New at Reason

David Weigel | April 26, 2006

Sam Staley tells the GOP to start hunting for gas-gouging villains by looking in the mirror.

Comments

The Wine Commonsewer|4.26.06 @ 4:39PM|#

As a victim of the unending gas lines of the 1970's where there was plenty of inexpensive gas that you couldn't buy at any price, I'll take expensive gas that I can fill my gas-pig with. Even if it costs 62.00 to do so.

|4.26.06 @ 5:18PM|#

I don't usually agree with Brad DeLong but he nails this one:

Democrats are (because of the environmentalist wing of the party) generally in favor of higher gasoline taxes and higher gasoline prices--except when gasoline prices are high). Republicans are in favor of letting oil markets "work"--except when gasoline prices are high.

|4.26.06 @ 5:38PM|#

It's a lot more emotionally satisfying if I blame rich oil executives who got their positions without my help whatsoever than it is to admit that I probably voted for an idiot/crook.

But if I think about the ironic fact that the idiot/crook in charge used to be an oil company executive, my head will explode.

|4.26.06 @ 8:13PM|#

Why should our government spend another penny on roads?
Roads are where most gasoline is wasted.
Work with me here.
By now, everyone has an "off-road" vehicle, right? So let's slip this in under the radar:
Not another penny for roads!

|4.26.06 @ 10:33PM|#

This article hits the nail on the head. Politicians looking for the cause of spiking oil prices sounds a lot like OJ's pledge to find the real killers.

|4.26.06 @ 11:29PM|#

It is kind of funny seeing the politicians running like a chicken without a head trying to lower gas prices... if there is anything they CAN NOT do, it is lower the price of a limited commodity.

|4.27.06 @ 9:59AM|#

Government blames business.

Business blames government.

Really they are both at fault, perhaps, or perhaps not, further sharing the blame with genuine production cost increases.

In reality, there is no market and both these concentrations of power, big business and gov't, are speculating on and profiteering off the oil sitch in their own ways. I like the government investigation because this is some check on antitrust type abuses. I also like it when business subsidizes libertarian sites to complain about excessive oil-related taxes.*

Not so thrilled with the current detente where business gets its oligopoly and government taxes the windfall proportionately.

FOOTNOTE
* Gas taxes are a complicated issue, and we do see both pro and con points of view here at HnR, which is understandanablish. I think that if gas taxes were truly allocated to road building and subsidizing environmental compliance (eg, private sector Kyoto-type compliance) and maybe even alt energy research, then these taxes might be okay. It would be nice to see a Reasonarticle where the journalist does some unsubsidized research and tells us where the gas tax money is really going.