More than 35 years ago, there were warnings that the World would run out of oil. We were warned of this fact after the first OPEC Oil Embargo in 1973 and then warned again after the Iranian Revolution in 1979. This time, there's no obvious disruption, yet the world wide price of oil is increasing. This time, maybe the politicians should start talking about Peak Oil, that is, the situation in which world oil production reaches maximum and then begins to decline. If we are at that point (or past it, as some say), then the demand is likely to exceed supply until prices reach punishing levels. In economics, there are 2 ways to allocate such a shortage, first, allow the prices to rise or second, to actually ration the resource. Reducing prices by cutting taxes only makes things worse. In my opinion, the U.S. should have raised gasoline taxes over the years just as the Europeans did. We should have added $0.25 per gallon after the OPEC Embargo, another $0.25 after the Iranian Crisis, another $0.50 after the Tanker War in the Persian Gulf and continue to at least $2.00 per gallon today. Had we done this, the average person would not have bought SUV's or similar gas guzzler beginning in the 1990's. So, we are all paying for the lack of leadership from our political class. We no longer have leaders, only (poll) followers who make grand promises which sound great in a moment of perceived crisis end up making things worse in the long run. This time, there's no easy way out. E. S.