as an acknowledged conservative i am left shaking my head and muttering about the current state of republican affairs. i feel as if my party abandoned me when they threw traditional conservative fiscal policy out the window and got far away from the "less government" mantra
The higher price of gas gives other businesses an incentive to break into the energy market. That's what a free market economy does. The only problem with the gas companies is their lobbyist in DC protecting them from competition.
Man! You are breaking out ALL of the hippie rhetoric, Red! :lol: Point one of those out for me. I've never seen one in the wild, and it'd be cool to witness them in their natural habitat, whatever that is.
the consolidation of the industry there is now only 5 major oil companies in the U.S. As far as other businesses breaking into the energy market, how do you expect them to do that?
Here's what i think. 1) The US should expand it's oil production. Raising taxes on profit hinders this and will only drive up cost for and our dependence of foreign oil. Foreign oil doesn't have to worry about saving caribou or having nut jobs protests about Big Bad Oil companies making money because it's not fair to everyone. Since 1985, oil production in the US has fallen 40% but consumption has grown 30% but yet we have congress passing bills to limit production simply because they're Big Bad Oil. Making money and running a successful corporation, especially if its in the US is just freaking evil. -Experts estimate that ANWR contains 5.6 to 16 billion barrels of recoverable oil. -The Outer Continental Shelf in the United States contains over 44 billion barrels of oil, and 232 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. -85% of the outer continental shelf is off limits to domestic exploration. 2) Simple Supply and Demand is driving up cost and thats because China and India have seen a booming increase in demand for oil. Oil is global and they're a huge reason it trading @ $123 3) Finally, the dollar is weak. The more we cut interest rates, the weaker it gets. Oil is traded worldwide off of the US dollar so the weaker it gets, the higher the prices. Good news is that the dollar has shown signs of of recovery and I've seen reports that the economy has kind of bottomed out meaning it can only go up from here. I also read that the fed will increase rates early in 2009 which is a good sign for the dollar. Personally, I think it's all a cycle. Gas will go down with time and I bet oil does not hit $200 a barrel. if it does it won't stay there because the market can't support it at that price.
It's a rookie mistake to assume that those who disagree with you are "nut jobs." That's not the reason, Scooter. Congress is representing their state constituencies wishes, which are based in environmental issues, NOT "big bad oil". Supply and demand drives the cost of crude oil, nobody argues with that. But it doesn't drive what it costs the oil companies to refine and transport the oil and make a corporate profit. Big Oil sets the gasoline price and what they have done is increased their profits by tacking it onto the inflated crude price, even though their production costs have not changed. The increased price of the crude, they pass onto us and that money goes overseas to the ragheads. The stepped-up profit they make on that expensive oil constitutes their unprecedented windfall profits and that unearned money is also coming out of our pockets. The citizens get poorer and the oil companies and the overseas oil merchants get richer. This is not good for the economy or the country. What do you base this on? Gasoline will fluctuate around a curve, but that curve is going nowhere but up. In time, oil WILL hit $200 a barrel. And it ain't far off.
Simple supply & demand is not entirely responsible for oil prices - commodity traders are perhaps the main culprits. The only thing cyclical about oil is that it gets a little higher in the summer. Other than that it has been increasing for years & won't be going down unless competition forces it to.
The higher that gas prices get the higher the incentive for competition to get into the market. There are alternative energy sources out there - we've just never had a real reason to explore them until now. And now that the money is being spent, something will come along - just as long as Washington allows it to. For all the talk of global warming, the real reason a viable alternative energy will be found is the price of oil.
