I think the answer is a combination of B & C. While the image of greedy oil company people deliberately keeping prices high is a temporary emotional relief to our frustrations, the proposed "solutions" aimed at punishing them is misguided. The very idea of price gouging to economists is dubious. Ever try telling an astronaut that the moon is made of blue cheese and they will laugh at you.

Cars and paved roads are seen as progress over horses and dirt roads. The interstate is seen as progess over trains. Surely the progressives didn't suggest that these were foolproof systems. After all, they were created by humans who are at best imperfect. Horses and dirt on the other hand were not created by humans. Yet they are seen as "wild" or substandard. I think at the very least we need to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. There is one benefit to high gas prices and that is it motivates us to do things differently or to seek out solutions. There have been developments in fuel cell technology, hydrogen, etc... The biggest obstacles are bringing them up to the level of being efficient and cost effective and these take time.

Then there is the issue of inflation. What causes inflation? According to the media elites(namely corporate media), CEOs and merchants cause inflation. Higher prices causes people to buy and consume less. Ever hear of a CEO whose goal was to decrease sales by a certain amount? The board of directors would vote for someone else. Let's face it, while gasoline prices are high compared to the past(my grandfather could have bought a gallon for 23 cents), they are cheap compared to the prices of say houses or clothing. The government itself is most responsible for the higher prices. It pays sugar cane growers to NOT grow more sugar cane and dairy farmers to NOT produce more milk thus reducing supply. When the demand is the same or increased and the supply is lower, prices go up. So much for price gouging. Add on top of that, the dollar itself has loss about 95% of its value since the Federal Reserve started operating in 1913. Simply put, a dollar in 1913 has the purchasing power of a nickel. Or a product that cost $1 in 1913 would be about $20 today. If you and I were to print money out of thin air, we would still have to work doing hard labor in a federal pen for counterfeiting. Yet the Fed does it daily and it is deemed to be a socially responsible organization.

Likewise, as with energy efficiency, there has also been developments in the area of currency. More than 50 communities issue their own currencies such as the Itacha Hours. On a national level, the Liberty Dollar has been issued for almost eight years now. These also take time to the point where enough people are aware of them to make the breakthrough. Over the coming years, these currencies are going to become crucial as the U.S. dollar edges towards zero.