This is my theory: There is a LOT of extra discretionary income in America. All oil companies are in collusion to see how high they can raise their fuel prices, so they can tap into this huge pool of American cash. Kinda like the government with taxes.
The citizenry and its rulers in Washington would revolt if fuel prices jumped from $0.99 per gallon (like when we were kids) to $2.79 per gallon (282%) over the course of a few months or a year. Like if prices went to $7.86 by Christmas. But if prices were to rise a bit more every year, who would really complain then?? Not many.
Price fluctuations are always blamed on supply and demand, about refinery problems and capacity, and what the Saudis had for breakfast. BS. Complete BS if you ask me. It’s all about how much Exxon-Mobile can raise their prices before the congressional hearings start.
The public utilities (phone, electric, gas) have to go before the state Public Service Commissions before they’re allowed to raise their rates. They have to justify their requests and show why rate increases are necessary. When will the oil companies have to justify charging consumers $2.79 for gas, or when will they have to explain why it’s OK to raise prices $0.15 a gallon just before Labor Day weekend?
Oh, wait, I remember: Never. Because there’s a huge Oil Lobby in Washington to protect the interests of the Oil Companies and the futures traders. If you don’t make friends with the Lobby, then you might just lose your power. Can’t have that.
The Saudis have the US over a barrel. The oil companies have consumers over a barrel. We’re all screwed.
This is my theory: There is a LOT of extra discretionary income in America. All oil companies are in collusion to see how high they can raise their fuel prices, so they can tap into this huge pool of American cash. Kinda like the government with taxes.
Do not forget, in formulating your theory that at certain levels of gov’t, there is a desire for prices to be as high as possible, as the sales tax generated by the sale of the gas is based on the cost of the purchase of the gas (including the state and federal taxes paid per gallon–but don’t get me started on paying sales tax on tax…grrr). So, in their thinking, the higher the cost of gas, the better it is for them, as it generates more revenue.
Tax whores.
They call me “Tater Salad”
“Now, when I say ‘I got thrown out of a bar…’” hehehehe
You don’t know too much about global trade do you. We are paying $3 a gallon because thats what the Chinese and Indians are now willing to pay for it.
If a tanker pulls through the Straits of Hormuz full of primo Saudi crude en route to New Jersey and gets a radio message from Exxon HQ that the US Congress just introduced a price cap on crude, they will make a sharp right turn and start steaming towards Shanghai. You can’t fix prices in a global market without the collusion of all the players.
That is not to say that Bushco have not engineered world events to limit supply and boost demand thereby making expensive to refine Texas crude profitable to pump once again.
The best way to redice the price of fuel is;
A. get rid of Bush
B. reduce demand
C. boost supply
B and C can be achieved thru successfully carrying out A.
Most of the gas you burn is in the tomatoes and lettuce you eat, the paper your write on, shirt on your back.
Shipping the stuff you buy to and from market…including your bike…burns a lot more gas than driving your ass to work.
That said Hummers and Expeditions do burn up a lot of gas…so why did Bush sign a law today again exempting them from federal emission standards because they are supposedly “commercial vehicles”?
Send more poor kids to die in Iraq so rich people can be free to drive their kids to soccer practice in Hummers. Our reliance on middle east oil will have to end sooner or later…or perhaps we can kill Hugo Chavez and take Venezuela’s oil. Nice one Pat.
My prediction is that we’ll never see cheap (as in $2 gallon) gas again. But I’m a tree hugging green and I’ve been brainwashed by some books I have read … Sorry to be the jerk but its our own damn fault. We have had 30 years to plan and transition to an economy that uses alternative sources to fuel our transportation network, and we haven’t done a whole heck of a lot. Meanwhile those in power in about a dozen measly countries have laughed all the way to the bank. No one thinks beyond next week in this country. It sucks.
“I think there is a huge demand for oil/gas and the prices have to go way higher before there is a significant change in consumer behavior.”
I agree completely. Prices will need to double or triple (at least) from where they’re at now before anything significant changes. People keep paying & no one does anything about it.
“At certain levels of gov’t, there is a desire for prices to be as high as possible, as the sales tax generated by the sale of the gas is based on the cost of the purchase of the gas”
Again true. Here’s a question for those who study these things: In the last 20 years, the price of gas has gone up nearly 300%. This implies that fuel tax revenue has gone up AT LEAST the same amount. Have the demands on our transportation system (road maintenance, expansions, new roads, etc.) gone up accordingly? DOUBT IT.
Who was it that started the thread about not paying enough in taxes??
==
“…I don’t know how many it takes, but I knew how many they were going to use” Excellent.
“You can’t fix prices in a global market without the collusion of all the players”
My point exactly, only on a global scale. As for the rest of your tripe, I have only one comment - In your pretend life you wish you were Michael Moore.
“Sorry to be the jerk but it’s our own damn fault. We have had 30 years to plan and transition to an economy that uses alternative sources to fuel our transportation network, and we haven’t done a whole heck of a lot. Meanwhile those in power in about a dozen measly countries have laughed all the way to the bank. No one thinks beyond next week in this country. It sucks.”
Has anyone read the book, “Twilight in the Desert”? The author theorizes that the Saudis are reaching maximum production levels and may not be able to increase it much. Since the Saudis don’t let outsiders inspect their fields, there is no way to verify the claims on the production estimates. Same goes for Venezuela, one of the oldest oil and largest fields.
The increases in demand in the future could very well outpace the ability to increase production. The results of course will be obvious, skyrocketing prices.
And a global recession … “The End of Oil” (2003) by Paul Roberts pretty much spells a lot of it out. His pragmatic predictions pegged oil at $48 a barrel by now and his pessimistic predictions put it at $60 by now. It’s been more than that these last few weeks … And the world economy sort of “counts on” oil at $20-$40 a barrell forever … Hhhhmmm … Watch, we are headed for some tough economic times ahead.
That is not to say that Bushco have not engineered world events to limit supply and boost demand thereby making expensive to refine Texas crude profitable to pump once again.
The best way to redice the price of fuel is;
A. get rid of Bush
B. reduce demand
C. boost supply
B and C can be achieved thru successfully carrying out A.
Boy you are amazing. It all comes back to blaming it on President Bush. I assume from your jab you are a leftist, tree hugger so consider this when you look to blame someone. Its the environmentalists who have had more of an effect on this problem than the president ever could.
It seems that every other story is about the price of gas. We hear about people buying scooters and others walking to work. Not once did I hear that the price of gas, adjusted for inflation, is not yet at the record levels of 1981. Not once have I heard of the role environmentalists have played in this gas crisis. No stories about drilling in that section of ANWR … the area that was set aside for drilling in ANWR. No stories about why we’re not exploring for gas and oil off the Florida gulf coast. We even had a story about how much gas the president uses in Air Force One and Marine One. I listened carefully and heard nothing about the fact that we haven’t built a refinery in the U.S. in almost 30 years, or the role that those special blends demanded by environmentalists play in prices and shortages. Nope, it’s all about the so-called “record gas prices” and what a hardship it is for people.
not saying this will happen any time soon…but it would be interesting to see what would happen to prices if most SUV/Truck owners started driving smaller, more fuel efficient cars in the US. maybe the prices wouldn’t change much, but at least you wouldn’t be paying as much to fill a 12 gallon tank at the pump as opposed to a 20+ gallon tank. We own a civic and a truck. I like having a truck, but I certainly don’t like paying $50-$60 to fill it.
Of course, if I trade the truck in for a car, then I’ll get raped on the trade in, and it will take an awful lot of gas to make up for that loss of money.