LETTER: Oil repercussions
Published 1:30 am Saturday, May 30, 2026
While 99 percent of us are burned by high gasoline prices, oil companies are raking in extra profit.
It’s not as though their costs have gone up; they’re playing the market because they can.
So-called windfall profits are strategic when you know where and when to invest, and it’s illegal when it’s insider trading.
That’s the game now that supply is controlled and the free market isn’t free.
Our Republican president has lost interest in the free market.
Why bother, after successfully grabbing power and influence to unilaterally start/pause/stop the supply of oil through the Strait of Hormuz and tariffs, offshore wind, voting rights, lawsuits, war and so much more.
Trump has a disincentive to take actions that would ease the high cost of gas for regular consumers.
I blame a morally corrupt Congress and the Supreme Court, too, and am aware we need to drain Trump’s swamp in November.
In the meantime, the way for regular people to play the market is by reducing demand.
If you need to drive and haven’t already, explore switching to an electric vehicle or hybrid and avoid lining the pockets of dirty energy oligarchs.
Our region has some of the cheapest, cleanest electricity in the nation, and the cost of a gently used EV can be a bargain even compared to a gas car.
Ann Soule
Sequim
