$5 gas is here

[legion]

Originally Posted by Superman

If I were an oil company executive, then even if we were past the break-even point, I might wait until prices rise some more. Another thing I would do is whine about the difficulty and the impact on national security, and see if I can get gubmit funding or at least MASSIVE tax breaks. And of course, conservatives might think that's a good public investment while railing about the gubmit wasting their tax dollars. Certainly a better investment than health care for children.

That's because our pols (of both parties) have conditioned executives and citizens alike that when they need something, they should whine to the government until they get it.

[dd74]

Originally Posted by sammyg2

Do your own research. You will find that refining capacity in the US has grown slowly, but the demand has grown much quicker and has outpaced domestic production. You will also find that we import a significant amount of fuel to make up for our deficit in domestic production. Ee haven't built a new refinery since the late 70s and since then hundreds of smaller refineries closed down because they were not profitable.
Existing refineries have upgraded and de-bottlenecked to increase capacity a little, but not enough to keep up with demand.
A little more research will show that previously importing fuel was cost effective, it was readily available and not all that expensive.
That has changed. Overseas development and increased demand abroad has created a bidding war, so instead of having an abundant easy supply to import, we are now competing for that supply so the cost has increased.
I'm not making it up, go look for yourself.

If we use more than we make (which is easily proven) we have to get it somewhere. if it costs more to import fuel, we pay more. If we lose some domestic production, it makes a much larger difference that before.
Just a little effort on your part will show you this is true. But it may be more convenient for you to continue blaming the big bad oil men and not do the research, that better fits into your agenda.

All any of this baloney says to me is that in the end, the rising cost of fuel directly surfaces as the oil companies' fault. Increased consumerism, blah, blah, blah. Enough excuses. How many times has been said that there is no shortage of fossil fuels in the U.S.? How much of the U.S. is being dug up at this moment in what is nearly always, a successful search for oil? There's no shortage of fuel anywhere in this country. If there was, people would not be driving, gas stations would be closed. No, yours and your oil companies' attempt is to artificially inflate the prices at will, giving ridiculous excuses about summer blends, winter blends, refineries going down or being repaired, etc., all of which is simply insulting to the American people. If record oil company profits are being brought in, why in the world can't the refineries be upgraded so they don't break down, or so that there is no bottleneck? And no one can tell me new refineries can't be built - not with the lobbying power big oil has with our big oil President in office.

Please! You sound like a tool of the trade the more you post on this subject. It doesn't take, as you say "decades of research," to find that those who rely on gasoline are being financially raped by your employers.

P.S. to say anyone has an "agenda" means you simply have no answer.