I find all of the political consternation about high gasoline prices to be fairly absurd. Maybe because we have relatively fuel-efficient cars don't drive a whole lot but mostly because it is a result of simple economics: high demand + restricted supply + reduced competition implies increased prices. Most of the high price is basically our own fault.
Everyone knows that North Americans consume a lot of gasoline and that the supply of oil is somewhat restricted (or at least perceived as such) by OPEC. But something that isn't touched on as much is the tight oligopoly that refines and distributes gasoline in the US. It would be interesting to see what the price would be with a more competitive refining and distribution market structure.
Posted by rericsson at May 28, 2004 09:19 AM | TrackBack