Drill now to save our economy

The price of oil on July 7, 2008, was $147 a barrel. Our national gas prices were $4.11 per gallon then. On April 30, 2011, the oil prices were $113 a barrel, and the national gas prices are $4.19. This doesn't make any sense.

You hear the talk about buying cars with better gas mileage, but does anyone really believe this will help? Everything that is carried to our stores have added surcharges for the increase in gas prices. I don't believe that driving a 40 mpg car is going to make up the difference of our goods and services tripling.

Our president has said we can drill more places, but has put so much red tape (in order to drill "safely") that it could take years, if ever, to get started. I agree that we cannot drill ourselves out of the energy crisis, but we sure can not-drill ourselves into bankruptcy.

If you think the economy is bad so far, wait until the price of gas hits $5 or $6 a gallon. Alternative fuels are fine, but drill now, get prices down, save the economy, and while that is happening find new fuel sources. If something doesn't happen soon, we are headed for an absolute catastrophe.

TERRY WARMACK, Scott City