Letter: Americans making voices heard at the pump

Sunday, Oct. 9, 2005 | 10:52 a.m.

Those who are heavily invested in the self-serving American oil industry are not promoting more refineries or trying to persuade other oil-producing countries to take less net profit. They are not willing to decrease their record quarterly profits to lower the artificially high gasoline prices for Americans.

Politicians are spinning the opinions of so-called economic experts that it would hurt the economy if we didn't let the law of supply and demand control the gas prices. They are saying that we would run out of gas if we lowered the price because people would rush to the gas stations and fill their tanks. This rhetoric is no longer being soaked up by an uninformed American public.

Because of gas prices, my wife and I are down to one car from two. We only drive if we can consolidate multiple stops into one trip. On our recent two-week vacation to visit family, we were planning to rent a car and drive to Georgia and South Carolina. We canceled the rental car and the trip. We couldn't afford the gas.

Economically, this means that we did not rent a car, eat in restaurants or stay in motels for five nights. We did not buy any souvenirs or gifts in any shops. We're only talking one family on one trip. How many other people are doing the same to our economy so that the oil conglomerates can post multibillion-dollar quarterly profits for their already rich investors?

Public opinion is gaining steam, and will be a wake-up call to those who continue to disregard it.

Frank Musaraca Henderson