Gas prices

[Ducimus]

I admit i am a simple person. But the way i see it, record profits, with record prices equates to gouging.

I was pondering the other day at an autopart store with the cashier as to why the price of motor oil remains the same while the price in gasoline continues to skyrocket. A guy inline behind me pipes up, "its how it's refined!" as sort of a rubbtle as to say i have no point.

Well, true, it's how its refined. But the refinement process hasnt changed at all over the years. Gas is refined the same way now, just as its always been. Its not like overnight they adopted some new expensive refinement process over a cheaper old one.

Again, it comes back to those record profits. If gas is so expensive to produce, then why do their profits continue to skyrocket in parrell to the price at the pump? Answer seems simple enough to me, their undeniably gouging.

I don't think the oil companys have made any new refineries at all. Call me a crazy but i think their deliberatly not refining to capacity, so the supply is always.. just enough,... so the prices go up. THen they turn around and blame it on oil supplies. yeah , right, im not that gullible.

I was watching on CSPAN or something the other day, and one of our reprentatives in california said they acutally tried to shut down a refinery here! My god! Thankfully they fought and kept the refinery open. Seems to me Oil should be making more refineries, not shutting some down.

Anyway, ya true, oil is going to cause a price increase, but not like this. It's messed up, and its a good bet Big Oil has congress in their pocket.
Has anyone gotten a load of how much some of those oil exectivves make, A DAY?! something on the order of 100,000 US dollars a day. CEO retiremnt is 400 million.

Its disgusting, and so blatant. So i found this amusing.
http://cagle.msnbc.com/news/BigOil/main.asp

3.35 for the cheap ****. Seems like every other day, it goes up 10 cents. Theres this jerk down the street who's at 3.40. He's always high on his prices. I guaruntee you he'll be at 3.45 for 87 octane tommrrow. I drive 70 miles a day.


Its a shame the average citizen can't do anything about this, except scream very loudly.

[scandium]

Originally Posted by Ducimus

Its a shame the average citizen can't do anything about this, except scream very loudly.

Not entirely true. Among the ways you can hand over less of your cash to big oil you could drive less, or if possible not at all, or barring that trade in whatever you're driving now for a more fuel efficient auto or hybrid. And over the longer term you could simply not vote for any politicians who don't do anything more than pay lip service to reducing dependence on fossil fuels.

[Ducimus]

Originally Posted by scandium

Among the ways you can hand over less of your cash to big oil you could drive less, or if possible not at all, or barring that trade in whatever you're driving now for a more fuel efficient auto or hybrid.

I drive an 1986 Honda accord. Its paid for, and right now all i can afford. I get 300-310 miles to a tank. Not too shabby for an older car. If i could id get a hybrid, but financially i cant afford to get a new car, period.

I already drive as little as possible. I live 35 miles from where i work (rent is cheaper, dont get me started on the housing/renting market ). That means 70 miles a day round drip, 5 days a week. The US isnt exactly big on mass transportation, so i HAVE to drive.

I don't drive on the weekends, AT ALL. If i do, its to get a bite to eat or a run to the market for grocceries.

[bradclark1]

Originally Posted by scandium

[Not entirely true. Among the ways you can hand over less of your cash to big oil you could drive less, or if possible not at all, or barring that trade in whatever you're driving now for a more fuel efficient auto or hybrid. And over the longer term you could simply not vote for any politicians who don't do anything more than pay lip service to reducing dependence on fossil fuels.

On the news the other day it was saying that what you pay for a hybrid takes away any savings you will get in fuel. So there is no cost savings in buying one, but if you are earth friendly you are helping the planet.

[Takeda Shingen]

Originally Posted by scandium

Not entirely true. Among the ways you can hand over less of your cash to big oil you could drive less, or if possible not at all, or barring that trade in whatever you're driving now for a more fuel efficient auto or hybrid. And over the longer term you could simply not vote for any politicians who don't do anything more than pay lip service to reducing dependence on fossil fuels.

And, along those lines, if you do drive slow down. Doing 60, rather than 65-70 will stretch your tank considerably.

[Ducimus]

Originally Posted by Takeda Shingen

And, along those lines, if you do drive slow down. Doing 60, rather than 65-70 will stretch your tank considerably.

That doesnt work in California. You can be doing 80 and a cop will pass you by. At 65-70, youd be be run off the road or shot by someone with road rage

[TLAM Strike]

Originally Posted by Takeda Shingen

And, along those lines, if you do drive slow down. Doing 60...

Or something lower like say the Speed Limit.

... yea I know Its different everywhere but everyone does 10-15 over it seems and when the limit is 55 it gets dangerous.

[Takeda Shingen]

Originally Posted by Ducimus

That doesnt work in California. You can be doing 80 and a cop will pass you by. At 65-70, youd be be run off the road or shot by someone with road rage

Well, see, I learned something today. Every piece of video I see concerning California highway traffic either involves a single vehicle running on rims to avoid the police, or massive 20-mile gridlock. Outside of fugitives, I was not aware that traffic moved there at all.

[Takeda Shingen]

Originally Posted by TLAM Strike

Or something lower like say the Speed Limit.

... yea I know Its different everywhere but everyone does 10-15 over it seems and when the limit is 55 it gets dangerous.

The speed limit on the Northeast Extention of the Pennsylvania Turnpike is 65. This increase in the speed limit is becoming increasingly frequent.

[scandium]

Originally Posted by bradclark1

On the news the other day it was saying that what you pay for a hybrid takes away any savings you will get in fuel.

I would treat that claim very skeptically. That's not to say that, for whatever reason, its not true right now, so much as that fuel prices in all likelihood are going to continue to climb, making hybrids cheaper and cheaper to use. While at the same time the increased demand for them should drive production prices down, due to economies of scale, making them increasingly cheaper to purchase.

[Ducimus]

Originally Posted by Takeda Shingen

Well, see, I learned something today. Every piece of video I see concerning California highway traffic either involves a single vehicle running on rims to avoid the police, or massive 20-mile gridlock. Outside of fugitives, I was not aware that traffic moved there at all.

You got both.

Morning rush hour and evening rush hour.

For instance the 91 freeway is the only way in and out of riverside, and EVERYBODY has to use it. Its a parking lot. Don't even bother if you dont have to go. Its worse on the weekends, its jammed all day.

A typical californian has somewhere to be, and they needed to be there 2 hours ago, and most don't have any patience for any pussyfooting around. It doesnt take much to piss someone off, hesitate behind the wheel for any reason , and they'll go out of their way to cut you off and get infront of you. When theres no traffic, they floor it. Ironicly ive found that if there is no trafic, CalTrans will make some by closing a lane.

Part of the problem is overcrowding. It gets progressivly more crowded here every year. So the traffic and prices in house's and rentals gets is always getting worse. I wish people would stop moving here.

[PeriscopeDepth]

Originally Posted by Ducimus

Part of the problem is overcrowding. It gets progressivly more crowded here every year. So the traffic and prices in house's and rentals gets is always getting worse. I wish people would stop moving here.

I'm leaving CA as soon as I graduate for this reason.

PD

[August]

Originally Posted by Ducimus

I admit i am a simple person. But the way i see it, record profits, with record prices equates to gouging.

I was pondering the other day at an autopart store with the cashier as to why the price of motor oil remains the same while the price in gasoline continues to skyrocket. A guy inline behind me pipes up, "its how it's refined!" as sort of a rubbtle as to say i have no point.

Well, true, it's how its refined. But the refinement process hasnt changed at all over the years. Gas is refined the same way now, just as its always been. Its not like overnight they adopted some new expensive refinement process over a cheaper old one.

Again, it comes back to those record profits. If gas is so expensive to produce, then why do their profits continue to skyrocket in parrell to the price at the pump? Answer seems simple enough to me, their undeniably gouging.

I don't think the oil companys have made any new refineries at all. Call me a crazy but i think their deliberatly not refining to capacity, so the supply is always.. just enough,... so the prices go up. THen they turn around and blame it on oil supplies. yeah , right, im not that gullible.

I was watching on CSPAN or something the other day, and one of our reprentatives in california said they acutally tried to shut down a refinery here! My god! Thankfully they fought and kept the refinery open. Seems to me Oil should be making more refineries, not shutting some down.

Anyway, ya true, oil is going to cause a price increase, but not like this. It's messed up, and its a good bet Big Oil has congress in their pocket.
Has anyone gotten a load of how much some of those oil exectivves make, A DAY?! something on the order of 100,000 US dollars a day. CEO retiremnt is 400 million.

Its disgusting, and so blatant. So i found this amusing.
http://cagle.msnbc.com/news/BigOil/main.asp

3.35 for the cheap poo poo. Seems like every other day, it goes up 10 cents. Theres this jerk down the street who's at 3.40. He's always high on his prices. I guaruntee you he'll be at 3.45 for 87 octane tommrrow. I drive 70 miles a day.

Its a shame the average citizen can't do anything about this, except scream very loudly.

I want very much to agree with you but as it was explained to me their record profit comes mainly from the high price of oil. Like any business they buy the product in quantity, mark it up a certain percentage and sell it in smaller quantities, making, in this case, about 9.5% profit after expenses. Now if the price of crude oil doubles then so does their profit, but it's still 9.5%.

[Rockstar]

Do you really mean to say George Bush, Dick Cheney and a few Texas big oil barons are controlling world oil prices?

As far as I know Exxon is the largest privately owned oil company in the world. But their profits can not hold a candle to those being made by state owned companies and when I mean state owned I'm not talking about Texas. More like Saudi, Kuwati, Iraqi, Venezualen, Iranian, Nigerian, British, Norweigian, and other 'states'.

Exxon is run by just another group of pesky private capitalists getting in the way of global governance.

[gdogghenrikson]

As Glenn Beck says

"screw the cariboo, drill alaska"