From the National Post, “Expect More Hikes At The Pump“:

“I don’t think government should fool people into thinking it can control the price of gas. It - generally speaking - can’t,” [Prime Minister] Stephen Harper told reporters during an announcement at a fruit farm in Southern Ontario. “These prices are set internationally. We are seeing increased prices around the world.”

Hear that, all you gas-station boycotters? You can love Harper, you can hate him; but what he speaks of is undoubtedly the logical truth, and you should listen. Taxation (or a proposed lack thereof), contrary to what the petrol companies would like you to believe, is only a small part of the total cost to fill up. The government can’t do anything to bring down or cap the price of gas, unless you’re a hardcore far-leftist and are in agreement of some plan to pay all your hard-earned income in taxes used to subsidize these ridiculous price drops. Fortunately, Canada is not that radically liberal (and have not supported such extremist ideals), but there are still a lot of idiots out there who seem to take to heart the belief that companies and the government should adjust for them. They rant loudly about how they’re the “consumer,” and that businesses cannot exist without them, yet ironically they continuously flock to the gas stations like there’s no tomorrow, save for maybe a day in a year when they stage an effective (sarcasm) boycott of certain or all gas stations.

But then again, maybe they have smartened up and have given up on boycotts and “strikes”…or maybe not, because some of them have resorted to praying to God. Can you believe this?! It’s so terribly un-Christian of these people to ask God to sustain their selfishness and greed. No, don’t pray for the hundreds of thousands who have died in recent natural disasters, pray for the money in my wallet to stay in longer while I fill up my Hummer! Maybe I should call up God, too, since the Super 7 Jackpot is $27 million this Friday. (P.S. As for the article, whichever political party offers “gas relief” is a stupid and lying party.)

I’m not going to re-iterate why gas boycotts and any “citizen action against high gas prices” won’t work because I already wrote about it a month ago, but I will say this:

The more it costs to fill up your tank, the BETTER it is, because

1. It encourages drivers to CONSERVE. You can’t eat your cake and have it, too. If you refuse to cut down on consumption, pay the price. Plain and simple.
2. It fuels interest in alternative energy sources and technology (though ethanol is not the right direction). Maybe soon enough, North Americans will smarten up and finally realize that diesel is infinitely better than petrol.

However, I must say that alternatives are only a temporary solution; humans being humans, we always find a way to exploit a resource — no matter what it is — to the point where it endangers us and our environments greatly (like fossil fuels today). There is no better answer to the crises we experience other than reducing what we use.

Read more: The Definition of LAME: Gas Price Strikes