High gas prices

Coverage of the rising price of gasoline fails to remind us of how much better it was in the good old days of Nixon, Ford and Carter when we had price controls. Maybe that's because they weren't that good. There wasn't enough gas around at any price. When Reagan came in and dropped those controls, we began hearing about a glut in oil, because the higher prices made it possible to develop new resources, such as the North Sea fields.

Update: Fox News reported yesterday that high gas prices are to blame for Bush's low approval ratings, and that Bush is trying to jawbone the Saudis into producing more. They want us to finance the extra infrastructure. Huh?

The Saudis claim that the price of gasoline has more to do with our failure to build new refineries for years. That could account for part of it, but I think the real reason is that booming economies in India and China are demanding more oil, which increases prices. Why isn't the government making that point? Democrats and their hangers-on are demanding that we tap the strategic oil reserve, which is typical of their shortsightedness. And environmentalists . . . Don't get me started.

There will be another oil glut at some point, but only at higher prices. Of course, the Saudis and other oil producers might find it profitable to invest in more production.