A couple of things, guys... Inflation rose by 6.3% last year. (And in reality, probably significantly higher--as they've changed the way they measure inflation.) So for all of us with money in the bank--even if it was in a higher yield savings account... We actually lost buying power. The fed is printing money like it's going out of style in hopes to thwart a recession. In reality--my bet is that they're only prolonging the inevitable, and likely making it worse.

In other news, the transit panel wants to increase gas taxes by 40 cents per gallon.

I don't know why our candidates aren't jumping all over this. McCain didn't even know that he supported a bill to ban light bulbs. (It's on tape--hilarious interview on a Michigan radio station.) Inflation is killing what we pay for oil, as well as reduce spending power for those of us who are fiscally responsible... (Seriously--if you look at the true cost of oil (sans our inflation), you'll be shocked.)

And the answer is such gosh-darn common sense. Scrap the income tax. Establish the Fair Tax. Begin drilling for our own damn oil, as anyone with a head knows that conservation won't help energy production--and the biofuel fad is a joke (as it only offers--at best--about a 5:1 energy return). Corn ethanol actually offers a negative EROEI, and drives up food prices--hurting those who need it most. Oil can have up to 30:1 or so. The failures in logic simply astound me. We are hurting ourselves on par with what any foreign country could do at this point.

*Sigh* Damned hippies...