Why Do Gasoline Prices Climb As Summer Approaches?

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By Chimpplanet

Over this past weekend, gasoline prices have suddenly jumped up about 20 cents per gallon, nationwide. Up to now, the price was fluctuating steadily: a few cents up, a few cents down.

The American public has been brainwashed. They have been trained to accept a sharp rise in gasoline prices during the summer every year for the past 50 years. Why?

As a consumer I expect consumer products to decrease in price as the sales of the products increase. Computers, for example, have gone from over one thousand dollars per unit to a few hundred as more computers are made and sold.

For some unknown reason or unacceptable excuses, the price of gasoline at the pump goes up every summer as people take to the roads in large numbers and use more gas.

One excuse I’ve heard mentioned by “experts” or oil people is that the summer brings the requirement for specialized - and more expensive - gas blends to help prevent ozone and lessen pollution.

So why is this special blend not used during the winter? Don’t we care about the ozone depletion when we ride our cars with the heaters blasting?

The other excuse is that investors are seeing signs of a turnaround in the global economy, which is driving interest in crude futures. Again, you would think that if more investors invest in more oil, the price of oil would level off.

The latest excuse is that if the price of gasoline goes up, it means that the economy is improving, thus we are led to believe that it’s good for us when gas prices go up. If this is true, just bring it on (as Georgie used to say) and raise it to $4 a gallon, already!

Less than 20 years ago. when gasoline was under $2, the economy was strong, the sheiks were rich and all was well. Now, we need to pay $4 or more to feel the exuberance of a good economy?

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