Are oil companies price gouging?
• Following the abrupt rise in gas prices, both Congress and President Bush petitioned the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate possible instances of price manipulation. • In May 2006, the FTC reported that it had found no evidence of gasoline price gouging in the wake of last year’s hurricanes. Q. What about drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge? • Drilling in the ANWR is estimated to yield about 1 million barrels of oil a day 10 years from now. Ten years from now our national oil addiction will have reached 27 million barrels a day. • Punching more holes is not the answer. We need to be improving efficiency and moving to alternatives. Q. What can the government do to answer the energy problem? • Encourage the production and implementation of alternative fuels, such as ethanol and bio-diesel. • Continue tax incentives on flex-fuel and hybrid cars. • Increase vehicle efficiency by restructuring the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) program. • Fund research and de
