Higher prices at the grocery store, gas station and every place else we shop at or go out to for entertainment!

As we all know, these prices all rise on a weekly basis and on gasoline a daily basis. We are told all kinds of reasons for this constant ebb upwards in INFLATION. Some media forces even try to tell us the rate of this ebb upwards has ended. Evidently those that are telling us this do not do their own shopping. Those of us who go to the store, on a budget, know full well that they are badly mistaken.

The reasons they give us are higher wages and that it costs more for materials. As for the recent inflation in gasoline we are told the cost of oil per barrel is the major reason.

Let's look at the reason of higher wages. Many corporations are laying off employees in large numbers, as this is being written, in order to compromise for the high cost of commodities needed to make their products. By doing this they feel they can keep their retail prices in check. Pepsico announced last week that they are laying off 4,000 employees for this reason. But will it help? My feeling is it WILL NOT.

Now about the Gasoline. We all know as consumers that if oil goes down $5.00 a barrel, we might, if we are lucky, see gasoline drop a couple of cents per gallon which will not help much. Mainly because the more we buy the more has to be trucked.

My personal feelings as to why the upward spiral of inflation continues is because of the cost of moving products and the raw materials to make them. Everything we consume is moved by Diesel Fuel. Yes, even our gasoline is delivered by ship, train and eighteen wheelers. This is true for every single item, food, drink or material item you see in your home, work place or business establishment. As long as the high cost of diesel fuel continues the higher everything will go.

I am 68 years old and for as long as I can remember the cost of diesel fuel was always much lower than gasoline. I was told the reason for that was it wasn't refined like gasoline. I have no idea what year the change took place, but today diesel fuel is up to 10 cents more per gallon than the gas for our cars. As long as this goes on, the upward spiral of inflation will continue. The Government, Oil companies and Media have totally stayed away from this topic. It is basically like swept under the rug.

This last Saturday though, a reporter at CNN was at a gas station reporting on the weekend cost of gas per gallon. As part of her report she went to a truck stop and filmed the pump as a trucker was going over $450.00 for his diesel fuel fill-up. His comment to her was, “ Ma'am, all this expensive fuel is really being paid for by the consumers of the goods I am hauling in this truck.”

So the bottom line is, in my opinion, the rate of inflation will continue as long as the cost of diesel fuel is out of line. Also that, unless the media and other powers that be keep the cost of diesel fuel from being discussed nothing will be done about bringing the price per gallon down.

This is As Mike OCs It anyway.