Oil prices on the rise again, thanks to Iran, Libya and Venezuela

It might be hot outside today, but don't gas up that car for a summer vacation just yet.

Gas prices are about to go up again.

The world's financial markets are in a dither as OPEC ended what some have called its "worst meeting ever." Member nations apparently left the meeting without an agreement to increase oil production, which is already causing oil prices to spike.

CNBC has a story about the meeting on its Web site, which you can read here.

There are lots of things to say about this situation, not the least of which is the crushing effect that a further gas price spike would have on our economy this summer.

But what we want to highlight is the unsettling reality that, according to the CNBC report, the situation at OPEC was the direct result of seven member states who dissented: Libya, Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Venezuela, Iraq and Iran.

Do we even need to mention that there are several terrorist states on this list of nations who directly control the price and availability of one of the most important natural resources in the American economy? NATO countries have been bombing Libya with airstrikes since March. Iran, which holds the OPEC presidency, is under sanctions for developing nuclear weapons. Venezuela is openly critical of the United States. And, then there's Iraq, where American sacrifice has been huge in recent years. Don't they at least kind of owe us one?

Yet, today, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Moamar Gaddafi, Hugo Chavez and others voted to make you pay more for gas this summer.

This is similar to the situation with the US national debt, a large amount of which is held by foreign countries. China alone has over a trillion dollars of US debt holdings (though it recently divested a large chunk of its short-term debt holdings, and has been shifting investment to Japanese long-term debt in recent days).

The sad truth is that much of the United States economy is subject to the control of foreign investors, many of whom are not exactly Uncle Sam's best friends. This isn't a new trend. And, it's not a Republican/Democrat problem. These are American problems, and they require American solutions. We need to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and trim our domestic spending/debt, so we can be more self-reliant. Fast.

Look, part of the reason why Donald Trump struck a nerve with the American public in his brief and ill-fated flirtation with the presidency is that he was plain-spoken in dealing with these issues. Check out this video. The players and positions at OPEC changed since Trump's speech, but his message was clear and on-point. When you think about it, why is Angola going to tell Americans how much we're going to pay at the gas pumps and how many jobs will be lost due to high gas prices in America this year? Donald Trump might not have been the guy, but don't we need someone to stand up for America at times like this?

So, what's President Obama's next move? What is his plan to get us out from under the thumb of foreign nations? What's the solution for gas prices? Much of the President's recent energy policy has been focused on US pricing, not on foreign countries seeking to impose high prices on us. And, what's the deal going to be on the debt ceiling? The President's recent announcement was to invite Speaker Boehner out for golf. We need bigger action in Washington to solve these problems.