Having voted in several presidential elections I've gotten to see some of the trends that present themselves around election time. Case in point: Gasoline prices!
Do you ever get the feeling we are being played? There is the OPEC thing that's been around since the late 60s or early 70s with certain suppliers controlling the faucet of oil supplies in their petroleum rich areas. Squeezing the hose to bring up the price gets more money into their coffers. Good business sense they call it. Then, on a regular basis we have to deal with unstable governments of oil suppliers and the on again, off again liquid energy spigot. When we import so many gallons upon gallons of oil each day there are so many variables it's mind boggling. The feeling of being played doesn't come from them though. Those elements aren't really predictable are they except that uncertainty is itself guaranteed. What I mean is the gasoline prices at election time.
What was gasoline a year ago per gallon, maybe $3.90? But at that time no one was involved in a battle for the presidency with the cost of gasoline as a huge issue to the average driver. Who exactly controls the prices is simply not open to the public. There are so many doors and dummy corporations we'll probably never know. There are also so many excuses as to why the prices shoot up around traveling holidays and after elections it would be hilarious if it weren't for the huge hole it leaves in our wallets.
I don't know enough to point fingers and place blame, or if it even is a control issue. But, facts present themselves in a way that makes me wonder. I wonder of more is in play here than supply and demand. Is there someone behind the curtain like in the movie, "The Wizard of Oz"? Oh yeah, I almost forgot last year $3.90, as high as $4.10 around here, now, a few short weeks before the election: $3.20 and probably going down. Just like the last election! Why do you suppose that is?
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