I shouldn’t complain, because a gallon of gas 
where I live is always about 15 cents per gallon cheaper than the national average, and U.S. drivers have paid less per gallon than most of the world for a long time. But still.
What annoys me about the latest surge in gas prices is that the blame is deflected to unpleasant but largely noncausal factors. Blame the hurricanes for high gas prices. Blame Iraq. Blame the government.
I blame Exxon. The world’s largest oil company, Exxon, just had “the fifth highest quarterly profit for any public company in history.” That’s not just their history, it’s all of history. Their January 2006 numbers set the record, $10.71 billion for the fourth quarter of 2005 and $36.13 billion for the full year.
Poor babies, they only managed $8 billion the first quarter of 2006.
Sure, this is a simplistic view, so try not to think about those profits the next time you fill your tank.
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