Here are two articles about why the price of gas is so high, one by Charles Krauthammer and one by Michael Kinsley. Krauthammer says it's all a matter of supply and demand, completely overlooking the question of whether the oil companies are manipulating the supply, or taking advantage of shortages to crank prices up more than necessary. Kinsley says it's all because of the Iraq War and that we should tax windfall profits to help pay for that war. That makes more sense to me but it'll never happen. It won't even be seriously considered.