Right... like former Exxon CEO Lee R. Raymond and other oil mongols are free of blame. Get your facts straight.

 

someone mentioned 75% of our oil comes from our hemisphere... but several of those south american nations also belong to OPEC...

it is crap but things haven't changed since these oil companies began doing this even in the early 1900s, the 20s, 40s, 60s and most are familiar with the 70s... up until now

our prices do suck but other countries already have it much worse like japan and canada where you pay by the liter (think about $4 a liter... there are 4 liters in a gallon... adds up really quick )

morality and capitalism should have some connections with eachother but if u could have an extra buck, most of the time people will go get that extra buck... its terrible when you already live a well off life style but keep gouging others to make your life even better at the expense of everyone else... its an idealism that i don't think we'll be able to change anytime soon

as for taxes... the govt already has a set per gal tax, revenues i don't think went up that much more... but you can bet your underpants that a lot of govt officials are pocketing a lot of money just to keep quiet about these things, even bush has some buddies in the oil business... i know a lot of people will mention about the "bush wars" but those aren't the main cause of rising prices, just an excuse to do it sooner

the iraq issue has a lot to do with control... so now saddam no longer controls the reserves there, the price has a bit more freedom... same with afghanistan and russia

we still have a lot of reserves here in the gulf and alaska and parts of the west... so its really a complex issue when we try to piece all these factors... in the end a lot of it still doesn't connect

 

They are to blame too. You think Bush is not getting any benefit from this? He has connections in the oil industry.

 

everyone is to blame for everything, dude. A the famous quote goes "It's not the (insert name of foreign country) that is messing up America, it's the Americans who buy it!"

Americans want CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP. Not just cheap gas but cheap CAR PARTS, cheap everything. And so they look for the best deals, and although Americans like to spout patriotism, they have bills to pay. (and who can blame them? Modern environment isn't very conducive to fostering nationalism)

Fry's Electronics - started by American people and they start Fry's own brand name which makes stuff in China. Personally that's why I never buy Fry's "Great Quality" brand. Anyhow, it's everyone's fault in the end, don't be quick to point fingers.

 

lol, GQ is a POS. I've had some where they flake crap off in the rom drives... lol

 

Don't mistake having a stake in oil as being responsible or involved in some conspiracy.

Do I think he's willing to put his reputation as President of the United States in the balances for additional wealth he otherwise possessed? No chance. This could have been the case if he wasn’t rich from the start of his presidency.

 

Supply and Demand,


I'm sorry guys, but for us Demand is inscreasing more than supply is increasing, and the price has been going up steady since the mid 90s.

Blame our selves, and our SUV soccermoms, and federal government for not having a plan to combat such a demand.

-Gagan

 

those who are poor are the most desperate yes, but are only likely to commit violent crime, or typical blue-collar crime. Those who are rich are less likely to kill someone for $5, but are WAAAAAAAAY more likely to pull some white-collar crime to get even richer. ****ing greedy little *****es.

-Gagan

 

Then how do you explain that Bakersfield a town surrounded by refineries and oilfields has some of the highest prices in the state right now?

not to mention the epic profits the oil companies are raking in, this situation hasn't got one thing to do with supply and demand- it really is all about greed and controlled markets.

The true cost of oil has been flat or even declining for over 50 years, but monopoly controlled markets, price fixing and collusion very easily explains all of it.

If there was in fact a free market for petroleum, competition would create low cost alternate supply chains. But there is simply no such thing- so your "econ 101" models and associated concepts like supply and demand aren't worth a crap in this discussion.

Yep, something over $7 per SECOND on his 35 hour work week, his compensation for when he actually showed up at the office is bad enough but his retirement package is even sicker.

That's what you're bound to hear as long as you listen to the oil company propaganda spewed out by right wing nut jobs and FOX news, because none of them have the common sense to see that it is greed corruption and racketeering at the root. And in truth, methanol is cleaner burning than gasoline or any petroleum products, and alcohols are renewable, so as petroleum reserves are depleted, at some point methanol, ethanol or some other renewable resource will inevitably eventually take over as our primary fuel source.

BTW it's ethanol, not methanol that is most widely touted as a renewable fuel source, although both have realistic potential to alleviate what we are going through right now.

Oh Noes!!!! I agree with HellaDumb! somebody shoot me!

 

everyone has a point about white collar crimes, its not just a conspiracy, and reputation as a president... cmon guys have you read into the workings of other administrations in the 20th century yet? conspiracy theories abound but a lot of facts make you wonder

standard oil was involved in many monopolie-like scandals all through the early part of the 20th century... a 5 cent rise in the price of oil ~omfg dey taek yuor $krillaz~ (hella money then, like a couple bucks today) they weeded out competition by lowering oil prices so much they put others out of business... and then jacked 'em up again

that company also started and controlled (in the 20s and 30s) companies around the globe, even the middle east...


----
edit: don't know how many of those companies started back then have renamed/respawned/exist today

also it gets annoying when you hear on the news (and read their financial reports) of record profits... i mean $300-400BILLION!?! that means after all expenses (wages, taxes, more taxes, and cost of running the refineries) they still made that much more...

its also bad business policy if the government wants to tax them again, double/triple/quadruple taxing is very bad, you'll be next if they can get away with it.... the govt already taxes 50cent per gallon of gas... imagine... we'd be back at 2.50 (but then those taxes do pay for roads... even if it doesn't look like it yet )

its a complex issue either way, people in government, and the oil companies... supply isn't as hard hit as they are saying... even after katrina (they stopped building refineries in those areas at least 20 years ago so wtf) they still pulled that profit...

even with all this those companies aren't required to give any back (unless u own shares of those companies then u'll see it if u haven't already)

we already shot ourselves in the feet (both of them) for depending on them soo much

 

and we here in the bay area have a line of refineries from hercules all the way to pittsburg...

that reminds me when i was travelling through wyoming and iowa a few years back (cross country) ... and gas was still $1.60 here... iowa was the cheapest at about $1.20-1.38 and in wyoming where they have a lot of refineries in the state's mid-section... the price was up around $1.70.... oh yeah diesel was still $1.40-1.50 too