Gas price racket

OK, they've got me. I just read the article posted here http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/energy/article/0,2777,DRMN_23914_5506977,00.html about yet another gas price increase. The article says gas stations in Denver are running out of gas because of refinery problems in Texas and Oklahoma. It says gas prices are supposed to top $3 a gallon within a few days. And by this summer, they could be $4 a gallon.

Three years ago, shortly before my husband and I got married, gas was like $1.80 a gallon. What in the world is going on?

My dad is one of those who insists there's not a gas price racket. "It's just the way it is," he told me about a month ago while we discussed the topic on the way to go skiing. That's not a good enough reason for me. I think it's a racket.

Sure enough, this evening I went out to fill up my tank (it was about 3/4 empty), and I pulled into a gas station that HAD NO GAS LEFT. The last time that happened was the days following Hurricane Katrina. I pulled into another gas station nearby, and it was like Grand Central Station. Everyone else must have read the same article I did and ran out to fill up before prices increase again -- for about the fifth time this month.

The crazy thing is we all complain about the prices, but we really can't do anything about them. The rising prices haven't kept me -- even once -- from filling up my tank. My husband and I recently added about $20 to our gas budget each month anticipating higher prices this summer. We added to that budget right on time.

Think about it: The prices of other things go up, and you think twice about buying them. Strawberries at the grocery store are on sale this time of year because it's strawberry season. You can get them for 2 packages for $3 or $4. But if they go up to $4 apiece, you ask yourself if you really need them, right? How about your favorite cereal? On sale one week and you buy. Back to regular price the next week and you refrain.

But gas? It's not the same. We HAVE to have it. Most American cities don't have public transportation systems that make driving unncessesary. That trip to the grocery store we make to buy the strawberries and cereal on sale? Gotta drive. I suppose we could walk or ride a bike, but we classify that kind of transportation as recreation, as exercise, not necessity. Plus, in the 'burbs, most of us live a half an hour walk or more away from places we need to go. Our neighborhoods and cities are designed in such a way that we REQUIRE cars. (I'd love it if we could live more like the Europeans, who walk way more than we do -- and hence weigh less -- because their homes are close to the centers of their cities. Even in the suburbs of major cities, walking is the way to go. I know, I know, you're probably thinking, "And their gas prices are way more outrageous than ours . . . ")

That's why I think gas prices are a racket. As soon as the producers found out we'll pay whatever price is listed outside the gas station, they just give the reason of the week for the price increases, and we accept it -- and keep filling up like always.