Gas Price Gouging

Ever feel abused by the companies that sell you gasoline?

Today in Woodstock: $3.99/gal. Since it's actually $3.999, maybe we should just call it $4/gallon. Elsewhere? Kansas City, $3.60. Columbia, S.C., $3.50.

The average price per gallon in Illinois today is $4.035. A year ago it was $3.006.
The average price per gallon in the U.S. today is $3.748. A year ago it was $2.865.
Feel yet like there is something wrong with this picture?

What if we just stopped driving? How fast would gas prices drop?

OK, so no one is going to stop driving. And it doesn't make sense to refuse to buy gas on Thursday, because you'll just buy it on Wednesday or on Friday.

But what if you made a concentrated effort to reduce your driving? You know - the common sense ways like combining trips, eliminating needless trips, mass-transit, carpooling...

I've cut my driving down, and that was before this latest surge in prices. Less than 300 miles in each of January and February, and less than 500 miles in March. That's down from my usual 1,000 miles/month. And, obviously, I'm not using the motorcycle instead of the car.

The question isn't, what can you do to reduce your miles? The question is, what will you do?