Gas prices spiraled up 6 whole cents today. Across the country. At the same time. At all the pumps. And stations. Regardless of what inventory existed at each station.
In the last quarter, oil companies have recorded profits that are almost unimaginable. Sadly that “riches beyond avarice” does not trickle down to the retailers – not by a country kilometer. The distributors all the way up to the executive branch of most North American oil companies and refineries are making gains that are largely incomprehensible by the rest of us – hell, even banks are taking a second look at the performance of oil companies.
Why do gas prices go up in such a predictable way? Well – Oil is the number one commodity on the Planet. Coffee is next. It is a 100% “whatever the market (that’s you and I) will bear”. And since neither you nor I are going to get out of our cars anytime soon, expect the gas prices to keep rising and the profit margins of companies like Exxon to balloon faster than the U.S. deficit.
What can we do?
Nothing. Suck it up, pump it in and pay it out.
Now that attitude might be depressing and all. But You could get your sorry ass out of your car and walk downtown from time to time. Or park the car and take the bus to work. Or just leave the damn thing in the parking lot once a week.
I do not feel too bad overall – I did not own my 1st car until I turned 40 – and I bought a Honda Civic. In 8 years I have put less than 40,000 miles on it. Why did I wait til I was 40? Well. I got sick of buses and with aging Parents, they started needing the kind of attention that would require more immediate transportation options.