Originally posted by 96RedSE5Sp:



And while I think that basic economic laws might explain record PRICES for gasoline, they don't really explain the record PROFITS of the oil companies.



Sure it does.

When is the last time we built a new refinery in the USA? Probably three, yes, three decades ago. However, refineries have been closing for a variety of reasons, costs, efficiency, EPA regulations, etc.

So oil companies close down refineries that cost too much to operate, and are offered by the market, a higher price for the commodity they produce.

They make more money.

I don't believe the oil companies set the price of fuel. The only thing they control, just like OPEC is production. They really can't even control the gasoline basic formula as the EPA has a couple of dozen different formuations throughout the USA.

Want stable gas prices? One way to get there is to have one or two summer and a like number of winter gas formulas, so the refineries don't have to run different batches of fuel for different areas. You could volunteer to host a refinery in your neighborhood. I imagine most places don't want a refinery, so no new refineries get built. I read about 6 months ago that we now have to import finished gasoline since we cannot refine enough fuel at times in the US.

Profit is not illegal, nor immoral. Now you can make a profit in legal or illegal ways.

I know the little guy seems to suffer, but that is going to happen. You can make the little guy rich by taking away from the poor. You have to teach the little guy how to become rich himself.

TB

"Seems like our society is more interested in turning each successive generation into cookie-cutter wankers than anything else." -- Jato 8/24/2004