There should be a law

[DrDoug]

Yeah, so Gore sold a few thousand copies of his conservation-themed book (oh-no), but I'm preeeeeeetty sure that he fell shy of the $380+ billion that Exxon makes EVERY YEAR. Who is stealing from our future exactly?

And the ball has been hit out of the park!

Oil prices spiked again the other day due to Israel bombing the Syrian nuke facility. That it happened around the middle of last month is of no consequence.

Oops! I just farted... Time to raise oil prices again!




Capitalism my ass... The oil companies are flat out stealing from us. They refuse to increase refinery capacity (no new refinery since the 70's), and every time something happens even remotely related (or not) to oil in some way, they jack the prices up some more. Look at history; in the 20's the papers were full of stories on oil running out in the 40's. From then on, they just keep moving the goal posts.

I am all for a fair profit, but this is just plain sick. Since the beginning of 2000, oil prices (per barrel) have almost quadrupled. The last quadrupling of prices (from 2000) was between 1979 and 2000. You should look at the graphs for it, they just warble along between $10 and $30 a barrel until Bush took office. Since then, they have shot up like there is no end. Fair profit, yes. But the profits right now are just obscene, IMO.

Talk about robber barons...



Regarding people falling for this evangelist jerk, all I can say is 'thin the herd'. These same people fall for other scams too, and suckers provide a good income for all kinds of lowlifes, and have for centuries now. People who get ripped off by slick con artists can get my sympathy, but people who fall for stupid crap like this don't get much from me.

I hope there is a 12th level of hell just for scam artists like this jerk. If so, I bet they will have to add a few more sub-levels for the overflow...

[RacerX]

...but I'm just guessing you look much more like SATAN than God.

That's MISTER Satan to you!

[Tashtego]

If your understanding of the man-made climate change arguments boils down to a 'few thousand' copies of one person's book and the gross profit of one energy company for a year you are unequiped to even have an opinion on the subject.

Yeah, so Gore sold a few thousand copies of his conservation-themed book (oh-no), but I'm preeeeeeetty sure that he fell shy of the $380+ billion that Exxon makes EVERY YEAR. Who is stealing from our future exactly?

[jdr94]

yeah i ordered that water, took a shot, had the shits for weeks!!!

[Shawn Lutz]

there should also be a law that requires a people to maintain a minimum intelligence levels. That way it wont be easy for people to take advantage of stoopid people.............

[Spivonious]

Eh, can't get excited, these guys are small time time clowns compared to global warming evangelists. At least these guys only prey upon those who seek them out. Man made climate change zealots are stealing from everyone now and everyones' future.

+ 10000

[Axewielder]

If your understanding of the man-made climate change arguments boils down to a 'few thousand' copies of one person's book and the gross profit of one energy company for a year you are unequiped to even have an opinion on the subject.

OK so who exactly in the GW camp is making all this money? Ethanol companies? Sorry, the demand just isn't there for ethanol right now. Solar cell manufactureres? There's some on-again-off-again excitement on Wall Street here, but not much more. Any who in the GW camp is gaining all this political power by taking on Big Oil? Gore, who's not even running for anything? No, I don't think so. Please, equip me so I might change my opinion.

[Cygnus X1]

So, why have the pump prices not gone skyrocketing? Hmmm...seems the refinery capacities are back up. So, it was convenient to bitch when the capacity was down, for the hurricane threats in the gulf coast, then for a major fire at another, then offline for much needed upgrades. Now the capacities are back up, and the pump prices are in check for now.

It amazes me that "big oil" gets criticised for "obscene profits", but "big government" doesn't for the obscene taxes and the over-bearing mess of regulations. Regulation is fine, and necessary. But the nightmarish tangle to stay in compliance is simply not worth the headache for the corporations. So, no new refineries. The EPA should take a lesson from OSHA. OSHA reduced their tangle of paperwork required, and now works proactively with industry for compliance. EPA regulates to the point of beyond diminishing returns, thus killing the golden goose of industry.

Those profits are not out of line, by percentage, at all. If anything, it is a small return. These commpanies must hold large reserves to invest in future technology, protect from buyouts, and of course, pay for protection from overbearing political interests, driven by populist, ignorant sentiments.

[Spivonious]

So, why have the pump prices not gone skyrocketing? Hmmm...seems the refinery capacities are back up. So, it was convenient to bitch when the capacity was down, for the hurricane threats in the gulf coast, then for a major fire at another, then offline for much needed upgrades. Now the capacities are back up, and the pump prices are in check for now.

It amazes me that "big oil" gets criticised for "obscene profits", but "big government" doesn't for the obscene taxes and the over-bearing mess of regulations. Regulation is fine, and necessary. But the nightmarish tangle to stay in compliance is simply not worth the headache for the corporations. So, no new refineries. The EPA should take a lesson from OSHA. OSHA reduced their tangle of paperwork required, and now works proactively with industry for compliance. EPA regulates to the point of beyond diminishing returns, thus killing the golden goose of industry.

Those profits are not out of line, by percentage, at all. If anything, it is a small return. These commpanies must hold large reserves to invest in future technology, protect from buyouts, and of course, pay for protection from overbearing political interests, driven by populist, ignorant sentiments.

They may be in check in your opinion, but we still haven't come down from where the prices were after Katrina. Before Katrina, gas cost $1.79 a gallon here. Then they spiked up to $3.30 when the hurricane hit (which is retarded because the gas in the tanks was still there; it's not like when I turn on the pump it's coming right from the refineries) and then slowly fell back to where we are now, around $2.70. The oil companies figured out that they could charge more without people getting super upset, so they kept the prices high.

[Cygnus X1]

They may be in check in your opinion, but we still haven't come down from where the prices were after Katrina. Before Katrina, gas cost $1.79 a gallon here. Then they spiked up to $3.30 when the hurricane hit (which is retarded because the gas in the tanks was still there; it's not like when I turn on the pump it's coming right from the refineries) and then slowly fell back to where we are now, around $2.70. The oil companies figured out that they could charge more without people getting super upset, so they kept the prices high.

The gas that is in the tanks today has to be replaced. If I'm selling at 1.50 a gallon, and the price I have to pay is anticipated to go up by 100 percent, then I have to come up with the cash to pay for that next shipment. Retail gas stations don't make squat from gasoline, and the cash reserve is usually quite low.
The Katrina deal was quickly followed by refinery problems, thus the price didn't come down much. And the industry was in the middle of buyout threats. So it was, and is an issue of financial health for the companies.
I'm not necessarily a big oil company lackey, just commenting on the natural business cycle. It's a lot easier to spout off populist propaganda, driven by the lazy media, than to see the economic truth. I see in the steel business, and other raw material providers have noted the same trend. It's called an expanding economy.

[Spivonious]

The gas that is in the tanks today has to be replaced. If I'm selling at 1.50 a gallon, and the price I have to pay is anticipated to go up by 100 percent, then I have to come up with the cash to pay for that next shipment. Retail gas stations don't make squat from gasoline, and the cash reserve is usually quite low.
The Katrina deal was quickly followed by refinery problems, thus the price didn't come down much. And the industry was in the middle of buyout threats. So it was, and is an issue of financial health for the companies.
I'm not necessarily a big oil company lackey, just commenting on the natural business cycle. It's a lot easier to spout off populist propaganda, driven by the lazy media, than to see the economic truth. I see in the steel business, and other raw material providers have noted the same trend. It's called an expanding economy.

I'm not disputing that there were problems and they had to raise prices to limit demand until the supply caught up. But what's the excuse for keeping the prices so high now? Even with a 4% inflation rate, the prices should still be under $2.00 a gallon. I won't even mention the insane profits they made while this supply crisis was going on.

[Cygnus X1]

I'm not disputing that there were problems and they had to raise prices to limit demand until the supply caught up. But what's the excuse for keeping the prices so high now? Even with a 4% inflation rate, the prices should still be under $2.00 a gallon. I won't even mention the insane profits they made while this supply crisis was going on.

That's assuming they even are making insane profits. I recall hearing the figure was 10 percent overall, but it's difficult to calculate in the long run. I know my own company strives for 10 percent. Personally, I wouldn't even consider opening a business, or investing in one with less than 25% cleared.
Retail, it had better be in the 50% range to restock sufficiently.

When oil was 35 dollars a barrel in '92, during the first Iraq war, the price of gasoline was 1.50 a gallon. So when crude price is 70 dollars, what should the retail price be? Logically, 3.00 a gallon. But, other things have happened since then. SUV's became all the rage. Speed limits went up.
Regulatory expenses have gone through the roof. But really the price should be hovering in the 5.00/gallon range. So, the margins of profit have actually decreased a bit. Do your homework. I'd love to have cheap gas, also. But when I travel out of this country, I realize we have it made. And it is relatively cheap.