Gas

I was just listening to NPR describe the current increase in gas prices. The attached image was taken 2 September 2010. Gas was $2.33/gal locally. It is currently $3.39. Six months. I think it should be far more, like $6/gal. My problem with the current situation is that the prices go up because of speculators sucking money out of our pockets. I would far more prefer a tax that sets a floor. If gas prices rise, the tax goes down, but the cost is consistent. This is what investors in renewable energy want. As per a previous post, a mere $0.78/gal tax would start to make a difference. From all reports, we are looking at $4/gal again this summer. It's odd, if we had a gas tax which could potentially offset other taxes, like income tax which would be good for both businesses and individuals, that is considered government over-reaching its authority. Yet we can have commodity speculators taking the money out of the system with no benefit to the country, yet that is the free market at work.