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Summer
headlines in the Tribune forewarned of 35 percent increases in winter
bills. The AP carried stories that dibbled and dabbled about numbers
with increases as high as 50 percent. I looked at the commodities
prices of natural gas and told you folks your bills for gas and
propane would at least double.
No,
I didn't have insider knowledge. It doesn't take much knowledge or
math skills to know that the futures market showing two or three times
the old price for a BTU of natural gas meant prices would do the same
when they passed through your home's gas meter.
I
also told you that to blame only OPEC for the demise of your wallet
would be an error. I wrote that the major oil and gas producers of
this country were using OPEC as an excuse to line the pockets of their
thousand-dollar suits with our hard-earned money, and our politicians
were doing nothing to protect our interests.
Most
of you were too interested in blaming the filing station operator for
the price you paid for gas. Now I suppose you want to blame the
propane driver or the meter reader for the fact you have no idea how
you can pay this winter's bills.
Well,
I would like to take one last shot at explaining to you who is killing
us at the gas pump and giving us the gas when it comes to getting
natural gas or propane.
Yes,
OPEC is a major culprit in this whole affair. Cutting production in
order to drive the price of a barrel of crude to as high as $38 from a
previous low just two years ago of $12 is manipulating the market.
But
what have our leaders done about this obvious thievery? Nothing. In
fact the United States continues to give foreign aid to OPEC nations
with no regard to the fact those foreign industries do little to use
crude oil profits to improve the lives of their own citizens. But
then, why should they, when they know there are suckers like the U.S.
to pay for curing their social ills? We currently spend a billion
dollars a month on our military presence in the gulf, protecting the
nations who are nailing us at the fuel depot.
Oh,
there is Venezuela, of course, a major player on this side of the
globe that we don't give military aid to. We do, however, find the
time and the money to write off a billion-dollar loan to that country.
As the ink was drying on the document, OPEC minister Ali Rodriguez was
stating that cuts in production will be affected to maintain a minimum
of $28 per barrel. Mr. Rodriguez, by the way, is a Venezuelan.
There
is no need to worry if the presidential election made us look foolish.
The way we continue to be played as patsies by OPEC nations and others
has made us a laughing stock for decades. OPEC, however, isn't the
only culprit giving us the gas.
The
BBC has carried the story (the American press has been too enamored
telling us the same Bush-Gore stories to carry the news) that the top
four U.S. oil- and gas-producing companies have reported
"soaring" income for the third quarter.
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column]
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Exxon
Mobil, the world's largest publicly-listed oil company, reported
third-quarter earnings that one analyst described as "the most
profitable quarter EVER by ANY public company." Chevron, No. 2 in
the industry, came right out in their financial report and stated,
"Our oil and gas production results continue to reflect the
financial benefit of not only higher commodity prices but also
increased production."
American
companies such as Chevron have raised their prices to the levels of
OPEC for a barrel of crude. Since American oil is so much cheaper to
produce and transport than overseas crude, the oil and gas industry
has made a killing on crude prices. This was a more profitable
decision, rather than hold the line on a barrel of oil to help slow
OPEC and the futures market from driving the price of crude through
the roof.
Chevron also
talks of higher production amidst the stories that this year there are
major shortages of fuel oil. I could get into the so-called shortage
with you, but I'm getting too old to start doing term papers.
The
third and final culprits in this whole sordid affair are our federally
elected officials. The amount of political donations flowing into the
politicians’ coffers has reached staggering numbers. Again, I could
get in depth with the numbers on who in Congress gets how much from
the oil and gas industry, but I'm too busy burning furniture to
produce heat for my own home.
I
will take a moment away from my bonfire to tell you the total
financial largesse in the past decade to both political parties from
oil and gas has gone over the $100 million mark. A breakdown of who on
the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee received how much
money, is available at the Center For Responsive Politics, www.opensecrets.org
on the web.
Don't
be surprised to find that senators who are supposed to be developing
and implementing legislation that protects the American people are
cashing chunks of money from the oil companies that just set record
profits. In the event you find no impropriety with accepting huge sums
from industries that you are supposed to regulate, I haven't got any
time left to get through to you. Just sit back and see your
discretionary winter income go to oil companies and then to our
politicians.
In
the event you need more information, try CNN.com,
subheading "The Money Trail. Democracy For Sale," on the
web.
You
know, I could go on and on, but it's your turn. Are you about to look
at this crisis realistically and vent your ire and rage towards your
congressmen or are you just going to send me another e-mail asking why
is gas a dime cheaper this week in Springfield, or Decatur or perhaps
Bangladesh?
[Mike
Fak]
This article is re-published
courtesy of www.fakmachine.com.
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here to comment on this article.
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