I just read a recent Luverne Star Herald and in the editorial section was a letter on the subject of oil prices and I felt I needed to respond to this. The writer was trying to tie in the price of oil with other products and in turn, rationalize the price of gas. The products that were mentioned were shelf products like Snapple drinks, Lipton tea, Ocean Spray, Gatorade, etc., pertaining to their cost. Now, these are all products that are bought by impulse or choice. They’re products you can walk away from with a certain amount of discipline and it won’t affect your dollar one way or another. Now with the price of oil and continued threat of higher prices, this can affect your dollar if it continues to record levels. Oil prices are the beginnings and ends to inflation, it starts or tames inflation, it affects world governments to the lowest form of government, the family.The letter goes on to say how the price of gas in Europe is $4.35 a gallon and we should feel lucky we have half the price. Here is where we all need a break! European markets don’t compare here. Their form of transportation is more subtle, like perhaps bikes, motor bikes and other similar styles. It is this form of tradition that most Europeans are not outraged at the price of gas or the outrage is measurably minimized. Bottom line, rising oil prices hurts the dollar and is a tool for inflation. These are confiscatory rates and everyone is affected by it. To think otherwise you have to be heavily invested in oil futures. We don’t need to make excuses for the price of oil and we don’t need to encourage it by trying to classify it. John HonermannMagnolia
