A Foolish Oil Shortage
The Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins by William Blake Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God the Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Who would’ve thought that the day would come when $3.29 would seem like such a good deal for a gallon of gasoline? But it wasn’t that long ago that it cost me over $20 more to fill the gas tank on our van than it does today. While political parties point at each other, and many say greedy oil companies are the culprit, the fact is that the high price of gasoline is caused by a number of foolish choices, shortsightedness, and the simple law of supply and demand. For several years American refiners have been operating at above 100% capacity (however you can do that). While consumption of oil products has continued to rise steadily, no new oil refineries have been built for three decades. In addition, regulators have restricted development of pipelines that would carry crude oil from Canada, and enviro...