Our nation is dependent on oil, yet price gouging continues unabated. Other services and products within our nation and that our citizens must have are regulated (medicine, banking, food, utilities, etc.) Should our government regulate oil prices?
Regulating prices will do one thing- run oil refiners out of the US. Guess what that will do, raise prices further.
When people conserve demand goes down lowering the price. Remember Adam Smith? He didn’t drive an SUV either….
January 18th, 2010 at 1:45 am
now
References :
January 18th, 2010 at 2:15 am
"That government is best which governs least."
- Thomas Paine
No regulation. And you have it all wrong. Just because prices are high doesn’t mean there is price gouging. The oil companies make .07 per gallon of gas. The government takes an average of .50 per gallon. So who’s doing the gouging?
It’s a simple matter of supply and demand. Demand is higher than supply, and Americans refuse to drill their own oil. That’s fine, but then you have to live with the consequences. Americans also refuse to allow refineries to be built in their "neighborhood", which has greatly decreased refining capacity over the last few decades – again decreasing supply. The refining process is further stressed by the fact that each state has its own blend, and usually two blends – one for summer and one for winter. So to refine gasoline, the oil companies have to make a bunch of different blends that cannot be sold to the other states.
This is why gas prices are so high. If you want extreme environmentalism – no drilling, no refineries, a myriad of blends – then you have to live with high gas prices. You can’t have it both ways. I’m not a rich person, but I think it’s disgusting that people always blame the rich person (or company) – you know, the people who create all the jobs and pay all the taxes.
References :
January 18th, 2010 at 3:02 am
Regulating prices will do one thing- run oil refiners out of the US. Guess what that will do, raise prices further.
When people conserve demand goes down lowering the price. Remember Adam Smith? He didn’t drive an SUV either….
References :
January 18th, 2010 at 3:38 am
You (and many others) need to get your facts straight before you continue to use this "gouging" term.
ExxonMobil
Profit Margin (ttm):10.83%
Qtrly Revenue Growth (yoy):8.50%
Qtrly Earnings Growth (yoy):6.90%
Abercrombie and Fitch
Profit Margin (ttm):12.08%
Qtrly Revenue Growth (yoy):20.20%
Qtrly Earnings Growth (yoy):39.30%
Who’s really gouging you?
Oil should not be regulated. Plenty of others have stated why.
References :
http://finance.yahoo.com/
January 18th, 2010 at 3:53 am
They are making too much money. Graft, Bribes, Junkets and stock portfolios. These guys are and always have been crooks.
References :