Charlestown residents heating with oil are now paying approximately $800 per fill for a 200 gallon tank.
This is an absolute outrage with no one in a position of responsibility doing anything to stop the rampant speculation for the price of a barrel of oil affecting those of us who heat our homes or businesses with it.
Mind you, there is an abundant supply of oil and we’re near the end of winter.
The laws of supply and demand would require that the price for oil be much lower per gallon than the nearly $4.00 per gallon price we are all being charged today.
But this isn’t about to happen. The Wall Street commodities speculators are having a wonderful run-up at our expense when there is more oil than we can possibly burn in a New England Winter and winter is almost gone.
Everyone from the president down says there’s nothing anyone can do to stop the speculation. You know, it’s the old free market place routine – that no matter how badly consumers are being ripped off by the free marketplace, the free marketplace must be maintained.
All of that thinking is stale history and rubbish.
The oil speculators should be stopped. The dreaded federal government the republicans want to dismantle is our only hope that the situation will change.
The day of the $1000 oil fill-up for those of us who heat our homes with oil is only a season or two away.