Current gas prices?

[MAXIMAN]

Originally posted by BLUEJEEPLAB
Supply and Demand is the basic law of economics and our demand is greater than the supply. If we want to keep up our demand, then we pay more, if we don't want to pay the price, reduce your consumption.

Oh no Blue...that will never work (wink wink). The big bad wolf has total control over the commodity and no one can do a thing about it....(wink wink). We all know that free markets don't work. That's why we need a "DADDY" to protect us. We all need a daddy to protect us from the big bad wolf. And his name is the US Governement. (wink wink). I seemed to have gotten something in my eye.

[MAXIMAN]

Re: Yukon Denials?

Originally posted by xs650mike
You once took me to task for "patronizing" you, meanwhile patronizing me to the max. Now you're at it again patronizing us all.

I'm not taking you to task for "patronizing"...I'm taking you to task for being ignorant to the fundementals of supply and demand. But you then I must remember you were probably educated in a government school.

The law of gravity doesn't care if you are Muslim, Christian, Jew or an atheist. If you crawl up on a radio tower and jump off you are goinig to hit the ground at a high rate of speed.

The laws of supply and demand are just as unforgiving. They don't care if your a capitalist pig or a limp wristed socialist. There are only two ways to make the current price of gasoline fall.

1- Increase supply
2- Decrease demand

It's that simple. All the bitching and crying on the planet will not bring prices down. All the letters to your congressman will not change them. And if you want to make prices go even higher...then just hit big oil with punitive taxes....just enact price controls like Hawaii tried last year (what a joke).

Actually ...if you're old enough to recall... the US Government tried that back in the Carter years. It resulted in gas shortages and XSively long lines at the pump.

[Czekus21]

I'm thinking of buying a horse. Ya know' If everyone were riding horses, The price of hay and alfalfa would probably go up not to mention the fertalizer that would be produced to make, yup, you guessed it, More hay and alfalfa. Now the true questions are, Just how do ya fit a set of hyway pegs on a horse? would we all need riders training? could we grow our own fuel without the risk of going to jail for produceing contraband? and last but not least, Would we have to register and insure our ride? and if we did, Were do ya hang the plate? Oh,,, I almost forgot about speed limits, Riding at night ( headlamp/tail light ), Riding home from the bar, etc,etc,, Have a wonderfull day people, While you all get a little uptight about my smart a$$ comments, Think about it, Then go for a ride on your bike and think about the price of a loaf of bread, houses, smokes, 12/2 wire, ($100.00 for a 250' roll ) and so on. Supply and demand. There are alot of greedy people out there that think that in order to be successfull, ya gotta have massive profits. If the demand is there then dramaticly raise the price because people are willing to pay for it. Like smokes. Going up to $4.00 a pack. First ya get addicted then ya get gouged... Gotta ride and think about the horse.

[MAXIMAN]

Nah Czek...here's the solution to your problem. The first Hybrid Motorcycle!

Waste Gas Driven Bike

[xs650mike]

When did I advocate the nationalization of the oil industry? I have only expressed the frustration most people feel at being caught in the squeeze. As to a solution for the problem, I'm already doing what many people aren't...I'm using far less gasoline than I used to even though I've always used less gasoline than most. I have one credit card that I use only to buy gas and oil. I pay off the balance each month. This balance has now become a major expense where it wasn't before. My wife and I have cut out most pleasure trips and we try to make the most efficient use of our vehicles that we can. Nonetheless the fuel bill grows each month even though we are using less gasoline.

My point was and is that the oil industry isn't hurting, it's the consumer that is. Why weren't prices raised earlier? Got no idea but I suspect they just realized that they could. It is certainly a fact that as prices have increased so have oil company profits. Whether it's gouging or profiteering all I can say is if it walks like a duck... The way things are right now most people have no choice but to use their cages. There is certainly no mass transportation where I live. One thing is certain, as fuel prices increase, it causes the price of all goods and services to go up or the profits of those who provide those goods and services to go down...or even both.

I agree that if demand decreased prices would too. Most people who drive big SUVs or 4WD pickups don't really need that sort of vehicle, at least not as everyday transportation. Most of those who drive 4WDs around here fall into two classes, contractors and ranchers who need them and soccer moms who definitely don't. There are a lot more soccer moms than contractors and ranchers. A lot of folks make foolish choices for reasons of ego, status or something. All the soccer mom types who used to drive Volvo wagons are now in Navigators and Hummers. Go figure. Their husbands are doing these ridiculously long commutes to pay for the Hummer and the McMansion in the country and the gas for the Hummer and the ridiculously long commute. Guess I can't blame the the oil companies for taking advantage of people's stupidity.

[MAXIMAN]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by xs650mike

My point was and is that the oil industry isn't hurting, it's the consumer that is. Why weren't prices raised earlier? Got no idea but I suspect they just realized that they could.

Yes and moon is made of green cheese Mike. That was a real profound answer and exactly what I expected.

It is certainly a fact that as prices have increased so have oil company profits.

Oh yes...and we certainly don't want that to happen now do WE!. Every damned company in this great nation is allowed to make a profit...even an "obscene" profit.(try Microsoft...Google) But if the US Petroleum industry EVER starts to get ahead...if they ever begin to see a return on the billions invested in the high risk venture of exploration ...oh no...all hell breaks loose!

The truth is we should be cheering our domestic industry and giving them MORE incentives to produce MORE OIL so we can get off the import TIT! But soooooo many Americans are eaten up with the cancer of wealth envy can't see past the fuel hose. They swallow the media lie... hook line and sinker blaming every one from Bush to the big bad wolf... "Halliburton"... for the rise in price when in fact they should look in the mirror. BTW for those of you in Lah Lah Land...Halliburton is NOT and Oil Producer.

SO....They want to punish and restrict the domestic energy industry and make us even MORE dependent on our enemies for fuel.

It's absolute insanity the way the American public thinks. Anything NBC or Fox broadcasts...THEY EAT IT UP. They know everthing American Idol (or is that American Idle? )and nothing about the American Constitution.....blahhhhhhhhhhhh!

This whole discussion is a total waste of time. No one really wants to understand the forces that drive energy price. All they wanna do is bitch and blame "Big Oil".

Peace...Im outta here!

[xs650mike]

Love thine Oil Company!

Geez Cody I never said that profits or corporations are evil per se. Why bring irrelevancies like Halliburton, Fox News and NBC into the discussion? Why the heck are you so angry because people are upset about gasoline prices? Would you expect us all to be happy that the price is going up by leaps and bounds? I don't really care if the oil companies make huge profits, that doesn't affect me. I do care about a 50 or 60% increase in my fuel cost because that does affect me.

When I mention the oil companies' bottom lines I'm just making an observation, one that you can't dispute. You can scream about Pelosi and Kennedy and socialism all you want but they aren't the cause of the present state of affairs. I can do without Microsoft if need be and I've never paid one cent to Google. Motor fuel isn't like a lot of consumer products, it is like food and water; people have a minimum daily requirement so they pay whatever they have to pay. A lot of us are fast approaching the point where we can't cut back on fuel use any further. What happens then? Our standard of living goes down. Do you think that's a good thing? Yep, it's the American way...progress! Let's return to the good old days of robber barons, 12 hour work days, tenement housing and city skies filled with coal smoke. Yippee! What's good for Exxon is good for the country.

BTW I notice that GM is discontinuing the original Hummer in favor of downsized versions. That doesn't sound to me like there is as great a demand for these things as you said. If there were, GM would be hiring instead of laying off.

[BLUEJEEPLAB]

BTW I notice that GM is discontinuing the original Hummer in favor of downsized versions. That doesn't sound to me like there is as great a demand for these things as you said. If there were, GM would be hiring instead of laying off

Sounds like time to add another Aveo line or maybe a Hybrid Hummer 3?

[MAXIMAN]

The reason GM is laying off is because they build junk, pay their union employees to much and pay their management WAY TOO MUCH!

But they made their bed and now they have to lay in it.

The fact that gasoline demand in the USA is at an all time high...even in the face of $3 gas is a statistical fact. I suspect when it gets "too" high demand will fal as will prices.

I find it strange you say you don't care how much profit Exxon makes. Yet when they do make a profit you complain. Which is it?

[xs650mike]

Not complaining about them making money, I'm complaining about me losing money. Apparently I'm not alone. I suppose everyone who's complaining should get a higher paying job. LOL. Wages are actually falling while prices increase. This is good for the banks and credit card companies, at least until people begin to default in droves. Record number of bankruptcies last year and this year is shaping up to be worse. Highest since the Great Depression and the economy is supposed to be great. Wonder why so many people are having trouble in this great economy? Guess they need to learn to live within their means. Commute by bicycle or something, tell the kids to pay for their own college.

You're right about GM (& the other US automakers) making junk, well not so much junk as products that don't appeal. Funny thing is that European automakers are paying their workers "too much" and they have ridiculous taxes and a cradle-to-grave welfare state but they are getting by. I don't think their cars are any better than ours either. A lot of the "junk" factor happens to be that the things are just way too unreliable and expensive to repair and need to be traded in after 90,000 miles or they turn into absolute money pits. This is not because of bad build quality, just that they weren't designed to be readily repairable. Me, I've traded back down to older cars. Little old lady cars. I currently own a loaded '87 Chrysler 5th Ave. (M body) with a 318 V8 which has offset it's increased fuel consumption (20 mpg) by costing far less to keep in good driving condition. The biggest expense over the last 100k miles has been repairing the air conditioner whearas the 94 Taurus (Tore Ass?) was an absolute money pit at half the mileage of the Chrysler. Didn't get much better mileage (22 mpg) than the Chrysler and needed front brake pads at 20k miles if I babied the brakes, sooner if I drove with any verve. Constantly in need of repair. 2 years after I sold the car to some poor soul I finally got my reimbursement from Ford for replacement of the famous TFIM (thick film ignition module) which Ford saw fit to place above the engine where heat made it fail. The engine would stop suddenly on hot days. Open the hood and wait 20 minutes for the thing to cool down and it would operate normally again. Always a thrill on a busy Interstate. My friends Mercury Disable was the same way. At 180k miles the only other repairs to the old Chrysler beside the AC have been some bushings in the front suspension, brake pads and a set of shocks. It has absolutely no rattles either. I used to own another M body, a Plymouth Gran Fury, also had a Volaré with 318. These cars are no technical masterpieces but they do have a useful life of around 300k hard miles.

In California, demand for gasoline has already begun to fall. Maybe that's the reason that gas is 10 cents cheaper this week. $3.299 87 oct at Valero, others have followed suit except for Shell, Unocal and Chevron. Their gas is soooo much better (LOL) that people will pay 20 cents a gallon more.

[pggg]

Well, if this site http://waterpoweredcar.com/index.html can be believed? (the religous undertones are a bit suspect though) - then the oil companies will soon be all washed out. Excuse the pun.

[Pat Kelly]

Just my opinion but I think we'd be better off running out of oil before we run out of water. Look at Mars . Maybe we used to live on Mars till we made it uninhabitable. Now the same with Earth. Next stop, Uranus.

[John]

Well, with the elections just around the corner, gas prices are falling nicely. Premium is about $2.40 in most areas, vs $3.25 a couple of months ago. How low do you think the prices will get in the coming weeks, and then how high will they go right after the elections are over?
Greedy ba$tards!

[BLUEJEEPLAB]

John,

Let's iterate. Summer is over, demand is down. Tensions in Middle East are eased, Supply is up. No Hurricanes in Gulf, Supply is up. So from our previous economics lessons from a few months ago...

Demand Down + Increased Supply = Decreased Price.


Did you ever notice that they didn't start offering incentives on SUVs until the price fuel went up? Same law in action.

Maximan, I might need backup here!

[trbig]

It's under 2 bucks a gallon now in OKC for reg unleaded. I didn't think we'd ever see it again.

Tod