Socialism to the extreme.
we need to reduce the number of blends,
How much do you think that really adds to the price?
and we need to stop exporting finished product to other countries.
More socialism!
It's $2.70 a gallon here. The economy is going to tank if this keeps up.
No, it's going to stop growing at a bullish rate, that is not tanking.
Speculation needs to be temporarily suspended
That's the crux of it right there. Our demand has NOT increased by 300% in the last two years. China and India's demand, added with ours, doesn't add up to a 300% increase in demand. Our refinery capability, which certainly needs to be increased, hasn't essentially changed in 20 years. The only thing that is changing is that there is WILD speculation in the market.
Before the Iraq War (not blaming it, just using it for time reference), gas was about $1.25 a gallon here in Georgia. It had been more or less stable there for around five years. In March 2003, prices jumped to $1.50. In September 2003, they eased down to the $1.30 range, then spiked up to $1.80 and kept climbing. What changed between March 2003 and now? Not a damn thing. There is NO reason for the prices to be where they are other than out-of-control speculation.
Suspending the market mechanism is never the answer...if it were, we would still have price controls on gasoline from the 70s.