you know, those evil profiteers who make it possible for you to get to work

Actually, it's a little more possible to get to work without those "evil profiteers" than you might think.  When 9/11 happened and the gas stations tried to make a windfall off that tragedy by immediately tripling or quadrupling their prices to $5 or so, I decided to retaliate and I rode my bike to work for a year purely on principle.  If they pull a stunt like that again, I'll do it again.  They need me more than I need them.