I just wanted to point out that prices at the pump are not tied as tightly to crude prices as some like to claim. Crude prices are down, and demand in America is also down, but prices are not falling as they should if the Supply & Demand Model was responsible to set the stage for pump prices.
I've said it before, and I'm gonna say it again, why would they sell a gallon for a dollar when we have a system that lets them sell a half-gallon for two dollars?
I hate to advocate government regulation of the energy markets, but we had regulated energy -- regulated electricity -- for most of my life, and the energy companies made lots of money. I get that electricity and gasoline are different, but they have much in common. Mostly, the consumers are compulsory participants, not voluntary participants.
I can elect to eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, or switch to tuna fish or egg salad if peanut butter becomes too costly. But, I can't plug my 'fridge in somewhere else, and I can't stop going to work. So, I volunteer to participate in the PB&J market, and pay whatever they demand or change my diet, but in the energy markets, I can't change anything. I can get a more efficient 'fridge, but I still have to plug it in to the same hole in the wall which still gets its juice from the same energy plant. And, I can get a cheaper car, but it still needs gas. I can't change enough of my life to affect a change in energy markets, but I can make a change in the PB&J market.
As much as it pains me to advocate government regulation of the energy markets, consumers need protections from predatory business practices.