I want higher gas prices.

[KarenInMA]

I feel, very very much, for the people who this actually hurts. I really do-please understand that.

But here's the thing: We must develop a sustainable form of energy. We have some options. We can drill in Alaska and wait 7-10 years to get the oil, or we can massively fund programs to explore other options, and see those results in 7-10 years.

We're not making any more dinosaurs people. We are at peak oil.

The only way this country will DEMAND this, is when it's too much to fill up your mini-van. I'm not going on an SUV rant here, and I hope this thread doesn't become one. All cars pollute too much, and most people drive too much.

We have to do something about this, sooner, rather than later. The oil companies don't want this (obviously), but we need to force it through, and the only way that will happen is if people take an economic hit.

That is the unfortunate reality our "leaders" of the past 15-20 have left us with.

[kentuck]

1. What about people that can't afford higher prices?

Understanding your point about pollution, etc, but people need to eat every day, not every 7-10 years...

[KarenInMA]

4. I feel very bad for those people,

but this isn't going to get better for them. It's not going to get cheeper.

Those are the people who will DEMAND more options.

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

6. I have to agree with that...

I understand that one of the cornerstones of human behavior is that we are motivated by two things:

1). The desire to seek pleasure

2). The desire to avoid pain

...and everything else is essentially a variant of those two categories. We really don't take action for any other reason.

However, while pain at the pump may spur alternative fuel legislation...and I use the term "may" loosely...there are plenty of people who were in pain from George W. Bush's "strong, and gettin' STRONGER" economy BEFORE the recent price hikes.

I drove by the local Chevron station yesterday, and after several days of waffling, they raised the price on Supreme from "2.99 & 9/10ths" to "3.03 & 9/10ths."

For people who are struggling to pay rent and keep food on the table, I have a real challenge seeing this as "good."

[mike_c]

23. whether or not it's "good" is ultimately immaterial....

It's inevitable. The sooner people understand that, the better.

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

26. Agreed, it's inevitable...

...and I get the point of the original response.

I'm just having a difficult time getting my arms around the "the only way that will happen is if people take an economic hit" comment.

:toast:

[kentuck]

28. So why should oil companies make obscene profits if it is inevitable?

Why not put price controls on the oil companies or something akin to that? Why should the poor have to suffer as oil companies make record profits? what are they going to do with their profits? Find more oil?

[KarenInMA]

30. "Why not put price controls on the oil companies"

Why not ride my unicorn to mars?

Not being snippy, I'm saying that's impossible. we lack honest politicians.

[pitohui]

63. nixon did it, you calling him an honest politician

bush could be announcing wage & price controls on tv today

he could be announcing a heavy windfall profits tax

nixon did it, you're telling me chimpy can't get off his bike long enough to do the same

it doesn't take honesty, nixon was not known for that quality


it takes simple human decency to realize that price-gouging & profiteering can't be tolerated in time of war

[mike_c]

36. I agree 100 percent....

Actually, I think we're fast approaching the time to either nationalize the oil industry or at least strongly regulate it, and to ration petroleum products, but this needs to be done within the context of an urgent national program to develop alternate energy sources. I'd much rather see a profitless rationing system in which people simply cannot get more than a minimal amount of gasoline for ANY price. No one gets rich off of other people's pain, the available petroleum lasts longer, people will develop MAJOR conservation srategies, and the impetus to develop alternatives would be strong.

[KarenInMA]

37. How do you propose we do this?

Through congress? Through the president?

[getmeouttahere]

44. Exactly...folks, let's get real...

do you really believe that a repuke-controlled congress would do anything of the sort?

That doesn't mean that the Dems shouldn't be introducing the legislation...they have to at least try...but it's extremely unlikely.

[Redstone]

56. Um, it's not the oil companies.

It's the speculators.

They are the ones who determine how much the oil companies get for a barrel of oil.

If a speculator is willing to pay an oil company $75.00 per barrle, do you expect the oil company to say "no, it only cost us $30.00 to extract this barrel of oil, so we'll let you have it for $40.00?"

Once more, for emphasis" Oil prices are set by the people who buy the oil, not by the oil companies.

Redstone

[kentuck]

60. But oil companies have record profits ?

So who's getting the money? Follow the money?

[Redstone]

83. One more time: The oil companies have record profits,

because the speculators are willing to pay them higher prices than they would otherwise get if they were selling directly to the market.

Redstone

[earthmama]

59. agree and I am one of them ...

[Lorien]

86. People won't have anything to eat in the near future if we don't

innovate now. Peak oil will make food production far more difficult and costly, while global warming is increasing so rapidly that it threatens all life on earth (crop and forest failures, ocean dead zones, and eventual loss of the planet's oxygen). Our survival as a species is at stake here.

[Ron Green]

2. I wrote a paper almost 30 years ago in which I suggested a 50-cent tax

on each gallon of passenger vehicle fuel, to be used for acquiring right-of-way and building infrastructure for transportation. I was just an ordinary college student; how come I knew so much and all the smart policy-makers didn't get it then and still don't get it?

[getmeouttahere]

5. Why don't you run for public office?

Energy and transit issues will be huge in the very near future...not to say that they shouldn't have been on the front burner 30 years ago, when you wrote that paper.

[FloridaPat]

9. You weren't bribed by the oil companies for your opinion.

[Ron Green]

14. In a way we've all been bribed with cheap fossil fuel prices

for many years. Think how different life would be (should be, must be, will be) without the cheap and easy use of the automobile. Our lives would have developed so differently as to be almost unimaginable. It's this "way of life" that the right wing so effectively uses to scare people into voting for them.

[getmeouttahere]

32. Bingo was his name-o, Ron_Green!!!

You take the big prize! That's it in a nutshell. And how convenient that those at the top are oilmen!

[ramapo]

19. There were a few such proposals

Of course all such proposals created a hugh uproar. What a 50-cent per gallon tax? That would destroy America. TAX and SPEND liberal! More money for the welfare state. On and on ad-nauseum.

So now we have a 50-cent++ tax per gallon that has been added over the past two years. This tax goes to the corpocracy though and that is basically ok. Sure there's some grumbling but not like a proposed TAX.

The American people deserve a doubling in the cost of gas. This would bring gas prices more in line with reality. Americans pay less for a gallon of milk or even bottled water. Cows are pretty much a renewable resource.

[getmeouttahere]

3. I hear ya, Karen...

we can either take some pain now, or a lot more pain later. I personally don't want to give the oil companies any more of my money than I absolutely have to...so I'm walking to work 3 days a week or more, I take the train/subway to my favorite music store when I want to go, I look for any excuse to walk instead of drive. If everyone would start making small sacrifices now, and keep pushing for alternative fuels, we just might have a chance to come out of this crisis in decent shape. But we're already at least 30 years behind.

OH, and more mass transit in our cities!

[KarenInMA]

7. Mass transit is part of it

The oil companies HATE mass transit. Also, it's not easy to build. But if we started now...

It's not too hard to start running bus lines. Or starting citizen car pool clubs.

[getmeouttahere]

10. BushCo is oilman=oil companies hate mass transit=disaster

for Americans.

[FloridaPat]

8. There is no money. The treasury is empty. The future has been

sold already for an illegal invasion. $300 billion would have gone a long way to get us off oil. * leaving the mileage requirements would have helped tremendously, but he got rid of them. Congress acting in the best interest of the country could have worked for conservation. But no, the best interest of the oil companies have always come first. We're in big trouble.

[getmeouttahere]

12. Sad, but very true...

we're so far behind the 8-ball that we can barely see it.

[Career Prole]

11. I haven't heard that since the seventies

when S.I. Hayakawa said gas prices should be increased because poor people don't need it since they don't have jobs to go to.
I was grossing $17K/year then, and I'm grossing $23K* now.
It'd be lovely if someone could come up with a better way to do this than starving my family.

*For a brief shining moment that was known as the Clinton years I made $40K/year...I shall always look back with fondness on that period. :eyes:

[getmeouttahere]

13. You and me both, Career Prole...

there's no question that 10's of millons in this country won't even get so much as a whiff of the so-called American Dream in this climate. But the one poster is right, it's not going to get cheaper. This is where Dems fighting for the little people comes in...we have to keep fighting for everyone who is struggling...if Dems, Greens etc won't do it, who will? If you're gonna go down, go down fighting for what is right.

[KarenInMA]

15. Did I say poor people don't drive?

no. No I did not. Do you think that artificially low prices help you?

I want to FORCE the gov to change. If you want your children to be able to breath when they're your age, you'd see what I'm saying.

If we had honest politicians in the last 20 years, this would have been avoided, but we haven't so now it's a bloody mess. That is unfortunate, but it's reality.

[pitohui]

66. karen your analysis will kill yr children's hope of clean air

again, for those who don't get it, we have hundreds of years of energy reserves on american soil in the ground right now that can be acquired & used for purposes using a known technology

those reserves are coal

you want higher prices, then you are de facto advocating for more use & development of coal

forget being able to breathe when coal is again a huge source of energy

i'm shocked you can say "it's reality" abt a very partial fantasy abt what you think high gas prices can do

look at the overall picture

you won't just kill careerprole's family w. the high prices

it isn't just the old people who can't heat their homes in maine who will die

yr children will face the shortened life expectancy & increase in lung cancer & heart disease caused by coal

[KarenInMA]

71. You can't run cars on coal.

I don't think ANYONE would advocate using COAL as our biggest fuel source.

I'm not a real sciency person, but I can guarentee that if we put our heads together, and the oil companies weren't allowed to stop progress , we could do something.

[getmeouttahere]

76. But if you're talking about the govt doing something....

it would have to be locally, if you're lucky enough to live in a democratically-leaning region or city

Here in L.A. the new mayor is working on more mass transit, synchronizing the traffic lights, etc. People have got to start getting out of their cars, before they are forced out, which may happen anyway.

[CrispyQ]

54. But don't you know?

Republican family values means MY family is valuable, YOURS is not.

gas prices should be increased because poor people don't need it since they don't have jobs to go to.

What an incredibly callous thing for that person to say!

[jsamuel]

16. Well it is HURTING ME BADLY!!! I ONLY TAKE HOME ENOUGH TO BUY FOOD

internet, cable, but that is it. I haven't been to a movie in 4 or 5 months. I haven't had enough money to rent a movie in 4 or 5 months.

I am tired of everyone saying "I told you so."

WELL YOU NEVER HAD TO TELL ME! I AM NOT THE ONE WHO MAKES FUEL OR CARS!

[1932]

17. Higher prices are just making oil companies even more powerful.

If we had higher prices that were mostly caused by taxes which funded research into alternative fuels and which was spent to undo damage caused by fossil fuel consumption and production, that would be one thing.

But giving energy companies the economic power that will only further destroy the working class is not the answer.

[KarenInMA]

20. But this is only way.

People aren't going to demand this without it hurting. It's a revolution.

what's your suggestion?

[1932]

22. consumption tax on gas, or windfall profit taxes on oil corp profits.

Without those two things, higher profits for oil companies will do the exact opposite of what you want to see happen.

What do you think the oil companies will do with their huge profits? They'll lobby government to make sure that consumers can't exercise their desire to conserve fuel. No public transport. No higher CAFE requirements for Detroit. No funding for research into alternative fuels.

And when there is an inevitable switch to different fuels, the oil companies will control that new source of fuel in a way that is uncompetitive and continues to screw consumers.

[getmeouttahere]

29. You make some good points, 1932...

which is why I think it's even more important for two things to happen

1) people must start making the sacrifices necessary to even have a chance to affect change - driving less, using transit and walking more.

2) The citizens of America's cities must pony up for more mass transit. Yes, that likely means a tax to pay for it. Again, we either take some pain now, or a lot more later.

[Ron Green]

35. "their desire to conserve fuel"

I respectfully disagree on this point. I don't think people really have a desire to conserve fuel. They want to pull that big camping trailer or boat, or be able to spread out with the kids in the Suburban when they travel. The American dream is all about comfort and convenience, not citizenship or duty. Any politician who appeals to the "higher" calling is doomed.

[getmeouttahere]

52. Well, so be it....

we are surely doomed. No doubt in my mind.

[CrispyQ]

57. You hit the nail on the head with this post!

The American dream is all about comfort and convenience, not citizenship or duty. Any politician who appeals to the "higher" calling is doomed.

What an incredibly sad commentary on our society. Slap a yellow ribbon on your gas guzzler & you support the troops. While we wallow in our arrogance that we are the greatest nation on Earth & therefore we don't have to make any sacrifice, we are seriously slipping into a banana republic. Someday the selfish sheeple will wake up & wonder what happened to their country & when it happened, & never recognize their own part in our demise.

[getmeouttahere]

67. Bravo, CrispyQGirl...

we are a pathetic lot, aren't we? Banana Republicans!

[getmeouttahere]

24. It's so ironic, while we're having this discussion...

two people in my office are talking about how great their gas-guzzling cars are...and one of them is always complaining about how she can't afford her rent or to go out much because her car payment is so big...pathetic!

[jsamuel]

25. People were demanding it before it was hurting!

The only people who weren't were oil companies, those who are connected to them, and those who follow those people's every word.

We were on a good track if Bush didn't come in and destroy all the progress.

[KarenInMA]

34. What did Clinton, or Bush 1 or Reagan do about this

issue?

I submit that we were not on a good track.

[jsamuel]

41. What I was talking about was the global talks and other environmental laws

that used to be in place which are now destroyed due to Bush.

I don't like Gore very much, but he would have doubled the amount of things we would have done to help the environment.

[pitohui]

68. you're always wrong when you say yr way is only way

i'm tempted to close this thread & go home right now

no such thing as pounding the chest & proclaiming, "this is the only way"

if this is indeed the only way, it's game over

in 30 yrs, we'll be a stinking spew of coal smog again

enjoy yr role in supporting the obscene profits of the oil industry & the conversion to coal that made it all possible

my suggestion is not so simple & knee-jerk as "by all means, let's support by oil co. price-gouging by claiming prices can never go down again"

people need to be demanding investigation & arrest for price-gouging, price-fixing

windfall profits should be seized by any legal means possible, including rico (conspiracy)

prices for oil should be maintained at a level to allow for reasonable profit but not war profiteering

forfeited windfall profits should go to development of new technology, mass transit, etc., sure

there is still time to plan for a smooth transition, as there is plenty of oil, the current crisis is pure gouging

if there is no smooth transition, if there is in yr word "revolution," it will be answered in the most expedient way, which is not w. new technology but w. old tech that we already have

[Ron Green]

18. Jimmy Carter = Conservation, Public Works, Infrastructure

Ronald Reagan = Comfort, Convenience, Consumption

The choice was made at a crucial time for world energy decisions. We haven't really talked about this since then.

[Township75]

21. I'm with you...

it will suck for the poor, but we need to face this issue now, not later, and the more we push it off, the more the poor are really going to feel it!

The middle class and upper class need to feel the pinch to motivate the US to change, and higher prices are going to be needed for that to occur.

Here is to $3!

[jsamuel]

31. the middle and upper class will not feel any pinches unless it goes to $20

per gallon.

I am tired of everyone being so sacrificial to the poor.

"Sorry, poor people. We will not do anything to help you because we want things to get worse. Then we can help."

WHY NOT HELP NOW!

[Career Prole]

82. It already sucks for the poor.

But not so much that I can't kick in 5 bucks a month for the service DU provides me.

Here is to $5 for DU! :eyes:

[Mairead]

27. If gas goes to $5/gallon soon, I'll be able to afford 1 fill-up per month

max for my Honda Civic, which sits undriven from week to week now. I'll have to budget any trip to Boston I need to make.

The problem with hoping gas prices rise rapidly is that the people with no political power are the ones who will get clobbered first. Omelets and eggs, of course, but it's hard to expect the eggs to appreciate our role.

[jsamuel]

33. maybe this is what people mean by the "liberal elite"

Instead of helping people, let them suffer and have them crawl to us on their knees so that we will then be able to tell them, "I told you so."

[KarenInMA]

38. Why would you say that?

All you're doing is attacking me. You've done it a few times. What's your solution?

[jsamuel]

39. My solution would be to fight it now rather than waiting for it to get

worse.

People who are poor need help now, not later. I am sorry if I have been so confrontational, but when money gets tight, stress tends to make things heated.

If you realize that most people who voted for Bush are poor, then you can see that if liberals took this issue now, then it would result in massive support.

The only people who might not be supportive would be middle/upper class conservatives which only make up 25% of the country at most.

So, what I am saying is that the time is now. No waiting. I don't want people who are worse off than me and who have kids to have to start cutting back on the food they buy for their kids.

[KarenInMA]

43. Fight it how?

I know this is a tough topic, so I understand why people get heated. so do I.

The reason I'm chasing you around is because I want to hear a realistic way to fight this problem. Democratic leadership sucks. Let's be perfectly clear, no one on the D side wants to tackle the oil companies, and not enough people care (yet) about gas prices.

I really, really don't want life to be harder for you. I just don't see any other way. It hurts me too.

[jsamuel]

51. That is what I wanted to hear :D

"The reason I'm chasing you around is because I want to hear a realistic way to fight this problem. Democratic leadership sucks. Let's be perfectly clear, no one on the D side wants to tackle the oil companies, and not enough people care (yet) about gas prices."

A thead titled "Fight it how?" would be a great start. Even if we can't think of a way to fight it, we have to. We have to figure out a way of helping people who are going from middle to low class and from low class to unable to support themselves.

The thing is that there would be SO much support behind any movement for this that it wouldn't much matter what the message was. People are getting pissed.

I wish I knew what the Democratic leadership was doing, because they aren't helping me right now. DU has more leadership in GD than they have in congress. I don't want to be bashing Dems, but I feel it is my responsibility to do so when they are not doing their jobs. Some of them are doing their jobs like Conyers and the bunch.

I do think enough people care about gas prices now. It is just no one has taken it up as an issue. There is no Cindy Sheehan of gas prices. There is no Conyers of gas prices. Do you see what I mean?

[Media_Lies_Daily]

46. "Most people who voted for Bush are poor"? How do you know their....

...vote was even counted, much less for whom they voted?

Why do you think the NeoCon Junta would ever take the chance of losing control of the U. S. by allowing legitimate elections to take place?

[jsamuel]

53. wow, um I don't know their vote was counted

In fact, I don't think it was.

[getmeouttahere]

47. Seems to me folks should be cutting off...

the cable before they start cutting back on food for their kids. Priorities, people.

I do not suggest cutting off the internet, however. You need to keep in touch with what's going on, and you can't do that with cable.

[getmeouttahere]

42. Well, don't hold your breath for the repukes to help...

as long as they are in charge, it's only going to get worse. Given that fact, what do you suggest?

[friesianrider]

73. I don't think that is what she meant.

She isn't looking to rub it in anyone's face, but that all the people who voted for Shithead need to realize that this is the result of your actions. Your kid gets killed for no reason and you can't afford the gas to drive yourself to his funeral.

The higher gas prices go up, the more pressure there will be to develop hybrid cars, alternative energy, etc.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

40. Here's my "unfortunate reality" for you....

...we are rapidly approaching what I call the "tipping point" for revolution in this country. Think about that for a moment.

The Middle Class is being destroyed, 50 million Americans cannot afford healthcare, our sons/daughters are being sent to an illegal/unjust/immoral conflict in the Middle East, the cost of utilities are rising with Winter fast approaching, and the cost of food is rising just as rapidly as gasoline costs because they are dependent on transportation to get to market.

Additionally, bankruptcies are setting new records with each passing month, and home foreclosures are doing the same.

Ordinary Americans are becoming VERY angry, and that is NOT a good thing.

You want rising gas prices while alternative energy programs are finally set in place over the next 20 years? Fine...but you need to understand where all of this human misery and rising anger is going to lead us, and it's not going to be pleasant.

[KarenInMA]

45. it's gonna hurt. I know

Why do you think I've purchased guns?

:shrug:

[getmeouttahere]

48. Oh, that's a great solution!

a military-style civilian arms race, to the bottom. Real progressive thinking.

Now you understand why my screen name is "getmeouttahere"

[KarenInMA]

50. I'm not going without a fight

That's all there is too it.

I support all the ammendments, even the second one.

[getmeouttahere]

55. Have we evolved so little...

as a country/society that we STILL have to have guns around to solve problems? Frankly, I would rather be dead than have no choice but to own a gun.

Maybe I need to start working on that Canadian immigration paperwork after all. If progressives think like this, we're all fucking doomed.

[Catholic Sensation]

65. and we all know that the us military would be unable to handle

people with hunting rifles :eyes:

[Media_Lies_Daily]

49. "Hurt"? I don't think you have a clue how bad it's going to get....

...you also better be stocking up on food, water, and medicines, because you might find yourself in a prolonged period of time with NO basic services at all.

And you better start talking with other people in your immediate neighborhood with whom you can form alliances...single-unit families won't stand a chance against those that will be intent on taking what's yours.

"Hurt"? No, that's just the beginning.

[CrispyQ]

62. Things are going to get alot worse,

before they get worse. --Lilly Tomlin


You are right, the pain of high gas prices is just the beginning. When people are cold & hungry they will storm the gated communities with picks & axes & torch them. And I agree with the OP that the dems aren't going to make anything any better. They are bought & paid for by the corporations, too. Our government 'of, by & for the people' has become 'of, by & for the millionaires.'

It's gonna get ugly, ugly, ugly in this country.

[friesianrider]

74. Revolution occurs when the middle class dwindles away...

I agree 100% with your post, my friend.

[YapiYapo]

58. USA use twice much gas as europe

Consumption : (Millions of barrels per day 2001) :

United States: 19,993 (population : 295.000.000)

19,993 Millions of barrels per day 2001 for 295 millions peoples.

Germany: 2,814 (population 82.000.000)
France: 2,040 (population 60.000.000)
United Kingdom: 1,699 (population 60.000.0000)
Spain: 1,465 (population 40.000.0000)
Italy: 1,881 (population 58.000.000)

9,89 Millions of barrels per day for 300 millions peoples.

Funny how cost of gas in europe are also twice the US price.

[pitohui]

69. yes we have a large country, they have little ones

try a map next time, it will address some of these issues

next question

[getmeouttahere]

72. That's one of the sorriest excuses for inaction...

I've heard yet. We are incredibly wasteful in this country, with our insistence on larger, gas guzzling vehicles and on NOT investing in mass transit, both for long distance and inner-city travel. The geography shouldn't be an issue, with our resources, or the resources we had before BushCo came along. If we had our priorities straight, we could do it better than anyone.

[YapiYapo]

77. What's matter is average mileage per car. US/EU

Annual average mileage per car US : 9000
Annual average mileage per car UK : 5400

The size of the country doesn't explain it all.

[getmeouttahere]

78. Some would try to argue that it does....

but my point is that we are wasteful because our cars get far worse gas mileage, and we drive them unnecessarily. Yes, I understand that some people live in far flung areas, but that's part of our short-sightedness. Back in the day, they built suburbs without sidewalks, and couple that with emphasis on comfort instead of efficiency, and you get the mess we now have.

[pitohui]

61. then you want the utter destruction of our mountains

do you not understand that higher oil prices will push use of known technology, which is development of hundreds of years of coal reserves, which will end in the complete destruction of our mountains & wilderness areas

it will also push development of known oil reserves previously left alone, such as offshore florida & california, wilderness areas in alaska, etc.

thanks a lot

don't do me no favors

[mtnsnake]

64. That's what the oil people said to Cheney when they thought up the war

"I want higher gas prices"

[pitohui]

70. sure

the iraq war is price support for the oil industry

from $20 to $60-plus a barrel

and the reserves are still there, just fine, we just saw a report yesterday iraqis are paying 5 cents a gallon for gas

there's no peak oil, there is plenty of oil

sure, there are some transportation issues, but 5 cents a gallon over there to $3 a gallon over here? i don't think so

this is war-profiteering, laws against same need to be enforced

as far as what can we do, the first thing we need to do is support wildcat strikes like the florida truckers, maybe have our own price protests, & start screaming to high heaven for a windfall profits tax or even a forfeiture of the profits -- forfeiture law already exists & could give us immediate ability to grab some of the obscene profits from the greedy

but people are not even squeaking up

they are just repeating the oil co. meme that oil is somehow rare & valuable, tho it is found everywhere, on every continent, we should be paying out the wazoo for something that was $20 a barrel only a short while back

i don't know why people are so complicit in their own brain-washing

hello, wake up, war-profiteering is a crime

we should be calling out for forfeiture of proceeds from criminal enterprise, seriously, we may have to compromise & get less, but right now we're not asking for anything

except the original poster's advice to bend over & say, may i please have another sir?

[getmeouttahere]

75. Again, do you really think a repuke controlled government...

is going to call for price controls or windfall taxes? These things are kryptonite for them! Now, that doesn't not mean that Dems shouldn't be introducing the legislation, after all, if you're gonna go down, you gotta go down fighting for what's right. But I'm not holding my breath for criminal charges against the oil co's.

[mtnsnake]

79. Great post, pitohui. n/t

[seersuckersuit]

80. I agree.

As a long-term solution, we need fuel-based cars to be phased out of existence.

[LaPera]

81. Do not fret, you will get your wish! It'll make you very happy to know gas

prices will continue to go up...way up!

The media always fail to mention that oil companies are recording record profits
every quarter in direct proportions to the rising record price of gas.

The oil companies aren't hurting, they always want to lay the blame elsewhere. They sure are gouging us at the pumps though!

Keep the bullshit smokescreens going. Feeding us articles and stories, while the corporate media keeps enough of us dumb and stupid believing their bullshit!

They never mention Exxon's seven billion dollars plus in profits last quarter, just one quarter...Who in the fuck do they think they are kidding?

Rising Gas Prices and Big Oil's Agenda

Washington, D.C. - Institute for Public Accuracy - infoZine - Wenonah Hauter is director of Public Citizen's Critical Mass Energy and Environment Program; Hauter said yesterday: "Since Bush became president, the largest five oil companies operating in the U.S. -- ExxonMobil, ChevronTexaco, ConocoPhillips, BP and Shell -- have enjoyed profits of $254 billion, with ExxonMobil leading the way with profits of $89 billion.

"Clearly, there is a direct correlation between record prices paid by consumers and record profits enjoyed by oil companies. For example, the profit margin for U.S. oil refiners has shot up 79 percent from 1999 (the year Exxon and Mobil merged) to 2004. But rather than hold these price-gougers responsible, the energy bill signed by Bush this month gives $6 billion in tax breaks and subsidies to oil companies."

James Paul, executive director of the Global Policy Forum, has written several reports about oil including "Oil in Iraq: The Heart of the Crisis." He said yesterday: "Exxon, as the world's biggest and most profitable company, wields enormous power in Washington and in most other capitals as well. The company has plenty of lobby funds, as it enjoys more revenue than 185 national governments. Exxon has blocked a U.S. national policy on climate change and fought against environmental laws. Oil company interests are not only crucial in the war in Iraq, but also other conflicts, such as Iran. As world oil supplies begin to diminish, big oil dreams of ever-higher profits, and more oil wars to seize new and lucrative concessions."

http://www.infozine.com/news/stories/op/storiesView/sid... /

Record Prices Mean Record Profits for Oil Companies

As American consumers increasingly feel the pinch at the pump, oil companies have watched their profits soar.

The newest numbers from the second quarter of this year show Exxon Mobil with a 32 percent increase in earnings over this time last year — that's more than $7.6 billion.

BP saw a profit increase of 38 percent, totaling $6.7 billion, while Conoco Phillips — the third largest oil company in the country — recorded a 56 percent increase in profit, more than $3 billion.

"The huge profits are enormous because the public is drastically overpaying what it costs to produce," said Joan Claybrook, president of the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen.

Many of these companies long ago bought oil reserves at prices of $10 to $25 a barrel. With prices peaking near the $67 mark, the profit margin has been enormous.

Even more eye-opening is the profit in Saudi Arabia. Saudis are making an average of $208 million more each day since the increase in crude oil prices first began in December 2003.

Will Profits Lead to Solutions?

"The answer is yes, but the impact of those is not immediate," said Mike Rothman, the head of integrated oil research for the International Strategy & Investment Group.

Consumer advocates say Congress is doing nothing to speed up the process, instead passing an energy bill that gives tax breaks to the oil industry.

"They got $6 billion in the energy bill over 10 years. That's a huge, huge amount of money," said Claybrook. "And you'd think with the price of oil at $65 a barrel, they didn't need any new incentives."

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/story?id=1029991

[MercutioATC]

84. I've been saying this for years.

We're the innovators of the world but we only innovate when it's profitable.

It's getting more "profitable" every day...

[Deja Q]

85. So does *. Except you want reform. He wants a dictatorship.

And I no longer care either way; we're ALL undersentence of death.

ENJOY life while you can.