Bush Orders Probe Into Gas Price (Will Gov't Probe itself?)

According to an AP piece at BREITBART, President Bush is ordering a probe into gas prices.

Isn't that special. Can you possibly imagine why such a probe is taking place? Here's a clue:

Republicans who control Congress have become concerned that the high cost of filling up could become a problem for them in the November elections. Polls suggest that voters favor Democrats over Republicans on the issue, and Bush gets low marks for handling gasoline prices.

There you have it! This is nothing more than an opportunistic feel good ploy to attack the effect and ignore the cause, "and by the way, don't forget to vote us back into office for feeling your pain."

What a crock! I wonder if the "probe" will discover the principle of supply and demand that controls world markets more than anything. Do you think the "probe" will discover that Big Oil makes on average a 7% profit and the national average is 6.8%, making it in line with the national average? I wonder if the "probe" will discover that a refinery hasn't been built in this country for 28 years which has suppressed gasoline production. I wonder if the "probe" will tell us why Big Oil isn't allowed to drill wherever there are huge deposits. We don't have an oil shortage. Do you think the "probe" will disclose how much local, state and federal taxes are collected per gallon of gas? In Dallas it's around 38 cents/gallon and from what I understand, it's as high as 70 cents in some states. Hmmm, I wonder if the "probe" will reveal that! I wonder if the "probe" will reveal that the summer gas recipe changeover is causing shortages. The myriad of recipes themselves contributes to the high prices, but Big Government demands they exist even though at least one of the additives does irreparable damage to water supplies. Thanks, EPA! I wonder if the "probe" will delineate how much Big Government regulations impose on each gallon of gas.

So, what if the "probe" shows that the high prices and short supplies of gas fall squarely on the shoulders of the hypocrites and charlatans in Congress? Will that be disclosed to the voting public? I don't think so. Something tells me the fall guy or guys will be way far away from the Big Government apparatchik.

That's right, boys and girls, the politicians play us as fools and unfortunately, way too many may be foolishly appeased by the "probe," which, heaven forbid, could call for Big Government to act which could really screw things up. Those who see the solution to our problems with Big Government haven't yet realized that it's Big Government who has gotten us to where we are. If they would butt out and let the market take over, miracles could happen.

UPDATE: Here's a corroborating must read by Henry Payne Mad about gas prices? Blame government, not Big Oil. Here are a couple paragraphs:

Uncle Sam's double whammy

Congress first mandated the production of 4 billion gallons of ethanol this year (increasing to 7.5 billion in 2012). This arbitrary number is to help wean America from its "oil addiction," as President Bush puts it. In reality, it is a sop to the powerful farm lobby that makes corn-based ethanol.

Second, the energy bill required that ethanol replace MTBE as an additive in gasoline to meet smog rules in urban areas. Because smog is heaviest in summer, oil companies are refining their "summer blends" now. Already struggling to meet the initial 4 billion gallon mandate, the ethanol industry cannot keep up with the additional demand from the MTBE mandate, resulting in shortages and price spikes.

"We asked for a more orderly, two-year transition from MTBE to ethanol. But we didn't get it," Gilligan laments.

An easier transition would have required offending another powerful group: the Democrat-allied trial lawyers. They await the potential windfall from lawsuits alleging MTBE has leaked from gas tanks and tainted groundwater. As long as MTBE was federally mandated, oil firms had legal cover. But the energy bill set a May 5 deadline for the transition -- without any continuing liability protection for MTBE.

Michigan's proximity to ethanol production and its own corn crop means it has never depended on MTBE. But that hasn't spared us from the gas spike. America's coasts most need the smog-compliant gasoline, taxing ethanol supplies and driving up prices everywhere.

Ethanol's shipping cost

Another reason coastal states opted for MTBE: Ethanol, which attracts water, is expensive to ship because it can't go by pipeline. It is hauled to coastal cities by truck or rail, causing delays and storage problems for distributors.

"Someone has to pay for all this," a Texas fuel distributor spokesman told the Wall Street Journal, "and the consumer is always the one that gets to pay eventually."

Foreign-made ethanol might help supplies, but Congress has protected farmers and gouged consumers by slapping a 54-cent-per-gallon tariff on imports.

This situation "will all clear up by June," says Mark Griffin, president of the Michigan Petroleum Association, as the summer blend deadline passes and the refineries still off-line from Hurricane Katrina begin producing again.

But now that the GOP and Democrats have recommitted government to intervening in fuel markets, price hikes will become more likely. Republicans have strayed from free-market principles and created a mother of all fuel mandates that is draining their popularity and credibility.

In short, if you're upset over high gas prices, don't look at Big Oil -- look at Big Government.

(Henry Payne is The News' editorial cartoonist. E-mail him at hpayne@detnews.com.)