the aforementioned quarterly statement of earnings.. that i was beaten to by
tbone24.

Let me put it this way. at the 2.50ish price range the oil companies had close to a *50%* profit margin.

lets break down the retail price.

right now its around 3ish. 60 - 70 cents is the gas tax.
so that leaves 2.50 or so. whole sale is usually 20 - 30 cents cheaper.

so we'll be conservative and say its 2.10
and if their profit margin is half. that means the oil companies make easily 1.05 for each gallon you pump. We pump tens of thousands of gallons a day

enough perspective? they are making money hand over fist. and they like it that way. As long as we're their bitches and we will resist change and adjust to the prices. They will keep pushing it as far as they can.

and the other oil producing countries enjoy this. "Lo and Behold. the mighty america is our bitch." kind of like a power-tripping 40 year old Home Owner Association Chairman.

When something is profitable. They will resist change.. change isn't profitable. it costs money. thats why congress signed that bull**** energy bill relaxing gas mileage standards and giving oil companies a 120+ million dollar subsidy of our tax money.
Yay.

 

alright i gotcha

 

I think the problem here is that oil companies probably long feared that the american consumer wouldn't pay european type prices for gas (2-3-4-5 bucks a gallon.) Most likely, this is hangover effect from the 70's OPEC embargo. So, they kept prices low. But, the war gives them an opportunity to test demand for this - and everyone is lining up paying 3 bucks a gallon and NOT changing consumption patterns.

You want prices to go down? We all need to consume less. As long as demand appears to be inelastic (eg they keep raising prices with little effect on demand) they will keep gouging and gouging.

I'm as guilty of it as anyone, but when it went over $3 for me yesterday, I'm changing. I didn't drive today and won't drive tomorrow either. And I'll shift lower when I do drive.

 

Its simple...if you could charge that much, and people will still buy...why wouldn't you sell it for more? Exactly my point. The gov needs to step in and regulate or else nothing will change and itll keep going up.

 

If i remember correctly, couple years back the gas prices went from 1.89 premium to 2.29 within a month. People started taking buses and went on strike. Instantly the gas prices dropped back to 1.99 here in So Cal.

Now, everyone is consumming more and driving faster on the freeway. I saw 5 SUV within 5 minutes going 85+ MPH on the 10 freeway while driving home from work. I mean people really don't seem to care or make as big of a deal as the past so the prices keep on rising.

If 3 days and 50% of the people stop buying gas, i believe we will not see it goes any higher and probably down to 2.xx per gallon.

 

I doubt the government will do anything with the prices gone up and the taxes are higher. They're making money along with the oil company. Why would they step in?

 

I hat to get political (kid who is getting allowance is exempt from reading this) but why, if New Orleans supplies 10% of the national fuel, are prices rising 10% per day?!! By the way, I filled up today in Plant City, Florida (outside Tampa) for 2.99 and 9 tenths. That's expensive here. In case many of you do not know, Atlanta has enjoyed cheap gas for a long time. This is just payback.

 

Yea that was my other point Imma just have my G towed everywhere I wanna go, and just sit in it pretending to be cool. It'll be cheaper....if not now then soon...unless the tow truck guys starting charging for gas, then I am moving to Rhode Island and getting a job there where the radius of the state equal that of my block here in LA.

 

I've garaged my G for the last week. I'm driving my 97 Grand Prix for now. Gets 25MPG city, and only needs 87 Octane, vs. my G which gets 19 city and needs premium. I'll be sticking with that until gas prices return to sanity, or next spring comes around...

It also doesn't help that a lot of the gas stations out this way aren't carrying premium unleaded at the moment :|

 

If I honestly walked to work it would take me about 20 hours.

 

I find that I don't drive my G enough. Need to change that.
I laugh at Escalades, Navigators, Expeditions, F150s, H2s...
Gas will likely never cost under $2.50 for regular again.

 

People and experts mention all the time that if demand does not go down then prices will never go down, hence people suggest you change driving patterns. The problem is, no matter what the price people have to drive to do everything they do in life. Drive to work, pick up kids, school, entertainment, etc.
Ok i guess you can choose not to drive around aimlessly but i dont think those that do are making the demand raise that much. Point is i do not think there is a price that will stop people from purchasing gas.
Gas is like food, a necessity. No matter what the price you must get it to survive. Changing demand would only work if everyone changed their life decisions.
Answer is, government needs to step in and regulate the oil companies and just take what they need from middle east at a fair price.

 

Why do you laugh at people who drive $55-$60K Escalades and H2's? If they are driving a $60K SUV then I am pretty sure they have the money for gas.....even if it cost $3 or $4 a gallon. Would it suck to pay that? Sure, but they could probably still afford it.

 

People are forgetting that the increase in gas prices is not just us the US
China and India are ramping up as industrialized countries and future super powers that will, yes, overtake us in the next few decades whether we like it or not.

They are buying and consuming more and more gas.
It's not just a national issue, its a international issue.

There's more than enough oil in the world... the issue with gas prices is the lack of refineries to make our gas. and that its less coss effective to mine some of the larger oil deposits (oils ands in canada for example)