Big Oil has never before orchestrated a fuel crisis for their personal gain.
Except that time in the 70's.
If by "Big Oil" you mean the Muslim/Arab nations that comprise "OPEC," then you are largely correct. The 1973 energy crisis was due to the Arab countries cutting production and refusing to ship to nations that supported Israel.
If, however, by "Big Oil" you mean the corporations that receive oil from sources such as OPEC (ie, Shell, Mobil, Exxon, etc.), you are incorrect. They were at the mercy of OPEC, the same as everyone else.
Furthermore, the "crisis" was exacerbated when the government imposed price controls and rationing in a typical kneejerk populist response, further reducing supply.
...they supplied most of the world with its oil. Therefore, by simple economics, the cut in the supply of oil without the same cut in demand caused the price of oil to drive up globally.
Please do your homework before you post.
Actually, I did. The Big Book of the '70's from Paradox Press [says that] in the 70's, the government's general accounting office found that oil companies overcharged the consumer by at least $2 billion.
You...just...cited....a
comic book....as your source for your claim?
Good plan, Snarf. I assume you also think those oil companies were owned by Tony Stark, Lex Luthor and Bruce Wayne?
But, seriously, you seem to have misread your comic book, or it misstated the timeline of your comic book's allegation.
The finding that oil companies "overcharged" was not a finding that the oil companies caused the oil shortage, nor was it a finding that the companies' "overcharges" were the direct result of the shortage.
After the oil crisis began, the Nixon administration and congress made the boneheaded decision to impose price controls on the industry. Those controls
further contributed to shortages.
However, once the price controls were enacted, a number of oil companies (and other companies) were charged with "overcharging" under the price control law (see, eg, the decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in
SINCLAIR OIL CORPORATION and LITTLE AMERICA REFINING COMPANY v ABRAHAM). Violations of the price controls were subject to civil penalties.
That may demonstrate that oil companies, like any other company, sometimes violate the law. No one has disputed that point.
However, as noted above, it doesn't show that the oil companies caused the 1970s energy crisis, or even that they manipulated the market. It merely shows that certain companies, in response to the shortages caused by OPEC, broke a well-intentioned, but ultimately counterproductive, statute.
I hope that helps clear things about. Now maybe you can hurry off to this year's
Grassroots festival and rail against the "Little Eichmans".
