Someone explain this BS to me

Gas went up 18 cents today in my neck of the woods. Eighteen fucking cents in one day. I know we have other gas-related threads, I don't care.

Someone explain to me how that's possible. How does the principle of supply-and-demand, which is what those who beat off to the sanctity of the market preach when it comes to fuel, etc., apply here?

What dramatic development in the supply-demand dogma caused an 18 cent increase? Iran threatens to cut oil production? That's speculative bullshit that has little to do with real supply-and-demand now or, likely, in the future.

Even if Iran did cut supply, how does that equate to a one-day, 18-cent increase for us here in the States? How much of our oil comes from Iran? How much of Iran's oil that goes elsewhere affect our supply, vis a vis, our suppliers having to pick up the slack? Seriously, I'd like to know.

I'm sooo sure when that threat becomes empty, like damn near everything else speculative that's driven pump prices up, there will be a requisite decrease, right? Right. Just like when prices spiked because some fucktard in Yemen took a potshot at a Japanese tanker with an APG.

And when I say I want an explanation ... I don't just mean those of us here at SJ.

I want answers from politicians, the media, the gas companies, the proprietors of the gas stations, etc.

And if those answers aren't forthcoming, I want those who have the power to do so to start holding people's asses to the fire. Not with bullshit solutions like gas tax holidays, I want someone like Obama or McCain to ask these questions.

Until this is explained, I going to go on thinking there is no fucking earthly reason why gas should be up 18 cents in a day or 50 cents in the last month. And I will go on presuming what I think we all suspect, that we're getting gouged out the ass and are too sheepish to do a thing about it.

 

Any congressman who wants to get re-elected should demand that the oil execs be dragged into public hearings to explain this shit. It's the no-brainer political play of the decade.

 

No shit. Yet, I don't hear any politician posing these questions.

And I don't even expect a resolution, necessarily, I just want the questions posed. I want a body that has real power to be representing its constituents in a meaningful way.

Instead, I fully expect a Major League Lacrosse hearing on HGH any day now.

 

Has anyone ever done a comprehensive story explaining . . .

1. What tax breaks the oil companies get.

2. Why they get these breaks . . . given their economic situation.

3. Where these breaks came from (they can't be all from this administration).

4. Why these breaks can't be removed . . . with the resulting funds transferred into tax breaks for EVERYONE ELSE.

And has any politician stood up and vowed to end these breaks (instead of pissing off some voters by vowing to eliminate some of Bush's tax cuts)?

 

We had a 30-cent jump in 12 hours one day last week. Thirty fucking cents ... in less than one day.

And that was when gas was still below $3 here.

 

Has any newspaper done a definitive "how your dinner gets from the farm to the table" type story on oil lately? Explaining exactly how the process works, how prices are set, etc.? I for one would be interested to read it. Someone, explain to me like I'm a 3-year-old how gas costs massively different amounts from week to week.

 

I believe Ragu's the man you're looking for here.

 

No I'm not!

 

If it was pure supply and demand, it wouldn't make sense.

But it's speculative supply and demand, with people bidding up prices based on expectations of future supply/demand, that throws a monkey wrench into the system.

 

This might get me flamed, but I have a theory. Yes, it's political. Yes, it's completely anti-Bush. Yes, it's probably nowhere near true.

This summer, the last of Bush's reign of terror, will see record prices. Why? Well, re-read that statement. How much has the price of gas gone up in this guy's tenure? Three dollars?

I've always believed that that cocksucker is the reason behind this, heck, I remember even when we were regularly bombing motherfuckers in that area of the world and Clinton was in office the shit stood at $1.22 flat.

My theory is that Bush is the reason it's going up and will continue to go up. Either you can say it's because of the wars we're in, the fact that Middle Eastern countries hate that douche or you can claim he's a pawn by Saudi interests (clearly shown in Michael Moore's film). I don't particularly give a crap what explanation you want to use, in my heart I believe it's his fault.

Remember back in November of '06? For the last week of October that year, prices nationwide held at around $2.40 or so. The week before the elections, shit dropped twenty cents. After the elections were over, it jumped to $2.50.

That leads me to believe that the price is directly tied into politics and has nothing to do with supply and demand. I mean, really, can you tell me that in the last eight years there has been such an increase in demand that it warrants doubling (and almost tripling) the price at the pump? I don't think so.

So sit back and enjoy the rape folks. Nothing you can do about it anytime soon. Maybe, just maybe, things will turn around in January.

 

Dragging these assclowns into Congressional hearings is gonna' drive down the stock prices of these oil companies, which will make these people very angry with the artificial redneck they bought. Follow the money and it all makes sense.

My favorite bullshit gas moment came in August, 2003 when the 12 hour power outage in the northeast allegedly knocked a refinery offline. So, with a day of refining lost, it only made sense that prices spike FOR SEVEN FUCKIN' WEEKS.

 

Simple - price of oil is now being based on oil futures market. You can thank Bill Clinton for signing into law a bill that had what's known as the Enron loophole. This loophole basiscally took off all the limitations off trading Oil futures and opened door for speculators.

Here is interesting explanation from Ben Stein:

"You see the many directions in which my febrile brain goes, and all because nice people have asked me why the high price of oil does not act the way that Econ 101 says it should: by suppressing consumption, bringing on new supplies and lowering the price. Here’s why: the Hedges of Greenwich"



http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/11/business/11every.html?_r=1&sq=ben%20stein&st=cse&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&scp=1&adxnnlx=1210681286-wBtpTA4KPhlAb83NgeisjA