Pumping gas

Fuel prices are the No. 1 topic of conversation almost anywhere you go these days. Motorists, pizza deliverers, truckers and airlines are all feeling the pinch -- and making adjustments. It appears fuel users are finding ways to reduce consumption. Oil demand has dropped 5 percent or more since prices skyrocketed. Sales of good-mileage autos are strong. Workers are forming car pools. Some of us are choosing to walk or bike instead of driving a car or truck. And interest in motorized scooters is spiking.

This week Congress beat back a Democratic proposal to impose a tax surcharge on Big Oil's profits. Imposing such taxes to benefit consumers doesn't work. Oil companies would likely pass the tax increase along to consumers, making them spend more dollars on gasoline, not less.

And the political ploy in the Democratic proposal for taxing profits was clear from the start. Despite the measure's defeat, the tactic gives Democratic candidates in this fall's elections a club to wield on all those who voted against the plan, making them out to be in favor of high fuel prices.

For the most part, recent increases in the prices of petroleum and of many grocery items are as much a result of market speculation as anything else. Most long-range forecasts indicate the speculator bubble will burst later this year, with oil prices -- and prices at the pump -- retreating a bit and relieving some of the pressure on consumers.

Meanwhile the high oil prices are spurring renewed interest in alternative fuels and in the development of more nuclear power, a shift already well underway in most developed nations of the world other than the U.S.

Meanwhile, it's good lesson for all of us to learn: It's not reasonable to assume there will always be cheap gas to put in the tank.