Why you’re paying a ‘vibes tax’ at the fuel pump

With diesel fuel in the United States now at record highs, all options for bringing prices down must be considered. Analysts rightfully identify disruptions to tanker passage through the Strait of Hormuz as the main cost driver. Yet another, more easily rectified factor has gone largely unnoted. The divergence between the cost estimate of shipping goods on a route that goes through the Strait of Hormuz and the actual expense is quietly driving prices even higher.

The complexities involved here are worthy of having Margot Robbie in a bathtub to explain, as in The Big Short. Lacking that option, here’s a quick explainer.