I would love to hear you suggestions. Do you even undertand anything about how the oil industry funcitons? If you have some real answers then please share as I am genuinely interested. I am always open to honest suggestions if they have merit.
I would love to hear you suggestions. Do you even undertand anything about how the oil industry funcitons? If you have some real answers then please share as I am genuinely interested. I am always open to honest suggestions if they have merit.
Vic
Elite Member
- Jun 12, 2001
- 50,422
- 14,337
- 136
As soon as any person subscribes to the belief system of a particular group, they no longer have the ability to think for themselves anymore or to formulate their own beliefs on their own. So yes, to them, the group perception IS reality. Real becomes subjective views that conform to the policies of the group, and not objective observation.
I just noticed, almost every post by a liberal had a "LOL", a "typical" or a smiley of some sort. It's like listening to a bunch of girls talk.
Vic
Elite Member
- Jun 12, 2001
- 50,422
- 14,337
- 136
You cannot do something to solve a problem when you have not properly determined its cause. If you are whining for "something to be done" while placing blame in the wrong place, then you are effectively an ignorant knee-jerk reactionary, and any solution you might be whining for will only make the problem worse, not better.
That's right. ALL conservatives understand why prices are high, and ALL liberals don't.
You only accept what you want to believe, but you won't open your eyes to anything else. Katrina is approaching a year since it's happened, yet prices are still high, why's that? It's because like the OPEC cartel, the oil companies themselves dictate the price. Sure, the oil companies have the right to earn a profit... but if you think the market dictates the price, you're a fool. We pay because we have to, there's no other alternative. They set the price because they want to, they don't need to compete with anybody else.
The instability of the middle-east is part of the factor in fluctuating oil prices, but i don't see you blaming Bush for making the middle-east unstable... oh that's right, it's the liberal. If Bush attacks Iran, and Iran mines the water and starts sinking oil tankers, i doubt you'll put the responsiblity on Bush... i'll bet you'll find a way to blame it on the liberals. LOL you're so predictable.
You know how you can tell somebody lacks the ability to repond properly? They start focusing on the grammar, vocabulary, and using age as an authority. Well, i guess you're using age/gender this time, but it's all the same. :thumbsup:
I find it ironic that the liberals scream about gov't intervention regarding oil prices are the SAME liberals that protest against drilling i n Alaska, the building of new refineries, etc. It's really a joke....
I never said i had the magical solution. But you seem to think that simply whining about it is any better.
BTW, do you hear me complain about gas prices?
Engineer
Elite Member
- Oct 9, 1999
- 39,230
- 701
- 126
Did I say it was true? I've said that speculation has driven the oil market for some time. Unrest in the ME, US meddling in oil producing countries causing unrest, etc. is the reason for cruide prices being "traded" so high. Refinery capacity is the biggest reason for gasoline prices. 9 permits have been issued for new refineries since 1991. Not one have been started and most likely, never will be.
Also, vic, you can believe what you wish. Most people on the street blame big oil and Bush. Take that how you will. I've touted your "speculation" ideas for some time now and you know it. The current crude market is in "irrational exuberance" driven by many factors.
If only that would solve the problem, but it wouldn't. It would take years for that oil to actually reach market, so that isn't a short-term solution. And hell, even if we put the oil in the oil companies hands, what makes you think they'll lower the price of gas? They have no reason to.
If you want to look at fluctuating oil prices, look to the tension in the middle-east. Everytime there's tension between Bush and Iran, prices goes up. Yet i don't see you putting any responsibility with Bush. Of course not, he's a Christian conservative, he can't be doing anything wrong.
Glad you asked. The reason is that I don't use 'lols' is because that would make it look like I was a teenager. But I bet I judged you wrong, so what about Ben Steins article do you disagree with?
Come on let's have a nice conversation.
i thought liberals were for higher gas prices since that would encourage more economical vehicles and fuel conservation which would lead to less pollution.
When you grow up and actually have some years in you, you'll realize that you don't need to put forth a mask of maturity to be taken seriously. It's only the kids that do that, since they're secretly feeling inferior, and attempt to appear more mature to be taken more seriously.
As for Ben Stein, i would bet he's getting some good returns from his oil shares. Yes, oil companies pay a lot of taxes, and a lot of that taxes goes for textbooks for schools, and hospitals for wounded marines. But that tax is money that's coming from the people.
To think they're not manipulating the market or taking advantage of it is absurd. In what other industry can they make record profits when their supply prices goes up? Usually it's the opposite. If a hurricane or tornado hits an area, it's illegal to price gouge, but the oil companies does it and gets away with it. When Katrina hit, why the hell did gas prices in California or New York goes up? The gas in those tanks in those stations were purchased for the price a week prior to the Hurricane, yet somehow their value went up. If i ran a store, and a hurricane hit, and i doubled the price after the hurricane, i could be in legal trouble. If i bought the milk AFTER the hurricane hit, when there was a supply issue, and i did pay the wholesale price of double the price, then i could. But i wouldn't be able to do it just hours after the hurricane, which was what essentially happened. And it would be a local problem, not a national problem.
Speculations is against the law... whether it's in currency or bread and milk, yet oil companies can do it. Why's that?
But i'm not all against speculations. It's how capitalism works. If prices are high for something, then that tells the other competitors and markets that this item is very profitable, and to start creating more so they can sell more. And it helps with conservation. If there's a crisis in gas as there was in Katrina, then it tells people to conserve what they're using, so there isn't a complete meltdown. But speculation ONLY WORKS if there's competition, where competitors CAN step in and help fill the void, and bring the prices back down with enough supply. Instead, you have a cartel of companies, raising prices on speculation, but then having ABSOLUTELY NO REASON to lower it back down... they keep it artificially high, because we're willing to pay for it. They may lower it down a bit, just so that we can say 'well, at least it wasn't as high as it was during Katrina... thank God.'
Queasy
Moderator<br>Console Gaming
- Aug 24, 2001
- 31,796
- 2
- 0
You're right. It is Bush's fault that Iran has been seeking nuclear capabilities since the 90s and before and they are coming to fruition now through the haplessness of the UN. It is Bush's fault that Iran's President is making lunatic statements about Israel needing to be wiped off the map. Yes. It is all clear now...
I'm not against high prices... i only use $10/wk myself... and Canada has the biggest oil reserves in the world now, bigger than Saudi Arabia. Higher prices means we make more profits from the US (who imports oil from Canada more than any other nation, including the middle-east). And unlike the ME, where all that profits are going to the royal families, they're taxed up here and going back into the Canadian economy. The future is looking very good for Canada.
I'd like to point out that that USA is the ONLY country in the world to ever use nuclear weapons against another country. Funny how we claim to be the sane country that is the parent that tells other countries whether or not they are permitted to play with nukes.
Lots of nations have nuclear weapons, including the US and Israel. Why can't they? Because they make threats? How many nations has Iran invaded? How many has the US? Who should the world be more afraid of?
Babbles
Diamond Member
- Jan 4, 2001
- 8,253
- 14
- 81
You didn't even bother to read the article, or at least bother to unerstand it, yet you wanted to comment about it?
Apparently you have some issue with associating with a group of people - else you wouldn't be making this statement. You may not be able to keep your individual beliefs, but hate to inform you there are many - if not most - people who can easily identify themselves with a particular group yet be able to think for themselves.
What appears to be your shortcomings should not be applied to the general population.
We can get on the phone with every oil cartel in the business, tell them to keep sending more oil, but that isn't going to make any difference at all if we can't refine it. The US stock of crude is at multi year highs, but that makes no difference at all in the world if you can't turn that black gold into gasoline. Why should the companies here make more refineries? Well of course to help the consumer, but is it going to help them any in the short term, of course not. How about the long term? They can pump out a new refinery in China in 2-3 years, try that here, I would imagine double maybe even triple that time frame.
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