Rember to fill your tanks by Tuesday

[NCclimber 0]

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I hate to stop if the Illuminati aren't actually raising my prices...

I thought it was the Shriners, or the Freemasons, or the Knights of Templar...who are we to blame?

Let's ask Mel Gibson.

[Amazon 7]

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Especially those that supposedly claim control of an industry severely influenced by extremely strong market forces.

Gee you mean this has NO bearing on the bottom line of the oil companies???

http://www.economist.com/displayStory.cfm?Story_ID=526651

Big Oil and its subsidies
Mar 8th 2001
From The Economist print edition

America’s new administration wants to give oil companies new “incentives”. Critics deplore such “handouts”. Who is right?

THE question of whether governments are justified in subsidising energy firms is back on the agenda. George Bush has declared that there is an energy “crisis” in his country, and insists that more domestic supply is the answer. Allies in Congress have devised an energy bill laden with incentives for domestic oil and gas exploration. Mr Bush’s new budget also calls for a variety of enticements designed to get American oil gushing.

Critics have pounced on such proposals as thinly veiled handouts for Mr Bush’s cronies in the business—who, the critics insist, already receive plenty of fat subsidies. They point to earlier studies, such as one done by Greenpeace, that reckon the oil industry receives between $15 billion and $35 billion a year in subsidies.


The extraordinary complexity of the various “taxes” and “subsidies” affecting the oil industry is revealing in itself—eloquent testimony to politicians’ desire to meddle, and to obscure the true cost of their meddling. Mr Bush is wasting no time in following that tradition. If you ask whether any subsidies for oil are necessary, in economic terms, the answer is clearer. There is no reason whatever why American taxpayers should subsidise such a well-capitalised and hugely profitable venture as the oil industry, least of all when projects involving clean renewable energy receive much less favourable treatment. Big Oil’s free ride may be less outrageous than some allege. But the industry should pay its way—externalities included—in full.

[idrankwhat 0]

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Better fill your pipes/bongs befoe Wednesday too - the prices are going up

what are bongs?

[NCclimber 0]

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Especially those that supposedly claim control of an industry severely influenced by extremely strong market forces.

Gee you mean this has NO bearing on the bottom line of the oil companies???

Whether or not the oil companies want a Republican controlled Congress has no bearing on their ability to cause worldwide prices to drop 25 per cent.

[Andy9o8 2]

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Especially those that supposedly claim control of an industry severely influenced by extremely strong market forces.

Gee you mean this has NO bearing on the bottom line of the oil companies???

Whether or not the oil companies want a Republican controlled Congress has no bearing on their ability to cause worldwide prices to drop 25 per cent.

You know, we can confiscate your Speaker's Corner card...

[rehmwa 2]

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Gee you mean this has NO bearing on the bottom line of the oil companies???

It certainly does.

Now, do you think the spending habits of the populations of all the industrialized (and those that want to be industrialized) nations might have teensy affect on the manufacturability, distribution, and even price, of fuels in this little world of ours?

I'm a big fan of the whole, wildly crazy concept, that 5-6 billion consumers might just have more effect on the world economy than 23 well connected individuals of any influence or personal wealth - Especially in countries with very large populations of individuals with widely diverse social and political and economic motivations.

call me crazy

Edit: on a completely separate tangent - oil subsidies are a crappy idea. I don't want any independent industry subsidized by the government. Except skydiving, but that's for purely selfish reasons - just like all the industries desiring subsidation. ("subsidation" - did I just make up a word?)

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[NCclimber 0]

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Gee you mean this has NO bearing on the bottom line of the oil companies???

It certainly does.

Now, do you think the spending habits of the populations of all the industrialized (and those that want to be industrialized) nations might have teensy affect on the manufacturability, distribution, and even price, of fuels in this little world of ours?

I'm a big fan of the whole, wildly crazy concept, that 5-6 billion consumers might just have more effect on the world economy than 23 well connected individuals of any influence or personal wealth - Especially in countries with very large populations of individuals with widely diverse social and political and economic motivations.

call me crazy

Market forces effecting prices? That's just crazy talk.

[ExAFO 0]

I like lettuce. It makes sandwiches nice and crispy.

Illinois needs a CCW Law. NOW.

[Amazon 7]

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Market forces effecting prices? That's just crazy talk.

I think DEMAND drives it more .... especially since the USA USES 25% of the worlds supply. And since MOST of that oil is brought here by the companies who this administration has been VERY favorable to....I am sure the oli companies know WHO their best buddies are and just MIGHT be manipulating the price downward right now.. to maintain their status quo.

http://www.nrdc.org/breakthechain/chained.asp

The United States, with just 2 percent of the known reserves, consumes one-quarter of the world's production. Persian Gulf countries hold more than 65 percent of the world's oil reserves.


The price of oil fluctuates all the time, costing consumers at the pump, and straining the economy. Over the last three decades, each of the four major spikes in oil prices (1973, 1979, 1990 and 2000) has been followed by a recession.

[rushmc 23]

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Is that a personal attack?

How so?? What did I miss?

"gotta get Lucky once in a while" (note the revised emphasis in capitalization)

Lucky has a sense of humor once in a while

[billvon 3,096]

>>Market forces effecting prices? That's just crazy talk.

>I think DEMAND drives it more . . .

Uh, demand _is_ a market force.

>I am sure the oli companies know WHO their best buddies are
>and just MIGHT be manipulating the price downward right now . . .

I think that would be very very very hard to do (unless they're blowing up tens of thousands of SUV's every night to reduce demand!)

Seems silly to argue though. We'll see in two days. I doubt much will happen, beyond the usual fluctuations.