Editor, The price of a barrel of oil and a gallon of gas are daily news items to Americans every day. Drivers groan as they watch the gas pump price gauge count past $40 or even $100, although being able to swipe a card to get a three cent discount makes them feel like children on Christmas.
There are thousands out there who would go out of their way to fill-up at a station that is four or five cents cheaper, or get a little too excited when they find out their credit card is offering double cash back on gas purchases for the next few months. I do not understand how gas prices are at $4 already, when just a couple years ago they were averaging around only a $1 or a little more. How can people afford to drive to work and back on these gas prices?
Our economy really needs to do something about it before we go into a depression. Why isn't Pres. Bush doing something about these high gas prices when he is in the oil business? If they are just going to keep staying this high, we should at least get economy stimulus checks that average the amount of gas Americans spend every year to help pay for these high gas prices. Or, every person that has a job should have extra pay for gas added into their paychecks.
Here are a few opinions that I thought of that could help to lower gas prices.
1. I think alternative fuel sources could be a major step. However the technology needs to also come down in price to make it cost effective. Examples of other fuels are: solar, hydrogen, electric and methane. The fuels are out there we just need the technology to make them consumer friendly and cheap.
2. Give oil companies more drilling rights to look for oil off our shores. There are vast amounts of oil reserves that have yet to be tapped.
3. Use domestic oil and stop importing crude oil from Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries. That will cause them some economic loss and they will have to lower the price because demand is down.