In April 2010, we experienced one of the most devastating oil spill in history, the middle east is in an up roar and their governments are collapsing, in Wisconsin, 14 democrats are hiding out to avoid a vote on collective barging, we could be facing a government shut down if the house and senate cannot come to an agreement on a budget in two weeks, and did I mention Bernanke and his QE2 bond buying program. So with all of this going on, we the consumer, are paying at the pump, I am not sure about where you live, but I am paying $3.65 a gallon and that is for the cheapest gasoline, then you go to the grocery store and you see the price of fruit, vegetables, meat, everything going up in price.
If you will notice prices started going up right around November, I can account for this because this is around the time I had my surgery, when I was able to drive and get around, which was about a week, prices had gone up about ten cents a gallon. People chalked it up to the holidays, prices always go up around the holidays, but alas, this time they never went down, they kept going up, and up.
Now we have all the disturbance going on in the middle east, and you will have noticed that prices have gone up sometimes ten cents in one day alone. First of all this is ridiculous as we do not even get our main oil supply from the middle east.
With the value of our dollar decreasing, and our economy not getting any better despite what you hear, the prices at the pump are not going down any time soon. The million dollar question, what is our government doing about it?
In May 2004, The New York Times reported that congressional Democrats “were stepping up pressure on the Bush Administration to ease gasoline prices,” when prices were still under $2 a gallon. In 2006, Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) stated: “Since George Bush and Dick Cheney took over as president and vice president, gas prices have doubled…They are too cozy with the oil industry”.
Again, in 2008, then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) “blasted” the president for rising gas prices on his (and her) watch. In July 2008, ABC News asked the president what was his “short term advice for Americans about gas prices?” In April 2008, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) stated gas prices were “the number one issue facing America today.”
Since President Barack Obama was inaugurated, gas prices have been on the rise, as have home energy prices. During his term, he presided over perhaps the worst federal response to an oil spill in our nation’s history, yet there has been almost nothing said by the media as consumers face $3 a gallon gasoline at the pump in December for the first time in U.S. history and see their home heating bills soar in the winter months.How much has your bill gone up this winter????
Currently oil is over $100 a barrel and economist are saying $4 at the pump is not out of the question and is most likely a reality. $5 a gallon by 2012.... think about, can you afford to drive?
Understandably, the administration says it is trying to enforce new safety rules due to the April 20 explosion of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, Environmental groups say the administration is right to take its time because the Gulf disaster exposed the risks of offshore drilling.
However, the delay is hurting big oil companies such as Chevron Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell PLC, which have billions of dollars in investments tied up in Gulf projects that are on hold and are paying hundreds of thousands of dollars a day for rigs that are not allowed to drill. Smaller operators such as ATP Oil & Gas Corp., which have less flexibility to focus on projects in other regions, have been even harder hit.
The shock of the delays goes beyond the oil industry. The Gulf coast economy has been hit hard by the slowdown in drilling activity, especially because the oil spill also hurt the region's fishing and tourism industries. The Obama administration in September estimated that 8,000 to 12,000 workers could lose their jobs temporarily because of the freeze; some independent estimates have been much higher.
The slowdown also has long-term implications for U.S. oil production. The Energy Information Administration, the research arm of the Department of Energy, predicted that domestic offshore oil production will fall 13% this year from 2010 due to the freeze and the slow return to drilling; a year ago, the agency predicted offshore production would rise 6% in 2011. The difference: a loss of about 220,000 barrels of oil a day.
How is this helping us? Higher prices at the pump, mean higher prices for food, clothing, and all other necessities that travel by fuel and need energy. Waiting for the economy to recover, it will take a little longer, if we can not afford to drive to work, buy food, ect. Can we wait that long?
*Quick fact - many people that were re-hired after being laid off took a 20-30% pay cut.... The people that are getting re-hired are working for less.
We stimulate our economy by putting money into it, but if we cannot afford to put money back into the economy it will not be able to recover. So my question, is why where so many people shouting about gas prices back in 2004-2008, but you don't hear a single word about them now? Especially when we need to hear it the most. I am just asking you to think about it, it's your $ and your family to feed.
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