Over the years I have found that the Oil Companies can get away with murder. It does not matter which political party is in power, so dont buy into the Cheney/Haliburton hype. This has been going on for alot longer than that.
Just to give you an recent example, think about this. Every time there is a major storm in the Gulf of Mexico, the oil companies jack up the price of oil in anticipation of possible shortages due to damage of the oil rigs or refining capabilities. This is done up to a week in advance of the storm.
Now that oil is not in high demand due to the warm winter, there is a surplus which is driving the price down. As of yesterday, oil is at its lowest price per barrel in 19 months, so why is the price not dropping? Well according to the oil companies it will take about a week for the falling price of oil to affect the price at the pump. This is due to already having about a weeks worth of reserve built up, which was manufactured using the higher price of oil. This I can understand.
What I cant understand is when the storms of the Gulf move in, dont we still have a weeks worth of gas in the reserves? The answer is yes, and the oil companies drive the price up at the pump to MAKE MORE MONEY AND CAPITALIZE ON CATASTROPHIC EVENTS.
The only way to end this chain is to write to your congress person. If 25% of the people in the US flodded Wasington DC with mail about the oil companies, they would have no choice but to listen or loose a vote in the next election, and as tight as the elections are running now, they will listen.
