(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – A large majority of adults in the United States believe collusion is responsible for recent fuel hikes, according to a poll by Scripps Howard News Service and Ohio University. 80 per cent of respondents think it is likely that oil companies are conspiring to keep gasoline prices high.
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – A large majority of adults in the United States believe collusion is responsible for recent fuel hikes, according to a poll by Scripps Howard News Service and Ohio University. 80 per cent of respondents think it is likely that oil companies are conspiring to keep gasoline prices high.
According to the American Automobile Association (AAA), the national average cost of a gallon of fuel reached a record high on May 24 at $3.22 U.S. The average price at the end of November is $3.08 U.S., up from $2.24 U.S. in November 2006.
Earlier this month, in an interview with Fortune, Chevron CEO David O’Reilly explained the recent peak in oil prices, saying, "Demand for oil has caught up with supply. It’s very hard to justify any specific price, but we believe that prices will stay high because of growth in the developing world. In India you’ve seen almost 9 per cent annual growth for five years. You’ve seen the impact of the population, the number of people who are driving cars, the amount of energy they’re using to drive their industries, the improvement in quality of life. We’re seeing that around the developing world, and that’s what’s driving oil prices."
The survey also asked Americans to rate the likelihood of three conspiracy theories. 62 per cent of respondents think the federal administration had specific warnings about the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, but decided to ignore them; 42 per cent believe some people in the federal government knew about the assassination of U.S. president John F. Kennedy in advance; and 33 per cent say the federal administration is hiding the truth about flying saucers.
Al-Qaeda operatives hijacked and crashed four airplanes in the U.S. on Sept. 11, 2001, killing nearly 3,000 people. In July 2004, the federal commission that investigated the events of 9/11 concluded that "none of the measures adopted by the U.S. government from 1998 to 2001 disturbed or even delayed the progress of the al-Qaeda plot" and pointed out government failures of "imagination, policy, capabilities, and management."
Kennedy was shot and killed in Dallas, Texas on Nov. 22, 1963, less than three years into his presidency. Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested and charged with the crime, but was gunned down himself two days later by Jack Ruby. A commission chaired by chief justice Earl Warren concluded that Kennedy’s assassination had been the act of a lone gunman, a view that has since been disputed in several books and motion pictures.
Polling Data
Here are several serious accusations that some people have made against the federal government in recent years. Please tell me if you think each of these is likely or unlikely.
|
Likely |
Unlikely |
|
|
Oil companies are conspiring to keep gasoline prices high |
80% |
14% |
|
The federal government had specific warnings about the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, but decided to ignore them |
62% |
30% |
|
Some people in the federal government knew about the assassination of President Kennedy in advance |
42% |
40% |
|
Flying saucers are real and the federal government is hiding the truth about them from us |
33% |
55% |
Source: Scripps Howard News Service / Ohio University
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 811 American adults, conducted from Sept. 24 to Oct. 10, 2007. Margin of error is 4 per cent.
