Who Really Controls Oil Prices?

With oil and gasoline prices dropping as the election draws near, we are once again hearing the tired refrain that the U.S. government is somehow manipulating the oil and gas markets to influence the outcome of the election. What a naive thing to believe! When are people finally to going to let go of this foolish notion that our government controls gas and oil prices? Unfortunately, that's one of the more popular conspiracy theories circulating today. The said thing is that millions of people honestly believe it. In a capitalistic economy like we have, market factors like supply and demand, not the government, set prices. Anyone who would like for that to be the other way around might want to consider moving to Venezuela or Cuba.

The main factor in this latest drop in oil prices has been the lack of a major Atlantic hurricane this season, which came much to the surprise of the greenies and so-called experts, who just knew that last year's disastrous season was the beginning of a long-term trend. Rising worldwide inventories along with concerns about slower economic growth also contributed to the recent decline in oil prices. There is, of course, the occasional manipulation by OPEC. However, many OPEC countries "cheat" on the quota agreements, so even its official increases and cuts in production don't affect prices as much as people seem to think. At any rate, rest assured that there's nothing sinister going on between the U.S. government and the major oil companies in regard to oil and gasoline prices. We should just enjoy the low prices while we can.