I'm in the oil and gas industry. One way to look at the high price of gasoline is this:

 

Every time you go to the gas pump I am much closer to retirement!!

We import about 11.4 million barrels of oil per day @ about $100 cost per barrel. Most of that petroleum is used for cars, trucks and busses. We as a country are the 3rd largest producer of oil in the world. In the mean time we have a huge almost limitless high quality supply of natural gas that is capable of safely and efficiently powering all of our transportation needs. If congress would pass legislation to fund the retrofit of all vehicles to CNG.and LNG this would eliminate the need for imported oil quite rapidly. Not only would it stop the need to import oil, but we would be one of the largest exporters. In stead, we pass stupid legislation like cash for clunkers, or subsidies for electric cars that nobody wants and aren't very cost effective. Lets face it, our trade deficit is causing our wealth as a nation to be redistributed to the rest of the world. Russia is the largest oil producing country and economically they are producing a lot of wealth due to a favorable balance of trade. The OPEC nations were third world countries before they began exporting oil. Everyone can wrangle over taxing the rich or cutting this or that spending, but the fact of the matter is, if a nation consumes more than it produces, it has a negative effect on wealth, In this situation a nation either lowers it's standard of living, or it borrows to make up the difference which compounds the problem. Carrying on huge trade deficits year over year is a hugely flawed macro economic model. With the right energy plan and tariffs on cheap imports that would allow US manufacturers to be successful, America has the ability to turn it's economy around, get people back to work , and start creating wealth and savings. So far the so called HOPE & CHANGE hasn't changed the systemic problem, It's just made markets, corporations and individuals more dependant on the government.

Between a government that doesnt care and actually does things to make gas prices worse and a bunch of greedy oil barrons running a monopoly on a resource the entire world NEEDS to run....we're stuck...

If oli companies make 10 cents a gallon for: buying an oil lease, drilling and hope they find oil, pump it, tansport it and refine if and make $billions and the govts, don't do anything for it but tax it and are losing $ trillions.. WHY don't we fire/replace Congress with the CEOs of the oil companies?

Obamanomics.  Mmm, mmm, mmm. 

my bet is the beginning of hyper-inflation.

Greed is why gas is high.  The oil company's use other countries fighting eash other & hurricanes as a reason to raise gas prices so they can make more money.  When the new year rolls in and they release their reports they will have made a profit.  Of course a company wants to make a profit, they don't want to come in less than the year before so they have to use disasters as a way to do it.  The sad thing is is that countries in the Middle East are going to fight each other til the end of time.   And the President can't do anything, Bush didn't do anything either.  The answer is getting off oil and using natural gas and using solar or wind for power.  This will reduce demand for oil powered energy.  And therefore gas won't be so high.  If the demand for gas isn't there they will have to reduce the price. 

Because it is more expensive than it was yesterday and the day before,  and the day before,  and the day before,  and the day before,  and the day before,  and the day before,  and so on, far into the night....