The price at the pump is back near 3.50 a gallon and it's not even the middle of February. We've come to expect this at the start of the summer driving season, around Memorial Day, but now ? Why ? We are given different reasons each time we are hit with an uncharacteristic rise … which by the way, are becoming characteristic. The best easy answer is that Wall St is on a bit of a roll, with The Dow Jones Industrial Average flirting either side of 14 thousand. When theres a lot of activity on the trading floor and stocks gain altitude, crude oil fetches a prettier penny.  We'll get back to this. Sometimes "they"(meaning the oil industry), tell us maintenance at oil refineries has reduced output and so we have to pay more. C'mon. How many of you have kids ? "Gee, Dad I couldn’t do my homework because my pencil sharpener needed grease". Right. A few years ago, small scale sabotage in Nigeria was purported as the cause ballooning oil prices worldwide. One guy with a molotov cocktail, maybe two.. and we all know Nigeria is our prime source of import far above and beyond Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. Right.  You want to know what I think is the reason we paying more at the pump ? It's because "they" have us over a barrel. Literally, over an oil barrel.  Good old fashioned greed. Oil giants make annual  profits often in the double digit (b) billions of dollars.  If you are fine with that, and don’t complain about the price at the pump, then good for you. You have a better gas tank than do I.  Im all for the free enterprise system and rewarding hard work. I think excessive regulation is a potential limiting factor on enterprise and freedom… to a degree. Lack of regulation however between government and business presupposes the fact that everyone is going to have your best interest at heart and cut you the best deal they are able. Right. Happy Birthday by the way, a day late. The Nigeria excuse is looking pretty good right about now, eh ? I also have a bridge I can sell you. If you've been led to believe that Uncle Sam is the bad guy, and "Big Oil" is doing all they possibly can to make sure that you, as an American citizen are having the most cost effective, consumer friendly filling station experience you can possibly have, then in lieu of selling you real estate that isnt mine, I will furnish you the phone number of a reliable therapist. Do you enjoy filling up your oversized SUV with gas at 3.50 a gallon ?  Do you still trust "The Man With The Star" ?  Have a look here.. it's an interesting take on those who supposedly have your best interests at heart: