A Drop at the Pump

Sorry for the wait between posts. It's been pretty busy around here.

We seem to have had a change in the gasoline prices as of late. As of the last time I looked, gasoline was $2.08 a gallon and falling. This is certainly good news, but it begs for a few questions, such as why did it take so long to fall, and why are the prices falling just before an election?

According to the DOE's site, which can be accessed here, prices in the midwest are the lowest in the nation. The midwest is also the most hotly contested election battleground in the country. Seems funny that suddenly the price drops in our area, just when the Repubs are in danger of being thrown out of office. Makes you wonder, doesn't it?

The Repubs are scared, and they should be. People have had it. Now, some will say that the lower price is due to market conditions, which may be. However, the bunch in the White House are good buddy's with the oil companies, as evidenced by the secret meeting between Cheney and the oil men after Bush came to power.

When you talk to people about the lower price, they are relieved, but also very skeptical. Everyone I have talked to seems to think the same way, that the only reason the price is going down is to save the Repubs sorry butt. People are upset about the prices, and still blame the administration. People have been hurt by these prices, and it's going to take more than a temporary drop at the pump for them to recover. Most of us, including me, have been hit hard by this, and have had to scrape to get by, allowing some things to be put off because they can't afford it. This hurts all of us, because when the money isn't being spent in local stores, the local economy hurts.

The Repubs think that the lower price will help their election chances. "Hey, look, the price is down...everything's ok, now...vote for me". I was even more convinced than ever of this this afternoon, when a politician was being interviewed on NPR about the election. I can't remember what the show was, but they asked him if he thought that the lower prices would help his chances. He replied that they would, and said that there had been a slight uptick since the price dropped. He was almost gleeful. I guess when you are that far down, any ray of light looks good, right?

It's going to take a lot more than a drop at the pump to bring things back to normal. People are hurting here, and it's going to take a long time for them to recover. Come November 7, we can send them a message, that enough is enough.