Heartache at the Pump: A Texas-sized Problem

From my kangaroo-skinned cowboy boots to my use of the word "ya'll," I'm an easy target of the Texas stereotype.

I grew up in Lone Star State, so that must mean I love barbecue, the Dallas Cowboys, and pickup trucks.  And I love  my pickup truck.  I love my beloved truck even when I'm forced to fill the tank.  Although when my bill topped out at about eighty dollars last week, I about coughed up my slow-smoked beef brisket.

According to Triple A, the average price of gasoline in the Nutmeg State (I'm a transplant now...) is $4.05.  That's harder to swallow than a rusty spur on a worn boot.  Four dollars?  Long gone are the days when a gallon of gas was cheaper than a strong cup of coffee.  (I remember filling up in Texarkana in 1997 for .87!!!)

But don't be fooled that this is a simple case of supply and demand.  Gene Guilford is with the Independent Connecticut Petroleum Association.  He knows energy markets as well as I know good sauce.   In an interview I conducted Monday afternoon, he told me two pieces of information relating to our oil/gas situation that were as surprising as snow in Austin.

"Over the last four years, Americans have used less gasoline.  Gasoline consumption, actually, declined two and a half percent last year alone," Guilford said from his Cromwell office.  "That four year period, Jamie, is the first time since World War II that there's been a contraction in the consumption of gasoline." 

But Gene wasn't done yet.  He moved on to the Harry Truman presidency.

"For the first time in 62 years, America has become a net exporter  of petroleum products." 

The answer to why this is happening is as clear as a Texas cowbell.  The problem, he says, lies where the bell tolls in New York - Wall Street.  Speculation.

"There's no human being that can tell you that domestically, it's because we don't have enough product, that it's in the wrong place, that a refinery isn't operating, that something is wrong with a pipeline," Guilford said.  "Even to the extent of last week, there was a news story that said while the United States Department of Energy had told Wall Street what I just told you, Wall Street said, 'I don't believe it, we don't believe gas consumption is going down.'" 

Let the stampede of prices continue.  It's out of control, and we could easily see prices inflate to more than $4.50 a gallon in the coming months...maybe even higher.

The 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act was designed to control inflated prices.  It was passed so the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) would have better oversight into oil and commodity markets.  The idea was to table excessive speculation.  But Guilford says that lawsuits against the Dodd-Frank Act are slowing down any benefit the consumer will see. 

A few years ago, when gas hit about $4.70 in Connecticut, I got rid of my truck for a (gasp!) four-door sedan.  I kept it about two years, until my desire for another truck was as strong and constant as a Texas pump jack.  I'm not getting rid of my truck as prices continue to climb, but I do wish for some relief - the kind you get during a cool Texas fall, when the dog-days of summer are but a painful memory.  And when it comes to pain at the pump, we'll take any kind of memory, as long as it's in the past.   

"We've got to get the speculation out of these markets because it's hurting the American economy," Guilford said.  

Dream a little dream: I just want some sleep

A lack of sleep can make you say and do the strangest things.

A lack of sleep can make you say and do the strangest things.  (Wait a minute, didn’t I just say that???)

Looking back on the first years of our marriage, my wife and I laugh at how we would whimper out of bed at 9:30 in the morning.  “Good Lord!  It’s early, too early!   The rooster is still asleep, isn’t he?”

But then somewhere, the decision was made to have kids, and sleeping in late meant that there’s a chance you might actually arise after the sun showers us with a soft warm glow.  Now, with a nine-month old baby who still hasn’t figured out how to sleep through the night, a good night’s rest is at a premium.

As it turns out, we are not alone.  A recent Center for Disease Control report illustrates that more than eleven percent of respondents say they didn’t have a single day where they felt they got enough sleep.  (Sorry girls, but women get less sleep than men.)

Then the researchers brought up the really good news.  A lack of sleep leads to mental and physical health problems including obesity, depression, anxiety, and diabetes.  One way to avoid that risk, doctors say, is by getting at least seven to nine hours of sleep a night.

I’d have a better chance of having a picnic on the moon.  

Personally, there have been some valued lessons for me in this period of forced insomnia:

1. I’ve watched so many “infomercials,” I know how to be fit, cleanse my skin, and cut a shoe with a steak knife for just $19.95.
2. It is possible to catch a power nap at a red light.
3. A sea of coffee doesn’t make me jittery, it’s just that I feel I need to carry around my own personal urinal because my kidneys are working overtime.
4. My ability to hold my own in a debate continues to falter. “That’s stupid!  “No, YOU shut up!”  “I know you are, but what am I???”

My mother reminds me that there will be a time when I will look back on this period of my life longingly.  For now, I’m considering taking a job at a mattress store, because I hear the benefits are amazing. 

Good night.