Posts with the tag gasoline
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The first in a series of crude oil refineries was announced today by Flint Hills Resources. As an economic advisor to Senator and Secretary of Treasurer Lloyd Bentsen I have been recently offering fiscal policy guidelines to reverse our declining economy. We need an OPEC oil import tax to (1) keep more US refineries from closing(2) to provide an incentive for domestic production and (3)provide revenue for alternative energy tax credits and favorable tax positions. Read More »
In his 2nd Epistle to the Corinthians the Apostle Paul wrote, "Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality." (8:13-14)
The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the United States during the second quarter of this fiscal year was more than $14,256.5 billion. That is more than $15,000 a month for every man, woman, and child in the United States.
This at time when we are in the midst of a foreclosure crisis because people cannot afford to pay their mortgages.
At a time when people cannot afford to purchase food for their families or gasoline for their vehicles so that they can go to work.
The corporate greed which is enslaving the people of the United States and of the other nations of the world must not be allowed to continue. Please join with us in opposing greed by championing economic equality.
The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the United States during the second quarter of this fiscal year was more than $14,256.5 billion. That is more than $15,000 a month for every man, woman, and child in the United States.
This at time when we are in the midst of a foreclosure crisis because people cannot afford to pay their mortgages.
At a time when people cannot afford to purchase food for their families or gasoline for their vehicles so that they can go to work.
The corporate greed which is enslaving the people of the United States and of the other nations of the world must not be allowed to continue. Please join with us in opposing greed by championing economic equality.
I have heard many Republicans/Republican Leaning pundits on news & radio shows recently that what is keeping gas prices so high is that the Dems won't let us drill for more oil here in the US.
Of course I am supporting Obama, so I am a little bothered by these claims, but even if I were not, I just think it is silly to point our fingers at one group and say it's all their fault.
Because of this, I was inspired to write this post, after doing some research of course.
While many Pols may be blocking new drilling leases in places like ANWR, Alaska (which just so happens to be a Wildlife Refuge, hence the name A-rctic N-ational W-ildlife R-efuge) and currently off-shore oil sites along all three major coastlines, this may account for part of why oil prices are high, it is by no means the only or prime factor involved.
Additional Factors? Read On, my friend, read on!
Factor 1 - Production/Refining
Current US Oil Consumption = 20.7 million barrels/day
Current US Refining Capacity = 17.4 million barrels/day
And yet, we have fewer refineries now than we did in 1982 (149 today compared to 301 in 1982) and we have not built any new refineries since 1976. Why? Simple. They are too expensive. Refineries can take 10+ years to get permitted and built and can cost upwards of $3.5 Billion to build. With this type of time and capital expenditure, it could take 13+ years for a single refinery to become profitable. Companies just aren't wiling to do this.
With this being said, I would love for these "Drill Heads" to explain to me how we are going to refine all this "new oil" that we pull out of ANWR and other areas, when we already can not refine enough gasoline to meet our current needs. We are already importing refined oil as well as unrefined oil. Do they just want us to drill for more oil here in the US so we can then ship it to another country to be refined and then ship it back to the US for public use? Wouldn't this be costly as well?
Factor 2 - Non US Production
Most of us have probably also heard the occasional person blame OPEC for our current oil woes. While again, they certainly have an influence on oil prices (just as refining does) they are also only one of the factors involved. What most people don't know is that we actually import less than 50% of our oil from OPEC countries. In fact most recently it was 47.28%. Clearly production control over 47% of our oil will certainly affect our prices and I am by no means suggesting that it doesn't. What we fail to recognize is that we are not the only market they sell to, and as far as world demand goes, they have not had huge outcry from all of their purchasers to increase production. Additionally, they produce oil for profit, and if it were your business, why would you sell your product for less than what you could get for it? What can we do about it? Well, we could start buying more oil from Non OPEC countries that prove they are willing to sell us oil for less.
Factor 3 - The Open Market
As with other commodities like gold, oil is traded on the open market. You can trade oil and gasoline just like you can do with gold, stocks, and bonds. This also impacts our oil prices due to people expecting oil to become more and more valuable over time causing them to purchase this commodity, which in turn sends the price up. If we increase refining/production or reduce demand we could impact prices, but again we are not the only people wanting to buy and use gas and other oil products, so the amount of the impact is unknown.
Factor 4 - Inflation/Dollar Devaluation
As we all know, inflation has a major impact on the price of goods and services. Over the past 40 years, the US dollar has lost over 80% of it's purchasing power, meaning and item that cost you 16 cents in 1968 would cost you 1 dollar today. When you look at it from the perspective of 1 dollar it may not seem like much, if you look at from the perspective of a house, it is huge. Take for example my home. Today it costs $150,000 for my 3/2 suburban home but in 1968 it would have cost a mere $24,000. That's a pretty big difference, a $126,000 difference in fact. Overtime, as the dollar declines in value (or as inflation goes up whichever way you prefer to look at it) this raises the cost of what we buy. Gas in 1968 a gallon of gas cost about 34 cents/gallon. Today it costs an average of $4.02/gallon. If inflation were the only cause then gas would be around $2.15 - wouldn't we all love that! :)
Factor 5 - Oil Company Profits
I have also heard people on the left (my peeps) complaining that oil companies are to blame. The greed of these companies is the great unspoken evil of our time. While again corporate greed is a factor, it is by no means the main factor. When Bush took office in January of 2001 (technically February since he was not sworn in until the 20th of Jan) the price of oil averaged $29.00/barrel or $1.52/gallon for gasoline. Today oil closed at $134.86 per barrel or $4.02 per gallon. If you do a simple ratio on this, if oil companies increased their price per gallon at the same rate as the increase of oil prices then a gallon of gas would cost you $7.07. So, even though the Big Oil companies have been making record profit, they have not been increasing the price of gas at the same rate that the price of oil has been increasing. They have however, made quite a bit of money off of the other products derived form oil such as fertilizer.
A special note about drilling leases, off-shore and other-wise:
There are currently over 6,000 leases that the oil companies have that are not being utilized. Some of these are offshore leases and some are not. Many are asking the oil companies to use these leases rather than trying to obtain new leases. In rebuttal - I have heard some Oil Company Representatives say that they are not using them because it is bad land and doesn't have oil, or at least not enough oil to make it worth it. OK, so why are you paying the lease then? Why don't you stop paying for land that can't be used? Doing this would be more in line with your corporate charters that state that you cannot knowingly make financial decisions that are bad for your companyâ??s bottom line. Are you telling me that you all are choosing to spend money you don't have to for land that you can't use? Are you saying that you are knowingly going against the best interest of your company and it's shareholders? Are you saying that you are knowingly violating your corporate charter? Do you not realize that doing this can get your company's "C" status stripped away?
If you believe the oil companies when they say that the land is bad and doesn't have oil, then you should be upset that the oil companies are not lowering their expenses by getting out of bad investments like these unusable leases; and if you do not believe them when they say it's bad land, then you should want them to use those leases before they get more.
All in all, I think it's fair to say that there are many factors involved in the increase of oil and gas prices. Every thing from demand to production, to the market and more. I write this to ask you to think about it more in depth the next time you hear any politician or pundit blame any one of these factors for our current situation. My suggestions? Try to shop smart for gas (not all gas stations are priced equally) and do your best to reduce your own dependence on oil. You could try to get a car that gets better gas mileage, or see if your boss will let you work from home, or work an alternative schedule like 4 ten hour days instead of 5 eight hour days, or take public transportation at least 1 day per week. I know that these suggestions are not feasible for everyone, which is why I believe that our only true recourse is to starting investing in/using alternate fuels.
Thanks for reading!
Don't believe me? Check it out for yourself:
http://www.eia.doe.gov/...
http://en.wikipedia.org/...
http://www.factcheck.org/...
http://www.westegg.com/...
Of course I am supporting Obama, so I am a little bothered by these claims, but even if I were not, I just think it is silly to point our fingers at one group and say it's all their fault.
Because of this, I was inspired to write this post, after doing some research of course.
While many Pols may be blocking new drilling leases in places like ANWR, Alaska (which just so happens to be a Wildlife Refuge, hence the name A-rctic N-ational W-ildlife R-efuge) and currently off-shore oil sites along all three major coastlines, this may account for part of why oil prices are high, it is by no means the only or prime factor involved.
Additional Factors? Read On, my friend, read on!
Factor 1 - Production/Refining
Current US Oil Consumption = 20.7 million barrels/day
Current US Refining Capacity = 17.4 million barrels/day
And yet, we have fewer refineries now than we did in 1982 (149 today compared to 301 in 1982) and we have not built any new refineries since 1976. Why? Simple. They are too expensive. Refineries can take 10+ years to get permitted and built and can cost upwards of $3.5 Billion to build. With this type of time and capital expenditure, it could take 13+ years for a single refinery to become profitable. Companies just aren't wiling to do this.
With this being said, I would love for these "Drill Heads" to explain to me how we are going to refine all this "new oil" that we pull out of ANWR and other areas, when we already can not refine enough gasoline to meet our current needs. We are already importing refined oil as well as unrefined oil. Do they just want us to drill for more oil here in the US so we can then ship it to another country to be refined and then ship it back to the US for public use? Wouldn't this be costly as well?
Factor 2 - Non US Production
Most of us have probably also heard the occasional person blame OPEC for our current oil woes. While again, they certainly have an influence on oil prices (just as refining does) they are also only one of the factors involved. What most people don't know is that we actually import less than 50% of our oil from OPEC countries. In fact most recently it was 47.28%. Clearly production control over 47% of our oil will certainly affect our prices and I am by no means suggesting that it doesn't. What we fail to recognize is that we are not the only market they sell to, and as far as world demand goes, they have not had huge outcry from all of their purchasers to increase production. Additionally, they produce oil for profit, and if it were your business, why would you sell your product for less than what you could get for it? What can we do about it? Well, we could start buying more oil from Non OPEC countries that prove they are willing to sell us oil for less.
Factor 3 - The Open Market
As with other commodities like gold, oil is traded on the open market. You can trade oil and gasoline just like you can do with gold, stocks, and bonds. This also impacts our oil prices due to people expecting oil to become more and more valuable over time causing them to purchase this commodity, which in turn sends the price up. If we increase refining/production or reduce demand we could impact prices, but again we are not the only people wanting to buy and use gas and other oil products, so the amount of the impact is unknown.
Factor 4 - Inflation/Dollar Devaluation
As we all know, inflation has a major impact on the price of goods and services. Over the past 40 years, the US dollar has lost over 80% of it's purchasing power, meaning and item that cost you 16 cents in 1968 would cost you 1 dollar today. When you look at it from the perspective of 1 dollar it may not seem like much, if you look at from the perspective of a house, it is huge. Take for example my home. Today it costs $150,000 for my 3/2 suburban home but in 1968 it would have cost a mere $24,000. That's a pretty big difference, a $126,000 difference in fact. Overtime, as the dollar declines in value (or as inflation goes up whichever way you prefer to look at it) this raises the cost of what we buy. Gas in 1968 a gallon of gas cost about 34 cents/gallon. Today it costs an average of $4.02/gallon. If inflation were the only cause then gas would be around $2.15 - wouldn't we all love that! :)
Factor 5 - Oil Company Profits
I have also heard people on the left (my peeps) complaining that oil companies are to blame. The greed of these companies is the great unspoken evil of our time. While again corporate greed is a factor, it is by no means the main factor. When Bush took office in January of 2001 (technically February since he was not sworn in until the 20th of Jan) the price of oil averaged $29.00/barrel or $1.52/gallon for gasoline. Today oil closed at $134.86 per barrel or $4.02 per gallon. If you do a simple ratio on this, if oil companies increased their price per gallon at the same rate as the increase of oil prices then a gallon of gas would cost you $7.07. So, even though the Big Oil companies have been making record profit, they have not been increasing the price of gas at the same rate that the price of oil has been increasing. They have however, made quite a bit of money off of the other products derived form oil such as fertilizer.
A special note about drilling leases, off-shore and other-wise:
There are currently over 6,000 leases that the oil companies have that are not being utilized. Some of these are offshore leases and some are not. Many are asking the oil companies to use these leases rather than trying to obtain new leases. In rebuttal - I have heard some Oil Company Representatives say that they are not using them because it is bad land and doesn't have oil, or at least not enough oil to make it worth it. OK, so why are you paying the lease then? Why don't you stop paying for land that can't be used? Doing this would be more in line with your corporate charters that state that you cannot knowingly make financial decisions that are bad for your companyâ??s bottom line. Are you telling me that you all are choosing to spend money you don't have to for land that you can't use? Are you saying that you are knowingly going against the best interest of your company and it's shareholders? Are you saying that you are knowingly violating your corporate charter? Do you not realize that doing this can get your company's "C" status stripped away?
If you believe the oil companies when they say that the land is bad and doesn't have oil, then you should be upset that the oil companies are not lowering their expenses by getting out of bad investments like these unusable leases; and if you do not believe them when they say it's bad land, then you should want them to use those leases before they get more.
All in all, I think it's fair to say that there are many factors involved in the increase of oil and gas prices. Every thing from demand to production, to the market and more. I write this to ask you to think about it more in depth the next time you hear any politician or pundit blame any one of these factors for our current situation. My suggestions? Try to shop smart for gas (not all gas stations are priced equally) and do your best to reduce your own dependence on oil. You could try to get a car that gets better gas mileage, or see if your boss will let you work from home, or work an alternative schedule like 4 ten hour days instead of 5 eight hour days, or take public transportation at least 1 day per week. I know that these suggestions are not feasible for everyone, which is why I believe that our only true recourse is to starting investing in/using alternate fuels.
Thanks for reading!
Don't believe me? Check it out for yourself:
http://www.eia.doe.gov/...
http://en.wikipedia.org/...
http://www.factcheck.org/...
http://www.westegg.com/...
On June 6th, 2008 the average price of gasoline across the nation rose to $4 per gallon. “There’s nothing worse for our economy than surging energy prices at record highs,†said Mark Zandi, Chief Economist for Moodys.com. What do Jesse James and Big Oil have in common? Nothing if you believe the legends of Jesse James, who supposedly robbed from the rich and distributed his ill gotten gains to the poor. Big Oil robs from all of us and keeps the ill gotten gains for themselves. Read More »
As a nation, we tend to be such Drama Queens, thinking that it is always about us. LOL. We are outraged that gas has reached an average of $4 a gallon. Diesel in Europe today is going for the equivalent of $9 a gallon
Those who travel and live part-time in Europe realize this. For years the Europeans have been averaging the equivelant of $5 a gallon. In the Netherlands in 2006, people paid the equivalent of about $6.73 a gallon at the pump (converting roughly from liters)
Wholesale price of gas is roughly the same world wide but the difference is a heavy tax load that these countries impose to discourage consumption. They want their people to use the mass transit systems and they do. In the Netherlands, in the example above, the gas cost $2.61 and the rest, the $4.12, represents a 158% tax. The US has the lowest tax on gasoline of any industrialized country at about 15%. People in Europe who do have cars, do not on average use them even half as much as Americans so.
Sources:
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1809900,00.html
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12452503/
OPEC and other middle eastern petroleum corporations have almost exclusively controlled the dramatic rise of US gasoline prices. Could this be a silent ploy to devastate the United States economy?
I am not so sure but I can't help but think -- 'What better way to affect virtually every single American in a negative way?' The rising gas prices are here and I might add -- quite suddenly. Why has OPEC recently decided to limit supply and availability of raw sweet crude to the United States? Retaliation perhaps?
There are devastating effects occurring RIGHT NOW in our economy that affect each and every one of us financially, all the way from gasoline prices down to the prices of the foods we eat and feed our children, the airline industry, the transport industry and many more.
Why could this action from OPEC and other middle eastern petroleum corporations that literally control the oil NOT be considered a literal attack on our country?
Is this single issue tearing our economy apart? You bet! I was floored, but not surprised when the White House threatened to VETO the lawsuit against OPEC. The legislation was indeed removed from the bill to help other factors within to pass the Senate.I hear that Bush is personally vested in OPEC and other big oil companies, so this veto threat is perhaps a way to protect his own investments?
Comments?
I am not so sure but I can't help but think -- 'What better way to affect virtually every single American in a negative way?' The rising gas prices are here and I might add -- quite suddenly. Why has OPEC recently decided to limit supply and availability of raw sweet crude to the United States? Retaliation perhaps?
There are devastating effects occurring RIGHT NOW in our economy that affect each and every one of us financially, all the way from gasoline prices down to the prices of the foods we eat and feed our children, the airline industry, the transport industry and many more.
Why could this action from OPEC and other middle eastern petroleum corporations that literally control the oil NOT be considered a literal attack on our country?
Is this single issue tearing our economy apart? You bet! I was floored, but not surprised when the White House threatened to VETO the lawsuit against OPEC. The legislation was indeed removed from the bill to help other factors within to pass the Senate.I hear that Bush is personally vested in OPEC and other big oil companies, so this veto threat is perhaps a way to protect his own investments?
Comments?
You can see the activity in the medians of the interstate expressways the energy is palpable. The elevated structure that will carry the bullet trains traveling in excess of 350 miles per hour is visible while driving down any expressway of the country. There is a feeling of participation exuded by my fellow citizens as if they understand the significance of their being present at this momentous period in our country's transformation. Across the fields in places like Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas large wind turbines, solar collectors, and other innovative structures utilizing a multitude of technologies are being constructed to provide the much needed power for our nation.
Everyone is talking about the activity with an air of anticipation. The undertaking is one of pride that all Americans acknowledge the significance and urgency in completing. We may have been late to act to secure our country's future in a world of uncertain energy supplies but have expended the money and energy that typifies the unique strength of our citizens when faced with a Herculean effort.
It was only a year ago that most of us felt that once again nothing would be accomplished given all the divergent business interests that were vying to derail any initiative that would disrupted the preferred societal stasis. For it was through this static regressive state that the business elite were able to most effectively maintain their control over our society. Why should they consent to changing a totalitarian economic system that had benefited them enormously? What transpired was truly miraculous one by one citizen's starting standing up demanding that the yoke of business be removed from their government. Even governmental representatives who had been the stewards of business interests for years started moving from the shadows into a new light of realization that their country's economic survival was more important than any single business. We could have either continued down the same worn paths of acceptance of our business handler's dictates or rise above the sludge and build a better tomorrow for our nation - together. It was the latter decision that was ultimately chosen.
A patriotic pride has enveloped our nation from the most remote to the most populous regions. It is impossible not to understand how important the completion of all these efforts is, given the continual pressure that is being placed upon our environment by a nation whose expansiveness demands burning unimaginable amounts of fossil fuels just in a daily commute. Not to mention the continual rise in a barrel of oil that has been accelerating of late given OPEC's understanding that once our green industries, and cross-country mass transit systems fully come 'on line' our consumption of oil will drop precipitously.
In some parts of the country our citizens are already enjoying their commutes on bullet trains after parking their cars at their local station. Fully realizing that they'd better become acclimated to this form of travel given that the Emergency Oil Corporation will cease to exist after the completion of the entire transport system and 75% of the green industries are operational - rider ship has increased exponentially over the past few months. For a fee that is a fraction of what we pay for gasoline even at a retail rate with no profit included it represents a significant savings in money not to mention the time saved by not having to sit in traffic during a daily commute. Some people have even begun using the monorails (for they do resemble something you'd see at Disney) for travel during their vacations. With expansive luggage compartments underneath the passenger section most people find that their still able to take between 2 -3 suitcases on a trip for 1/10 of the cost of a plane ride.
Newly formed public utilities are beginning to supply power to homes and business at rates reminiscent of the 1950's generated through renewable energy sources. These public utilities (that are essentially electric cooperatives) are supplanting the private electric companies that for years had been raising rates beyond the means of our citizen's ability to pay.
The benefits are to numerous to quantify - every sector of our nation's economy has been benefiting through the foresight of a few visionaries willing to stand up and push back the selfish business elites in an effort to once again allow our country to travel down the road of prosperity. The only difference this time is the road of our memory where millions upon millions of vehicles burning fossil fuels each competing for space has now become a swift moving steel monorail blazing down the center of a highway.
There is once again talk about the future not in the despair reminiscent of yesterday but the promise of tomorrow - for both our government and economy is finally free to move towards new horizons. We are united under one nation of citizens within one country that we all call home - what a beautiful home.
Visit my personal blog at:
http://structuraleconissues.blogspot.com/
Everyone is talking about the activity with an air of anticipation. The undertaking is one of pride that all Americans acknowledge the significance and urgency in completing. We may have been late to act to secure our country's future in a world of uncertain energy supplies but have expended the money and energy that typifies the unique strength of our citizens when faced with a Herculean effort.
It was only a year ago that most of us felt that once again nothing would be accomplished given all the divergent business interests that were vying to derail any initiative that would disrupted the preferred societal stasis. For it was through this static regressive state that the business elite were able to most effectively maintain their control over our society. Why should they consent to changing a totalitarian economic system that had benefited them enormously? What transpired was truly miraculous one by one citizen's starting standing up demanding that the yoke of business be removed from their government. Even governmental representatives who had been the stewards of business interests for years started moving from the shadows into a new light of realization that their country's economic survival was more important than any single business. We could have either continued down the same worn paths of acceptance of our business handler's dictates or rise above the sludge and build a better tomorrow for our nation - together. It was the latter decision that was ultimately chosen.
A patriotic pride has enveloped our nation from the most remote to the most populous regions. It is impossible not to understand how important the completion of all these efforts is, given the continual pressure that is being placed upon our environment by a nation whose expansiveness demands burning unimaginable amounts of fossil fuels just in a daily commute. Not to mention the continual rise in a barrel of oil that has been accelerating of late given OPEC's understanding that once our green industries, and cross-country mass transit systems fully come 'on line' our consumption of oil will drop precipitously.
In some parts of the country our citizens are already enjoying their commutes on bullet trains after parking their cars at their local station. Fully realizing that they'd better become acclimated to this form of travel given that the Emergency Oil Corporation will cease to exist after the completion of the entire transport system and 75% of the green industries are operational - rider ship has increased exponentially over the past few months. For a fee that is a fraction of what we pay for gasoline even at a retail rate with no profit included it represents a significant savings in money not to mention the time saved by not having to sit in traffic during a daily commute. Some people have even begun using the monorails (for they do resemble something you'd see at Disney) for travel during their vacations. With expansive luggage compartments underneath the passenger section most people find that their still able to take between 2 -3 suitcases on a trip for 1/10 of the cost of a plane ride.
Newly formed public utilities are beginning to supply power to homes and business at rates reminiscent of the 1950's generated through renewable energy sources. These public utilities (that are essentially electric cooperatives) are supplanting the private electric companies that for years had been raising rates beyond the means of our citizen's ability to pay.
The benefits are to numerous to quantify - every sector of our nation's economy has been benefiting through the foresight of a few visionaries willing to stand up and push back the selfish business elites in an effort to once again allow our country to travel down the road of prosperity. The only difference this time is the road of our memory where millions upon millions of vehicles burning fossil fuels each competing for space has now become a swift moving steel monorail blazing down the center of a highway.
There is once again talk about the future not in the despair reminiscent of yesterday but the promise of tomorrow - for both our government and economy is finally free to move towards new horizons. We are united under one nation of citizens within one country that we all call home - what a beautiful home.
Visit my personal blog at:
http://structuraleconissues.blogspot.com/
One of the central benefits obtained through the nationalization of the oil companies will be the immediate redirection of all accumulated profits towards finding renewable sources of energy to replace oil, the construction of an affordable cross country mass transit system, investment in green industries, and the complete elimination of the profit margin in the retail price of gasoline & diesel.
The oil industry under its current umbrella of subsidies and corporate structural benefits within the totalitarian economic society has absolutely no incentive to invest in alternative forms of energy given the huge profit margins that they've been able to make on retail gasoline & diesel. Proof of this is abundantly evident in the fact that only 1% of all gasoline pumps within the United States are currently E85 ethanol while the remaining 99% are still dispensing fossil fuel based petroleum products. Granted, their have been many concerns of late that ethanol production that uses food crops such as corn are negatively impacting the available supply of food on a global basis but this issue aside why haven't the oil companies made available more 85% ethanol pumps? The reason is simple why should they stop their successful pillage of wealth from the American citizens when nothing is inhibiting them from discontinuing this behavior.
While our country faces an imminent economic collapse perpetuated by over zealous speculation within the energy & commodity markets, excessive profit margin increases at the retail level for petroleum products, a significant reduction in consumer consumption spending stemming from negative wage growth within the past few years, and a continuing downward pressure on wages due to labor arbitrage no meaningful action has been taken by our government of the business elites for the business elites.
Since it is not rational to expect the oil companies to immediately start investing their profits on a massive scale within green industries that would effectively have the effect of significantly reducing the plausibility of their propaganda campaign aimed at maintaining these very same profits - the government of the citizens of this great nation should promptly nationalize all the oil companies.
Once nationalized all retail prices should immediately be reduced by the excessive and artificial profit margins that are currently built into the price of petroleum products. This would have the effect of stabilizing this most important energy source until such time as new renewable forms of energy could be successfully brought to market. In combination with this, a program of building an affordable (for all our citizens) cross country mass transit system of bullet trains linking every city within the United States should commence utilizing a proportion of these acquired profits. This would lay an infrastructure of transportation for the 21st century that would eventually replace our outmoded highly inefficient highway system that is geared more towards a resource abundant past and not a resource constrained future.
In addition to the above outlined steps our nation should use the balance of the profits extracted through the nationalization of the oil industry to invest in the green industries that will provide the jobs of the future. These new industries should design, manufacture, and market products globally of the highest quality in order to set our nation apart through a distinct competitive advantage. We must undertake this initiative without delay and invest heavily in order to insure that our nation has a predominate position in these industries that will be central to our future prosperity.
Granted none of this can be accomplished under the current totalitarian economic society that we find ourselves immersed in - we will first have to take back our government from the business elites and their lobbyist stooges. Once we have accomplished this within the first half of next year everything outlined within this article should be instituted forthright so that we may stop the downward spiral of economic calamity that is currently upon us - there is no time to lose. We must get our citizens back to work ensuring that each and everyone who wishes to work will have a job with a decent wage. With the enactment of the steps outlined within this paper we'll begin to arrest the current extreme inequality of income that is the 'killing fields' of our future economic stability. Time is short but our resolve should be endless - let's grasp our country before it falls into an abyss of instability and global irrelevance.
The oil industry under its current umbrella of subsidies and corporate structural benefits within the totalitarian economic society has absolutely no incentive to invest in alternative forms of energy given the huge profit margins that they've been able to make on retail gasoline & diesel. Proof of this is abundantly evident in the fact that only 1% of all gasoline pumps within the United States are currently E85 ethanol while the remaining 99% are still dispensing fossil fuel based petroleum products. Granted, their have been many concerns of late that ethanol production that uses food crops such as corn are negatively impacting the available supply of food on a global basis but this issue aside why haven't the oil companies made available more 85% ethanol pumps? The reason is simple why should they stop their successful pillage of wealth from the American citizens when nothing is inhibiting them from discontinuing this behavior.
While our country faces an imminent economic collapse perpetuated by over zealous speculation within the energy & commodity markets, excessive profit margin increases at the retail level for petroleum products, a significant reduction in consumer consumption spending stemming from negative wage growth within the past few years, and a continuing downward pressure on wages due to labor arbitrage no meaningful action has been taken by our government of the business elites for the business elites.
Since it is not rational to expect the oil companies to immediately start investing their profits on a massive scale within green industries that would effectively have the effect of significantly reducing the plausibility of their propaganda campaign aimed at maintaining these very same profits - the government of the citizens of this great nation should promptly nationalize all the oil companies.
Once nationalized all retail prices should immediately be reduced by the excessive and artificial profit margins that are currently built into the price of petroleum products. This would have the effect of stabilizing this most important energy source until such time as new renewable forms of energy could be successfully brought to market. In combination with this, a program of building an affordable (for all our citizens) cross country mass transit system of bullet trains linking every city within the United States should commence utilizing a proportion of these acquired profits. This would lay an infrastructure of transportation for the 21st century that would eventually replace our outmoded highly inefficient highway system that is geared more towards a resource abundant past and not a resource constrained future.
In addition to the above outlined steps our nation should use the balance of the profits extracted through the nationalization of the oil industry to invest in the green industries that will provide the jobs of the future. These new industries should design, manufacture, and market products globally of the highest quality in order to set our nation apart through a distinct competitive advantage. We must undertake this initiative without delay and invest heavily in order to insure that our nation has a predominate position in these industries that will be central to our future prosperity.
Granted none of this can be accomplished under the current totalitarian economic society that we find ourselves immersed in - we will first have to take back our government from the business elites and their lobbyist stooges. Once we have accomplished this within the first half of next year everything outlined within this article should be instituted forthright so that we may stop the downward spiral of economic calamity that is currently upon us - there is no time to lose. We must get our citizens back to work ensuring that each and everyone who wishes to work will have a job with a decent wage. With the enactment of the steps outlined within this paper we'll begin to arrest the current extreme inequality of income that is the 'killing fields' of our future economic stability. Time is short but our resolve should be endless - let's grasp our country before it falls into an abyss of instability and global irrelevance.
By Daniel J. Weiss, Amanda Logan
November 19, 2007
â??Over the river and through the woods
to grandfatherâ??s house we goâ??
Ah, Thanksgiving, a time for visiting family, leaves rustling underfoot, afternoon football...and high gasoline prices. How did that happen? Gas prices are supposed to be lower in the fall due to lower gasoline use after the spike from summer vacations and driving season. But that isnâ??t the case this year.
Americans have seen a nearly 20 percent spike in oil prices and a 10 percent jump in gasoline prices in just the past several weeks. These higher than normal gas prices could very well persist and even rise, meaning that families may continue to spend a greater portion of their income on gasoline than they originally anticipated this holiday season.
According to the Energy Information Administrationâ??s latest data, the average price of regular unleaded gasoline is $3.111 per gallon, up from the average price for November 2006 of $2.315 in inflation-adjusted termsâ?"a 34.3 percent increase. Gas prices are currently just $0.077 shy of the 2007 monthly high set in May, which itself was the highest average in inflation-adjusted terms since June of 1981. The economic squeeze from gas prices means many Americans will have less to be thankful for this year.
The higher prices will make those long Thanksgiving trips in the car noticeably more expensive this year. A family driving to Des Moines, IA to Chicago this Thanksgiving could expect to spend $90.48 round-trip.[i] That same trip would have cost $67.33 in 2006 and just $40.28 in 2001 in inflation adjusted terms.
Since President Bushâ??s first Thanksgiving in 2001, oil prices have almost quintupled and gasoline prices have more than doubled in inflation-adjusted terms. Since November 2001, when a gallon of gas cost just $1.385 in inflation-adjusted terms, gas prices have risen by 124.6 percent. According to the Energy Information Administrationâ??s latest data, crude oil currently stands at $94.02 per barrel, a remarkable 394.8 percent increase over the November 2001 price of $19.00 in inflation adjusted terms. Read More »
November 19, 2007
â??Over the river and through the woods
to grandfatherâ??s house we goâ??
Ah, Thanksgiving, a time for visiting family, leaves rustling underfoot, afternoon football...and high gasoline prices. How did that happen? Gas prices are supposed to be lower in the fall due to lower gasoline use after the spike from summer vacations and driving season. But that isnâ??t the case this year.
Americans have seen a nearly 20 percent spike in oil prices and a 10 percent jump in gasoline prices in just the past several weeks. These higher than normal gas prices could very well persist and even rise, meaning that families may continue to spend a greater portion of their income on gasoline than they originally anticipated this holiday season.
According to the Energy Information Administrationâ??s latest data, the average price of regular unleaded gasoline is $3.111 per gallon, up from the average price for November 2006 of $2.315 in inflation-adjusted termsâ?"a 34.3 percent increase. Gas prices are currently just $0.077 shy of the 2007 monthly high set in May, which itself was the highest average in inflation-adjusted terms since June of 1981. The economic squeeze from gas prices means many Americans will have less to be thankful for this year.
The higher prices will make those long Thanksgiving trips in the car noticeably more expensive this year. A family driving to Des Moines, IA to Chicago this Thanksgiving could expect to spend $90.48 round-trip.[i] That same trip would have cost $67.33 in 2006 and just $40.28 in 2001 in inflation adjusted terms.
Since President Bushâ??s first Thanksgiving in 2001, oil prices have almost quintupled and gasoline prices have more than doubled in inflation-adjusted terms. Since November 2001, when a gallon of gas cost just $1.385 in inflation-adjusted terms, gas prices have risen by 124.6 percent. According to the Energy Information Administrationâ??s latest data, crude oil currently stands at $94.02 per barrel, a remarkable 394.8 percent increase over the November 2001 price of $19.00 in inflation adjusted terms. Read More »
There are some in Congress and many lobbyists that are arguing against raising the CAFE (Corporate Average Fleet Economy), the mpg minimums that auto manufactures have to average. The Chicago Tribune argues against raising CAFE. Here is my letter to the editor:
To the editor:
Today's editorial "All gassed up in the Senate" argues that the CAFE standards (Corporate Average Fuel economy) imposed by Congress have not achieved a reduction in overall gasoline usage. Assumptions like this are at best difficult to prove and most likely not a proper correlation. What is clear is that the price of gas has not yet risen to the point which would force us to significantly modify our driving habits. It would be better to ask the question, how much more gasoline would we be using without CAFE?
Fuel usage in our country is, as economists would say, semi-elastic. Price thus far has only had a minor effect on usage. Perhaps that is because we live in a culture that requires us to drive often and the price of gas has not yet become a significant factor in reducing "elective" driving; those extra, non-essential trips we take without considering the price of fuel.
It is true that fuel imports have nearly doubled since the CAFE laws were passed in 1975. However fuel usage and imports would be even higher if CAFE was not in effect. One loophole in the CAFE standards requires a much lower standard for SUV's, pick up trucks and other large vehicles, very popular until recently.
Fuel usage will only go down when the price of gas causes us to change our driving habits and higher CAFE standards ensure that we use less fuel than we would with lower standards. The current public discourse over energy, however, leaves me with hope.
To the editor:
Today's editorial "All gassed up in the Senate" argues that the CAFE standards (Corporate Average Fuel economy) imposed by Congress have not achieved a reduction in overall gasoline usage. Assumptions like this are at best difficult to prove and most likely not a proper correlation. What is clear is that the price of gas has not yet risen to the point which would force us to significantly modify our driving habits. It would be better to ask the question, how much more gasoline would we be using without CAFE?
Fuel usage in our country is, as economists would say, semi-elastic. Price thus far has only had a minor effect on usage. Perhaps that is because we live in a culture that requires us to drive often and the price of gas has not yet become a significant factor in reducing "elective" driving; those extra, non-essential trips we take without considering the price of fuel.
It is true that fuel imports have nearly doubled since the CAFE laws were passed in 1975. However fuel usage and imports would be even higher if CAFE was not in effect. One loophole in the CAFE standards requires a much lower standard for SUV's, pick up trucks and other large vehicles, very popular until recently.
Fuel usage will only go down when the price of gas causes us to change our driving habits and higher CAFE standards ensure that we use less fuel than we would with lower standards. The current public discourse over energy, however, leaves me with hope.
Lately, everybody keeps sending me an email asking me to please observe a "gas-out" day by promising not to buy gas on May 15th, 2007 and claiming that this "gas-out" boycott will scare the oil companies into dramatically lowering their prices.
I disagree.
Such a "gas-out" really won't work unless we car drivers actually don't drive our cars that day.
Why?
Oil companies don't fear this because they already know that they will make up the missing money either in the days before or in the days after the "gas-out" because people will still drive their cars on "gas-out" day and therefore will still use the gasoline on that day that will be later need to be replaced - they will still get paid for your driving on May the 15th, it's just that the money will come earlier or later than the 15th.
Indeed they already sell quite a lot of gas in this very manner.
It's called gas company credit cards.
They give you the gas all throughout the month and then collect their money at the monthly due date later.
So, it's not the act of BUYING the gasoline that matters folks, it's the act of USING the gasoline that matters. If we actually lower aggregate demand for gasoline by changing our lives so that we drive our cars less and buy ones with better fuel efficiency then prices will ultimately fall.
Simply shifting that demand to the day before and the day after the "gas out" and then resuming our existing driving patterns will have no effect on prices.
The only REAL way for this "gas out" to work is for "We the People" to do the following things on "gas out" day:
1) Take the bus.
2) Car pool.
3) Ride your bike or walk.
4) Stay home
5) Trade your SUV in on a HEV (hybrid electric vehicle).
Respectfully,
Douglas J. De Clue
Orlando, FL
I disagree.
Such a "gas-out" really won't work unless we car drivers actually don't drive our cars that day.
Why?
Oil companies don't fear this because they already know that they will make up the missing money either in the days before or in the days after the "gas-out" because people will still drive their cars on "gas-out" day and therefore will still use the gasoline on that day that will be later need to be replaced - they will still get paid for your driving on May the 15th, it's just that the money will come earlier or later than the 15th.
Indeed they already sell quite a lot of gas in this very manner.
It's called gas company credit cards.
They give you the gas all throughout the month and then collect their money at the monthly due date later.
So, it's not the act of BUYING the gasoline that matters folks, it's the act of USING the gasoline that matters. If we actually lower aggregate demand for gasoline by changing our lives so that we drive our cars less and buy ones with better fuel efficiency then prices will ultimately fall.
Simply shifting that demand to the day before and the day after the "gas out" and then resuming our existing driving patterns will have no effect on prices.
The only REAL way for this "gas out" to work is for "We the People" to do the following things on "gas out" day:
1) Take the bus.
2) Car pool.
3) Ride your bike or walk.
4) Stay home
5) Trade your SUV in on a HEV (hybrid electric vehicle).
Respectfully,
Douglas J. De Clue
Orlando, FL
Some may remember the idea of a buy-cott which was started a year or two ago. About once or twice a year there is a e-mail which seems to get forwarded to everybody and his/her brother announcing an upcoming boycott of gas stations. The theory is that if everyone boycotts gas stations for a day the big oil companies will sit up and take notice of how much buying power we all have and they will give us a break at the pump. Well people figured out, long after the oil companies did, that you have to buy gas sometime...even if you drive a hybrid. If you avoid the gas station on Thursday, they will get you on Friday or Saturday. Then came the idea of a buy-cott... Read More »
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