As I was pumping fuel into my car a few weeks ago I was thinking "Isn't this nice? 80-ish cents a litre! Perhaps things are beginning to turn the corner and I'll be able to completely fill the tank without taking out a loan this summer."

But I must have been dreaming. As I fill up today, the price is well more than $1 and summer seems a long way off. Can someone, anyone, explain why the price has gone up by 20 per cent over the past few weeks? Why do the oil giants and governments that regulate them enjoy seemingly limitless amounts of cash while the rest of us suffer?

I cannot think of another product or service where so few win (and win big) and so many lose. And why do we continue to put up with it?

Glenn Williams