Idea to decrease the cost of oil

If the NYTimes is correct and it's true that "pension funds, Wall Street banks and other large investors that have no intention on taking delivery of fuel have increasingly pumped money into contracts for oil and other commodities as a hedge against inflation when the dollar falls," then I have a suggestion for battling the cost of gas.

The idea comes right from Ron Paul's new book as he explains how the federal government is bigger than it needs to be:

A federal Department of Education, for example, is an insult to the American people, who are more than capable of running their own schools without being looted to support a national education bureaucracy. We would get by just fine without it, as indeed Americans did for most of the twentieth century, a period when -- by just a coincidence? -- the population was far better educated than it is now. In fact, given the Department of Education's sorry record, if I truly opposed learning and knowledge I would propose tripling its budget.

If we adopted a sensible policy like this, the very announcement would restore strength to the dollar. And the more we lived within our means, the less inflation we would have and the less the poor and middle class would suffer, since there would be less pressure on the Fed to monetize debt.

I firmly believe that our irresponsible fiscal policy is a big driver of inflation and agree with Ron Paul that until we get our fiscal house in order... it will continue to be a factor in money fleeing the US dollar.

Tim White