, it's high time that our so-called representatives in Congress do their job.

Unfortunately, Congress has been bought out by the gas and oil interests. Since 1990, the oil and gas industries have contributed more than $200 million to the election campaigns of Republicans and Democrats, with the majority of those funds going to Republicans.

As investment columnist Jim Jubak pointed out several years ago,

"Think it's a matter of chance that we don't have a meaningful national energy policy? Wondering why oil and gas companies don't pay higher royalties to the Treasury now that oil is over $55 a barrel? Amazed that Washington loves to talk about energy research with promise 15 years down the road, but won't put significant money into alternative technologies that could reduce energy consumption now? For answers to all those questions and more, just follow the money."

The money trail leads right to the legislators who look out for the best interests of the oil and gas industry. Said Jubak: "[T]he industry keeps its eye on the prize. If you want to keep oil and gas royalties low; if you'd like to drill in environmentally sensitive areas; if you want to keep the government from admitting that global warming might exist; if you want to make sure that money flows to research in alternative energy technologies for the future but not to commercialize alternative technologies today, then you give to the key people who can get those jobs done."

It's no coincidence that the top four recipients of gas and oil money in Congress -- Kay Bailey Hutchison, Phil Gramm, John Cornyn and Joe Barton -- all hail from Texas, a big oil state. Then there's all the money that's being poured into the race for the White House. John McCain, Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama were among the top recipients of campaign contributions from the oil and gas industries during the 2007-2008 election cycle.

If our representatives weren't so afraid of upsetting the lobbyists, special interest groups and mega-corporations that pull their purse strings, we might actually have a chance of alleviating this crisis. But there is hope.

Remember, this is an election year, and we've got the power of the ballot box behind us. It is Congress' responsibility to protect the American people. After all, oil is a natural resource. In a sense, it belongs to all of us. And if our representatives, with all their collected resources and knowledge, can't figure a way out of this mess, then we need to elect people who can. As Jubak urges his readers, "vote your convictions. Throw this year's bums out. They certainly deserve it."

Whatever we do, we'd better start now. This is just the first wave. We're in a recession, but things could turn for the worse soon. And if we don't deal with it now, then there won't be much hope for stabilizing the economy.

If it means that we stop acting like a warring empire and start practicing diplomacy with other oil-producing nations such as Iran, Russia and Venezuela, fine. If it means regulating the oil monopolies so that our natural resources are put to better use for the good of the American people, not just an elite few, so be it. If it means establishing a government-owned company to produce the oil and keep gas prices low as a benefit to the nation's citizens, as they do in Venezuela and Saudi Arabia (where gas costs less than a dollar per gallon), then let's pursue that option.

The American people are not helpless. Anyone with a pen or a computer can and should be bombarding Congress and the White House with letters and emails voicing their discontent over this state of affairs. It's time for "we the people" to speak up, and speak up loudly.

Americans have been too long-suffering for too long. Folks, it's time for a revolution.

Comments

[ouroborous]

I'm far more worried about the price of heating fuel and food than the price of gas.

On gas, Americans are spoiled. We can, and should, seek more economical means to get where we need to go. The uptick in hybrid sales is nice, but I think that the 100+% increase in bus ridership is a more elegant proof that only the pocketbook motivates change. Nevertheless, it's a good change.

However, food and heating fuel are far more dark. Although there are definitely other factors (speculation, biofuel competition, etc.), one "hidden cost" in almost everything you eat is the fuel cost. This contributes to food prices spiraling out of control.

And right now we're in the middle of summer. What happens when winter rolls in and we can't afford to heat our houses because it would cost several thousand dollars to fill the heating oil tank?

I'm not worried about us being forced to carpool, walk, or take the bus. Cry me a river. I AM, however, very, very worried about what will happen when a significant fraction of America's 350+ million citizens are hungry and freezing and very angry about it.

I worry, a great deal, about the widespread violence that that could bring.

[framante]

I know it hurts a lot of people now, but be thankful the price of gas is rising. May it go sky high. Only when it gets high enough will we start to get serious about building high mileage cars and start thinking about energy use all around. Compared to most of the rest of the world, we Americans have been on a cheap gas binge from the beginning, and the finite supply of crude oil tells us, without a doubt, that it is going to run out eventually. The longer we fight for cheap gas, the longer we delay doing anything about the crisis that faces us and that will make it all that much harder to adjust when the time comes. Let gas prices rise so we will get on with finding alternative energy sources.

[Cathexis]

You get the feathers; I'll heat up the tar.

[mjt218]

I fail to understand why the US Representatives from Texas should not be receiving campaign contributions from the Oil and Gas Industry? Have you ever been to Texas? Houston is booming because it is the Oil and Gas capital of the western world. The livelihood of a good portion of the state rests on the the oil and gas industry and as a result, the representatives from the state should consider that industry's interests.

I also fail to see the reasoning behind nationalizing the oil and gas industry? I know this argument is not going to win a lot of sympathy, but here it goes. Exxon has produced the most profit of any publicly traded and held company in the history of the world. This is true at $140/barrel oil and this is true at $70/barrel oil. Close the Enron Loophole, its still true. They have not done this by pillaging and plundering from the American people, but through sustained and responsible investment over several decades (and probably a good strategy for riding out short-lived and short-sighted politicians). Frankly, Exxon is something that we as Americans should be proud of. We can't say the same for our politicians, or for most of our other industries.

[research]

That's so sweet! How are the retirement benefits at Exxon?

The best government money can buy. That's your solution. Wow.

[Badbone]

If the primary goal of attacking those Middle Eastern countries was oil, then yes, we could have found a better way. But since it wasn"t, there is no better way.

Let me spell it out for everyone. There is a small country, around the size of New Jersey. And American politicians have pledged to do everything they can to protect that country. America gives them armaments, political backing, and even millions of dollars. America also fights wars for them, like say Afghanistan and Iraq.

The war was never about oil. It was about eliminating countries perceived to be a threat to Israel. Oil is a red herring. Always was.

[ignorantwillyharper]

Just nationalize the oil companies and we too can have half a dollar a gallon gas. What we've spent in Iraq, we could have bought evrey oil company in the world and still had lots of money left over.
If a politican is running for another term, vote aganist them, they've all proven to be criminals.

[research]

First: End McSame's Enron Loophole NOW. Prices will drop 50% in weeks, if not hours.
re regulate oil speculation.

Second: end all oil coal and nuke subsides and transfer them over to wind and solar.
185B$ per year will easily convert all US energy to wind and solar.

see my profile for details and links.

[Yohomegirl]

Um, my work van gets 12 mpg. I am surviving for now, and have not raised my rates, but I sho' could use a change. It takes $125.00 to fill up my tank. I am currently spening about $200.00 a week in gas. HELP!!

[dexxjones]

actually i think we're on the right track.

1- send the republicans out of office.

2- begin weeding out the dlc democrats

3- start passing STRONG criminal laws for individuals who commit treason and actually enforce those laws. i know there are laws already, but the true spirit of treason, if it were legislated and enforced would result in many of these people spending their golden years behind bars.

[runswithscissors]

Electing a new class of lobbyist bought yesmen isn't going to change a thing. Serious action needs to be taken. Boycott ALL major media outlets and their subsidiaries. Refuse to vote for anyone who accepts donations from corporate interests. Refuse to vote at all if it comes down to it...don't validate the actions of these criminals simply because you feel like you have to vote for someone.

Gas prices will "miraculously" drop as the election nears, some completely bogus "progress" will occur in Iraq ("The Surge II" starring General Patraeus), and the federal bribe package (what they call stimulus checks) will have artifically inflated the economy for a couple of months, at great expense in the future. This will all be offered as evidence that Bush and the Repugs have things under control. This will all also be rightly criticized by the "opposition party", who will promptly and collectively...do absolutely nothing. I really hope that the American people aren't stupid enough to buy it all (again)...but I know that they are. Hook, line, and sinker...and four more years of Republicratic single-party rule.