Energy Ignorance

It is almost impossible for someone who just listens to tv or reads some of the daily drivel in the newspaper to understand what is responsible for the rising costs of gasoline and the related price of oil. As a result one hears mostly nonsense from those who are irritated or even angry at the pump prices when they fill up. Many blame the oil companies for gouging. They are just getting rich on the backs of us poor folks. Recently there was a retirement package of the Exxon ceo highlighted to support that contention. I admit it ($400 million) did sound generous to me, but take that away and everything else he has and the price at the pump would not go down.
If someone is really interested in looking for a cause for much of our angst at the pump, Congress would be a good place to start. This august body has failed to respond to our need to open additional U.S. sources of oil for exploration and more importantly, they have let the enviro-wackos prevent us from building more refinery capacity for decades now. That would be bad enough, but these same idiots have let the nation fall into a situation where there are now 18 different gasoline formulas which the refineries must produce in order to conform to state regulation. Some mandate more ethanol so the mid-west farmers can sell more corn and everyone must remove MBTE, starting this Spring. This additive was once required by Congress and now a major and costly modification to refinery procedures will be necessary to remove it and we will pay. Furthermore, U.S. rules make it prohibitive for low-cost foreign companies to come here and supply our gasoline markets. It costs them too much to comply with our rules. Again, we pay.
So, look to the politicians for corrections in our laws and buy energy stocks.

As an aside, I get tickled when I hear the federal government release inflation numbers which always exclude food and energy. If I didn't buy those two items, I would be hard pressed to spend any money.