Saudi King Says Oil Prices are Unjustified

The Bahrain Tribune is reporting that King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia believes that world oil prices are unjustified. He reportedly believes that the world market is well supplied with oil. Wow. If the king of a country that benefits massively from high oil prices believes the prices are too high, then that really says something. It says that corporations are taking advantage of excuses to hike prices and raise record profits. The slightest hint of uncertainty sends oil up a dollar a barrel. And then gas prices rise accordingly. As if somehow the oil that the companies already possessed had gotten more expensive. It should take time for fluctuations in the price of oil to be reflected in gas prices. But of course, companies seize every opportunity to raise gas prices. And then, when the price of oil sinks again, there is only a marginal cut in gas prices and then only much delayed. If the Saudi king recognizes the problem, then why can't North Americans?

We need to sit up and realize that we are being gouged and exploited by big oil. We are being taken for a rid to provide big companies with obscene profits to pay to their wealthy stock holders. And the only response of the companies is to complain that government taxes on gas are too high. Bullshit. The gas companies should be prohibited by law from selling their gas at more than a 1% profit on the cost of the oil and of refining. The government should then charge appropriate taxes to cover the cost of environmental cleanup from the damage done by the emissions from vehicles. The government also ought to be providing tax incentives and subsidies for the purchase of environmentally friendly vehicles. Taxes should be reduced on ultra-low emission vehicles and raised on gas guzzlers like SUVs and minivans. We need to realize that this is the only earth that we've got, and that we have to take care of it. The Saudi king's statement should be the first step in waking people up the situation in which big oil has placed this planet, and the first step in allowing us to do something about it.

Cheers,
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