it's not gas. just hot air.

I've been doing some math pertaining to the cost of fossil fuel products and came to the conclusion we're doomed. I hear a lot of "economists" talking about supply and demand and the reason the gas prices are so high is because crude oil is in short supply and the only way we can get the price of petroleum down is to reduce the amount we use. I suppose if an economist says it, it MUST be the truth. I mean, wasn't it economists who said there wasn't enough to go around back in the 19th century? Wasn't it economists that said the trickle down theory was the greatest thing since sliced bread? Wasn't it economists that said there was a shortage of water on a planet that's only 4 fifths water? Wasn't it economists that said there was a shortage of air?
An economist is a tenured PhD who never had to live and work in the real world, let alone practice economy.
If the demand for something remains constant and the supply is stable, then economic logic dictates the price will remain the same with minor adjustments for cost of living. If both supply and demand increase, or decrease, the price should logically remain the same. If supply goes up and demand goes down we can expect a decrease in prices. If supply goes down and demand increases we can expect higher prices. Ok, you get the picture. This is basic stuff. A no-brainer.
But what if some economists get the idea that there isn't enough to go around? No facts to back up this statement. Just a dumb-ass theory from some guys with way too much time on their hands. Proving this theory is simply a matter of finding some loudmouths in the public eye who can say, "Yes, this guy is right! There isn't enough to go around and if that's the case, who should have enough but the elite 2% of our society? The rest can tighten their belts, live a spartan life and work very hard to give all their money to us."

In order to carry out this scheme there has to be a shortage. We have that in oil right now. Or do we? I tend to think this oil shortage is a load of greedy capitalist crap designed to produce big profits for ExxonMobil and if these bastards discovered an oil deposit large enough to float a planet they'd still push the "not enough to go around" bit until they owned everything, and we'd STILL be paying arms and legs to drive to the bread lines.

ExxonMobil made profits exceeding 52% last year. The number 1 rule in business is to constantly make profits more than the year before, year after year til the end of time. If everyone traded in their SUV's for mopeds, gas would have to exceed $20 a gallon in order to match the profits of last year.

On the other hand, if everyone went out and bought the biggest gas guzzlers they could find and trippled the fuel consumption of last year, we might see a drop in gas prices, only because ExxonMobil will reach their profit goals ahead of schedule... That is, if their greed is as limited as they say their oil supply is.