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COLLEGE STUDENT: Well, I know most people don't know this, so I'll try to break it down into simple terms. A little less than half of the world's oil supply is controlled by eleven countries that call themselves OPEC, which stands for Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. The reason why most countries buy from OPEC is because they don't want to drain their own country's oil supply. Very few countries have an oil supply to last longer than 20 years, so they go with OPEC, which claims to have an oil supply for the next 80 years. Saudi Arabia and Iraq have the two biggest reserves of the OPEC countries, and on Earth for that matter. OPEC decides how much oil they will produce and that determines the price per barrel. There is no real oil shortage, OPEC simply doesn't feel like increasing production for whatever reason. That's why we need to switch to alternative energy immediately, so that we're not puppets of the oil industry. |
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MR. BIG BIZ: Well, it's true I have noticed the price has climbed a little higher recently, but it's not so high that I can't afford to fill up the tank. Obviously in time of war prices are going to get a little higher, especially since Congress has been rather slow at funding this war. But let's not fall apart as a country and whine about a few extra pennies that we have to fork over at the gas station. The economy is turning around, GDP is up five percent, more jobs are being created, positive earnings reports are pouring in and the outlook is just incredible. I cannot remember a time in my life when the future of America was so optimistic. Besides, I own oil stocks and when prices go up so do my investments. At least in this country you have a choice: you can either complain or learn the system, ha ha. |
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SARA MOTH: It's because of Bill Clinton. Gas prices are skyrocketing because Clinton didn't do anything about it when he was President. He was too busy smoking pot and having his erotic affairs with sleazy women. This country fell apart completely when he was President to the point where I considered moving to another country. He didn't do anything about terrorism, he didn't do anything about silencing the pro-abortion movement, he didn't push for any amendments to allow prayer in school. He was the most horrible, evil man that has ever held that office and thank God that George W. Bush won by a landslide. If it weren't for Bush gas prices would probably be over ten dollars a gallon by now. |
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SKULL MADISON: Oh, you just wait until we get closer to the election and you'll see gas prices start to drop, just like it says in Woodward's book. We're lucky to have a man in the White House that has had strong business relations with Saudi Arabia for years. So what if gas prices are a little high right now, that's not the point. There is a war going on right now and we can't allow ourselves to be sidetracked by quibbles concerning how much pocket change it takes to fill up a gas tank. I'm a man who rode horses most of my life, so I can't completely relate to the hysteria about gas prices. I believe in using up the fuel as fast as we can so that some day we can return to the horse and buggy. That is my dream, call me crazy, but we must not stray too far from the world that made America an almighty empire and George W. Bush is just the cowboy we need to take us back to that remarkable time in history. |
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REAGAN DEMOCRAT: It's basic economics - supply and demand. Right now there's a greater demand for oil than the supply, which creates higher gas prices. It's not really rocket science. Eventually we'll find more oil around the globe and prices will come down again. There's plenty of untapped resources off the Pacific Coast up through Alaska so it's not like we'll never see good gas prices again. If we can just get these fanatical environmentalists to calm down, that it's okay to drill for oil in the ocean, the future will get brighter. I used to live in Santa Barbara in the sixties when offshore drilling was allowed. All the black debris that rolled up on the beach didn't bother me one bit. It's not like it's water we can drink, you know. |
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GOOFBALL GREG: Yeah, it's to fight the war on terror. I don't mind paying higher gas prices if it means stamping out terrorist countries like Iraq. What would you rather do, pay higher taxes? I actually don't know much about gas prices or how they work. Hell, if I did know, I'd be working for a gas station, right? Gasoline and oil are necessary evils. I don't care what the price is and I don't let it ruin my day. They are always trying to scare us into conserving fuel or driving less. But I love to drive. It's like Donald Trump says, do what you love and you'll be great at it. I'm not gonna stop driving just because the price of gas goes up. In fact, I'm gonna drive even more just because this is America and that means I can do whatever the hell I want. |
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SCIENTIST: Something doesn't add up. Someone is not being straight about the situation. Gas prices only go up for a couple of reasons. One, if OPEC decides to cut production and two, if the government decides to raise the tax on gas. OPEC is supposed to meet the world demand. They've got more oil than anybody, so it's always going to be artificial when production is reduced. Saying that, we still need to adopt alternative energy so that we are not dependent
on fossil fuels. One thing they never talk about is that oil is a finite resource. It's not as if there will be no oil left in twenty years, but what will happen is that as the oil supply depletes the cost of deeper drilling will keep going up.
Eventually the cost of oil production will be so expensive, it won't be worth it. By the way, most of our oil comes from South America, not the Middle East, so let's not get too confused by understated political distortions. |
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CANDY: Oh, I don't worry about it. Prices for gas go up and down all the time. I remember when I was a kid it was only like 50 cents a gallon, so I'm sure it'll come back down to that again some day. I actually think it's just something that Democrats complain about just because they don't like Bush. I don't know why they don't like Bush because he's one of the greatest Presidents we've ever had. Maybe it's because he believes in God and Democrats are just jealous because they haven't found God. Think about it, all Democrats want to do is legalize drugs and gay marriage and steal from the bread winners so they can give to people who have failed in society. That sounds like evil to me. And since I'd rather be with Bush than with evil, I'm willing to pay higher gas prices. |