Who's to Blame for $4-a-Gallon Gas?

Gasoline costs a lot in the U.S. today, so it just feels like a good idea to blame the big oil companies with accusations of "gouging" and "windfall profits." But like most high-octane emotional reactions, this one is wrong, as you'd need to breach every tenet of capitalism to lay all the fault at the oil giants' feet.

And even if you still think they deserve a touch of anger, as investors you're better off joining them than fighting them.

The reason that gasoline costs $1 or more per gallon today than a year ago is simple: Hurricane Katrina kicked our supply lines down a crooked staircase, and a painful kink emerged in the commodity's complex worldwide distribution system. ...