Sorry, I have to disagree, Richie. A major reason for the escalation in the price of oil is the fact that our government is borrowing 40% of all the money it spends each year. Without going into a long economic dissertation, the result of that is that the U.S. dollar has weakened (become less valuable) dramatically in recent years. Our government has permitted, even encouraged that to happen. In the end, we get the right to repay dollars borrowed in the past with dollars worth a whole lot less in the future. But they're still dollars.

That's true until it comes to paying for oil. The Middle Eastern oil-producing countries demand payment for their oil in U.S. dollars. But they aren't willing to be "taken" by our politicians, who have permitted the dollar to become less and less valuable. The oil-producers control the price of oil very effectively by simply reducing the amount they pump to manipulate the price so that they keep getting the same amount per barrel or more, regardless of how much less valuable the U.S. dollar becomes. Then, of course, there's the rapidly-growing Chinese economy, which is buying more and more oil for their domestic use, also driving the price of oil up.

I disagree that the price of gas is as high as it is now because of taxation. My guess is there's a whole lot better chance we'll be paying $4 or $4.50 a gallon for gas in the future than ever going back to $3 a gallon or less. That will have nothing to do with taxes on gasoline.