No one complaining?

I am with you man. For the first time, we had to figure gas prices when deciding whether or not to take the boat out. At $119/barrel, we are paying $2.38 just for the crued oil. Still not sure why we need to be paying almost $1.50 on top of that, especially whe I just heard that Exxon and Chevron are the two highest profiting companies in the US.

Thats what Im sayin mark. Ive parked all the fun toys other than the boat and drive a purple 5 speed dodge neon that gets 35mpg. We also baught a cummins dodge because even with the fuel being more than gas the truck still gets 22mpg over the 12 of the gas 2500.

they'll jack it up .50 then bring it down .60 and you feel like your getting a deal

azeus17 wrote: I just heard that Exxon and Chevron are the two highest profiting companies in the US.

We've been down this road before, several times. But again, I will ask - why do you think this is a problem?

It is an American company making profits. That is a good thing. We've seen countless posts here complaining about foreign companies making profits on automobiles. So the real question is, if American companies aren't supposed to make profits, and foreign companies aren't supposed to make profits, who is?

BKH

Brian,
   Does your fuel have ethenol in it?

Almost all of our fuel in the midwest does. Besides being CRAPPY gas, what has me as "torked" as anything is what the supposed "ethenol fix" has done around here.

Because of the ethenol demand ,corn prices have soared from a little over 2 bucks a bushel to around 5 bucks (theres that supply and demand again) .. so the farmers raised lots of corn last year , now soybean prices have risen 90 percent in the last year.
guess what ? now all the grocery prices are rising. AND fuel costs still continue to spiral upward!

Its just getting harder for the average Joe to make ends meet.

This is a few years old...but so is the whole debate. Scroll down to "Those Evil Oli Co's" and check this out...

I have no problem with companies making money. And yes there is always going to be one company that makes the most that is easiest to pick on, but I do have a problem with what boils down to price gouging. The United States needs fuel to function, no different than a city needing water after a hurricane. If someone was charging some poor disaster victims $5.00 for a bottle of water, we would be outraged. But we stand by and watch companies make record profits one quarter after another and blame the president or the middle east. Oh, and that is profits, not revenue. That would be what is left after paying the bills.

Keep in mind, these are the people lobbying Washington and the automakers to keep the real efficient cars OFF the road.

I don't know, it just kind of irks me a little.

I understand not wanting the government to set prices; but, help me with this: Cabinet makers, mechanics, etc, have competition--the best and or most economical comes into play. Customers get a choice on how much they want to spend (within parameters). For instance I can make my own cabinets, go to Lowes, or a Custom Cabinet Maker, and each of those entities must compete with others in their market. It has been years since I heard the word "gas wars."

I'm the first to say I don't understand the oil industry, but I don't see any competition in the industry. So it is a natural reaction to think the word "gouge." That may not be what is happening but it feels like that is happening, as these companies are making record profits. And the rise in gas does have a regressive effect. The poorest are least able to afford either more economical cars (hybrids) and are spending more a percent of income on gas causing debilitating abilities to buy food, health care, and housing. Also the poorest are least able to purchase oil stocks and therefore profit from them.

Also as 62 Wood mentioned the effect on crops is becoming more and more dramatic, particularly when it now appears that Ethanol most likely cost more energy to produce than what it creates. And, again though not sure, but I do believe that ethanol production has been greatly assisted by government tax incentives and grants.

Humbly said and poorly thought out,
Chuck

Chuck, You probably said it best...

We had one of our best years ever a year ago (total dollar sales), but one of the smallest profit years (percentage wise). Trying to maintain our profit margin is more of a challenge all the time. Expenses have sky-rocketed the last few years. Between insurance premiums (health and property), heating costs, and now high fuel costs, our operating expenses are almost unbearable. Its easy to just say "add it on to the customers bill" , but my competion doesn't , so to stay competative neither do I.

   
And what does the Shell "answerman" (their CEO) have to say? On a news report a couple weeks ago,his solution was to just change your driving habits...GEEEE , why didnt I think of that,something so simple? Maybe the fact I need transportation to measure , deliver and service my goods to my customer?!?!? You can pretty much bet "the answerman" hasnt had to do much to change his driving habits?

Dont get me wrong... I know the oil companies have to make a profit, but is anyone really keeping them in check?

I agree with Eric, big guy profits are cutting down the quality of life for the middle class. The fuel companies are getting rich the Medical Insurance companies are getting rich, and the working peoples standard of living just keeps going down.

All the while the politicians from both camps keep us distracted with issues government can't affect. The whole Republican/Democrat thing has become nothing more than a unified divide and defeat the people plan. We should not serve the companies they should serve us, and the government should fear it's people not the other way around.

There things that can be done to help and they are not being done. Until we get big money out of politics the people will not have the power.

bkhallpass wrote: Chuck, I would offer that as long as we find it even remotely reasonable that a sane person would forgo food, medical care or lodging in favor of gasoline, then it will always feel like gouging. I can't think of another country in the world where people would think that gas is more important than food and shelter. If that is where we are, then I think we may need to readjust our priorities. BKH

I see your point Brian, but I guess what I refer to is the rising number of people that our organization and other non-profits are trying to serve. The more people, especially lower income people, have to spend on gas to get to work (and again they often cannot afford the most fuel efficient cars) the less money they have for prescriptions and food (which is rising because of fuel costs). Right now our "Care Fund" is completely run dry by the middle of the month, tyring to help people stay on medicine they need, and helping them with food on the table. And these are people with jobs.

Unfortunately our culture has developed around people driving to get to work (for the most part). Here in Kansas City there are relatively few people who have the oppotunity to use mass transit, its just not there. They have no choice, if they want to keep a job they have to have transportation, a car.

Certainly there are some who can change lifestyles to some extent--trying to carpool, making less trips, etc. I have taken to driving a motorcyle that gets 50 - 55 mpg whenever the weather allows. But, for that to make economic sense I had to buy an old one and learn to work on it to maintain it. A single mom, or family with children has a different struggle.

Btw, the Kansas City Star, on April 21, reported that gas use is down by .2 percent over this time last year.

One big part of this that I really don't understand is how the futures market plays into the pricing of gasoline. I guess I need to go back to school on a lot of this.

Chuck

PS Brian and others, I really appreciate the opportunity to think through this issue. A challenged and informed public is instrumental in forming new vision and direction.

It's OPEC's fault? Maybe? This is more complicated than it seems. Everything is connected and I feel we are in a world of sh*t. I've read books that have suggested the next war will be started by attacks on our economy. Perhaps OPEC is helping this along? Not that we didn't put ourselves in this poor economic state originally.

OPEC Article

[QUOTE=tullfooter] Punch a hole in the Gulf of Mexico. The water sucks for footing.
And while your at it, punch a few more in Alaska, it's too cold for skiing.

Where do you think your oil comes from now?
Where does 3/4 of the natural gas yall use up there comes from?
Louisiana gets a tax on every barrel of oil and cubic foot of nat. gas that crosses our borders.
Our economy is booming,the oil leases are at an all time high and drilling is WFO.All this has a trickle down effect for La.
When the rest of the states come to understand the monetary gains for "punching holes" it will possibly be too late.
Kinda like buiding prisons, they are good . but not in my back yard. Bla Bla Bla
               Boat dr

Just paid $3.619 for 89 in CT at costco no less. Argh

Wonder if a motorcycle can pull a boat. My durango only gets 12.9 miles to the gal.

bkhallpass wrote: azeus17 wrote: I just heard that Exxon and Chevron are the two highest profiting companies in the US. We've been down this road before, several times. But again, I will ask - why do you think this is a problem? It is an American company making profits. That is a good thing. We've seen countless posts here complaining about foreign companies making profits on automobiles. So the real question is, if American companies aren't supposed to make profits, and foreign companies aren't supposed to make profits, who is? BKH

Agreed BKH well said!


& Tull...

Nate