$5 a gallon gas

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   Moderndayslaveposted 12 years ago

   Our friends that are doing "Gods Work" Goldman Sachs or Gold Sacks as some call them are now publicly predicting $5 a gallon gas with a barrel of oil to trade at $135 a barrel.A CEO for a major oil company stated at the recent congressional hearings the the price of oil without the speculation would be around $65 a barrel.The problem I see is that with them being the largest or one of the largest trading houses to recommend a buy and or pour a billion dollars into the oil futures market themselves would just equal a artificial run up in the price of oil for no other reason than pure greed.This is the catch 22 because of the freedom of a free market vs.the fleecing of the masses or financial terrorism.  Should there be more protections/regulations for commodities? Don't forget that the "Little People" bailed their sorry butts out which is definitely NOT free market capitalism more like crony capitalism.

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   EmpressFelicityposted 12 years ago

   Sorry but I always burst out laughing when I see threads with titles like this.
   
   You should try living in Britain, where petrol (gas) prices currently stand at around £6.00 ($9.00) per gallon.
   
   In answer to your question, I don't believe in government regulation of prices.

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      Evan G Rogersposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      In britain, gas is expensive because your government taxes the *beep* out of it.

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         EmpressFelicityposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         true

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      Moderndayslaveposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I read that the majority of the makeup of your fuel price is taxes.
      http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1624651/posts
      I know this is a old article but it proves my point,close to 3/4 of your fuel price is taxes.
      What does that have to do with the actual price of the refined fuel or barrel of oil itself ? I will accept your view on regulation although I don't agree with it. The few are hurting the masses and why is this OK? Money?

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         EmpressFelicityposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         I never said I thought it was OK, but I don't see what good commodity regulation would do.  Perhaps you could explain how you think it would work in more detail?
         
         Yes, you're completely right about most of UK petrol prices being taken up by tax.  Shocking, isn't it?  You Americans don't realise just how lucky you are that you pay so little for petrol - hence my original comment about finding threads like this hilariously funny.

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            kerrygposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            Speaking as an American, "lucky" isn't quite the word I'd use. European countries were smart enough to realize decades ago that oil is a finite resource and will only get more expensive as the stuff that's easy to get out is used up. As a result, you have stuff like public transportation, bike paths, and smart city planning that makes you much more immune to oil shocks than us poor schmucks in the US. Most of us can't even walk to a grocery store without taking our lives in our hands.

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               John Holdenposted 12 years agoin reply to this

               I stayed with friends in a typical middle class house on a typical housing estate on the outskirts of Philadelphia.
               I was a little surprised at the lack of pavements and pedestrians, but not dismayed.
               One day I suggested that I would like to have a walk round the area and after all the eyebrows had returned to their proper places, I set off with friend to have a look, we didn't get very far.
               People kept coming out of their houses to ask if we were OK, had we broken down, did we need a start, had we run out of gas!
               
               My friends comment- that she didn't realise what nice friendly neighbours she had!

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               EmpressFelicityposted 12 years agoin reply to this

               Yes, I am hugely thankful for our local "loop" bus service and a convenience store less than a minute's walk away from our house, plus a range of local shops (including a greengrocer, butcher and supermarket) about 10 minutes' walk away. And for every other shopping need, there's always t'Internet!

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                  CHRIS57posted 12 years agoin reply to this

                  Yes it is the European way of life. Having things close together.
                  Told my American friends 10 years ago ( 1,1 USD/gallon in 2001) they payed far too much for their gas in comparison to how far they had to drive.
                  I live in North Western Germany and it takes me 4 hours of driving and 8 to 9 gallons of gas to get our capital Berlin all the way in the East.
                  How much does it take an average American in the Midwest to go to the next pizza restaurant, not to mention all the way to Washington DC.
                  I never fully understood back then, why my beloved American friends were so reluctant and insistet on driving their gas guzzling SUV.
                  10 years ago it was more expensive driving in the US to go to the next Opera House than in Europe. Today  .. driving in America is in really painful, even if gas was sold completely tax free.

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   manofthewillposted 12 years ago

   In Serbia, it is 1.4 EUR for a liter(non leaded fuel).

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   manofthewillposted 12 years ago

   Gas is to expensive in every country that got no military dancing in the oil field.

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   Evan G Rogersposted 12 years ago

   Here's the thing about every single thing you can buy in the world.
   
   If you don't want to pay the high cost, then there are alternatives.
   
   "OH my god!! Gas is at $5 a gallon!!!"... THEN GO BUY A BICYCLE, OR START CAR POOLING....not that hard.

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      John Holdenposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Good lord Evan, you can't expect me to cycle 100 yards to pick up a newspaper can you!

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      Moderndayslaveposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Do you need to drive to work Evan or do you jump on public transport.? Do you eat? The price of a loaf of bread was $4.50 US yesterday and yes I am considering making my own. Unfortunately  a huge amount of the things we NEED are tied to the price of oil in some way or another.You're not as immune as you think.I see things getting worse not better.

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   Moderndayslaveposted 12 years ago

   The reason I put this up is that there will apparently now be a US congressional hearing on whether oil companies a keeping fuel prices high. Our congress can be accused of being"A day late and a dollar short" every time.I understand that fuel prices all over the world are high and that the US has some of the cheapest fuel prices but, Does that make it OK for wall street and oil co's.to flagrantly manipulate something the whole world is so dependent on. BTW the price of oil rises on the Global market not just the US.

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   LeanManposted 12 years ago

   Try gas prices in Saudi Arabia!!!
   
   0.45 Riyals per liter, that's around 12c per liter...
   
   Probably why the Arabs drive such big cars - or maybe they are just so rich on what the rest of us pay for the oil!!!!!

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      Jed Fisherposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Just because sombody paid $130 for that last barrel of oil, it does not suddely make every barrel of oil worth that much. Also the production costs of an oil company that owns its wells and brings its own oil to market, all the way from the well to the refinery to the consimer has no business basing its gas pump price on the price some A hole paid for paper oil on an exchange.
      
      It's like when some moron pays a million bucks for the house across the street, it doesn't make every house in that zip code worth a million bucks.
      
      Peanut oil is a direct substitute for diesel, and I saw peaut oil for sale in the store, fit for human consumption, packaged attractively in a plastic one gallon jug, for $3.95. It's also possible to buy 40 gallon containers of peanut oil. The price, deliverd to my home, is $105 or $2.62/gallon.
      Of course, peanut oil congeals at tempuratures below 40 degrees F, (14C) so in the colder months I'd have to mix it with diesel fuel or alcohol and a commercial additive available at the auto parts store.
      But still, might be worth my trouble to grow some peanuts...

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