Erika Wilhite
Published: November 23, 2005
There are many ways to express this year’s rollercoaster ride of fluctuating gas prices. But there is only one way to express the fact that oil companies were raking in record profits while many Americans could barely afford the gas it took make it to and from work, and that expression is: WTF?
We – and by “we” I mean those of us who really do notice the fact that we were paying half as much for gas this time last year – know that oil companies have to be price gouging, because neither the war in the Middle East nor the unusually devastating hurricane season can adequately explain the sudden, dramatic jump in prices at the pump.
Refreshingly, other people are noticing it, too, and by “other people” I mean the “people who spend $5,000 on a pair of Italian leather shoes, so why not spend $3 or even $4 on a gallon of gas?” sort of people.
On Nov. 9, the Senate questioned executives from the top five oil companies, trying to determine why prices rose the way they did, and why they did nothing to hinder that rise. Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) has a “growing suspicion that oil companies are taking unfair advantage.”
Hey, a “growing suspicion” is better than no clue at all.
Beyond the predictable replies, denying price gouging and claiming that this year’s profits, while setting a record, weren’t that much higher than last year’s, is my personal favorite, courtesy of Federal Trade Commission Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras. She may not be an oil exec, but she can talk like one.
Said Majoras, “While no consumers like price increases, in fact, price increases lower demand and help make the shortage shorter-lived than it otherwise would have been.”
Consumer protection at its noblest, don’t you agree?
But as much as it’s tempting to vilify oil companies for raping and pillaging our wallets, we also need to consider the fact that gas prices have had a profound effect on national morale. Think about it: when the prices rose, people not only arranged carpools and cancelled summer vacations, they got scared.
The most widespread reaction I observed this summer was one of impotent frustration. The price jump was uncontrollable, at least for the average American, and while everyone knew it sucked, nobody could do anything about it. People went out less at night – why waste the gas?
Many people rearranged their lives to accommodate the flux in prices, but few stopped to consider the absurd part: we are allowing a single industry to dictate not only how and when we do something, but whether we do it at all. That’s a lot scarier than oil execs pocketing some extra cash, and no senatorial investigation will make it go away.
Instead of attacking oil companies for their obvious thievery, perhaps we should be finding a way to end our dependence on them once and for all.
Lemmings, I tell you. We are all lemmings.