LANSING – With record-high gas prices looming, State Representative Gino H. Polidori (D-Dearborn) throws his support behind a resolution calling on President Bush to back a cap on excessive oil company profits. The resolution follows efforts by Governor Jennifer M. Granholm to sound the alarm about the way the price of gas is punishing working families and harming an already struggling auto industry.
"When people pay $3 or more per gallon of gas, it determines how often they drive and even whether or not they buy a car," Polidori said. "The state's economy is getting hammered by soaring gas prices, while billion-dollar corporations make record-breaking profits. It is time for a change. The status quo isn't working for working families. President Bush and other Washington leaders must stand up to these corporations and offer the people of Michigan some relief at the gas pumps."
Polidori points out that the resolution also is meant to help our local gas station owners, who are struggling with high costs, as well.
"Many gas stations in Dearborn and throughout Michigan are locally owned and operated," Polidori said. "When the price of a barrel of oil shoots past the $70 mark, they're hurting, too."
Polidori noted that oil prices have increased 240 percent since President Bush, a former oil executive, was inaugurated in January 2001. The average price for unleaded gasoline is 64 cents higher than this time last year. Those increases have come despite Exxon Mobile reporting a $36.1 billion profit, making it one of the most lucrative corporations in the world – larger than the next four companies on the Forbes 500 list combined.