Aghast, the price of gasoline may go to $4 a gallon. Already, our nation's fuel prices have gone up more than 100 percent in the past couple of years. It's stifling commerce and spiking consumer credit to all-time highs.Who do we have to thank for it? Partly the Chinese because their demand is increasing. Partly, we Americans who have failed to embrace alternative energy. But largely, OPEC is to blame. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries can stabilize, or destabilize, the world oil market. Here are the 13 countries that make up OPEC: Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Venezuela. The cartel imposes its own output quotas to keep prices where they want them. Do you think any of hose countries are crying in their sweet crude because we Americans are in a pinch?
The motivation for those countries is partly their disdain for us. Our own corporate greed only adds to the consumer's woes.
Aghast!
