Please don't turn this into a political thread. I'd really like this thread to continue and not be wiped because a few people ranted and others got offended and ranted back.
IMO, prices are the way they are because we have a free-market society and Big Business charges us what the market will bear. Not because of who's in office.
You may disagree with me, but I started the thread more to share information and price trends around the country (and in other countries, since we're lucky enough to have members in Canada, France, Australia, and elsehwere), and to swap tips for coping with the prices. Okay, and to vent, too. But not to start a political debate.