To the editor:

Much is being made about President Obama being responsible for the spike in gas prices. People are blaming him for doubling of the cost of gas. They are correct in stating that the price of gas was $1.84 in January 2009, when Obama took office. They fail to mention that the average cost of gas for the previous year was over $3 per gallon and peaked over $4.

Speculators have found a way to artificially inflate gas prices in the oil futures market. According to Saudi Arabia there is no shortage of oil. Here in the U.S., our stocks of oil reserves are high and our consumption is down. So where is the change in the supply/demand that is causing the price to spike? There is none. These spikes are caused by oil futures speculation. We “might” go to war with Iran so they are manipulating the market to boost their profits on those fears. Speculators (not oil companies) now hold more than 60 percent of the oil futures market and they are being allowed to run up the prices.

We can curb this. Democrats have offered bills in Congress to stop this manipulation, but the Republican majority in the House will not have any part of it. Neither will they allow the stopping of the $30 billion-per-year oil subsidy giveaway. If you want to blame someone for our high gas prices look no further than your Republican congressmen fed by the oil lobbyists’ cash.