Feels good to have more money in the bank, doesn’t it?

The cost of gas is about half of what it was a year ago. Imagine that, saving half at the pump. Who is there to thank for this? Just a few years ago, the major presidential campaign issue was a way to save you money at the pump.

Before you send your thank you letters to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, maybe you should send that letter further east. You can thank Saudi Arabia, the great American ally of the Middle East, for that.

The country where Islamic Fundamentalism rules and where the biggest oil reserves are held. Saudi Arabia has taken the bull by the horns and has decided not to slow down oil production and let the free market take its place.

Just recently at an an OPEC meeting–where the major oil producers in the world meet to find a way to keep production at a minimum where the price of oil doesn’t take such a downturn–Saudi Arabia has abandoned that plan and decided to decide on its own on how much oil to produce.

Saudi Arabia is the biggest production country in the world so essentially it can control the price of oil as it pleases. So why not slow down production and sell you product at a higher price? Makes sense, right?

This move was not made to increase profit for Saudi Arabia but to hurt its longtime foe, Iran. Iran is in a very bad time in its economy right now and it is also suffering from sanctions from the United States for its advanced nuclear program. Iran depends heavily on its oil production to pay for its governmental programs. To further hurt Iran, Saudi Arabia is happy to see the price of oil sink down to $50 a barrel. Iran not only suffers, but so do other American foes, like Russia and Venezuela.

Another reason why the price of oil has come down is American production as well. America is right behind Saudi Arabia in oil production. That There has been a production increase of 80% since 2008.

How long will this go on, you ask? How soon will the smiles of low gas prices go away? As long as Iran plays hard at the nuclear program negotiating table and as long as Israel, another American ally, continues to feel threatened by its longtime nemesis.

Let the good times roll and no need to slow down. As long as Iran and other troubled countries continue to depend on oil to sustain they’re governments I don’t see oil going down anytime soon. The next time you see Saudi Arabia in the news, maybe you might smile and think, they’re not so bad after all.