Price gouging my eye!

Ditto Robert Samuelson. Sure, the public hates high gas prices, but it's time to stop demagoguing the issue and accusing oil companies of "price gouging". First of all, government price caps are often a very bad idea, as Venezuela has recently shown us yet again. Second of all, our big oil companies now control very little of the world's oil, and they're just getting out while the getting's good. Third of all, Americans drive way too much, contributing to global warming, depeting oil supplies quickly, and keeping us in thrall to Saudi Arabia and Russia.

To quote Samuelson:

On the one hand, some of America's leading politicians condemn high gasoline prices and contend that they stem from "gouging" by oil companies. On the other, many of the same politicians warn against global warming and implore us to curb our use of fossil fuels that emit carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas.

Guess what: These crowd-pleasing proclamations are contradictory. Anyone fearful of global warming should cheer higher gasoline prices, because much higher prices represent precisely the sort of powerful incentive needed to push consumers toward more fuel-efficient vehicles and to persuade the auto industry to produce them in large numbers. Bravo for higher prices!...

[I]f fuel prices aren't high, people won't want to buy fuel-efficient cars, which will be more expensive, smaller or both. People will also drive more -- offsetting efficiency gains -- because it's cheaper.

Exactly.