to answer your question howdy....
It all started with the 2001 secret energy meeting headed up by Uncle Dick Cheney on Bush's National Energy Policy Development Group. These meetings were held in secret, but you don't have to be a genius to figure out what was discussed. Gas is $3.00 a gallon now (give or take). That was a little easier price to raise with the help of a hurricane and a war waged against one of the larger supplies of crude to the world all in the name of "national security." All one has to do is look at the profits for those oil companies since then....I believe they break a new record every time they post a profit statement. (I know Richard...you're sporting wood...you must be proud of that big fella).
Natrual gas wasn't as easy a sell, because the gas came from right here in our own back yards..."so, how we gonna get rich off that, Uncle Dick?" "Should we make up some story about supply and demand?" "Should we blame it on how much these damn Americans want to get paid?" That's my favorite...Americans want too much money to do anything. It's better to make whatever we want in Mexico or China...save some labor costs. Problem for the big boys at the meeting was, the gas is already here, and it's not that hard to get...plus, we don't have to go over seas to get it. If they could have shipped it all to Mexico via some underground tunnel, just to drill for it there...they would have.
So they needed to figure out how to jack the price so they get get
filthy stinking rich instead of just
rich. After all they still need to pay for that 4th mortgage on their "cabin" in Whitefish.
Well, there in lies the answer to your question....they couldn't come up with a reason, so they just raised it anyway. Hell, George and Dick only have another 10 months in office..."George, we might as well fulfill our promises we made to the natty gas people back in '01. After all, those people are your father's good golf buddies. Sure, it would have been nice to have a good reason for letting the gas companies jack the price to outragous prices. But if they (the people)don't like it, we'll just tell them what my daddy told
[email protected]#$% you!"
One last note...funny how stopping a recession involves giving everyone $600 "tax rebates"...when they know damn well that those checks will be going to pay off everyone's utility bills from this past winter. Just another way of filling the pockets of their buddies with a little more of the tax payer's money.
Feel free to get angry or have a drink...or both.