High Gas Prices the Fault of the Public

Gas prices in Michigan are falling. They've dropped 27 cents very recently and are expected to drop further in the coming weeks. That is, of course, if storms in the Gulf Mexico don't cause problems. And if refineries don't have production issues. And if there's no threat of a popular uprising in a nation marginally connected to the oil supply chain. And if a tin horn dictator doesn't get looked at crosswise by an infant. And so on and so on.

Why does fear seem to affect oil prices so much? If we understand the situation correctly, oil prices are based on 'futures' which basically are the anticipation that various factors may affect the oil market in unforeseen ways. Stripped to its essentials, oil prices are set based on the predicted availability of oil in the future. Oil isn't produced in the same way as cars or plumbing supplies but is refined as it moves along the supply line, and that supply, so much of it being controlled by persons and factors beyond normal controls (think the tin horn dictators) can seem more uncertain than the delivery of steel to an auto plant. It makes a certain sense, yes.

It also lacks a certain sense. Why should fear drive, or, perhaps, be allowed to drive, a market so important to our overall economic welfare? Do we not have the moral fortitude, the backbone, to resist panic? If it's panic causing prices to shoot up, and that sure seems to be the case if we take our oil purchasers at face value, then courage ought to be the call of the day, oughtn't it?

The next pertinent question is, why are we in such a predicament to begin with? The answer is as obvious as it is easy. Because we aren't allowed to drill our own oil.

Why haven't the Arctic regions been opened up to the fullest degree? Because environmentalists who will never see that supposed pristine wilderness don't want it 'spoiled'. Because Americans who believe in animals over human beings don't want caribou trails interrupted. Why don't we tap into our more local resources? Because folks don't want oil derricks in their back yards. We get that...but we also get that that won't happen. Local ordinances and local pressures won't allow it. That's simply panic driven by members of the general public more than oil buyers.

There are three solutions to our oil needs: stop panicking, drill from our own supply, and come up with new energy sources. The first two should be easy enough to obtain. The last will only come when the oil is gone and is dependent on the first two.

It's up to you, Michigan and the broader United States. Make up your minds to do what we must, or leave the oil under the control of others and suffer the consequences. But if you choose that second option, kindly shut up about how badly gas prices fluctuate, because that's ultimately on you and not the tin horns nor ExxonMobil.