BACK HOME & FUEL PRICES

The distance from Tucson to Lake Havasu is a little over 300 miles. We've made this trip so many times, I'm almost on autopilot when behind the wheel. The trip home was uneventful, taking about 6 hours with one stop for fuel and propane. The fuel stop was at the ZIP auto/truck/RV, on the corner of I10 and Vicksburg Rd. (Exit 45). For some reason, they have the cheapest diesel that I've found on I10 between the CA state line, and Tucson. Two weeks ago, we topped off the fuel tank on the way to Tucson, and paid $3.47 a gallon for diesel. Yesterday, in a matter of just 12 days, the price went up to $3.71 a gallon....Ouch! That's an extra $14.40 for 60 gallons, and if someone tried to convince me that the cost to produce that 60 gallons went up in those 12 days, they would be wasting their breath.

Many of our liberal politicians seem to think that more government is the answer to all of societies problems, creating new bureaucracies, new commissions, new agencies, spending our tax money like it's an unlimited resource, all in the name of taking care of the folks, particularly the ones most in need. Well, listen up all of you do gooders in D.C. Since you regulate just about everything else, how about some oversight and control regarding the price that consumers pay for fuel. I'm not an advocate for any kind of price control, however, the way that energy prices fluctuate due to speculation, and other manipulative inputs, having almost nothing to do with production costs or supply, is pretty darn close to the definition of fraud.

One of the most basic roles of government is to provide protection for the folks. Most of us won't argue with the expenditure of taxpayer funded resources for a strong national defense. We spend hundreds of billions each year for our military, and with the exception of being the world's policeman, I fully support the spending of those tax dollars. If our nanny state politicians really want to look out for the folks, why don't they come up with a way to control the manipulation of energy prices? It's not rocket science, it's called consumer protection, and that's one of the basic responsibilities of our elected officials. We are all frustrated when we see fuel prices soar, with contrived excuses like a fire at a refinery, the shutdown of an oil pipeline, a drilling rig explosion, or the latest, a potential civil war in Libya.

Here's a simple idea. When energy companies like natural gas & electrical suppliers want to raise their rates, they must petition the state public utilities commission for a rate increase, and must justify the reason before those state agencies. Even though I'm against more bureaucracies, how about a national energy commission to fully explore the cost of exploration, production, and the marketing of fossil fuel energy. Standardize the playing field for all energy conglomerates, and make them justify rate increases such as we have seen in the past few weeks. Hey, if government if going to be involved in our daily lives, what better way than to protect us from price gouging at the fuel pump.

Today is our 31st wedding anniversary, and we're both looking forward to many more.