Lugar: Gas prices will continue to rise.

"U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar predicted the gasoline prices will continue to rise. "Supply and demand is likely to drive the price right on up as long as I live and you live," Lugar told the Louisville World Affairs Council. On the production of bio fuels, Lugar said, "If we were serious about it, we would have done it a long time ago and we would be using it now."

Ok, he's right about demand being at record levels, but at some point we need to face the fact that oil companies are playing with the supply levels, closing refineries for "repair" and refusing to build new refineries. If this was completely tied to oil prices then net profits would be equal to before, higher prices offset by higher costs. But instead oil companies are showing record profits, $7.6 billion alone for Exxon Mobile, for the quarter. So clearly this isn't an issue of crude oil costs alone.

As for the argument that this is free trade functioning as it should? That's a fine argument when it isn't also a matter of public safety/ national security. When gas prices rise they rise for everybody, police and fire departments included. National security? The #1 consumer of gas in the US is the pentagon, when prices go up after budgets are set public agencies have to cut costs somewhere else. So is Exxon making $100 million a day really worth the cost to public safety?

The GOP's answer to the problem of high gas prices? They gave the oil companies a $500 million dollar tax break.