Oil is trading at US$79 as I write this letter. Oil has fallen from historical highs since the start of May 2012. It is now June 29, 2012.
Why are we still paying $1.35/L when that price is a reflection of a barrel of oil trading at nearly US$110? I’m no rocket scientist, but what the heck is going on?
We can blame the oil companies, the government, your cat, until we are blue in the face. But the real culprit is society itself.
Why do you, as Canadians, enjoy being ripped off so much? Is it like a drug? Does it give you a special little warm feeling? Enlighten me, please.
And I’m not just talking about oil. Cell phones, Internet, vehicles, and pretty much any tangible good or service in Canada. I look at Quebec and I shake my head. These poor students shut Montreal down for over three months over $300 more in tuition?
What’s even sadder is the Whitehorse residents who feel an obligation to have their own little protest in solidarity. Where are you people on issues that affect everyone? Where is your protest on how we get ripped off at the pumps year after year?
Oh, you say you don’t drive and you ride a bike? Well, we all thank you from the bottom of our hearts, Captain Planet. Do you eat rocks? No, not the ones in your head.
Food has gone up 30 to 40 per cent in the last few years. A lot of it is related to transportation costs and imaginary fuel surcharges. And no matter how high things go, for no apparent reason except greed, Canadians are more than willing to pay.
This affects you, your family and your friends. I don’t know about you, but I get excited when I go buy food and spend $100 on two bags of groceries. I get excited knowing my car gets 30 miles per gallon, when something like the Pogue carburetor was invented and gets over 200 MPG.
But keep rushing off to buy the latest scam of a vehicle at your dealership, promising one more MPG than five years ago. Keep rushing to buy a hybrid at ripoff prices when the very first Ford vehicles were in fact electric.
Keep believing that hybrids are some new fancy technology and paying twice the price somehow saves the environment. And keep believing the lies the auto industry and oil companies feed you.
How dumb are Canadians? We have the world knocking down our door for our oil and Canadians are satisfied with the status quo of paying more for gas than a country that imports the raw material, the United States of America.
No protests, no boycotts, no courage, no kidding. Heck, Trevor the dog (RIP) almost started worldwide riots and protests. If every Canadian didn’t buy gas for one day, we would be heard.
But it will never happen in a million years. The status quo is too important, so just shut up and shrug your shoulders.
Ho hum, where’s all my money gone? My fellow Canadian’s ignorance and laziness stole it.
Wes Larson
Whitehorse