Originally posted by Stazi:
Originally posted by JaTo:
Here we go again...

1) Refining capacity has been a PROVEN bottleneck; we have more oil in the chain than we have GAS being produced. Basic supply/demand here.


I don't see ANY shortages ANYWHERE so I don't buy that argument - even the Hurrican Katrina induced gouging was unjustified as it happened THE DAY the hurrican hit, when the gas was already sitting i the tanks at the stations!
Originally posted by JaTo:

2) Gas formulation laws have also taken their toll on prices; we've just gone through a recent switchover that has been a more costly one for refiners. Costs like this have to be passed on to the consumer, unless you can get Congress to open their purses and pay for the changeover...


This new formulation has barely even an effect on the normal formulations we use today - we can you even BUY these new formulations?????
Originally posted by JaTo:

3) Iran is the 4th largest oil-producing country in the world and like Venezuela (another oil behemoth), their ties to the West have "soured" as of late. There is a risk component to the price of crude oil and political instability with one of the world's largest consumers of oil and a couple of the world's largest producers of it tends to SPIKE this component.


There's MANY oil producing nations to offset bad blood with Iran and Venezuela - this is another moot point
Originally posted by JaTo:

4) Speculation is what the price of oil is pretty much hinged upon. Speculators adjust the price that they are willing to pay for oil due to current factors vs. what they feel future factors will be like. Given all of today's factors (summer demand, forumlation changes, political instability, oil supply concerns, etc., etc., etc.), the price has gone UP.


Way to just create another oint using the above points, which I have rebutted.
Originally posted by JaTo:

5) The price of oil and gas per gallon is less than many other liquids that you purchase on a daily basis. If we priced Budwiser out per gallon, you'd be paying around $8/gallon for it. Where is the outrage there?


Last time I checked, no one goes through 20 gallons or wine, beer, or milk a week, not without dying - that comparison is ridiculous!
Originally posted by JaTo:

6) Microsoft makes over 60-70% margin on the software products that consumers typically buy. Exxon and other oil companies on a GOOD day with a commodity such as oil or gas usually make single-digit margins (8% at last look). I don't see people in the streets protesting the margins that biotech firms make or the margins that many SW companies make...


Margins are one thing - actual profit is another - not one industry comes close to the profit that Gas companies are creating! This is because gas is sold in such large quatity, compared to a copy of Windows or a bottle of antibiotics!
Originally posted by JaTo:

7) The US has consistently paid some of the cheapest overall prices for gasoline since automobiles came into existance. There is a tax component that is associated with gas that many other countries inflate beyond belief, but that does NOT change the fact that gas has been a VERY cheap commodity for the US over the years.


This although true, does not JUSTIFY the sudden 300% increase in gas over the last 5 years!!! The last time gas went up 300% it took 20 years!
Originally posted by JaTo:

There is a reason Bill Gates is the richest guy on the planet and a reason that you be hard-pressed to find any "Big Oil" executive on the "most wealthy" list; there's also a reason you will find MANY oil sheiks from the Middle-East on that list, too.


Their are more wealthy sheiks then there are "Bill Gates", once again due to the VOLUME of PRODUCT being sold and the number of sheiks who sell said product comared to the number of big software companies.
Originally posted by JaTo:

In short, quit swallowing the fetid BS that the media tosses out to further sensationalize a hot-button issue. There's reason for concern about the price of oil and gas, but I'm tired of this lemming-mentality that states oil companies are "fixing" prices and "screwing" the consumer here.

THINK, PEOPLE!!!


Screw you....it's out and out gouging and I hope Congress uncovers it and we get back to sane pricing.

PS which gas company do you work for?

A few things to think about Stazi, I'm not going to hit all of your points, because I used to have the same thining pattern as you, but think about how India and China's economies have been growing tremendously late, hence the 'supply & demand shortage.' As for your oil production arguement, the Iran, as you know is a part of OPEC and since they are stirring hte pot, OPEC dictates the price of crude oil. There aren't many other countries with the infrastructure that the OPEC countries have to meet the demands of the world.
there was more to this post, but work distracted me..

Ryan Trollin!