Originally posted by Stazi:
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!



A bottleneck in the overall supply chain doesn't immediately mean that shortages are happening NOW; it simply means that there is a general tightening of supply that sends the price up. Combine this with ever-increasing demand that also tends to drive the price up: double-whammy.


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

Depends on what state you are in and what season it is; there's a bloody patchwork of gas formulations that are sold all across the US and in some regions that's responsible for further hiking the price above already high levels...

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

Moot point my white ass; apart from the REAL concern that their reserves are at risk from being witheld from the markets that the US commonly buys from, the threat of this sends speculators into a frenzy and it's frenzied specualtors that are the folks that SET the price of oil and gas in this market. Futhermore, Venezuela is the BIGGEST oil producer in South America if I remember correctly and Iran is one of the top monster-producers in the Middle-East. OPEC has already come out and said that for the most part, they are pumping flat-out, so there are FEW if ANY others to take up the slack as you suggest...


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

What can I say; I'm fond of repetition and compounded points. As to a rebuttal, try again, because I'm simply not seing one here.

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

Fair enough; I just get surprised with folks that scream about $3/gallon gas when other items they purchase hold FAR higher price-points/gallon and give their manufacturers MUCH migher margins that what the oil companies are seeing.

Gouging is gouging, no matter what the price-point or what the commodity, so if people think it's going on with gas, it begs the question to find out what they think about alcohol or even other seasonable perishables that are priced via a speculative market...

Originally posted by Stazi:
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!

Margins are what LEAD to profit if the business is managed carefully and properly. They are unequivocally interlinked. Period.

Originally posted by Stazi:
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!

Yeah, we also didn't have India and China going through the Second Coming of the Industrial Revolution, either. Nor did we have the supply concerns or refining restraints that we do today, either. Market dynamics are ENTIRELY different today than they were 20-40 years ago.


Originally posted by Stazi:
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.

My point was that there are NO big oil execs sitting in the billionaire's club today; most of the money is heading towards the Middle-East and not lining the pockets of oil CEO's...


Originally posted by Stazi:
Screw you....it's out and out gouging and I hope Congress uncovers it and we get back to sane pricing.

Bulls**t; single-digit profits are about as non-gouging as one can come across and that's EXACTLY what they are making today. It's basic bloody math and accounting, people. I'm neither for or against oil companies; I AM for cutting through the sensationalistic BS that the media perpetuates on this topic, though. All that is happening now is that Bush is "pulling a Clinton" and bowing down to public pressure because his numbers are low, so inquiries are conviened to give the appearance that the US government is "concerned and alarmed" by the price of gas. What a crock of s**t; it's a waste of taxpayer money as they damn-well KNOW that there is no gouging going on.

Originally posted by Stazi:
PS which gas company do you work for?

None; which sensationalistc media outlet cuts your paycheck at the end of the week?

JaTo e-Tough Guy Missouri City, TX 99 Contour SVT #143/2760 00 Corvette Coupe