Four Dollar Shit

US gas is expected to reach $4.75/gal come July. Wonderful. I'm tempted to pull into a Mobil, douse myself with gasoline, and light a match. Except that would be too expensive. Pump Monstrosity is what I'm calling this. The gluttonous sip-sip from my wallet got me confined to the strait and narrow of home-work-home-work.

"Buy this car to drive to work, drive to work to pay for this car!"

And all the overtime in the world to buy gasoline. Too bad I'm salary. Fuck me. And fuck reasoning.

I'm perturbed by the inability of any organization (government or otherwise) to clearly and justly define the main reason behind cost hikes. Bulldog Reporter compiles in the Daily Dog:

While gas prices have taken a toll on consumer budgets, oil companies have seen record profits. Last month, industry executives faced lawmakers on Capitol Hill to explain those profits, which critics claim are excessive. The executives testified that the price run–ups belie tight margins and reflect fundamental economic factors such as a weak dollar, increased demand abroad for oil and speculative investment, reports CNNMoney writer Beth Braverman.

The weaker dollar encourages buying by investors who view oil and other commodities as a hedge against inflation. It also increases the appeal of dollar–denominated commodities like oil to overseas investors.

BP chairman Peter Sutherland said this week that oil companies never expected demand for oil to surge so quickly, and they failed to make the investments needed to clear the supply bottleneck.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. What does this mean? Remember, I'm an idiot. And I'm running on fumes. Maybe scurry forth a think tank...comprised of an economist, an oil barren, a mother of five who can't afford fuel efficiency, and Barack-motherfucking-Obama. Brainstorm. Pick the honest, valid consensus. Devise a solution that satisfies each. Especially mom. Then have Obama run president on this issue alone. That will be change worth believing in.

(Note: While searching for the accompanying post photo, I happened upon this report from NPR. An idiot easy Q&A on the topic.)