Like most everyone that drives a car, I'm angry at the the price of gasoline. I've been wondering what the real story is. I did some research. Here is a quick summary of what I've read:

The price of oil is not controlled by supply and demand. In fact, inventory has risen with costs. The price of oil is controlled by speculators who are willing to destroy national economies for short-term profits.

Though the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has been mandated by Congress to insure that oil prices reflect laws of supply and demand, gaping loopholes in the law have been exploited. Futures contracts in oil are increasingly traded in unregulated markets.

Once upon a time, the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) handled the trade in oil as a centralized operation, and was strictly regulated by the CFTC. However, the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000 changed the rules to allow decentralized "over-the-counter" trades to be exempt from CFTC oversight. Apparently this was done at the behest of Enron and other energy crooks.

Then, in 2006, the Bush Administration allowed the London-based Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) to install computer terminals in the United States. The ICE is regulated solely by the United Kingdom's Financial Services Authority, and had been used to trade "Brent Crude", the price of which had been used as a benchmark for British oil. With new terminals in the United States, British traders began to trade futures contracts for West Texas Intermediate, which had been used a much more affordable benchmark in the United States.

With unregulated over-the-counter trades in oil futures, and unregulated ICE trades in oil futures, the price of oil skyrocketed. Large amounts of investment from banks, hedge funds, pension funds, etc., have been flowing into these unregulated markets, in an attempt to take advantage of the rising costs. Much of this has come from the flight of capital out of the collapsing real-estate bubble.

The resulting oil-price bubble has led to increased production of crude, as well as refinereries purchasing extra oil to profit from future price increases. Hence, while the actual supply of oil has reached a dramatic surplus, the consumer is getting cheated at the pump.

It is estimated that as much as 60% of the price of gasoline is pure speculation! The joke is, according to rumors, gas stations will soon begin to show pornos on their gas-pump displays. That way, we'll know we're not the only ones getting screwed.

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"Happiness lies not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort. The joy and moral stimulation of work no longer must be forgotten in the mad chase of evanescent profits." FDR-First Inaugural Address