Filler Up....Not

[Lisa in Katy]

Paper today says that operations at 22% of US refineries have been interrupted. Stockpiles were already low, so there you go. Seems like as good a reason to raise prices as any!

Gina, although I don't talk politics in this forum , I appreciate what you are implying! I was once a bleeding heart, but then they stitched me up!

 

[Superbob]

Drill, baby, drill!

 

[ChuckVSP]

Just got this from the market.....oil is $94.76 right now.....dropping $6.37 since Friday....so how come gas is up to $3.69.9 in Virginia?????? It went up 20 cents a gallon over the weekend. Something is rotten in Denmark, as my Mother used to say.

Evelyn

I am on vacation in Nashville, and if you can find gas it is 4.00 plus per gallon. When I left Roanoke, VA Saturday, many of the stations were out but I filled up for 3.47. After I got into Tennessee most stations along I-40 were 4.99 or more. I checked local news (Roanoke) and over 1200 complaints of price gouging had been filed over the weekend. Hope it goes back down by the time I get back home Friday.
My next worry, most of my IRA funds are with Lehman Brothers, and it looks like they went belly up. That is making me sweat just a bit more (ready to retire!!!)

 

[Ross]

The price gouging needs to be addressed. It is totally uncalled for. I'd like for the government to stay out of it, but if someone doesn't throttle these people, we are going to be held hostage by them soon enough.

 

[hensylee]

here's news:

The House of Representatives on Tuesday approved an energy bill that could
clear the way for more drilling in the United States, as the Democrats who
control Congress yielded to pressure from Republicans on the issue.

... FULL STORY: http://money.cnn.com/2008/09/16/news/economy/energy_bill/index.htm

 

[hensylee]

The price gouging needs to be addressed. It is totally uncalled for. I'd like for the government to stay out of it, but if someone doesn't throttle these people, we are going to be held hostage by them soon enough.

The state of Florida is aggressive in prosecution of these folks. There was one business in town who was gouging during Ivan, he was heavily fined, had to go out of business because he couldn't pay the fine. Might've helped that we also have a state rep who is a long time resident, but whatever caused it to happen, it's a good thing.

 

[Bonzo Dog]

Gouging

Gouging

Again separation by a common language comes into play.

Gouging???? A new one for me. Am I right in translating as excessive profiteering in times of crisis?

 

[Cooker]

Again separation by a common language comes into play.

Gouging???? A new one for me. Am I right in translating as excessive profiteering in times of crisis?

Give that Croc a cheroot

 

[terryj]

The 3 gas staions in my small town are all out of gas and most stations I passed on the way to work are out of regular. I drive 300 miles a week roundtrip to work. I need gas by tomorrow morning. I volunteered to work from home-LOL. The city of Atlanta says they have enough gas to last 13 days for the city workers if they conserve. I guess I will spend my lunchhour riding around using my gas looking for gas. Most of the stations are 4.09 to 4.59 still.

 

[marie]

I went by several gas stations here yesterday and all were pumping. Price ranged from $3.69 to $3.89

 

[terryj]

I found a gas station and filled up at 4.19 a gallon for regular. Then I ran by the post office for stamps. Gas and stamps 82.00. Last year I could fill up with gas,buy stamps and eat lunch out all week for 80.00 or less. Now I brown bag it 4 days a week and pay most of my bills online and I have given up unnecessary car trips and as I mentioned in a previous thread my husband and I now spend around 400.00 a month for prescriptions with Insurance.

 

[Lisa in Katy]

Georgia is one of the states listed in the paper as having excessively high gas prices - over $5 in some places. South Carolina was another one (Sorry, Cooker!). Are the stations really out of gas, or are they creating an artificial shortage in order to raise prices even more?

 

[terryj]

We just received this email pretaining to the county vehicles for the county government I work for.

We are experiencing a major interruption in our gasoline supply due to the hurricanes. As a first step, we want to limit the amount of fuel that is stored in individual vehicle tanks. Therefore we are asking that the following steps be taken immediately:

1) Do not "top-off" your vehicle above 1/2 tank.
2) Limit fill-ups to a maximum of 10 gallons; and
3) Avoid unnecessary idling

We believe that this situation should resolve itself in the next week, or so. But in the short term, more drastic measures may be necessary.

You cooperation is greatly appreciated!

 

[PairoDocs]

They do it because they can..

They do it because they can..

Capitalism in its uglier side is showing its true colors. The oil company shareholders want profits, so their companies do whatever it takes to please them and only them. The more the better...

At one time, when the fear of God was the beginning of wisdom, people tempered capitalism with a genuine concern for his fellow human being--or at least a healthy dose of respect for the Almighty--as in there will be a special extra-toasty spot in Hell for those who crush the poor for gain. Businesses generally tempered their supply and demand basis of pricing with the concern for the common good of their fellow citizen. At one point even those who ran oil companies thought this way--as unbelievable as it may seem to be today. Now, with the 'gangsta' morality (It's wrong only if I get caught.), and the relativism many in this world have embraced (If it feels right to me, then it's the best way, and you're free to believe in your own way; there are no absolutes.), you can sue or otherwise get as much money as you like and not give a @#$% about anyone who may suffer because of how you did it. The oil companies have caught on. They don't fear God--at least a version of God who cares about 'infidel' Americans, Europeans, Australians, or other 'western' cultures, and don't care about 'little' people. What's the result? Raising prices and wringing us dry worldwide.

Domestic price gouging is done because the oil companies can get away with it and have cast off ever increasing amounts of moral restraint. Competition? What's that? They've been getting away with price fixing and trusts for so long, there's been no other way of business for years, and US citizens don't seem to notice anymore.

Look what eventually happened with the anti-trust federally manditated breakup of the monopoly of Bell-Telephone and AT&T. Though phoning people still costs some money, you can now call from Alaska to Florida long distance for an entire month without hanging up for less than what it cost to talk to someone in a neighboring state 30 years ago for 20 minutes. Phone company employees aren't starving, and their executives live well, but even the poorest can now afford at least some kind of phone.

How about breaking up the oil monopoly and make them competitively get prices down? When oil really gets scarce? Ration it like we did in the 1970s. We'd learn restraint, car pool, and not be run into destitution like the current policy of big oil is having us do. Leave the prices at reasonable levels that won't turn most average citizens into debtors. Same with natural gas and heating oil, plus the rest of petroleum-based products.

I hope that it doesn't take thousands or tens of thousands of people freezing to death this winter for our government (Before anyone says "Republican" this or that, remember that Democrats run both houses of congress!) to forcibly take action and lock a $40.00 a barrel of oil as a maximum, and $1.50 a gallon gasoline as a federally manditated maximum. Sure, some OPEC countries may balk and try to hold out for a time, but in time they will be glad to get our $40.00 per barrel--and supply it generously. Or maybe it will take 100,000s or....

As for me, I'm praying that genuine concern for others will take the place of greed that seems to be driving gasoline and other petroleum products' prices way above reason. Someday, if it continues this way, those oil share holders will sit all alone in their cold dark mansions wondering why their gardeners and service staff have fled to the hills, their downed power lines were not restored, and their $17.00 per gallon heating oil not delivered because the delivery person left town for a 'safe' location weeks earlier. What use is all that money if there's no way to spend it? We will have gone on to better things and left them behind--I just hope it doesn't happen that way. Oh, yes, there's that pesky "judgement day" factor, too... Maybe that toasty parcel will get a bit crowded in the not too distant future.

Chris

 

[pamela]

Yeah but hon, the offset here is the cost of living. A stinking gallon of milk is as much or more then a gallon of gasoline. Prices are out of sight and no where near in line with what the average American wage earner makes.

I hate to tell ya Ross, 4L of milk right now, costs around 5 bucks, too. Granted I live in Alberta where the kid working part time at McD's makes $14 an hour simply because they gotta pay 'em to keep 'em.

 

[ponygirlmom]

Our Governor signed an executive order stating that the Attorney General can investigate gasoline price gauging. Soooooo. We'll see if anything beyond a signature takes place.

It did in Arizona a few years ago when a pipeline broke. The state government investigated price gouging. I can't remember what happened officially, but I do know that prices started to fall as soon as the investigation began.

 

[Bonzo Dog]

Spotted this and couldn't resist.

 

[skeptic49]

Chris, I enjoyed reading your essay. I agree with your thought that if ony we Amercians were willing to exercise self-restraint and conserve, we could set the price of a barrel of oil ourselves at $40.00, and say take it or leave it to Middle Eastern suppliers. But we're not prepared to make the required sacrifices. So gasoline will eventually become as expensive for us as it is for Europeans. As you also said, I hope that people don't freeze to death this winter because they can't afford to heat their homes.

Bonzo - funny pic!

Jim

 

[Ross]

I hate to tell ya Ross, 4L of milk right now, costs around 5 bucks, too. Granted I live in Alberta where the kid working part time at McD's makes $14 an hour simply because they gotta pay 'em to keep 'em.

Maybe I should move there. McDonalds doesn't even pay their managers that much here. They're lucky if they get $10 an hour.

 

[netmiff]

and after 3 months of being a tax-paying resident (I think) you would qualify for our health care, too