Oil and gas prices are affecting everyone, and their effect is regressive. Combine the high prices, record profits, and Bush energy "plan" to good effect.
This letter (that I submitted a few weeks ago) was published in my paper today. Steal what you want, but make it your own.
Crude oil and gasoline prices are soaring. This alone isn't news. What is news is that oil companies are making record profits. This means that the price hikes are not driven by increased costs, but by corporations using the war in Iraq as cover for their profiteering. Forget about any investigations of price fixing and collusion; the Federal Trade Commission is run by a former ChevronTexaco lawyer appointed by Bush. And instead of government intervention to get this gouging under control, Bush's "energy policy" is to give these companies tax breaks.
So in addition to spending more money on heating oil and gasoline, the public can look forward to picking up the slack in government spending because ExxonMobil and Conoco Phillips won't have to. Tell your congressman and senators that oil companies don't need tax breaks; they need to stop profiteering in a time of war.
