the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
Feb 3, 2014
Many families in rural Michigan are dependent on propane gas for home and farm heating. With January cold and snow at record levels, propane gas has been getting harder and harder to come by and prices are escalating. Almost 800,000 people, or eight to ten percent of the Michigan population, are dependent on propane.
In a situation where families need more help, not less, to deal with the weather crisis, what does the for-profit system do? As shortages develop, the price of propane has gone from around $2 a gallon to $3.61 a gallon, the highest propane cost since 1990. And suppliers are pushing prices higher, some as high as $5.60 a gallon!
It is not enough that the U.S. and State of Michigan government officials call for penalties against price gouging. If they are going to allow companies to take a profit during the shortage, they should be forced to increase incomes to families and farmers to keep them from being impoverished and without heat.
Sound crazy? What’s crazy is encouraging oil companies to create shortages by making them profitable!