Friday, July 1, 2011
The annual, ugly, very unpatriotic Independence Day screwing
Well, good morning and welcome to the annual, very unpatriotic Independence Day screwing we always get from Corporate Amerika and the gas stations, coast to coast. As I went to work today, I noticed gasoline jumped at least approximately 15 cents--from $3.27 per gallon yesterday (when I filled up, thank goodness) to today's cost (on the East side of town, anyway) of $3.42 a gallon. Thank you, Quik Trip, et. al and happy 4th of July to you, too. Doesn't it seem as though some representative in government should propose a law making this annual holiday gouging illegal? And not just on our national patriotic holiday but Thanksgiving, Christmas, all of them? Does it seem right they can get away with this? It sure doesn't to me. And it particularly doesn't on the day we celebrate the country's birth, the opportunistic, exploitative bastards. (To borrow a phrase from another local blogger, "You kids get off my lawn!").
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Gasoline price jumps when use goes up. This is a good thing, because the alternative is shortages. Without the ability to set their own price, there would be no incentive to stock up, to spend the extra money to store fuel during low-use times.
But as long as nobody can get gas, that is better than if only those who need it enough to pay extra can get it, right?
Yep, it's very unfair. I wish they would gouge consumers more. Down the street here in Friedrichshafen, Germany, gas is 1.52 Euros per liter. Given that there are 3.79 liters in a gallon, that translates to 5.76 Euros per gallon. At an exchange rate of more than $1.45/Euro, that means that they are paying the equivalent of $8.32/gallon. You won't be surprised to learn that mass transit and bicycles are popular here, but I still see people driving, and they still have traffic jams.
And Germany's economy is the strongest in Europe, basically keeping the EU afloat.
But I have a particular problem with asking Congress to stop companies from gouging by passing laws when it is so easy for people to regulate their COST, if not the seller's PRICE, of gas. We have a lot of power in our hands that we don't use. It is in the personal interest of many members of Congress not to piss off the gas companies. It's in our interest, fiscally and environmentally, to drive less. Given that the gas and oil companies try to drill US every holiday, you'd think we'd have learned by now.
What I hope--and believe--is true and possible and comes about, sooner than later:
Ceres: Stronger Fuel Economy Standards will Save Consumers $150 Billion, Create 700,000 Jobs by 2030
http://thinkprogress.org/romm/2011/07/02/258581/ceres-fuel-economy-standards-jobs/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+climateprogress%2FlCrX+%28Climate+Progress%29
Why do all of your solutions involve coercion? Why not let gas prices do what they will, and as they go up, more and more people will want to buy the kind of cars you think are acceptable.
And my answer is, seriously and with no sarcasm, because I don't expect to just wait through a problem and hope the best thing comes out at the end. Rather than sitting around waiting for that, I do, in fact, think things need to be done so a better and more appropriate and yes, fairer end result takes place, instead of letting some greedy corporation have yet again its way with us for their own benefit, to our loss.
and this price rise, Sevesteen, is not a result of shortages at all. It happens before each holiday and is purely and simply the corporation's desire to squeeze still more profit out of the purchasers. they only do this because they can. It is not because of supply and demand. You can defend them all you want--and you did and will continue to, I'm sure--but it's just about taking more of your and my money, consumer be damned.
Now I assume you're both wealthy AND born to a "Big Oil"-dependent family. (Not literally but your logic and defending them makes it seem that way).
pSince refineries are very expensive, you would expect that we do not have a lot of excess refinery capacity--that turns out to be true. That means a relatively fixed supply of gasoline. Basic high school economics means that when you have increased demand for something with a fixed supply, the price will go up. People drive more on holiday, increasing demand. It is surprising that the price increase isn't higher. And if the evil oil companies were that capable of manipulating prices, they could have completely hidden this year's increase by delaying the recent 60 cent per gallon drop by a few weeks.
That isn't to say that the oil companies don't profit, of course they do, but it isn't some evil conspiracy. Even with the recent jump, are oil company profits less than the government's take on a gallon of gas?
You seem to admire the big-government policies of European countries. Do you similarly admire their fuel prices? There is a correlation here.
If you want small, efficient cars, by all means buy one--I do. I wouldn't drive an SUV if gas were free--but I don't have the right to impose my choices on others.
You're making excuses for the oil companies to gouge us as they do, annually and repeatedly, just because a) a holiday is on the calendar and b) we drive a bit more at that time.
It's not the profit anyone begrudges the oil companies or any corporation. It's the gouging the public and the obscene profits they make that are the problem, to the country's detriment.
I do, in fact, admire European-style governments--and programs. Not all but some, especially their universal health care which works so admirably for the benefit of every citizen.
Anyone should, if they like them, get a small, energy-efficient car, naturally, not just me. I don't understand why you'd single me out on this. As it is, I did make sure I drive a 6 cylinder so I get better mileage.
The government does, in spite of Libertarianism, have the right to impose programs and should (but that's in my opinion, certainly not yours, I know and understand and we needn't cover it yet again) if, in fact, it is for the long-term gain of the country and its people. Adding a dollar to the price of a barrel of oil so we wean ourselves off it would be a terrific idea and it is the last thing you, as a Libertarian, or the "Big Oil" would want.
An "energy policy"?
What's that?
Jimmy Carter was right, of course.
It has been decades since driving 'only' a 6 cylinder could be considered virtuous--With a single exception that I only kept a few months, I've bought nothing but 4 cylinder cars since about 1988.
Nobody needs more power than that. That said, it wasn't virtue that has me driving subcompact cars, it is personal preference.
It is hypocritical to demand that I be forced to follow rules that you aren't yet following voluntarily.
If you want to add a dollar or three to the cost of a barrel of oil, I won't fight--but only if it is revenue-neutral. All the money goes back to the taxpayers (or even the citizens) and everyone gets the same amount, the money not used to expand government still more.
I'd drive a 4 cylinder but I do drive an SUV--a Jeep Grand Cherokee--because I sell office furnuture for a living and have to frequently schlep the stuff around the region. I don't have it for a trend.
I totally agree about the revenue-neutral, absolutely. I couldn't agree more.
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