IF YOU HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING the news about oil prices, you are probably totally confused or seriously misinformed. The situation is both much better and far worse than you have been led to believe.

Start with the better. When prices hit $40 per barrel, motorists were upset. Or so we are told. But Americans keep buying gas-guzzling SUVs, and filling their tanks with gasoline that costs over $2 per gallon. So talk of high prices causing consumers to sulk on their couches rather than drive away to visit granny this summer, or take a spin down to the mall, seem overblown, especially as the economy gathers steam, the jobs market improves, and incomes rise.