I have a real problem with scam artists.
And it would appear that some of the slimiest scammers of our times are not email junkies hawking Viagra or Ephedra, or promising some illusive share of a Nigerian diplomat's supposed wealth, but the head honchos and higher-ups pulling in gadzillions in profits for oil and refining
companies.
What really burns me is the sheer audacity with which they concoct excuses for never-ending price hikes. Especially when, we hear more and more from insiders, every line is an apparent lie.
Anyone remember the unbelievable skyrocketing we had round these here parts a full 3-4 days after Hurricane Katrina hit? The overnight 75-cent jumps in pricing? Remember how the oil companies blamed it on being unable to access all the "hard-hit" gas lines in the Gulf supposedly needed to transport all that fuel to us? Suddenly "shortage" was the word of the day. Or so it would seem. What would you say if you learned that every September a number of refineries, as a matter of practice, shut down a number of transport lines for annual cleaning, and that, for years and years prior, those same "hard-hit" gas lines have been closed off and inaccessible anyway, with nary a shortage anywhere in the U.S.
A few weeks back, in February, my folks went on vacation to Texas to visit my aunt and uncle, who retired some time ago from Shell Oil, a subsidiary of a Dutch Royal (or is it Royal Dutch) oil holdings company. At the time, gas prices were beginning to spike again. He found it odd considering the actual cost of crude oil had just fallen by several bucks per barrel. Go figure.
Or what about the annual line that refineries are switching from "summer blends" to "winter blends" of gasoline or vice-versa, as if our cars couldn't possibly continue to operate on the same formula to which THEY'D ALREADY BEEN ACCUSTOMED!!! Adding insult to injury, we -- a culture growing increasingly accustomed to "green," environmentally-friendly practices in business and consumption -- are told the summer-blend gas burns "cleaner" Well, call me crazy, but what's wrong with burning gas cleaner through the ENTIRE YEAR??!!!??? If we're so enlightened that we know well enough to use compact fluorescent bulbs and recycle soda cans and plastic bottles as a matter of habit, why would we deliberately choose a return to winter-grade fuel that burns "dirtier" than a summer-grade blend? It's a simple question, people, and there's a simple answer: They don't let us choose. They do it for us so they can have one more reason to hike prices, yet again.
This, of course, sets aside arguments about drastic price fluctuations between towns not that far apart, or whether Congress should "cap" oil company profits or fine them for gouging, or simply tax them up the wazoo and turn around and refund all that money to the American people who have paid through the nose for gas.
Much as it pains me to admit it, I'm now "old enough" to remember a time, shortly before I started driving on a learner's permit, when gas ranged between 77 -89 cents a gallon. At the time, I remember thinking it was crazy my parents could clearly describe the days when gas cost 25 cents a gallon. A few years after I got my license, it started creeping up and 99 cents or 1.01-1.05 became the norm. Then one day it shot to 1.23 and I swear, the oil companies never looked back.
No wonder a fuel-cell prototype vehicle -- like the one I reported on today -- looks enticing. There's very little smoke and only a couple of mirrors.
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