CNN is reporting:
“Prices fell after the U.S. Energy Information Administration said gasoline stocks were unchanged at 205.7 million barrels last week near the upper end of their five-year average, the EIA said.
Analysts had expected gasoline supplies to decline due to summer vacation gasoline consumption, but gasoline demand over the past four weeks was just 0.7 percent higher than last year, the EIA said.”
So, that’s pretty much over, and we’re in not great, but OK shape for the immediate future, because the Administration was smart enough to leave it’s hands off the price of oil, and let the market sort things out. Think I’m kidding that this was the answer? Well, let’s consider this.
When was the price of crude, and thereby the price of gas, the highest? This chart shows clearly that it was during the Jimmy Carter years. (Click the chart for full size version.)
The chart here is from WTRG Economics. In their excellent article on the subject [1] they suggest any attempt at price controls on oil, which many were urging the president to do, would be bad policy. It points to the post Arab Embargo world, and says in part:
“The rapid increase in crude prices in this period would have been much less were it not for United States energy policy during the post Embargo period. The US imposed price controls on domestically produced oil in an attempt to lessen the impact of the 1973-74 price increase. The obvious result of the price controls was that U.S. consumers of crude oil paid 48 percent more for imports than domestic production. Of course U.S producers received less.”
So, in reality the post-embargo limits imposed by Carter were what caused a good deal of our problem by limiting domestic oil production…. Which given that Carter was beholding to the enviro-wackos didn’t bother Mr. Carter in the least.
And isn’t it interesting that it was the Democrats in general, and John Kerry in particular who wanted price controls imposed, which history suggests is exactly the opposite of what we wanted to do?
Now… let’s get going in ANWR and other domestic sources. Cut the red tape, cut the enviro crap, cut the cafeteria style blending requirements and let the market do it’s work!