Supply and demand rule the market. If the company can supply enough excuses (spin it, baby) they can demand any price.
In 2000, energy companies complained that demand was at record highs and power suppliers could not keep up. The price of electricity started to climb and climb and …you know the story.
At the edge of financial ruin, consumers demanded an investigation finding that: power plants were shut down deliberately to influence energy prices, power was sold out of California to exacerbate local shortages then sold back at premium prices, and natural gas was withheld from the market to force price increases. By illegally manipulating the market, corporations including Enron, El Paso Corp., and Sempra Energy reaped grotesque profits for executives and share holders.
Fat cat executives got fatter than ever, while thousands of their employees lost jobs, along with their retirement savings (401ks go down with the company), and the rest of us are still paying appallingly high prices for electricity.
Now, we hear gas prices are expected to climb into the foreseeable future because supply is down in the face of record demand. Too many Americans are driving around alone, the war on terror is threatening production facilities and, for reasons not yet clear, refineries on the West Coast have been shut down and may not reopen.
Is the price of gas really affected by those enviro-villains driving around in gas guzzling SUVs like the nice man at Halliburton said? Or, is it just more snake oil from a corporate spin machine trying to suck the last dime from my thinly stretched, unemployed wallet? The good news, Prince Bandar bin Sultan of Saudi Arabia has promised Bush that we will get relief in November so his administration looks good to the electorate.
Kelly Blomquist
Arlington
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