Why is gas so expensive?
Posted by Rob Longenecker on March 24th, 2008
Is it Exxon/Mobil’s fault? The Oil Cartels? Why is a barrel of oil well over $100?
Did energy really get that scarce? Did the value of a barrel of oil really go up that much?
Consider this: In the past seven years the dollar has plummeted to less than a 900th of an ounce of gold from the 265th of an ounce it was worth at the start of President Bush’s first term. It’s not the value of gold (or oil) that has gone up. It’s the value of the dollar that has gone down.
Look at the value of the dollar vs. the Euro compared to where it was several years ago.
Here’s the point. That $106 barrel of oil you hear so much about would cost $61 if the dollar value hadn’t declined so much. That $3.40 gallon of gasoline would be under $2.00 a gallon if the dollar hadn’t declined so much. We live in a global economy and you can compare the value of a commodity like crude oil in different currencies and see that while the value of crude has in fact increased over recent years, it’s the value of the U.S. dollar that has caused much of the pain at the gas pump.
Who wants to tell me why the value of the dollar is down so much? I know that some of you out there know the answer and can explain it better than I can.
Let me hear from you. I think I know the answer, but I want to hear from you.