Why the high price of Gasoline

I think it's a mix of it all. Speculators help to drive up prices. OPEC drives them up. Having to export oil period drives it up. Taxes drive it up. The cost of refining drives it up. There's a lot that drives it up. But there is one thing that can drive it down more than anything. Yeah, you can make the speculators risk more. Yeah, you can placate OPEC countries more and hope the scorpion doesn't sting you. But the way to end it all is to actually open up the drilling in America! They--being Obama or anyone else wanting to run extremely long on words but short on things to say--can stand up there and preach that America's oil production was high and bla yada until they're blue in the face. But the truth is the truth. Government is making it harder for drilling to happen. We do not NEED to rely 1% on foreign oil. Speculators couldn't drive up a national supply so readily like they can an international supply. The finger can be pointed at those mean, cruel, evil, greedy speculators and cases can be made for numerous other price-driving factors. But at the end of the day it's our own fault. We have allowed oil to become an internationally owned commodity, a highly sought after international commidity. We want it every which way but logical. Keep our particular country free of oil-related danger, but screw the rest of the world. Hell, we'll even help fund you. Keep exporting the stuff while pretending to be for "alternative" measures. Expect speculators to play nice at their game while we make ours up as we go along. Bottom line: it's the playing of politics with America's oil that has caused the prices to rise. There are many factors helping it out, but it all comes down to our stubborness on the issue and our reluctancy to stand out as energy independent when we have the means. Because we like to prop up other countries, because we want to appear to be world-saving greenies, and because angering a voting bloc is always a no-no, we suffer mightily. If anyone wants to know why I call politicians idiots, our oil situation is a prime example.

I am getting a little tired of Bill O'Reilly working hard to try to prop up the president whenever he can so he can say he's 'fair and balanced'. That said, the speculators may contribute to the problem but the big problem is the demonstrated unwillingness of this administration to allow us to explore our own resources and alleviate our reliance on foreign oil. When the energy secretary expresses his desire to see gas prices in the US hit the kinds of high prices they pay in Europe, you know the president's focus is not the same as the public's. So far, Obama's answer is 'green energy' and drilling in Brazil.

Hi. bobmnu. I think that the people that are over all of the oil landfill has a lot to do with how high gasoline is nowadays. I think that $4.15 is too high to pay for gas now.

There are lots of reason but basic one reason is demand and supply.Stop buying or use minimum and it will go down.Apart from that i think there is income gap. People like us are affected by these increase in price but there are many who are financially well and really dont care damn about 10-20 percent increase in gas price.They still keep suing it and rest of us suffer.

GAHHH!! Speculators is not the reason. It is supply and demand. Speculation can't change the spot price. The spot price (the current 'on the spot' market price) changes the speculation price. Why do we humans always assume that anything we don't understand is the root of all evils in the world?!?

The demand for the crude oil is higher from China and India, or other Asian countries. May not be the supply is increasing, but the demand is surpass the supply at certain level, the OPEC would increase the price for their limited oil supply. So, that also might be the reason for the gas price going high.

Hello many people in my country says that the price of gasoline reach these value because the biggest producers of it are now in war situation.I live in country with extremely high price of gasoline if we compare it with value of salaries of most people of the country.But as we know the extraction of gasoline is difficult especialy when most of foreign workers are already go to their homes.