Ike, Ike, baby
I get an email forwarded to me telling my to forward it to everyone I know. And I did that. No, I kid. The email says go to a bunch of websites and complain about how the local big oil conglomerate is shafting us all by gouging us. I respond back that, perhaps, the originator of the email should take an Economics 101 class. Or maybe read Rich Hailey.
BTW, this comment left there is presented without, err, comment:
I wonder how much oil companies pay a year to bloggers in order to have them make all kinds of excuses for price gouging. When Obama becomes President,the oil companies will no longer get these windfall profits because Obama will return that money to the hard working consumer. Gas will return to being a 1.25 a gallon because the oil companies won’t have an oil crony chimp in the White House who, when he isn’t having people tortured and carpet bombing civilians for fun, spends all hia time keeping his oil buddies rich.
September 15th, 2008 at 11:39 am
Damn – That’s layers upon layers of delusion there. He He stopped just short of the part of his rant about how, in the future, anthropomorphic cupcakes will be bringing all the registered Democrats free beer on Wednesdays, I guess.
September 15th, 2008 at 12:04 pm
I get the economically-illiterate (read – Leftists) here at work stammering when I ask them if they accepted their raise for this year then imply they are gouging the company.
I mean, there are plenty of people in India who are willing to do our jobs as programmers much cheaper.
It’s fun to watch them squirm as they try to come up with reasons why their family is important and they’re not asking for as much as the evil gas station owners.
Another funny thing is that most people who cry gouging also seem to think Exxon directly tells all 18,443,238 of their stores what prices to sell at.
September 15th, 2008 at 12:05 pm
All right stop collaborating and listen
Oil is back with brand new PR inventions
Someone grabs a hold of me tightly
Threatens with a harpoon ever so quietly
Will they ever stop yo I don’t know
Sorry, couldn’t help it.
September 15th, 2008 at 12:42 pm
They really do believe they can repeal the law of supply and demand.
September 15th, 2008 at 1:03 pm
Gorram it. I am getting frakking tired of this.
First, the NRA has not delivered a single bloody wheelbarrow of cash to my doorstep, and I have been writing pro-gun weblog posts for years now!
And now there is some Evil Big Oil Company money train I am missing out on? Why is it that no one ever tells me this crap?
September 15th, 2008 at 1:22 pm
“When Obama becomes President,the oil companies will no longer get these windfall profits because Obama will return that money to the hard working consumer.”
The “windfall profits” tax on oil companies eh? All that’s going to do is RAISE the price of gas as the oil companies will pass that tax on to the consumers. I’ve never taken a economics class (I’m a high school dropout with a GED) but I can understand that!
September 15th, 2008 at 2:29 pm
Wow, that commenter has really left the reservation. Here’s a hint: domestic taxation and economic policies have almost nothing at all to do with the price of oil/gas.
September 15th, 2008 at 3:10 pm
Now, now, you shouldn’t make fun of one of Obama’s cabinet-level appointees!
September 15th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
they believe tbat have *already* repealed the law of supply and demand.
September 15th, 2008 at 4:55 pm
“Gas will return to being a 1.25 a gallon because the oil companies won’t have an oil crony chimp in the White House who, when he isn’t having people tortured and carpet bombing civilians for fun, spends all hia time keeping his oil buddies rich.”
That’s exactly the sort of thing I would write in making fun of the loons. You sure this wasn’t one of our guys doing just that? I know, it’s really hard to tell the difference.
September 15th, 2008 at 7:12 pm
The “windfall profits” tax on oil companies eh? All that’s going to do is RAISE the price of gas as the oil companies will pass that tax on to the consumers.
Sarah Palin as governor raised taxes on oil producers and used the proceeds to give a large check to everyone who lives in Alaska. So is Sarah Palin the reason that we have higher gas prices?
September 15th, 2008 at 8:23 pm
Of course, anything that increases the operating costs for any company will tend to raise the price of its products. Just as important, anything that limits supply (exploration and drilling restrictions for example) will also tend to increase prices. Further, anything that limits entry into the market (licensing, major start-up costs, uncertain chances of seeing a profit, labor laws, etc., etc.) will tend to increase the price.
We have all those and more in play within the oil market. Some of those are regular features of the market, but most of them are artifically created by government intrusion.
It’s funny, and a bit sad, that so many people are pointing fingers at the oil companies when most the trouble we’re experiencing is a result of massive government interference in the market.
Nor is the oil industry super, highly profitable compared to many other major industries, by the way. Shall we look at the money being raked in by “Big Education” for example? How about the money made in entertainment, including sports? Hmmm? Which Democrat is going to “take those profits” and put the screws to “Big Box Office”? Then we can discuss the money machine that is the government-run lottery industry if we want to see a genuine scam, with real losers and real-life racketeers.
September 16th, 2008 at 8:25 am
The “oil isn’t that profitable” argument is a little overplayed–in any business, when your volume goes up, your margin is going to go down a bit. Oil is the single biggest business in the world, so the fact that they’re still making 10%+ while trading a fungible commodity is pretty impressive. The point I’m making isn’t that they shouldn’t be allowed to make that profit, but rather the implication of your argument (that they’re just squeaking by) is not quite intellectually honest.
In any event, what’s making it expensive isn’t some evil hidden unseen force or govt intervention, but rather A) a weak dollar and B) the fact that demand until recently was increasing unchecked and rapidly while supply remained static. When you have a commodity that’s got a VERY tight correlation between supply and demand and is so widely traded (and inelastic), any fluctuations with supply, demand, or the currency used are going to have dramatic effects on price.
The one good thing about recent events bringing the cost down is at least we can do away with the silly argument that regulating speculation (funny how many on the RIGHT were calling for govt intervention in the market there–probably because they want desperately to find some lipstick to put on their favorite pig in the energy business) was the answer. Speculation still goes on, and yet the price has plummeted because of financial market disarray and a strengthening dollar, not to mention people finally driving less and thus demanding less energy.
Tom Friedman really nailed when he pointed out that “drill baby drill” is like going to an IT convention and saying “typewriters baby, typewriters”.
The answer is invent, baby, invent. The left and the right are both wrong. The answer to expensive energy isn’t taxation and windfall profit savaging, nor is it more and more of the same.
The answer is better technology.