VanC":3sf4cvdn said:
ToddFarmsInc":3sf4cvdn said:
TheBullLady":3sf4cvdn said:
...
It is beyond comprehension to me that fuel can be this high... and the oil companies are recording record profits. I'd love to be in on the Senate hearings this week. Is there any good explaination they can make as to why they are getting richer while we all struggle?...
Oy Vey! The senate inquizition was just a riot! Lets looks at a few facts that I don't remember hearing about during those procedings.
The government has not allowed a new oil refinery to be built in 30 years.(we can't burn crude oil) Due to the EPA, and other environmential groups we aren't allowed to drill in many many places, where the oil is plentiful, and in the USA. We aren't allowed to crack oil from shale in Colorado, Ohio, Utah, or anywhere else. This is choaking off or supply making us more dependant on the middle east, and we are at their mercy for what they set the price of fuel at.
The profit margin of the oil companies has been reported to be around 8 percent, Cocoa Cola makes more, McDonalds makes more, Apple makes way more (but you don't hear nearly so many people moaning the price of an I Phone). Lastly on that topic, someone else mentioned the stock holders, wich is true. Teacher unions, Firemen unions, all have stock in oil companys, but it would just not be politically correct to go after them.
Sure the salary of the CEO's of the large oil companys sounds exuberant. (especially in comparision to what I make a year) Now lets talk about what Senators make, and representatives make, and lets talk about what big name hollywood actors and actresses make per picture, what is Katie Couric making? Now all the sudden Oil CEO's don't sound so bad.
As bad as the price of fuel is, and as much as I hate it, I point way more of my fingers at our own government (and I mean BOTH Dems and Repubs!) for the fix we are currently in, than I do "big oil". And that is my own two bit opinion.
*steping back down off the soap box*
Todd, your opinion is right on the money as far as I'm concerned. It's amazing how some of the very people that have contributed to higher fuel prices (Congress) are so quick to point fingers and preen in front of the cameras with their feigned outrage. I'll give 'em one thing, they sure seem to have a lot of people fooled. But then it's easy to fool a fool, isn't it?
How about we impose a windfall profits tax on the evil oil companies? It's been tried before and what happened? The company being taxed, in this case evil Big Oil, makes a profit up to the point where the tax kicks in and then stops production. That means less oil and even higher prices. Yeah, great idea. :roll: :roll:
Some people have wondered why since we're told there is plenty of oil the price should rise. Simple. Sure, there's plenty of oil, but we can't get it, and we don't have the refinery capacity to get it to the pumps fast enough to make a difference. We're not allowed to drill for our own (back to Congress) and we can't force the countries we buy it from to put more on the market. I found it demeaning that our president recently went to Saudi Arabia and begged them to release more oil when we're too stupid to drill for ours.
And then there's good old supply and demand. The economies of one third of the earth's population (China and India) have boomed over the past 20 years and they are demanding more and more oil every day. Not only are they demanding it, they're willing to pay for it. You don't think this will increase the price of oil? Wake up!
In short, there are umpteen reasons why the price of oil has risen so dramatically the past couple of years. The oil companies are certainly part of the problem, but a very small part, IMO. You want to pin all the blame on them? Go for it. But it's a short-sighted and narrow-minded view (back to Congress again) that will do nothing but make the problem worse in the long run.
One good thing may come out of this. Hopefully we will finally get serious about finding alternative and viable energy resources. There will be a lot of pain and suffering to get there, but maybe it will finally happen. Somebody on another thread mentioned that necessity is the mother of invention. I agree, but we'll have to make a lot of sacrifices first, and it seems a lot of people nowadays simply aren't willing to do that. It's a sure bet that our politicians aren't gonna do it, especially in an election year. OK, I'm done.
I hate to get involved in these discussions where everyone has an opinion...but to blame "Congress" for current fuel prices is just looking for a scapegoat rather than the truth which may be more complex and difficult to fix.
For one: there is no shortage of gasoline or diesel that new oil discoveries would lower the price.
For another: There is no shortage of refining capacity in this country. Existing refineries have added a lot of capacity in recent years.
While there are complex reasons, there are two basic reasons contributing to the current high price of fuels:
Oil has been traditionally priced internationally in US dollars which was traditionally the most stable currency in the world. However several factors, notably our absolutely STAGGERING federal budget deficits in recent years, have caused the value of the dollar to drop relative to other currencies. And since the sellers of oil want the same value for their oil as the US dollar drops in value, they want more dollars per barrel to have the same purchasing power. If you look at the price of crude in terms of Euros it has not risen nearly as dramatically.
The other major reason that oil prices in US dollars are increasing is that for decades, we have been one of the wealthiest countries in the world and consumed by far more oil per capita (per person) than any other country in the world. Other countries are now becoming wealthier and their people want to operate cars just like we do rather than rickshaws and oxen.
Because of our massive trade deficit with China, India and other countries, they have a lot of our US dollars to spend on oil. No longer are we the only bidder. And oil is a scarce commodity. The easy oil has been found. Even if we drill in sensitive areas, that oil costs a lot more to drill for than the easy oil we've been consuming....
The worlds population is growing, they want to live with the same conveniences that we do.
And since oil long term is a good investment since there will always be a market for it, much of the capital in the world looking for a place to make more buys oil futures, pushing the prices higher eventhough right now there is no shortagein the US.
US diesel is usually not priced higher than gasoiline. However diesel demand is not very elastic as industry/trucks require it. However much of our US produced diesel is being shipped to China and other nations who are willing to pay a higher price in cheap US deflated dollars we have paid them for just about everything in a Wal-Mart or Target store or .....you name the store.
I don't really have the time to get into this however I will take the time when I start reading inaccurate easy scapegoats being blamed. "Congress" is easy to blame but they are not the cause of these high prices. Our government is responsible for the fall in the dollar but I don't want to get nto that one.
Reading this board for a relatively short time, I have been impressed by the cattle information shared.
However when I hear people start to talk about "hanging trees" for "rustlers" and Congress is to blame for everything....that talk obscures the real reasons behind things and reflects a further breakdown in society and humanity.
When we either are not told the truth or ignore the truth we are not able to see the real causes of problems and then are not able to solve them.
"You shall know the truth and it shall make you free" (with a lot of work!)
Sorry to go on so long but this thread really has me concerned.
