If one listens to Congress and many other public voices debate high energy costs one would think that the oil and gas industry is evil. We’re pretty friendly towards oil companies at our house. I’ve worked for a major producer and sat on the other side of the table on the Alaska Royalty Oil and Gas Board. What stands out to me is the poor understanding of economics by many Americans. If we don’t have a good understanding of economics and supply and demand and speculation how can we make effective policy to ensure affordable energy?

So in the interest of improving economic understanding I recommend two resources. The first is the website Energy Tomorrow. On this site the oil industry presents its case and I guarantee it will be very different from what is heard on any mainstream headline news.

Second, check out a new book by Richard McKenzie, Why Popcorn Costs so Much at the Movies. I can still hear my Economics prof saying that "prices contain lots of information." It’s true and we can learn a lot about why things cost what they do in Dr. McKenzie’s book.

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