Gas Prices In West Michigan Nearing Record Highs!

Gas prices here in West Michigan are about to be near the record highs of 2008 as we roll through the spring and summer months. There has been talk about it nearing $5 a gallon. What?! Seriously?! That is insane!  How can it even be that high?  Its liquid gold, that's for sure.  Gold is the only other thing that I know of that changes in value as much as oil.

Lets break this down the way many look at it...  It's laughable to assume we would actually pay $5 a gallon for something we know can be much less.  It was $1.15 cheaper here in West Michigan just a month ago, so why the rediculous jump in price? We know oil did not disappear, and we know all the money hungry people in the world know where all the oil is, so no one could have stole it. Are we just suckers paying whatever they ask us to?

This 'holding gas hostage' is effecting many companies, public safety officials, and health care organizations even beyond our own everyday commute and transport. Think of the food delivery, City buses, health care carriers, ambulances, fire trucks, police cars, and so on and so on.  This will effect our pocket books more then we even understand.  How can prices even go down if they already know we will pay this laughable price for it?

When I was a senior in High School in 1999, gas was $1.15 a gallon, and as I mention earlier it jumped $1.15 this past month in West Michigan. Yet, people are still filling up everyday, so all I want to know is what stopped the gas companies from charging this much way back in 1999 as well? I asked a lot of questions in this story, feel free to answer some of them below.