Big Oil has beatin me down
5/14/07, 08:24 PM
#21
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Not to mention what our scumbag congressmen get on the side. It only takes a few hundred thousand here and there for oil companies to keep proffits in the billions. Who cares if the average American citizen suffers. Why do you think people will spend 35 million dollars to get elected into a $250k a year job.
Anyhew, I drive 5 miles to work
Anyhew, I drive 5 miles to work
5/14/07, 08:35 PM
#22
Tasca Super Boss 429 Member
OK I give. Gas prices are getting out of this world. I started getting E-85 for my 07 F-150. I know I'll get worst gas mileage but its 40 cents cheaper and my money isn't going to Mr. Big Oil. Also I'm going to lower my tune back to 89 Octane from 93 on my 07 Black GT/CS. Plus I started to drive my 89 Suzuki Sidekick 4x4 to work, 100,000 miles and it still gets 30mpg. My Mustang will be used just for fun and my Truck to pull my RV once a month to the Campground and I'll drive the Suzuki till the wheels fall off.
You have 2 pleasure vehicles and an everyday vehicle.
Why lower the tune on the Mustang?
Just plan for your next 4 cyl. vehicle for daily driving.
5/14/07, 09:35 PM
#23
5/14/07, 10:12 PM
#24
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I admit I only read the first few posts, but I've seen this topic and the normal progression before. As 'citizens' we need to quit fighting about whether it's the Republicans or Democrats, Big Oil or Tree Huggers... WAKE UP - NEITHER ONE ARE HELPING!!! They're a two-headed snake, we need to start holding the snake (our government) accountable, and stop trying to determine which head is to blame for biting us.
5/14/07, 10:14 PM
#25
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Is that why Exxon Mobil can afford give there ceo 50 million dollar bonus ! Why should they build another refinery then there would be more gas and they wouldn't have the excuse there wasn't enough. Then there ceo might only get a 25 million dollar bonus.
5/14/07, 10:20 PM
#26
Can you imagine being an oil CEO. Running a company that is guaranteed to make huge profits and you get paid tens of millions in bonus's because it did And if you suck at the job you get a 400million severance package...
5/14/07, 10:49 PM
#28
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Most of the refining contruction companies have more work coming in then they can handle at this point. The company I work for is 80% booked for the next 3 years. They're doing everything they can to refine as much as possible.
5/14/07, 11:25 PM
#29
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You'd think we (America as a country) would've learned how to use LESS oil by now over the decades... I picture a cartoon in the editorial page with the U.S. depicted as a heroin junkie shooting up, except the syringe will say OIL on it. Like others have posted, I knew what I was getting into when I made the decision to own a Mustang and the attendant fuel usage. I plan reduce my driving (which will help reduce my weight or at least keep it in check! )
Don't wanna jack the thread, but -
Yeah, people can blame the tree huggers for lack of refining capacity or the fact that we have oil but we "can't get to it" because of the environmental regulations for the high gas prices. I bet if they had to live near a refinery, power plant, or some other industrial area they'd be singing a different tune. I hear urban areas in China have wonderful air quality this time of year... IDK, must be where I'm from - intrinsically different values regarding land and resource use but won't go into that.
BTW, can the oil companies give me some of their chump change? I could use some - they'll end up getting it back anyway!
)Don't wanna jack the thread, but -
Yeah, people can blame the tree huggers for lack of refining capacity or the fact that we have oil but we "can't get to it" because of the environmental regulations for the high gas prices. I bet if they had to live near a refinery, power plant, or some other industrial area they'd be singing a different tune. I hear urban areas in China have wonderful air quality this time of year... IDK, must be where I'm from - intrinsically different values regarding land and resource use but won't go into that.
BTW, can the oil companies give me some of their chump change? I could use some - they'll end up getting it back anyway!
5/15/07, 12:32 AM
#30
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Personally, ever since I bought the Stang, I have been waiting for gas to get upto about $5/ gallon. Maybe then most of the idiots who can't seem to drive will get the heck out of the way or even better, off the road.
5/15/07, 07:15 AM
#32
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It still amazes me how man people are blaming "big oil" for the price increases we have been seeing lately.
Who hasn't allowed new refineries to be built (did you wonder why the price of gas was going up while the price of crude was going down???) for THREE decades??? (That is DECADES, not years) Government. Who forces the refineries to produce different niche fuels for all these different markets AND forces them to make different blends for summer and winter??? Government.
When they shut down refineries to reconfigure for different blends, it hurts the availability. When there is an excess in refinery capacity, you see it as a 5 to 10 cent per gallon jump at the pump at the start of the summer driving season. But now, there IS no excess refinery capacity. When they shut one down, the rest can't make enough fuel to meet demand and the current prices, so the market drives the prices up until the demand drops enough to cover the production gap. Basic economics.
Who hasn't allowed new refineries to be built (did you wonder why the price of gas was going up while the price of crude was going down???) for THREE decades??? (That is DECADES, not years) Government. Who forces the refineries to produce different niche fuels for all these different markets AND forces them to make different blends for summer and winter??? Government.
When they shut down refineries to reconfigure for different blends, it hurts the availability. When there is an excess in refinery capacity, you see it as a 5 to 10 cent per gallon jump at the pump at the start of the summer driving season. But now, there IS no excess refinery capacity. When they shut one down, the rest can't make enough fuel to meet demand and the current prices, so the market drives the prices up until the demand drops enough to cover the production gap. Basic economics.
5/15/07, 07:23 AM
#33
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Just a little curious with the economic statement as it seems to be at odds with Saudi Arabia and Iran. The price of a litre of gas in Saudi Arabia is 2 cents a litre and 4 cents in Iran. Hmmmmm Canada is an oil producing nation and Saudi Arabia is an oil producing country but how come Canadians and our friendly neighbours to the south are getting robbed at the pumps while Saudi Arabia can sell a litre of gas for 2 cents a litre??? I thought that OPEC nations where suppose to sell their product for the same price around the world?
5/15/07, 08:02 AM
#34
Saudi gas companies (refineries) are owned by the state and they can sell gasoline at a loss as long as the money for raw oil keeps flowing in to subsidize the low prices.
And IIRC Saudi prices are around $0.50 a gallon, Iran $0.30-$0.40 and Venezuela about $0.25
5/15/07, 08:58 AM
#35
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Here's what I don't understand. As a worker in the electric generation industry, our profits are limited. Everyone needs electricity; so we can't charge the public outrageous fees.
Isn't that true with gas? Most of us have jobs that require us to drive to work. We have a huge transportation/shipping industry that relies on petroleum to move goods from one location to another. The higher prices go up for petroleum products, the more the consumer pays for everyday items. Everyone pays.
Now here's the good part. Go to the oil companys' websites and pull up their annual reports. Someone on here stated that the companies are only operating on a 10% profit margin, that may be true. However, when a company's QUARTERLY PROFIT is $5 billion, that's just robbing the consumers blind.
When will we as a country say enough is enough? The politicians aren't going to do it on their own, republican nor democrat. They all have their pockets lined with big money. Gasoline isn't a luxury item. We all use it daily just to get to work so that we can make a decent living. The war in Iraq is a convenient excuse, along with insufficient refineries, supply and demand, etc. It's just plain ole price gouging and we're sitting back and taking it.
Isn't that true with gas? Most of us have jobs that require us to drive to work. We have a huge transportation/shipping industry that relies on petroleum to move goods from one location to another. The higher prices go up for petroleum products, the more the consumer pays for everyday items. Everyone pays.
Now here's the good part. Go to the oil companys' websites and pull up their annual reports. Someone on here stated that the companies are only operating on a 10% profit margin, that may be true. However, when a company's QUARTERLY PROFIT is $5 billion, that's just robbing the consumers blind.
When will we as a country say enough is enough? The politicians aren't going to do it on their own, republican nor democrat. They all have their pockets lined with big money. Gasoline isn't a luxury item. We all use it daily just to get to work so that we can make a decent living. The war in Iraq is a convenient excuse, along with insufficient refineries, supply and demand, etc. It's just plain ole price gouging and we're sitting back and taking it.
5/15/07, 10:03 AM
#36
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You think a company is robbing us when they make a 10% profit, I say the government is robbing us when they TAKE 25% PLUS from our pay. And then they have the gaul (sp?) to tax us on the other side (sales tax, property tax, registration "fees", etc) for another 10 to 15 percent.
Plus, you have the OPTION of NOT doing business with the oil companies. You CAN build a house that does not rely on oil or gas (or even electricty off the grid). You CAN chose to live close enough to work that you can walk or ride so you don't need a car. But the last time I looked, the government (in the form of the IRS) tends to take a REAL dim view if you decide that 40% is confiscatory and you were going to "opt out".
The oil companies might look like villians in all this, but the governemnt is a much bigger one. I almost had to scream this morning while driving in to work when I head a report that another mornonic Senator was going to have an inquiry into "price gouging" by the oil companies.
How many of these have the held? Have they EVER found evidence that there was gauging going on? No. The market works pretty good in the USA. Generally, it works the best when the government meddles the least.
I wonder if one of these Senators will ever have the ***** to hold an inquiry into "tax gouging" by the government...
5/15/07, 10:19 AM
#37
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So you want the government to set limits on how much profit a company can make? How about 10% of gross sales? But I'll only go along with that if we also set it so that GOVERNMENT (in all it's forms, Fed, State, County, etc. COMBINED) can ONLY take 10% of the GDP in the form of taxes.
You think a company is robbing us when they make a 10% profit, I say the government is robbing us when they TAKE 25% PLUS from our pay. And then they have the gaul (sp?) to tax us on the other side (sales tax, property tax, registration "fees", etc) for another 10 to 15 percent.
Plus, you have the OPTION of NOT doing business with the oil companies. You CAN build a house that does not rely on oil or gas (or even electricty off the grid). You CAN chose to live close enough to work that you can walk or ride so you don't need a car. But the last time I looked, the government (in the form of the IRS) tends to take a REAL dim view if you decide that 40% is confiscatory and you were going to "opt out".
The oil companies might look like villians in all this, but the governemnt is a much bigger one. I almost had to scream this morning while driving in to work when I head a report that another mornonic Senator was going to have an inquiry into "price gouging" by the oil companies.
How many of these have the held? Have they EVER found evidence that there was gauging going on? No. The market works pretty good in the USA. Generally, it works the best when the government meddles the least.
I wonder if one of these Senators will ever have the ***** to hold an inquiry into "tax gouging" by the government...
You think a company is robbing us when they make a 10% profit, I say the government is robbing us when they TAKE 25% PLUS from our pay. And then they have the gaul (sp?) to tax us on the other side (sales tax, property tax, registration "fees", etc) for another 10 to 15 percent.
Plus, you have the OPTION of NOT doing business with the oil companies. You CAN build a house that does not rely on oil or gas (or even electricty off the grid). You CAN chose to live close enough to work that you can walk or ride so you don't need a car. But the last time I looked, the government (in the form of the IRS) tends to take a REAL dim view if you decide that 40% is confiscatory and you were going to "opt out".
The oil companies might look like villians in all this, but the governemnt is a much bigger one. I almost had to scream this morning while driving in to work when I head a report that another mornonic Senator was going to have an inquiry into "price gouging" by the oil companies.
How many of these have the held? Have they EVER found evidence that there was gauging going on? No. The market works pretty good in the USA. Generally, it works the best when the government meddles the least.
I wonder if one of these Senators will ever have the ***** to hold an inquiry into "tax gouging" by the government...
5/15/07, 10:37 AM
#38
Total revenues for 2006 were $11.5 billion, net income in 2006 was $1.25 billion.
That's what, 10% profit?
FirstEnergy is Met Ed here in PA
5/15/07, 10:39 AM
#39
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OK I give. Gas prices are getting out of this world. I started getting E-85 for my 07 F-150. I know I'll get worst gas mileage but its 40 cents cheaper and my money isn't going to Mr. Big Oil. Also I'm going to lower my tune back to 89 Octane from 93 on my 07 Black GT/CS. Plus I started to drive my 89 Suzuki Sidekick 4x4 to work, 100,000 miles and it still gets 30mpg. My Mustang will be used just for fun and my Truck to pull my RV once a month to the Campground and I'll drive the Suzuki till the wheels fall off.
