The sky is falling! The sky is ... oh wait

Last month, high gas prices, then running $4 bucks a gallon or more, prompted near pandemonium in the press. If you were a visiting Extraterrestrial (or European) and flipped on cable news, you'd think nationwide rioting and economic collapse were imminent. Could armed insurrection be far off? And politicos just knew President Obama's reelection was doomed as a result. After all, as the conservatives relentlessly reminded us, it was all Obama's fault anyway. In short, the sky was falling. Except it never did. Today, according to the Associated Press: "Gasoline prices are falling fast. In the past 7 weeks, the average U.S. retail prices has dropped 38 cents to $3.60 per gallon. Another 25-cent drop is expected by mid-July. Oil peaked at $114 per barrel in April. It's now at $91 per barrel after a 2 percent drop this week." Moreover, even when prices are high at the gas pump, they are still artificially low compared to the rest of the world. We've watched the cyclic rise and fall of gas prices for decades. Nothing fundamental has changed (including our refusal to quit our addiction to oil). Yet we never seem to tire of doing our "sky is falling" Kabuki dance. I guess it's easier than facing the music and tackling the real problem.