In the past day, the price of regular unleaded in my area has jumped a dime. Can you believe that shit? It's unacceptable.
Some of the financial pages suggest that the improving economy is partly responsible for this outrageous instance of inflation, but I just don't buy it. How does that work? Not that I have a grasp of economics any firmer than a baby's handshake, but let's get serious: the petroleum industry is using the war for Iraq as a rationale for manufacturing a crisis of scarcity. Maybe that makes me sound like a Left-wing conspiracist, but what should we be thinking otherwise? "It's not a lack of crude, but of refining capacity." Yeah? Well, why's that? Did the world's oil producers suddenly forget that the summer driving season is almost upon us?
Oil output should be up. Iraq is back online ---and even legally! I know that the general trend is for Americans to pay more for their gas. The days of dollar-a-gallon gasoline are behind us forever. But I have never seen a jump this fucking high in my life. I'm just not buying the conventional wisdom on this. There's obviously some shenanigans afoot ---but I'm just not smart enough to pin the tail on the donkey.