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Gas prices?????


nu2reef-n

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Did you see the retirement package laid out for the Chairman of Exxon/Mobile? $400 million, plus $1 mil a year consultant fee, personal security, home security, drivers, full use of the company jet. You can't tell me they aren't just making an absolute killing on us if they can dole out that kind of money to one guy.

 

$2+ a gallon is one of the biggest monopolistic crimes ever.

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I, for one, hope gas prices continue to rise. We're sluts for oil and we deserve to pay for it. If you think gas prices are high here go to Europe. If you want to spend less of your money on fuel buy a more fuel efficient car.

 

Impur gas is almost $3 a gallon here in Argentina and I've seen maybe 5 trucks non-commercial trucks. Most everyone drives cars Honda Accord size or smaller.

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It is awfully hard to pick up 8 boxes of fish in a honda accord though and they don't tow a boat or 5th wheel very well either.

 

The cost of gas is not based on the amount of oil and just very loosely based on the cost of it. Oil Prices going up are an excuse to raise gas prices. So you use talk of oil shortage to drive up oil prices then the oil prices drive up gas prices.

 

The major cause of the rise in gasoline prices is that Shell Oil took the most major west coast refinery off line a couple of years ago. Produce less gas prices go up. You don't have to worry about selling all the gas that you were producing and you get to charge 3 times the amount of money for it.

 

Just wait. If you think this is bad just wait until they start putting strict limitations on Marine animals. When you limit the supply of something the price goes up because there is almost always someone out there willing to pay the price if they really want something.

 

Gas Prices will continue to rise until a point that demand falls off to a point where they are not making as much money as they were at a lower price. It is business and the goal is to make as much money as possible. I know this sounds really bad but most people that start a business do so to make money, if they don't they aren't in business for very long.

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Plus the gas companies are more or less a monopoly. You don't want to pay 3 bucks for gas? Thats fine, what the heck are gonna put in your SUV? People will moan and complain, but they still go drop 60 bucks for a fillup. Nobody wants to do anything about it, so we all just bend over and take it.

 

The sad part is its going to effect our economy soon. I would hate to see a depression just because of gas prices. But thats a real possibility now.

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Sometimes I with I had a desel car. If I don't feel like paying $3 a gallon' date=' I could just make my own biodesel.[/quote']

I was talking about that not too long ago with Jay. It would be nice to have an old beater diesel (like a bug) to convert to bio-diesel. I would personally love to have a "Grease Car". Then I could smell like french fries while driving. Wait, that would make me H U N G R Y and Jay has me on a diet. hungry

 

Here's a link to a "Grease Car" site:

 

Greasecar Vegetable Fuel Systems

 

You guys are right. The prices will continue to escalate as long as we pay it. And will probably continue to escalate irregardless. Heck, they can force us to drive less (possibly) and still make the same amount of money that they were. There are so many ridiculous things out there... don't get me started on car insurance or health insurance! I have never been the cause of a wreck for car insurance and I've been driving for 20 years. You do the math. Someone's getting fat off of my good driving skills! (Watch, I'll get in a wreck now since I just jinxed myself!) DOH!

 

Just found something prevalent to the subject so had to edit my post and add it in! Prepare for another good excuse for a price hike!

 

US fuel crunch worsens

 

By Richard Valdmanis and Janet McGurty2 hours, 17 minutes ago

 

Dozens of gasoline stations from Virginia to Massachusetts ran short of fuel on Friday as suppliers struggled with a transition to a new anti-smog gasoline blend using corn-based ethanol as an additive, marketers said.

 

The disruptions, caused in part by a lack of trucks to move ethanol to supply terminals, comes amid an already severe spike in retail gasoline prices to near $3 per gallon as the cost of crude hits new highs.

 

"The situation here is chaotic," said Mike O'Connor, president of the Virginia Petroleum Jobbers Association, which represents gas stations in the state. He said his association is seeking a federal waiver to allow the sale of lower grade gasoline to ease the crunch.

 

Fuel marketers said there were reports of gasoline stations running out of fuel in areas of Virginia, Maryland, around Washington D.C., in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and parts of Massachusetts.

 

"There are a handful of outages being reported across the region, but they are temporary," said Catherine Rossi, a spokeswoman for AAA Mid-Atlantic. "The problem is waiting for the trucks to get to the stations."

 

AAA is the largest motoring and leisure travel organization in North America.

 

The U.S. government had warned in recent weeks that gasoline supplies could be disrupted along the East Coast and in Texas as the oil industry shifts to the new anti-smog blend using ethanol.

 

Gasoline producers had previously used additive MTBE to make reformulated gasoline, required at a third of the nation's pumps to combat air pollution, but are phasing the chemical out because of the risk of lawsuits after several states banned it for contaminating groundwater.

 

The problem with the replacement additive, experts say, is that ethanol cannot be shipped in pipelines because it absorbs water condensation in the pipes, and requires trucks, rail cars or barges for transport.

 

"Anywhere there is reformulated gasoline and MTBE there will be a problem," said Jeff Lenard, director of communications at the National Association of Convenience Stores.

 

A federal waiver allowing the sale of conventional gasoline, instead of the anti-smog blend, would make it easier for fuel suppliers to sell gasoline without the ethanol additive.

 

"We're patiently waiting to see if the state will make a formal request on our behalf," said VPJA's O'Connor.

 

The Petroleum Marketers Association of America, which represents stations selling about 55 percent of the nation's gasoline, said it was unaware of any other state associations seeking a waiver.

 

"We're hoping this situation will be short-lived," said Rolf Hanson, executive director of the Pennsylvania Petroleum Association. "We think it is unlikely the government will grant waivers for a transitional issue like this one."

 

US Fuel Crunch Worsens

 

Stacy

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And' date=' I will be walking this afternoon to my part-time job.:cool:[/quote']

It's good exercise though... not that you need to lose weight or anything like that though! Now, if only I could convince Jay to walk to work. You've been here... you see how close we live to the store. I still remember "I can walk to work" as one of the selling points of buying this house! DOH!

 

Stacy

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I don't mind walking at all...it's just to the feed store which is only 5 or 6 blocks away.

 

Mike walks to work every day, because we are so close to the station. We currently have one car that can be driven, and his mustang is in the garage covered in primer, until he decides on a color. It may be a while.DOH!

 

As for the exercise, I am in the process of painting the outside of this house. If I ever see paint or a ladder again, it will be too soon.:p

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In the case that some people are not aware of the way oil is bought and sold, markets determine the cost of sweet crude oil. Here's a lesson in finance:

 

Oil is bought and sold on the NY merchantile exchange. There are professional purchasers that work for... say Exxonmobil or even a company like United Airlines. They take the spot rate (the rate oil costs right exactly now) if they want to buy today. There is another market, however, called the futures market. This market sells claims on future oil. The stuff that is still in the ground that will be on the market soon. Oil 90 days from now. I can say, "well I work for Southwest Air and I want to make sure that I buy oil that I am reasonably sure will cost more tomorrow then it does today". So I pay a premium on this oil. But I am sure that it's still less then what oil itself will cost on the spot market in 90 days. This is called an option for a futures contract. Then I do something called hedging and make another investment in another commodity or security that will offset the extra cost of the oil I bought. The idea is that I can cut my present value (today's true price) cost of oil versus buying it in the spot market as I need it.

 

The reason this all works is because there is risk in buying something in the future, and people are willing to compensate others for bearing risk (see interest rates).

 

The net result of all of this is that there is simply a given supply and demand for oil. If people (corporations and banks, really) see that the cost of oil is going to go up in the future, they will buy more of it today. This of course raises the cost. At the present moment, oil is at a record of $75 a barrel. People drive more in the summer, but heat their houses less (with heating oil), but the net of that is still higher demand in the summer season.

 

What I think is really going on here is uncertainty over the Iran situation (they are the 3rd or 4th largest oil producer) and high demand from emerging markets (China/India). Oil companies have seen record profits, but that is only becuase of record demand. They may not be the price gougers as much as people still really demand it.

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A 9 billion dollar NET profit in one quarter is surely a result of price gouging. And behind the scenes is our government, which had an 11 billion dollar NET profit. Have they stepped in?? LOL no way, not when you are filling your pockets with that kind of money. Let the tax payers pay it.

 

Also this was a seasonably warm winter and there is now a surplus of heating oil. Go figure.

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Wanna be really scared? So far, our relatively strong economy has been able to endure oil price shocks pretty well, and the price for consumer goods was stable (not correlated to oil prices). It had appeared to the Fed (the people who control our nations money supply, ie, print dollars) that business was able to absorb the costs of higher energy. Consumers did not feel the price shocks in goods.

The Fed on tuesday gave some notes from their meetings which suggest that the interest rate hikes are over, which is a signal that inflation may be starting to pick up past a comfortable place. If that is the case, then the consumer will pay for the higher energy costs in goods. That means that a gallon of milk will include higher gas prices too. Now think about all consumer goods: Shoes, cell phones, cars, houses. It's a big deal, this inflation stuff.

 

Iran is on my crap list.

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Yah, thats the part i'm scared of - Inflation. That would be terrible. How will I support my reef habit!?!?! I can see it now. Wow thats a sweet coral. I'm gonna have to go donate some plasma so i can buy it!!

 

I'm with ya on Iran. They are saying the real price of gas should be more like $100/barrel. Bah!

 

I sold my car 2 months ago or so and we have been getting around ok with just 1 car. Might just stay that way until/if things settle down.

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I wonder why the big oil companies are making so much money, with oil being so expensive per barrel?!?!?! As the general public, we really have our collective heads in the sand! I wonder how much the regime has invested in these companies.

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They are likely charging a percent of the barrel, so if a barrel is broken down, then 40% is in obtaining the oil, 20% in refining it, 20% in transport, 10% in retailing it, and 10% profit.

When oil on the market climbs to new highs, then the profit does as well.

 

Do you really feel foolish paying for it? It's a limited natural resource and there are many consumers in the world for it. That's a lot of competition. Further, as someone brought up earlier, it is far cheaper here then it is elsewhere (well, excepting OPEC countries... but get this, Iraq's cost for gas is up here with ours, as they don't have the resources to process it).

 

My thoughts are; if you really think the (our) regime has something to do with this, you're right. Our countries policies toward the middle east has brought some of this on us.

 

But now I am just being a pig. Oh well... effin' oink.

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