It should be and the only reason people say it shouldn't is because of the "hippie part 2" Revelation that everything must be green. Emissions are the sole reason these twats want high prices/less use. Unfortunately, their science tends to be very loose to say the least. They have no real proof that our cars are causing any of the changes we see now.
People didn't become green because they give a damn, they became green because the high prices forced them to more frugal vehicles, and they latched on to the green train as a side effect-a feel good factory. These same two mouth talkers drove trucks 5 years ago, and are now spewing their holier than thou crap on the rest of us.
If you want to be green, without any proof that you're accomplishing anything except funding the new green business revolution, but a Prius. Just leave the rest of us alone.
And don't even get me started on more taxes to lower use. Guess what? Those evil vehicles you feel so inclined to throw a gas guzzler tax at, ALREADY pay a gas guzzler tax in the form of paying for more gas...and the tax that is already on it.
So yes. Oil should be cheaper. Not necessarily cheap, but cheaper. I say it should be around $60/bbl. 5 years ago that price would have pissed everyone off, now it looks like an impossible dream. I also think these new CAFE regulations are a GOOD thing. If someone wants to drive a truck, so be it, but don't just buy one because the neighbor has one. Don't be a trend.
Without regulations, we'd all go back to Hummers if gas went back to $2.50. CAFE regulations would stop this, or slow it down a lot.
If we ignore personal transport completely, we still have the fact that high oil means expensive everything. It's a BS market. Oil goes up, so does every other fuel, even non oil based ones. Your food costs more, your kids toys cost more, hell, even condoms were more expensive than a year ago.
So how can there be any talk of oil being expensive a positive factor? How can anyone say that lower standards of living are good?
If we impose a minimum price on things like this, we might as well live in China, a free country doesn't have "minimum prices".