Written by Wayne Henrich   

Why is it year after year, election after election and president after president we end up in the same old spot? High gas prices are again being blamed on our president. If you’re old enough, you’ll remember we had gas lines during President Nixon’s term in the White House. We’ve had higher gas prices year after year since. Most of this hike in gas prices is the fault of Wall Street today. When investors see a problem in a part of the world where gas is being produced they start betting that the price will rise. This betting game seems to be happening year after year now and prices go up. Every summer or holiday season when people drive more the gas prices rise like clockwork and investors know this and bet on it happening. Oil companies have also shut down older refineries because the profits weren’t there.

President Obama has worked hard at getting Americans to use more fuel efficient cars in his short time in office. Remember “cash for clunkers” which helped get older gas guzzlers off the roads? Our president has been pushing electric cars and other energy related ideas to get America more energy independent.

This president is now under attack as if it his fault that gas prices are going up again. Republicans like Newt Gingrich make jokes about the president pushing cars like the Chevy Volt. Florida congressman Allen West took to Facebook and complained about paying $70 to fill up his 2008 Hummer. People like Allen West need to look in the mirror. As a congressman, you know America has an energy problem but rather than buy a fuel efficient car you drive a gas hog.

We American voters need to think before we pick a president again in 2012. President Obama has put into motion an energy conservation course for America. Are we once again going to listen to politicians promise cheaper gas and screw all the gains we’ve made towards the future? Are we going to let politicians once again relax fuel standards on new cars? This has been happening in America ever since the oil embargo in 1973.

There are a few other ideas that could help lower gas prices in America but would cause a political firestorm. We could ban the oil commodities from being traded on Wall Street. We could nationalize the oil industries in America and end the for profit game or we can bite the bullet and use smaller vehicles and more public transportation like high speed rail-- which was killed by many Republican leaders recently.

The price we pay for gas in the future is in the hands of the voters once again. Will we stay on track this time or go off course again like so many times before?