Summer 2000
FTLComm - Tisdale - June 29, 2000
A 5.8% increase in one jump would suggest that the world has run out of petroleum, but no we can check the calendar and see the ugly face of greed. For indeed it is summer.

This is the second day in a row that the temperature is suitable for making my wilted tomato plants perk up a little. Schools all over the province are closing their doors, Tisdale held their grad last night and the price of gas has gone up, all certain signs of summer.

Fast Gas is 72.9, Seven-Eleven is 72.9, ESSO 72.5 and the Shell downtown is 68.9 this morning at 8:30.

For those who believe that there is a free market system and that the law of supply and demand is healthy and the major contributor to fairness in what is referred to as a "Capitalist system", this should be something to consider. One of the fundamental goals of capital ventures is to establish either a monopoly or a cartel that will in effect, produce the same results. The oil producing nations of the world are disatisfied with the free market and long ago abandoned it in favour of a much more comfortable condition where they agree upon production levels. The oil companies like this arrangement as well as it allows them to charge whatever the consumer is willing to pay. Supply and demand are not involved as the price of crude now is about the same as during the Gulf war and prices and profits are substantially higher.

The long weekend in both Canada and the United States is an excellent time to make some big profits. The consumer has already made their travel plans, they may complain a bit but so what else in new. Get them with an almost 6% price increase even though the OPEC cartel is increasing production levels and much of the petroleum being sold right now was produced when the price of crude was at an all time low.

The good news is that the weather is pleasant. Children can have fun, I can smell the flowers, neither of which will require blackmail at the gas pumps.

This morning I had a fine breakfast at Hannigans (bacon, eggs the works including coffee $3.75) and noticed something that is unusual for these times when the average family is 2.5 children. With the eldest boy perhaps eleven, a famly was having breakfast before they began what was clearing going to be a tough day for them. With a toddler of just around a year old, including mom and dad, they only needed one more to make a ball team. The family had stopped over for the night here in Tisdale at a motel, parked their U-Haul rental and mini-van out front as this family is on the move. Four sons and two daughter and a lot of dreams and hopes.