What is making the cost of gasoline so high?

[shance]

Seems to me it should have been declining these past few years.

Why has the price of gas skyrocketed?

Shouldn't there be a cap for prices inflating so rapidly?

Why isnt there one?

Is this price gouging?

What (or who) is driving it up to a level that Americans wont be able to afford it much longer, if they can even "afford" it now.

Did I ask enough questions?

:)

[libertypirate]

1. Control + Greed = High Prices

Don't let the BS fool you

[shance]

4. Well that's what I thought. But I thought it deserved a post :)

n/t

[BlueEyedSon]

8. The control is nature. It only made so much oil (about 3T barrels).

The greed is you & me & everyone else's desire to have a better lifestyle.

So yeah, that analysis sorta works.

[Nabia2004]

20. erosion of the dollar is a major factor

If you adjust for Bush's 3 year deflation of the dollar the price of gas has only slightly increased.

[supernova]

2. Ask the Chinese

they're the ones sucking up all the oil this time. Their economy is red-hot. We're not the #1 customers anymore.

[SmokingJacket]

3. Why shouldn't it go up?

People will pay it. They ARE paying it. People aren't exactly abandoning their SUVs by the side of the road (though I've heard they aren't selling as well lately). There's increasing demand from China. Oil companies will keep the price as high as is feasible.

It will only go down if people stop buying it. So far, that hasn't happened.

[shance]

6. Spoken as only an individual with the name "smoking jacket" can speak.

It's called hijacking the public SJ.

Its called stealing in every sense of the word.

We cant afford to pay it is the problem, but we continue to anyway.

[BlueEyedSon]

10. It's called "inelastic demand". When it's $5/gal, you will still have to

drive to work.

[shance]

15. BES, one can use whatever fancified terminology they

want.

At the end of the day, it's still greed.

I believe its immoral on a spiritual level and on a planetary level, and on a humanitarian level when imbalances of people are at such a level where people are starving and dying of disease and malnutrition. Of course that is not about the subject of oil. However greed and the imbalance of power indeed involves crude these days.

Stark imbalances of the quality of life on the planet is never beneficial to the whole, no matter how much Milton Friedman or Greenspan might like to defend the virtues of free market capitalism. Pretty soon greed takes precedent and pretty soon after that occurs (decades)then so does a Depression. We've been very lucky here in the US. I think we've been working some borrowed time though.

"Supply and Demand" is a simplistic term that ignores the corruption that occurs by those who wish to hoard everything and use the caveat emptor excuse to cheat and take advantage of consumers. This "inelastic demand" is exploitation pure and simple. It may look harmless enough in a textbook, but a textbook won't feed a family of four when Dad got laid off and mom's got cancer.

Technically sounding terms, however legitimate sounding, remain harsh, cruel sentences for those who are just trying to get food on the table for their families. It still creates a wealthier, greedier group of folks, it eventually eliminates the middle class, and annihilates those who are unlucky enough to not have the access or capacity or connections to land a plush job bringing in $150,000 to $200,000 grand. Heck, just $100,000 will do.

[BlueEyedSon]

16. It's your greed. Sell your car. Turn your thermostat to "off".

Live in 300 sq feet. Eat like an African farmer.

Yeah, I thought so.

It's easy to point fingers and posture as a humanitarian when you don't really understand how it all works.

[shance]

18. Okay, let me guess. You're either Homer Simpson or Archie Bunker?

Could there be a hint of racism in your rather patronizing, condescending tone?

Yes Im sure Im considered greedy. I would wager we all are here in America, some more than others. And so are you.

Seems to me the apparent difference between you and me is I would like to be a part of and implement positive change and you want to tell everyone to shut up and be grateful to those who are screwing us blind.

You're telling ME I don't understand how it all works??

Was that a joke?

[BlueEyedSon]

19. No, my tone is totally matter-of-fact. You're clueless.

It is WE who are screwing everyone blind.

Please describe how you intend to implement this "positive change". I'm all ears (eyes?).

I will join you if it seems effective and feasible.

[SmokingJacket]

13. Hey, dude, I speak the truth.

A guy can sell a glass of water in the desert for $20, if there are people dying of thirst. That's what we're like. We might not be able to "afford" it, but we pay it, because we don't have (or haven't bothered to come up with) alternatives.

Our need for gas is so high, that we'll pay these prices (which actually are not all that high by world standards).

Price of gas will come down when demand falls.

[Igel]

5. Why should it be declining?

Increased demand for oil, running low on refining capacity, various formulations needed and investors are demanding ever higher dividends and stock prices.

Wasn't Nixon the last to impose price controls?

[BlueEyedSon]

7. Why would it go down? Haven't you ever heard of "supply and demand"?

It's one of the fundamental principles of economics.

Oil supply is going down (because it is finite, as is production capacity), demand is going up (all those Chinese and Indians who want an "American" lifestyle).

[shance]

11. I stand corrected. Great points.

However, i dont think there's any logic or reason for it to be; at the price of 2.50 a gallon right now.

[BlueEyedSon]

12. It's 2-3 times that in Europe, so count your lucky stars!

[shance]

17. Please don't tell me to be grateful for price gouging and manipulation.

And don't tell me to be grateful that the Oil Lobby and industry have for decades blocked in every conceivable way the development, promotion and sale of American hybrids and electric cars. We have the capacity to run a car on solar energy and even air, but you won't be seeing any cars like that in dealerships. You can thank the Oil companies and their lobbies for this.

And please dont tell me to be grateful at the Oil lobbie's assault on mass transit and railway transportation and utilization. They have done a fantastic job at derailing Amtrack and any other railway that dares to try and enter the realm of transit.

No, Im not the least bit grateful for the Oil industry and lobby for keeping us essentially hostages of their own profit and greed.

Please don't kid yourself if you think there truly is fair competition. Monopolies and corporate domination is alive and well, at the expense of our planet and ultimately our health and our lives.

Use a quarter and call someone who wants to hear the gratitude bit. It's not me Blue eyed. Not on that subject anyway.

[BlueIris]

9. Want to hear something strange? Gas in my area is back down to

$2.15 a gallon. Weird.

[BlueEyedSon]

14. Wait til next week, there is a slight lag.