Thanks, Ben

You may wonder why oil prices have more than doubled from their lows this past year, when demand is not growing much or at all. This rise is pushing up the cost of gasoline, acting as anti-stimulus tax increase. Moreover, it is increasing the money flowing to nations like Iran, Russia, and Venenzuela and making it easier for them to oppose America.

The staggering monetary easing by the Federal Reserve under Chairman Ben Bernake is to blame. The Fed is keeping interest rates at all-time lows and flooding the financial system with cash, and one consequence is that the money is bidding up the price of gold, oil, and other assets. Investors have an incentive to move money from money market investments that pay little or no return, or borrow money at low rates, and invest in assets with the hoped-for higher returns.

The Fed is creating bubbles around the world, and while the monetary easing will do far more to aid in recovery than Obama's "stimulus" bill, we are paying a high price for its actions.