The OLD Philosopher – John M. Miller
Almost always when the price of gasoline rises quickly, it is because of political problems somewhere. This time Vladimir Putin is the problem. Because of his brazen war against Ukraine, most Russian oil has stopped flowing into Europe and elsewhere. Consequently, because of the law of supply and demand, there is a high demand for oil, as usual, but a lower supply. Hence it seems that every week the price of gasoline rises.
However, if all of us have to pay more to keep our gas-guzzlers running, and Mr. Putin is removed from office by the combined efforts of worried Russian politicians and aggrieved oligarchs, our increased voluntary contributions will have been worth it. I personally would be willing to spend even one or two thousand inflated dollars over time to rid the world of this angry, misdirected, misanthropic menace.
On the other hand, as always, now that gas prices are rising, Big Oil is no doubt taking advantage of the situation, and their bottom line at the end of the year will illustrate their capitalist plot. C’est la vie, asi’ es la vida, such is life. There is nothing new under the sun.
Truly, if preventing the flow of Russian oil leads to Putin’s downfall, we can all rejoice - - - even if monetarily we assisted in his richly-deserved plummet. Down with the autocrats!
John Miller is Pastor of The Chapel Without Walls on Hilton Head Island, SC. More of his writings may be viewed at www.chapelwithoutwalls.org.