Just saw a report on the morning news that the price of gas has stabilized and is starting to go down. This was followed by speculation about what is causing the prices to go down — the usual pablum about demand, supply, etc.
And every time I look at gas prices I see one thing: manipulation by oil companies. I’ll say this one more time and you tell me if it doesn’t make sense and fit with events:
oil companies carefully raise prices over time until people start to notice. They go right up to a “high water mark” which is usually around 50¢ higher than it was before — until stories begin in the media speculating how high prices will go; until local news starts to give out reports on where to buy cheaper gas. A week or two after these gas price complaint stories begin running, the oil companies will stop the upward movement. A few days later, they will start backing off, by pennies at a time. Within 2 weeks, the prices will have backed off — but will not return to the previous price. Instead, they will settle at a price higher than before, but less than feared. And this will be the new, reset low price from which they will begin the process all over again.
This go-round, the scary predicted price was $4.00 per gallon. Just before it could hit that point, the prices backed off; but they are settling back to around $3.35, which is more than they started at.
Like global warming, the destruction of our civil liberties, and the boiling of a frog, this happens methodically and slowly so that people don’t notice. The slow pace with regular relief means that people don’t get militant about it and the prices can keep going up. I predict that by the end of the year, $4.00 a gallon will be perceived as the “low” price. Just as $2 per gallon was low two years ago.
Take a look at this graph of gas prices from 2003-2006. The up and down cycles — and the fact that the price never goes back down to the previous low — are obvious and glaring.
Am I wrong?
