Bonanzas for the oil industry all around. They get outrageous profits and, thanks to their President, a big break on environmental controls:
President Bush on Tuesday ordered a temporary suspension of environmental rules for gasoline, making it easier for refiners to meet demand and possibly dampen prices at the pump.And you want to bet removing those environmental rules means even more profit? What a racket.
UPDATE: Check out "10 Reasons Republicans Are to Blame for High Gas Prices" over at the DSCC. As for that feigned GOP concern about price gouging, here are two key facts:
Senate Republicans killed a Democratic proposal to make gas price gouging a federal crime. Without making price gouging a federal crime, the federal government can only prosecute oil companies if they can prove collusion to control markets, a standard that is nearly impossible to meet. [S. 2020, Vote #334, 11/17/05; Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 11/18/05]
The Bush Federal Trade Commission has looked the other way when it comes to price gouging. Even during Hurricane Katrina, when price gouging was rather evident, the FTC investigation "found no evidence of collusion among oil companies in the 2005 gas price surge.” [ San Francisco Chronicle, 4/25/06]
