Says here gas could go to $10 a gallon, and I believe it. But there is far more fallout than grumbling at the pump. A few thoughts–not that they lead to a conclusion, but these notions occur to me and I present them here unfiltered and uncorrected:

1) There will be a price-point at which the oil-producing nations will see diminishing returns from further price increases. I think we’re pretty close to that now.

2) Gas prices are rising not because of circumstances but because of pure powerplays and greed. Production capacity in the oil producing nations is for practical purposes unlimited. They’ll stop jacking up prices (see #1) when they have gotten the price as high as they can go without bringing down their system.
3) Gas price inflation must be reflected in the costs of goods and services. Gas has nearly doubled since 2000. Pretty much everything has to follow suit (proportionally). It hasn’t done that yet, but it will, and the coming correction is going to be HUGE.
4) If Arab-Americans think they were hated here after 9/11, they’re in for a new level of “discomfort” when gas crosses $6 a gallon. People are going to need a scapegoat.

5) Maybe high gas prices are a good thing. I’ve always believed we are #%!^&-ing idiots for buying oil from people who are trying to kill us. Maybe this will spark a crash program to get us off oil (at which time the price of oil will drop through the floor as the oil-producing nations attempt to kill the effort). If we can go to the moon, we can do this–no matter what anybody says. There’s no market demand to do it now, but bankrupting gas prices would create it.
6) A couple more quarters of record 10-figure profits with gas over $4 and the next President will move to nationalize the oil companies. Period. End of sentence. Full stop. So the oil company execs better start coming up with better PR cover than “we’re covering old expenses.” It sounds like BS cos it is BS–and I’m a pro-business conservative.

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