Let's combine a little History 101 and Economics 101 and I'll bet we can find the real answer. To find the real reasons for the 80-90% increase in oil prices we need to look at several other conditions beginning with labor unions, free trade agreements and the consolidation of the European Market.

For the past thirty five years labor unions have been steadily decreasing in membership. There are abundant reasons for this, most noticeably they priced themselves out of an enormously growing world market. The reasons do not matter for this point of discussion. The result was that more and more companies began moving operations out of the United States to more profitable locations throughout the world. As this occurred members became disenchanted with their unions and recruitment began to dwindle, as did the enormous political power the unions enjoyed. This provided an opportunity for the federal government to begin the push for options to cure a devouring world trade deficit without having concerns for union backlash. God bless those labor unions they have not managed to do much of anything right since shortly after their much needed inception in the 1800's.

During the last three administrations our government has done just about everything possible to bring about the economic problems we see today. For a couple of hundred years we did very nicely managing our economy through the imposition of import taxes and tariffs. There were so many products that we either manufactured or grew that we were the "supplier of the world" As our standard of living increased and the income gap narrowed, our cost and pricing structure changed. Our products became more expensive on the world market and emerging countries began developing their own resources. We exported our technology, we exported our manufacturing and more important than anything else we allowed foreign countries to nationalize companies we had spent billions building and developing. The oil industry being a prime example. When Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf counties literally stole the business operations from American companies and our government did not a damn thing to stop the process, the entire climate and relationship between government, business, and labor changed.

The government then decided, in one of the most ill thought policies ever, the only way to turn things around was to reach free trade agreements to stem the growing balance of trade deficit. Beginning with the first Bush administration to present, the big push was to sign agreements removing our import taxes and tariffs. During the Clinton administration more then two and a half million jobs went overseas in all directions. As an effort to shore up the job loss our government demanded that other countries raise the value of their currency to make our products, what was left of them, less expensive on the world market.

The economic merger of Europe brought a strong balanced currency not just to Europe but on the entire world wide front. As the dollar shrank the euro and the yen became stronger and stronger. Finally the unthinkable happened. The dollar was replaced as the benchmark of world currency. Oil is no longer traded in dollar value. If you look at the decline of the dollar, which is now about 55% of its value three years ago, and compare that with current world oil price, there is an insignificant proportionate increase in oil price from the $30+ a barrel oil of a few years back. It is just traded under the new rules we created. Blame the oil companies if it makes you feel better, but the truth is our government, including you and me, because we tend to listen more to the media than to question what our government does, allowed this to happen by virtue of current policies. Sometimes you get what you ask for, that $3.00+ a gallon gasoline and destined to continue upward.

I'll bet you haven't read that in the daily newspaper have you..........