It's not about if they have the know how,it's about who is pulling their strings.Think about it man,you're talking about multi billion $ companies who play a major role in our country.The upper richest families in the country,and the world for that matter,have investments in what?OIL? As do so many other families on a smaller scale in their own investments,i.e 401k,ira's,etc. LOTS of money being made in oil,so to do anything to hurt that would go against the number one American credo "WE WANT MORE"

 

Now this I can agree 100% with you.Isn't it funny how not that the "DEMAND" for oil has decreased,the prices keep dropping? There was nothing that could be done to get us better prices while we were suddenly slapped in the face with the outrageously high prices and had no time to make adjustments in the way we use gas.Now that the shock is over people have made in their driving habits and how we use oil and gas,and the fat rat oil tycoons are seeing a drop in what they will soon be taking in....the prices are dropping!

Which is still basically a slap in everyones face anyway.They raise the prices by dollars and then now lower it by cents!! And everyone is supposed to be fooled into saying "THANK GOD,GAS IS COMING DOWN" I hear it everyday at my shop,my customers are saying how happy they are that gas has come down.But it's still almost 4.00 a gallon! Thats not cheap.When the oil companies are reporting BILLION $$ NET PROFITS(That means what they keep in their pockets after paying off everything) it's incredibly insulting!!

 

Guys,this talk of the oil companies really comes down to one thing...Do you think we should be paying what we are paying for gas and is it justified?? No matter what you think otherwise,ask yourself if you really think they would do anything to hurt their pockets?

I don't know how old any of you are,but do you know how long hybrid technology has been out?Many years.But why have they only now been introduced to the public??$$$$$ Thats why.

 

Here's a link about the first proposed hybrid....

http://www.modernracer.com/features/...thehybrid.html

Here's another GREAT link on alternative powered vehicles.Not the dates...

http://www.hybridcars.com/history/hi...-vehicles.html


Now mind you,these vehicles wont be breaking any quarter mile records,unless its for how slow,but if these individuals could produce these vehicles back then,then what could the auto manufacturers have done,with their money and time available to them if they actually wanted to make these vehicles??

 

Repeat after me: "THE OIL COMPANIES DO NOT SET PRICES. OIL PRICES WERE RUN UP BY FUTURES TRADERS. OIL PRICES WERE RUN UP BY FUTURES TRADERS. OIL PRICES WERE RUN UP BY FUTURES TRADERS. OIL PRICES WERE RUN UP BY FUTURES TRADERS."

Lumber is a commodity and is at one of the lowest prices it's been in about a decade. The same for drywall. That's why, if you're planning a remodeling project or building a house and there's been a recent hurricane that's slammed a coastal region you need to act quickly because the prices of those items will jump overnight as supplies are diverted to the area of devastation. When Katrina hit New Orleans and the other areas I advised someone I knew to hurry and lock in on the contract for their house because the price of drywall was going to double. A week afterward, the wife thanked me for telling her and her husband to lock-in because the builder had told them how lucky they were as prices increased dramatically.

 

Ok,you repeat after me...THE OWNERS OF THE OIL COMPANIES DICTATE THE PRICES!!!

Your example of the lumber is great,but has no relevance on why gas prices are so high.NONE!! These are not companies that are struggling to get by,or are in a hardship to find fuel!! How can you not understand this?? THEY ARE PROFITING BILLIONS!!! We should not be paying the prices we are paying for gas!PERIOD!!! Even if the price per barrel is higher,who has more available money to take the hit,us or them?????? I don't know about you,but I don't have billions or millions or anywhere near to give out.THEY DO!!!

So please,lets recap so you can possibly understand.....THEY POCKET BILLIONS!!! WE'RE paying for it!!!!! People are losing their homes and families and are struggling to get by and cannot afford to pay these prices in addition to everything else that has increased in price because of the higher gas prices!!Delivery charges have gone up.Taxi prices have gone up! Food has gone up!! The cost of living in general just keeps going UP!! Our incomes stay the same!!! Except for the oil tycoons! They keep making....how much???? Thats right...BILLIONS!!

 

No, they do not. They bring the product to the market and the futures traders and speculators have been running up the price. Also, oil is sold in US Dollars on the global market and as such the weakening dollar drove up prices. While we experienced high increases the Europeans merely experienced much smaller increases as the Euro has been stronger, but has recently dropped.

You're getting your info from the wrong sources. The oil companies, as much as everyone wants to tarnish them, DO NOT set the prices for oil.

 

No my friend,you info is based on what they want everyone to believe.Its sad that too many fall for this.So what you believe is that these billion $ empires,who have so many powerful people with investments in them,have no control over the prices?? They have no pull????LOL.They are only the most powerful industry in the world,but they have no control over the prices? So the profit they have is a mistake? They have no flexibility in lowering the prices? There is no room for it according to you???

It's funny man,because in my shop,when times are tough,we adjust prices.If we are still making money on a job,then we can lower it to where we can still make money and accommodate the customer who is struggling to get by.That how I have always run my shops and take pride in knowing that I can help others and still make a living.

If I were making billions,I could lower my prices to nothing,as the gas prices should be now.This country has been suffering for such a long time now,while other countries are profiting! Again,they HAVE MORE THAN ENOUGH MONEY to lower gas prices to half of what they are and still make millions!

There is nothing else to say about them.No matter what you or I or anyone else believes,it can't change the fact they they are making billions and lowering gas cents on the dlooar means nothing but an insult! If you're happy with what the prices are at,then I feel sorry for you.Or I guess I should say,im jealous of you because you must be able to afford it while the rest of us cannot.

 

I posted this is another forum.
I do not advocate such a high fuel tax as $9 per gallon,
but it is an interesting thought experiment,
especially considering the success Chrysler had with their 'GasCard' campaign,
and it worth noting that Norway's economy
is very healthy and wealthy with such a high domestic fuel tax.
====================

The front page of the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday
has an article and graph
showing that gasoline consumption has gone from
a annual 2% rise
to a 4% decline this year.

That is a net 6% decrease, but
the graph looks like more decrease is happening
and we might get to a net 10% decrease in a few months.

It now looks to me like there is about a
3 year time lag
between when fuel prices begin to shoot upward
and when USA consumers finally begin using less.

So, if in the USA there is a 170% rise in gasoline price over 3 years
{from $1.50 per gallon to $4.10}
there will be a eventual 10% or so decrease in consumption
but only after a 36 month or so time lag

For the typical consumer driving 15,000 miles per year
at 20 MPG for a total of 750 gallons
this increase in gasoline price cost him an additional
$1900 = (4.10-1.5) x 750

The US Government has recently sent taxpayers checks for either
$600 or $1200 to stimulate the economy,
although recent economic analysis has found that the typical family
only spent 16% of that, and put the other 84% against debt. or in the bank.

Here's an experiment that will probably never be done, but is worth a thought:

What if the USA went up to Norway level gasoline taxes of
$9 per gallon?
But... the US taxpayer were sent a annual
750 gallon 'gasoline gift card' similar to the Chrysler gas card promo
that would cover all gasoline price over $1.50
as opposed to Chrysler's limit of $3 per gallon?

The cost to the US Government would be
$ 5,625 = 750x (9.00-1.50)
but this would be at least partially made up
by the additional Federal tax on gasoline
except for the percent of less gasoline consumed.

Gasoline consumption would further decline by
[(9.00-4.10)/4.10] divided by 17
= 7%

The total net gasoline consumption decrease
would be in the range of
17%

Net decrease in the amount of US money sent overseas per year
for gasoline would approximately be

0.17 x $114 per bbl x 20,000,000 bbls per day x 365.25 days x 0.5 yield of
gasoline in bbl

= $ 70,783,512,000
or roughly
$60 to $80 Billion considering the uncertainty

The recent $600 or $1200
'Stimulus' checks to USA citizens
cost a total of $58 Billion

What would keeping another $60 Billion each year inside USA borders do?

There would be an additional retained amount of $ for diesel
if a similar thing were done
but my gut tells me
% diesel consumption would not fall as much
because diesel use in commercial trucks and trains is less avoidable
but I could be wrong
considering the strong profit motive.

What should be done as fast as possible with diesel fuel
is get rid of all the home furnaces in the North East USA cities heating with fuel oil,
because home heating oil can be substituted for diesel.
This should be high priority.
Truckers should go on strike until Congress passes a law getting rid of all home heating oil use .... even if it means buying those houses some other kind of heating system.

Yes, I know that if a Federal Road Tax were raised this high,
I would be
'tarred and feathered and run out across the USA border on a rail'

 

What this still just basically tells you is that mega profits are being made and the consumption used is what these prices are based on,not because they need to be.Its still just greed in making as much as possible.

Here's something on owning/running a successful business...each business has their break even.Meaning what percentage of their sales they keep to make money.Businesses usually run in the 20%-40% range.Meaning they have to get 20-40 percent their cost of goods to make a profit.Now this of course fluctuates with the times,cost of goods,volume of customers,etc,but will stay in those areas.Now sometimes you will make less than needed on any particular job to help a customer out,especially if he/she is a good customer,but as long as you are still at that20-40% come bill time,you're ok.

Now with that said,sometimes you will get more than those percentages.Sometimes you may be able to get 5,6,7 times your cost of goods depending on the job.But this cannot be your staple of business.So if I have a job where I only need say 3 times my cost to make money,and I am charging 5 times my cost,can I not come down?? Of course I can.From being in the business as long as I have,I know my competitors prices and know I could go a lot higher than I do and still be competitive,but don't.I am happy with my long term success of RETURN CUSTOMERS! I give a great service at a great price and still make some for myself.

This is what it all boils down to with the oil companies.They have their break even and only need to make that to be successful.Of course they want to make more than just their break even as any one in business does,but how much more?? Making billions NET.they have so much leeway in what the price to us CAN BE,that there is no excuse.Being the way times are right now and how people are just struggling to get by,with many working 2 and 3 jobs,why can they not lower their prices and just lower their net from 11.7 billion to say 5 billion?? Is 5 billion net not enough to keep them in their spoiled lifestyles?

And yes,the govt economy stimulus check was a joke.What did it stimulate?As you said,most just sent it to their bill collectors or into their tanks.

For the billions of $ spent on useless things,the gov't could just allocate some of it towards helping the average American family out?