And now we're paying the price.
Small businesses are often the first and the hardest hit by rising energy prices.
Take the self-employed truck driver. As gas prices go up, his costs go up and his livelihood is threatened. A small, high-tech firm's productivity is diminished when electricity bills eat up the money that could be used for expansion. Small businesses need solutions, not politics. This crisis is the result of both neglect and a desire to restrict supply and drive up prices.