At a time of record oil prices, America's biggest oil company reported an earnings increase that was the smallest among its peers.

The profit is what captures everyone's attention, but there's a bigger concern hidden amid the numbers of Exxon Mobil's earnings.

The company's worldwide oil production fell 10 percent, to just under 2.5 million barrels a day.

Some of the decline came from Exxon Mobil's dispute over the seizure of assets by the Venezuelan government, but even excluding those assets, the company's production declined. Overall production, including natural gas, fell 3 percent.

a "gas tax holiday."

would essentially lower gasoline prices at the pump. And how will we respond? We'll drive more. We're talking about summer, after all.

As demand rises, it depletes supply even further, and that, in turn, drives prices up in the world market. Shortages aren't solved by using more.