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Stop Rising Gas Prices

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Submitted By Twankie81
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Stop Rising Gas Prices
COMM/215
May 12, 2012

Stop Rising Gas Prices
In 2012, the current national average for regular gas has risen from three dollars and 78 cents to more than four dollars a gallon in the last two months. What could be the cause of rising gas prices in America? Some may say that the war on terror is causing these rising gas prices you pay at the pump. Others may blame the shortage of oil. Truth be told, the government plays a tremendous role in your gas prices in America. The following paragraphs will detail the exact affects government plays on rising gas prices. Furthermore, ideas on how Americans can help fix this trend of government controlled gas prices are discussed
For the past decade gas prices have climbed steeply and the pain at the pump has been no different. For every penny increase at the pump, $1.4 billion per year leaves your collective pockets, creating a drag on the sluggish “recovery.” How does this continue to happen? Who controls this and why won’t they listen to your cries? Simply put it is your government. At one time in 1979 the U.S. government fixed the price of gasoline at about $1.00 per gallon (Rockoff, 2012). So why can they not do this again? Some of you may think that the oil prices which drives gas cost to raise is because of supply and demand. That is wrong! Stiff regulations from the government and shot down proposals are the reason why you pay more at the pump. Your government is working with financial institutes and the oil company passing economic policies that hinder you the gas payer, and helps the oil companies. This has been the case for the decade. Instead of lowering the portion of tax that is incorporated into the price you pay at the pump, the government is looking at raising the federal tax on gas which will pass those higher prices right to you.
Since the summer of 2001, gas prices have

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