The price of gas came down a little at some of the local gas stations. But it didn't come far enough to make me rush out and fill up my tank. I would spend more getting to the station than I would save. This presents a dilemma for me. I'm torn as to what should be done about this problem.
Part of me wants the government to step in, impose some harsh restrictions on what oil companies can charge, in order to give us some relief. Economists were thinking that these stimulus checks would help boost the economy, but so far people are using them to fill up their gas tanks so they can get to work, to earn their money, which in turn, goes back into their gas tanks.
Another part of me wants the government to stay out of it, because more oft than not, it ruins whatever it touches. Their intentions may be good, but if they do impose some restrictions, will the oil companies implement a new tax in some other area to make up for lost revenue? I wouldn't be surprised if they did.
An interesting article in a local paper addressed the issue of the big oil companies testifying before Congress on the high gas prices. The long and short of it, is that the execs said that they pay more in taxes on the oil they produce than people realize, and that the money they pay in taxes, exceeds their profits. I don't know if that's true, but if it is, then the problem is worse than I thought. What that means is that somewhere along the line, the buck has to be passed to someone, and I personally don't want to be that someone.
Right now I find myself putting anywhere from $40-$50 a week into my truck, and that doesn't even fill up the tank. I know that others pay more, much more, just to get to and fro. I live in the country, so I'm not that close to my job or where I go to school. On average, it's a thirty to thirty-five minute drive to go to either, so I find myself putting gas in my tank quite often, or at least it feels like it.
I have a wrenching feeling in my gut that before this summer is over, prices will hit $5 a gallon. I know what you're thinking, "the government won"t let it get that bad.' My argument to that is that so far they've let it get as bad as it is now. I don't have an end-all solution to this problem. I do what I can to conserve gas, by not running around doing things, and even have gone so far to pretty much cut off any remnant of a social life. It's not exactly what I want to do, but it's what I need to do. The less I put in the tank, the more money in my pocket - and who couldn't use more money?
