During the oil crisis of the 70's I saw a debate.
Bunch of upset people vs. oil company exec.
People - Long winded rant about how you are over charging and that you can drill,ship, refine and sell gas at $0.50/gal and still make a profit.
Oil Company Exec "I suggest you do that. You will sell a lot of gas."
The American public thinks they are entitled to cheap gas, fuel oil and electricity. Wrong. Let it be a free market and value willl find its price.
I worked for a Utility for many years. What did we do? Made electricity to sell at a profit. Not to give away as many wanted us to.
People will say.....
But I cannot afford to drive to work!
( example - I live 45 miles from work and drive a large SUV. )
Well that is your problem but maybe in the big picture it is Americas problem also and that is where all the problems start.
Taxes - We all know that state and fed tax are a huge part of each gallon but it goes even deeper.
Property Tax on the land, buildings and equipment of everyone involved - oil company, shipper and reseller.
income tax of everyone making $$ from the gas.
and many more. If we could ever add it all up I would not be surprised to see tax is 75% or more of the total price of that gallon of fuel.
It is the same for electricity. Of that $0.05 - $0.18/ Kilowatthr a large part of it is tax. In some states it is not allowed to show on the bill how much is tax.