why..because oil companies are greedy and they know they can charge all they want and the public will pay.
but like mm said, in the old days people were complaining gas was too high, and it wasnt even a dollar..gas will always be "too high"..why? because you cant produce oil. Just dig it up. and inflation.
im not sure of the working world yet, but im kind of worried about the gas going up but the paychecks not, so it wouldnt balance out.