John Hall: “in my district, my constituents are complaining and wondering why one day a gas tanker pulls up to a service station and…”

“in my district, my constituents are complaining and wondering why one day a gas tanker pulls up to a service station and fills a tank underground at the price of that day, and 2 days later the world price of crude oil goes up and the guy at the local gas station goes up on a ladder and changes the numbers, raising the numbers from $4.17 to $4.29, or whatever it is currently in the 19th Congressional District. We are well above $4 for regular. Why is it that gas that is already in the ground goes up on the world price of crude, but when the world price of crude comes down, the price at the pump detaches from it and keeps going up or staying up? They ask me this question, and I ask people down here who supposedly know what they are talking about, and they tell me: Oh, it's a commodity. It fluctuates on the commodity market. Well, I call it the rockets-and-feathers syndrome. The price of gas goes up like a rocket, and it comes down like a feather. And it never seems to deviate from that. While American families are scrimping, oil company profits are soaring. The Big Five's profits jumped a whooping $37 billion this quarter. After the Bush administration's drill first and ask questions later policy has padded oil profits on the backs of working families, it is time for us here to look out for American drivers.…”