SOMETHING ELSE SNEAKING UP – AT 8:10 P.M. ET:  As we struggle to regenerate our economy, the oil boys are waiting in the wings.  Not good, not good.  From CBS Chicago:

Don't look now, but a gradual rise in gasoline prices has suddenly turned into a gallop, with drivers facing a new round of sticker shock...

...The growing pain at the pump kind of snuck up on many Chicago drivers, but now they're really feeling the bite.

"I just paid $3.54 for gas," said Michelle as she filled up at a Chicago gas station. "It's just outrageous."

Just a month ago, according to AAA Chicago, unleaded regular averaged $2.86 a gallon in the Chicago area.

COMMENT:  This has gotten remarkably little publicity, perhaps because the increases have come slowly this time.  The increase in gas prices, expected to reach four dollars a gallon soon, can put a serious damper over any economic recovery. 

No doubt some "environmentalists" are delighted.  The higher the price of gasoline, the less is purchased.  Who cares about that working stiff who needs his car to get to the job?  Why, if he'd had any sense, he'd have gone to Harvard Law and learned to take public transport. 

This can have political implications as the midterms approach.  Once again we'll be reminded of our dependence on foreign oil, and the fact that we're not permitted to develop our own domestic resources.  And higher oil prices, which must be paid by businesses, can mean more layoffs and fewer new employees being hired.

Anything being done about this in Washington?  Nah.  Washington is in the clouds, thinking about grander things.

April 9, 2010