$2.29 a Gallon!!

[longislander1]

From today's paper:

"WASHINGTON, Sept. 20 — Four government auditors who monitor leases for oil and gas on federal property say the Interior Department suppressed their efforts to recover millions of dollars from companies they said were cheating the government.

"The accusations, many of them in four lawsuits that were unsealed last week by federal judges in Oklahoma, represent a rare rebellion by government investigators against their own agency.

"The auditors contend that they were blocked by their bosses from pursuing more than $30 million in fraudulent underpayments of royalties for oil produced in publicly owned waters in the Gulf of Mexico.

'The agency has lost its sense of mission, which is to protect American taxpayers,' said Bobby L. Maxwell, who was formerly in charge of Gulf of Mexico auditing. 'These are assets that belong to the American public, and they are supposed to be used for things like education, public infrastructure and roadways.'

"The lawsuits have surfaced as Democrats and Republicans alike are questioning the Bush administration’s willingness to challenge the oil and gas industry."

Please focus on the last sentence. I rest my case.

[Perfectlap]

doesn't matter if you are Republican or Democrat you are still being screwed by the Oil and Gas Industry who have the politicians in their back pocket.
You can close your eyes to it and say its a free capitalist society and there are no corrupt practices going on whatsoever in this industry, if you believe that there's a bridge here that just went on sale.
Doesn't matter if we explore and find more oil we'll just come up with new ways to consume at record levels with big stupid SUV and pick up trucks.
This country is out of control with consumption, corruption and indiference.

Meanwhile we owe more than we have ever owed in our entire history as a nationand we ship more of our manufacturing jobs to China then we have ever. These twin deficits have acclerated at an unprecedented level while the country is too busy being either apathetic or partisan.

We've dropped half a trillion on a war to install a democratic government in Iraq that will 99.9% likely be just as anti-american as the previous not-so democratic government(brilliant thanks! any other great ideas??).

each day the financial world see us less capable of handling our finances with more than a four year outlook in mind. Anybody that has had anything to do with our current foreign/fiscal situation, democrat or republican, needs to be sent on a permanent vacation. A bigger collection of clueless clowns have never been assembled in Washington and wait until it all starts to bite our long term fiscal future in the arse. Michael and LaToya Jackson could do a better job of managing our wealth then the morons we elect.

p.s.
I live in Jersey near some major Exxon refineries, the right likes to reference "tree huggers" and "eco extremists" but when you have lived with poor air quality your whole life (very very bad at times) you know its bigger than left vs. right politics, its a daily real world experience that we are in fact destroying our clean air and water. Its no myth.

[Brucelee]

For the conspiracy guys out there.

How much should gasoline cost and how do you know that?

If the oil companies are manipulating this, tell me how they control the spot market for oil prices?

If OPEC can't control oil prices then how can the gas refiners?

If the price of gas follows the price of oil and even the pumping nations can't control these prices, how do the oil companies act as a monopoly.

Bueller, Beuller?

[Brucelee]

The price of gas is falling due to reduced demand. Happens every fall.

The price increases in summer due to increased demand. Happens every summer.

How does the oil company control prices again?

[z12358]

brucelee:
"The price of gas is falling due to reduced demand. Happens every fall.
The price increases in summer due to increased demand. Happens every summer."

Bruce, do I see a hedge fund in the making?
Z.

[Perfectlap]

yes you can bet Bruce wasn't investing in that one!

reality: where ever there are speculators, there is shadyness/collusion/corruption. And where's there is oppourtunity
the oil and gas industry is there to cash in.

our government would have you believe that only OPEC is guilty of collusive behavior. yeah right!
Meanwhile the FTC rubber stamps massive mergers like BP/Amoco that make anti-trust laws like the Clayton Act pointless. The foxes guarding the Hen House?
Yes they are all a bunch of boyscouts who exert no political influence over law makers with the billion$$ in EARNINGS they are raking in barely a year.

Price of unleaded shoots up $2 in less than a year?
Some Comedy:
Katrina Shenanigans

Again, I will ask you the questions you will not answer:

How much SHOULD gas cost and how did you arrive at that answer.

If the US Oil companies have an monopoly, why is there long term ROI lower than other companies without such monopoly.

If the US Oil companies are a monopoly why has no form of state or federal govt EVER found them guilty of anti trust violations.

When the price of oil prices died in the 80s and 90s, did the oil companies have a monopoly then or not? If not, what changed?

If there is a monopoly, why are our gas prices lower than most of the world.

And yes, OPEC is by definition, a cartel. In fact, if they had more of the world's total supply of oil, they could influence price more.

As I pointed out, their proclaimed floor of $64 per barrel was pierced the other day.

So, any facts or just wild accusations?

[longislander1]

My point is that this country has NO energy policy under the current administration, other than to line the pockets of the oil companies. Richard Branson is committing more dollars to alternative fuels than the U.S. government. (And, by the way, alternate energy firms ARE funding ethanol refineries AND getting local government approvals for such facilities. How interesting!)

I'm no fan of any politicians at the moment, but we have to give the Democrats a chance because right now they're all we have. The Republicans have chosen the oil industry over the people they're supposed to represent.

I do believe prices will rise after the election. After this past week, you'll see the oil producers will add to their rationalizations for gouging by throwing Hugo Chavez and Venezuela into the mix.

If any of you are following China's strong and diplomatic quest for energy resources in Latin America (and our apparent rejection or ignorance of this important region), there will come a day when Venezuela (as well as Iran) will find enough buyers for their oil outside the United States. I have no idea what gas should cost now, since I'm not one of the pricing manipulators, but I can tell you we will be wishing for $3.00 a gallon if those two countries are able to take their business elsewhere and the U.S. continues with its total lack of an alternative energy policy.