A Couple of Beefs

So there are a couple of things I need to rant about tonight. First, why do people feel the need to be so economically illiterate all the time? Here's a simple little econ lesson for the likes of the average American who just doesn't get it: OPEC recently announced a slight drop in production of oil. OPEC, who is responsible for pumping 40% of the earth's oil, usually has a great deal of influence over oil prices because of their ability to regulate supply. So, you'd think that after their recent announcement oil prices would have risen at least a little bit. Not so. The good 'ole Saudis promised to drill more if necessary just to keep up the current supply. This turmoil from within OPEC and the Saudi's promise, along with the strengthening U.S. dollar actually caused oil prices to drop. It's been dropping steadily ever since it's all time high of just over $147/ bbl and now is right around $100/ bbl. So, even though there's about a two week lag to get oil refined into gasoline and actually to the consumer, you would think that all of this news, along with dropping oil prices would lower gas prices. Again, not so. Gas prices shot up dramatically today because of the speculation that Hurricane Ike will significantly impact our domestic oil production. Radio commentators and the news media are the ones instigating this fear. Consumers see or hear that "gas prices are bound to go up!" so they rush out to buy gas before the price goes skyrocketing to $6 a gallon (as I heard on the radio today - no joke). There were lines at gas stations all across town, backing up traffic and causing all sorts of problems. Here's the problem I have with this - these idiots are giving into the speculators and actually creating their own bed to lay in. What's that mean? It means that all of the people who rushed out to buy gas real quick before prices went "skyrocketing" are the ones who in fact caused the prices to rise. A substantial and furious rise in demand is always followed quickly by a sharp rise in price. It's econ 101. I got more and more mad every time I passed a gas station and saw a line. If people would do a little research rather than listening to the speculators, they would find that oil prices are indeed holding steady. The United States derives such a minuscule percentage of our domestic oil production from the Gulf of Mexico that even every single platform shutting down really doesn't affect our supply that much. Much of our oil (domestic that is) comes from the Black Hills and Alaska. Stop creating our own nightmare people!

Ok, next - Matt Damon, please shut your overpaid mouth. You're an actor, and one that I actually used to admire...that is, until I heard your pathetic excuse for political commentary today on CNN headline news. Some people in life are born to be professional athletes. Some are born to be construction workers and even some to be ditch-diggers. You, my friend, were born to be an actor. You've got a flair for the dramatic and pulled off being Jason Bourne better than I think anyone else could have. So please stick to what you're good at. Speaking about Sarah Palin's alleged "book banning" is not only out of your league, it's also completely false. Check your facts before you go on a big network and embarrass yourself. I almost felt bad for you. Almost.

That's it for now. Well, one more plug before I go - remember to vote November 4 for Jack Hoogendyk and McCain-Palin. Our rights, wallets, and sanity depend on it.