Let's see here, King Fahd died, maybe now we can inject a little sense into our economy again!  And maybe a little sense in our society!

You think he didn't control it?  You don't even know who the man was?  Well, he was the King of Saudi Arabia, and also by luck, one of the most influential people of OPEC.  No, I'm not about to get into a rant about how the Middle East dictates a large portion of our economy over here and are an evil and plight upon the face of the Earth.

I will say this, though.  Oil is one of the few products that doesn't have it's price set by the old economic principle of "supply and demand".  In fact, it is the only product that the US Government allows anyone to "price fix".  We drove the steel industry out of this country by not allowing them to fix the price, leaving it up to "fair market value".  Why are we allowing OPEC to do the opposite?

Maybe it's because the Middle East is the largest oil producing region on the globe.  I would believe that if it were the ONLY one, but it's not. 

Hey, here's an idea...  We have the strongest economy in the world, and while I don't generally agree with any country strong arming another, I do believe in the ideals of "fair market value" and "supply and demand".  So, instead of allowing OPEC to artificially set the supply in order to get higher prices, why not work the equation from the opposite end.  We pay $45 a barrel, they supply enough to meet their economic needs!  Maybe then we can see gas prices back under $1.75 a gallon!

Oh, but wait, can't be doing that, because then we don't have enough oil for the gas, right?  WRONG!  The funny thing in all of this is that it is all a perception issue on where the power lies.  Never before has our economy been beholden to a supply issue.  OPEC seems to have forgotten, and wants us to forget, that in a free market, it's the consumer with the power, not the supplier.  If we are willing to let the oil they so graciously limit the supply on SIT, without buying it....

hmmm But maybe that idea won't work after all!  You see, it might mean that our cars would have to stay in the garage if we wanted to go to the store half mile away.  What becomes of the diet industry?  Without our lazy habits, and our refusal to walk anywhere, that would collapse, and then what becomes of the Atkins legacy?  Oh yeah, it ends up in bankruptcy court!  What a shame!