Look, let us simplify.
The real reason that fuel prices, and consumer prices or doubling, is because the government has doubled the amount of the face value of currency in circulation. That is it.
Double the amount of currency? Half the value.
Simple, need I say more?
The only really way to take advantage of this fact?
By a home or car on credit.
How does this make you win?
History dictates that prices will only continue to rise as currency loses value.
If, you lock in the price of a car or home to day, you will be paying off the loan with dollars that are constantly losing value.
Thus, is you take into consideration that a 1980 dollar was worth the base of $1.00, yet is comparatively worth only $0.42 in 2006, you can see that you have taken advantage of the system in that you are actually paying less over time, by reason of inflation.
How is this true?
Well, consider this, the price of oil per barrel in 2006, jumped from $40 to $70 per barrel.
The price of gas accordingly went from around $2.00, to $3.20. (In CA.)
Now, the Price per barrel surged from $70 to $130+ dollars, yet the price per gallon of gas has only gone from $3.00 to $4.00.
The percentage of barrel as compared to the gallon increase in not linear.
So, what this means, is that most of the serious profit taking was done in the 40 to 70 dollar increase.
Don;t get me wrong, the oil refiners are still making a killing, because what fact that they ALWAYS leave out of the equation in their laundry list of excuses for our final cost increases at the pump, is the fact that no matter what the futures market claims is the price for a barrel of oil has NO impact on DOMESTIC oil production costs. It is merely a cost increase on PAPER.
Thus, they will always use the standard excuses to gouge us, until we learn once and for all, that the ONLY course of action that we truly have in our power to lower the end cost to us, the consumer, is to consume less fuel.
SO, what does this mean?
If a Americans continue to purchase vehicles that get less than 35MPG, and then complain about the expense of driving a vehicle that has only 13MPG economy, then they truly only have them selves to blame.
I for one, saw through the SUV/Big Truck scam, long before this (the only reason that the government relaxed fuel economy standards was to legitimize the increase in fuel prices) and never bought into the hype.
If ALL Americans would ignore the false solutions like 'bio-fuels' (which guarantee an increase in fuel AND food prices-good for the rich) hybrids (which guarantee that we pay for the R+D so that automakers do not have to, remember all electric cars? where'd they go? to the scrap yards), and just purchase smaller vehicles, that consume 66% less fuel (a car that has 35 MPG is 300% more economical than a vehicle that has 15 MPG) Then, even if gas rises to $6.00, you will be paying the equivalent of $3.00 a gallon because of reduced consumption.
It si simple people, consume less, pay less.
That is the real solution.
It does not require the added carbon to the atmosphere that bio-fuels does and IS, and it require NO new expensive technology.
