Manipulate this: Why gas prices need to go up

President Bush's recent announcement that he would initiate an investigation into potential price manipulation by oil companies is ludicrous. Besides the fact that the prices at the pump in all likelihood were rigged--hey, that's why we had an oil man as president in the first place, right?!--the manipulation began at least three decades ago, when artificially low oil prices enabled--manipulated--an unsustainable and wasteful lifestyle that's coming back to haunt us.

Ask Europeans and they will not understand what the fuzz is about. Three dollars or more per gallon? Hello, welcome to the real world, this is what most other countries have been paying for a long time. That's the reason why many of these countries have a functioning public transport system and a low-energy infrastructure ranging from energy-efficient houses to cars with a gas-mileage rate that the US administration would like to classify if it could.

So, manipulate this, Mr. Prez and watch while gas prices are going higher, which they very well should. The worst thing that could happen is that Congress tries to mitigate the impact of rising energy costs on the American consumer. It would not solve the problem, but prolong the suffering. A four dollar per gallon price, however, might initate the public outcry--or, dare I say, REVOLUTION so desperately needed by this country.