As Americans get raped by big oil, the companies pull in record profits, and their executives earn hitherto unheard of amounts of money we little people simply can not fathom, all of which I already mentioned just yesterday, there is finally a stirring in the federal government outside of the empty lip service regurgitated by Dubya.

As American drivers shell out more and more money at the pump with each passing day, some are asking whether big oil companies are scheming to withhold supplies in order to boost prices.

New York Senator Charles Schumer, speaking in front of a Hess station in Manhattan, called Tuesday for a federal investigation to see if oil companies and refiners are deliberately withholding gasoline production, taking advantage of the normal switch from winter gas to summer gas in an attempt to bid up prices.

“The bottom line is they are producing at 85 percent capacity when they should be producing over 90 percent,” said Schumer. “Are they scaling back production? Only by subpoenaing the companies and looking in their books will we get that answer.”

It rings hollow from Republicans like Bush when they sing of concern about rising energy prices.  Democrats, on the other hand, are not in big oil’s back pockets and can therefore croon a different ditty.  In this case, they truly are on the side of the American people, those from whom millions are being taken at the pump, in their home energy bills, and via higher prices in many places where rising fuel costs are impacting shipping, flying, and a great many other domino-effected aspects of life.  In fact, you may have noticed the significant rally on Wall Street yesterday in light of the disturbing news about oil prices.  What caused the jump in stocks?  The market knew with the fuel-related reports that federal interest rates would not be increased to slow economic growth because that result is already being seen in direct response to astronomical energy costs.

Think about it:

The average price of a gallon of regular gasoline reached $2.79 Tuesday, just 26 cents shy of its all time high of $3.05, which was reached last August in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, according to AAA (formerly known as the American Automobile Association).

And the summer driving season is just beginning, which could mean Americans will end up paying even higher prices by June or July.

Already, Americans on a whole are spending $212 million more per day on gasoline than they spent last year, and $522 million more per day than they spent in 2002, according to the Oil Price Information Service, publisher of an industry newsletter.

Market analysts know interest rates need not be used to reign in economic momentum.  The rapidly approaching energy crisis can do that job just fine without federal intervention, something to which they generally react poorly, hence the rally.  What many are ignoring however, including Schumer, is the threat of this year’s hurricane season and what impact it may have on the oil industry.

[Bill Bush, a spokesman for the American Petroleum Institute], said refineries are only operating at 85 percent capacity because some are still recovering from last fall’s hurricanes along the Gulf Coast. He added that some refineries are undergoing more maintenance than usual this spring – maintenance that was put off following the hurricanes in order to avoid taking the refineries off-line at the time.

If that is true and we continue suffering under the shadows of last year’s hurricane season, can you imagine where prices will go with the summer driving season fast approaching, this year’s hurricane season not yet underway, the skyrocketing price of oil, and the companies’ continuing greed for record-setting profits?  Yes, we are going to get screwed, and I mean in a way we could never before imagine.

It is disheartening to know Schumer’s request may in the final analysis be nothing more than political maneuvering.

A spokesman for The Federal Trade Commission, which is the agency that would look into Schumer’s request, said it will take the senator’s letter seriously and will respond appropriately, although the spokesman couldn’t give a timeline or any other information because the agency had yet to review the letter.

However, the FTC spokesman did point out that two previous investigations into unfair business practices by the oil industry conducted in 2000 and 2001 turned up no evidence of wrongdoing.

Results of another investigation, centered around price fixing in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, are expected next month.

It looks good on paper and the American people undoubtedly see it as fighting for the little guy, yet historical evidence shows continuing investigations yielded nothing in these cases.  Sure, big oil is raping and pillaging at will, but there appears to be nothing the government can or will do about it.

But the story does not end there.  You see, Bush’s régime and rubber-stamping Repugnican Congress have given the oil companies billions in free giveaways at the taxpayers’ expense.

“As Americans pay almost 90 percent more to fill their gas tanks since President Bush took office, oil companies continue to reap gigantic profits and oil executives receive astronomical compensation. Record prices, record retirement packages, and record profits are just the latest example of the wealthy few benefiting at the expense of hard-working Americans under the Bush Administration.

“The Republican Rubber Stamp Congress has passed two energy bills, costing taxpayers $12 billion for giveaways to big oil companies. But the Republican bills clearly have done nothing to lower gas prices, as the price of a barrel of oil has settled above $70 a barrel – the highest price in our history. Even the Chairman of the Federal Reserve agrees that gas prices are decreasing the purchasing power of American families and depressing the U.S. economy.

“Democrats have a plan to lower gas prices, taking America in a new direction that works for everyone, not just the few. Our plan would empower the Federal Trade Commission to crack down on price gouging to help bring down skyrocketing gas prices, increase production of alternative fuels, and rescind the billions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies, tax breaks, and royalty relief given to big oil and gas companies.”

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi has a great idea in that regard.  It is not the discovery of possible price gouging that will change the course of this crisis (although, if such is occurring, resolving that issue would certainly help), but instead it is the reversal of the billions of dollars this administration is giving to big oil while at the same time those same companies report record profits in the billions and executive incomes in the hundreds of millions.  Ultimately, it is not just the price at the pump, on the bill, or at the store that is stealing from our pockets; it also is the excessive taxes we are paying to augment the fuel industry when they themselves admit to profit margins beyond any seen before.

The situation will only get worse in the next several months.  If something is not done now, this may well cause the next recession.