Oil, gas, predictable cynicism

I don't drive, much. Almost not at all. I don't have to. I live in a geographically compact city with a great public transport system -- arguably the best in the world. So, for me to say that I see certain benefits to the current "crisis" of high gas/petrol prices, which I do, is to cut an unsympathetic figure. There are so many people suffering, financially, because of the situation. And that's bad. But so is all the damage done by cheap gas/petrol. But before we go all "Middle East crisis" on the whole thing, let's make sure we remember that there is more than one choke point in the value chain between hole-in-the-ground and gas-tank. The article at the link, below, points out that the refiners in the United States have extraordinary market power and can control prices -- read "make them higher" -- without even having to collude. They can just do nothing, and prices will rise because, well, they're doing nothing. The article also happens to be written by a guy who dated not one, but two of my exes back in college. Nothing unusual about an old refinery. From the New Yorker.