[Hoot Gibson]

Hoot, Im never going to believe that opening up other drilling places (something I support BTW) is going to affect gas prices.

IF you don't think the few oil companies that remain don't have a monopoly on the American market, then this isn't going to go anywhere. Hell, one of my good friends fathers was Senior Vice President of Refining for one of the big oil companies until 2010. I have had long discussions about these things with him. IT IS a monopoly.

This is why these remaining oil companies went around buying up all the competition until there were only a few left, cut production, and started quadrupling profits. There were no competitors to counter this and put them out of business. Once they had a stranglehold they could make enough gas to meet the country's demand, but use the excuse of the production cuts to jack up prices, even though supply was meeting demand. They took full advantage of Wall St. and I wouldnt be surprised if they played a large role in it themselves.

Market prices are set by real and expected shortages and surpluses. Speculators are speculating that prices will continue to climb in the future and I agree with them. The expectations of speculators are a symptom of high gasoline prices, not the cause.

70 percent of the cost of a gallon of gasoline is the cost of the crude oil from which it is refined and American companies have no ability to fix that price independently of the global market. I have seen what changes in government policies can do to affect the price of gasoline. The threat of or the presence of real competition in the market always places pressure on producers to drop their price.

Do you realize that this country could be producing gasoline from coal profitably even if crude oil dropped to $50/barrel? Our federal government could make coal-based gasoline a competitor to crude oil and force prices downward but our genius president has declared war on fossil fuels. Instead, Obama is lining the pockets of wealthy bundlers like the ones who took $500 million in taxpayer money to start now defunct Solyndra.

American politicians want you to buy their demonization of large oil companies but the truth is and always has been that the most profitable of those companies post typical profit margins of 10 percent or less. They are huge companies that employ thousands of Americans, so 10 percent of their sales adds up to a lot of money but 10 percent is one-third or less than the profit earned by successful companies in other sectors of the economy.

Google, Microsoft, Apple and other tech companies make a far greater return on their investments but you will never hear Obama demonize them for their success. GE paid no federal income taxes last year and the result was having their CEO named as a top Obama economic adviser.

Stop believing the propaganda oozing from the slime of Washington, DC. Big oil companies pay roughly three times more in taxes than they reap in profits. They have an image problem because they do not support government policies that have targeted them for extinction.