The random political thoughts thread (Part Deux)

[scaeagles]

Well, it's a bit more involved than that. Right now there are genuine shortages driving prices up, which always happens at this time of year. All the refineries are having to go through their summer reformulation process, and from what I've heard (no confirmation or link on this aspect) it takes 3 days to completely finish that process.

It is all speculation. It is a commodity open to speculation. The gas price is not based on the production cost of the current stocks of fuel, but the speculation on what it will cost the companies to replenish their stock that they will then sell.

It is true, however, that the companies use two different arguments. If the price of oil is increasing, they base their prices on speculation of what the oil to replace their stocks will cost them. If the price of oil is decreasing, they base their prices on produciton costs. Sucks, but not illegal.

[Gemini Cricket]

Does Bush saying he's going to look into it have anything to do with a 32% approval rating that just came out?

[Ghoulish Delight]

Originally Posted by scaeagles

Sucks, but not illegal.

Unless they are communicating with each other to make those decissions.

Actually, the things that are having the biggest effect on the price of crude right now is the significant under-production in Iraq and Nigeria. If they were producing to capacity, there'd probably be about a 15-20% drop.

[Gemini Cricket]

This makes me want to talk to my friend in Monterey who made his Jetta run on french fry oil from McDonalds...

[wendybeth]

Hey, now that Bush had relaxed EPA standards for gas, maybe we will get to test that GW theory a little sooner than we all thought!

Why do I get the feeling this was the ****ing plan all along?

[scaeagles]

Originally Posted by Gemini Cricket

Does Bush saying he's going to look into it have anything to do with a 32% approval rating that just came out?

Yeah. I'm sure it does. It just makes me like him less, though - not that he has been ranking highly with me lately, though.

[Gemini Cricket]

Pelosi today:

"If you want to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and therefore improve our national security situation, you can't do it if you're a Republican because you are too wedded to the oil companies. We have two oilmen in the white house. The logical follow-up from that is $3 a gallon gasoline. There is no accident. It is a cause and effect. A cause and effect. How dare the president of the United States make a speech today in April, many, many, many months after the American people have had to undergo the cost of home heating oil. A woman told me she almost fainted when she received her home heating bill over this Winter. And when so many people making the minimum wage, which hasn't been raised in eight years, which has a very low purchasing power have to go out and buy gasoline at these prices? Where have you been, Mr. President? The middle class squeeze is on, competition in our country is affected by the price of energy and of oil and all of a sudden you take a trip outside of Washington, see the fact that the public is outraged about this, come home and make a speech, let's see that matched in your budget, let's see that matched in your policy, let's see that matched in and you're separating yourselves yourself from your patron, big oil, cut yourself off from that anvil holding your party down and this country down, instead of coming to Washington and throwing your Republican colleagues under the wheels of the train, which they mightily deserve for being a rubber stamp for your obscene, corrupt policy of ripping off the American people."

[scaeagles]

I would argue that Pelosi is wedded to radical environmental extremists so she opposes any and all domestic oil exploration and/or production.

Pelosi, let me know when you're willing to talk about reducing the taxes on gas and oil prodicts or you are willing to support increased domestic production. Perhaps then I'd be more willing to listen to your drivel.

Edited to add....the middle class squeeze? Right now, in spite of high oil prices, consumer confidence is high and the economy is doing well.

[wendybeth]

We're middle-class and definitely being squeezed- and not in a good way. I know so many people who are struggling to get by, and this past winter we had to (and were glad to) help several family members pay their heating bills.

Get used to the anger- it's going to get a lot worse.

[scaeagles]

While I do feel for you having gone through "the squeeze" at times myself, and of course there are always people hurting regardless of conditions, economic numbers do not agree anger will get worse. There isn't a whole lot of it now.

Consumer confidence highest in four years

Oil decreased yesterday from 75 to 73. It isn't going to go higher in the near future, but declines will be a bit slower than $2/day. And in terms of inflation adjusted dollars, gas prices are still lower than during the late 70s.