The debate over skyrocketing gas prices and what impact, if any, that should have on auto insurance rates, made me realize that both oil and insurance are industries plagued by a glaring lack of understanding on the part of the public about basic economic facts–ignorance shamefully exploited by politicians like John McCain to create scapegoats and win votes.
The way Sen. McCain is pushing for more offshore oil drilling, you would think that all one has to do to “solve” the problem of rising fuel costs is to go to the beach, stick a straw in the sand and fill up your car with the gasoline spouting out of the ground.
Of course, this is total nonsense. The Department of Energy (reporting to an oil-friendly White House) readily admits it would take two decades for drilling in currently restricted areas to have any real impact on domestic production, and that the price charged for such oil would be subject to the global market.
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