Falling Gas Prices, Who’s To Blame?

When we see the price of a gallon of gasoline coming down, is there anyone giving credit to those oil speculators? According to the Obama administration, they unfairly control the cost of gasoline at the pump because they unfairly control the cost of crude oil. That’s their story and they’re sticking to it. So how’s that investigation into the speculators going?

Absent the chorus of salutations to the oil speculators (part of that market), one can only assume that Obama deserves the credit, or blame, for the gas prices falling. And in this case, that would be correct.

As usual, it is the market that affects the price of crude. And in this case, and you’ve heard Obama brag about how Americans are conserving by using less gas, this decrease in demand is causing the price to come down. He apparently believes in free-market economics only when it suits him. He is only half right in his analysis. Gas prices are coming down due to the falling demand for gas. But it’s not because Americans have suddenly turned into a bunch of conservationists, as he suggests. It is due to the depressed economy, rising unemployment, and generally less business, or any, activity overall. People, and businesses in general, are hunkered down and/or out of work. That’s why the demand is down.

Depressing the economy is not the way to lower prices at the pump.

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