PMEL Forum

You know what kills me? It's these democrates in Washington that keep saying it's the "Profit Rich Oil Companies" fault for high gas prices. Well, the truth is Exxon/Mobile the oil company that makes the most money only makes $0.09 a gallon. The remaining majority of the cost is TAXES. Yes it's not BIG OIL it's BIG GOVERNMENT that really jacks the prices up. So it's the " Profit Rich Government " that has caused our gas prices to soar. The Government is going to investigate for price gouging. That's so hypocritical when it's the Government that has been doing the price gouging. Lower the Gas Tax and we will be fine.

Gas in the UAE is cheap. I was filling up my rental (04 Caprice) with high test for $23...

It's not as much as the federal government made off the gas tax. Now that's excessive.

You would not say that it's excessive if it were your own company.

Also consider the fact that the $4 billion is across the board for all oil companies. I guess people will start complaining that Microsoft needs regulating considering that they made 10 times that amount and it's just one company.

It is a political issue. The democrates have blocked the building of new refineries and always block the republicans from passing a law allowing the U.S. from drilling in ANWR ( Alaska ). This not only will make us more self dependent but will cause the gas prices set by OPEC to drop due to supply and demand. If the middle east can't sell as much they will have to drop prices to sell. Simple economics.

But what about all those cute, fluffy animals in Alaska?  We can't disturb them! Unless you use a high powered hunting rifle...then its fine.  Unless the Dems decide to take away out guns too.  Or tax the hell out of them.  Today, gas prices, tomorrow, our freedom!

you said it.

Firstly, most gas taxes are imposed by the state and not the Federal Govt. Secondly, profits for Exxon/Mobil 40 Billion with "B" not 4 Billion and it was not across the big 4 it was strictly Exxon/Mobil (if you don't believe me then just google EXXON/MOBIL Profits). Thirdly, all of the major oil companies have a documented track record of collusion and price fixing. I can vouch for that because my father owned a service station for over 30 years and received an $185000 payment from a class-action suit against them for price fixing from 1964-1969. Total payout in the seventies was half a billion.......that would probably equate to somewhere between 5-10 billion in today's dollars. If you remember the gas prices then....around $00.39/gallon.........that means they were really taking the american public to the house! My father only made 1-2 cents/gal!

BTW-Where did you get the information on the oil companies getting only $00.09/gal? And 9 cents/gallon profit is okay with you when 50% of the world's gas is blown through our pipes!

As for ANWR.......................BS!!!!! We have privately held mineral rights sitting on top of untapped oil basins in the lower 48. Check with the Minot folks..............they're within 100 miles of one of the largest untapped oil basin. Don't believe everything you read.......check the facts.

The real problem is allowing the crooked folks to trade on futures. This is not a commodity, gasoline is a utility and should be regulated by the govt so these slimy companies can't do what they're doing to us right now. This is not a political partisan issue.............and if you insist that it is then you must realize that the republican philosophy of "zero tolerance for regulation on business" has allowed this to take place. Based on your comments I would say you're actually believing the propaganda spewed by corporate america and the current culture of criminals in Washington DC.

I'm sorry I was wrong and checked. It's 9% profit. Still less than most industries. Government Regulation? The government can't regulate themselves. It sounds like we have a big government libral on the board. Are you saying that the government should regulate Microsoft too? ANWR has tons of untapped oil more than the lower 48. Who is going to regulate the govenment since they make more profit off the oil than the oil companies? We still pay less than the European Union. You have the Government now investigating the Big Oil companies and I bet they won't find anything. Gas prices would be more affordable if there were more money left in your check. When we spend 1 million on researching why some worm in the south pacific crawls backward when there is a full moon we need to be investigating the government spending habits. Why do you think corporate America is evil? Your lifestyle in this country is partly do to the EVIL corporations. Your not in corporate America because you think 9% profit as too much. How would you like the government regulate your 401K and say you can't profit more than 9%. Oh, that's different because it's you. When has government regulation worked? Please I want to know.

I guess you want the government to investigate the company I work for too. We have a profit margin of 35%. That's almost 4 times more than BIG OIL. I guess we are price gouging. Big Oil makes more money because of the amount of product not profit margins. So do you want to regulate the amount of product? Then we will have a gas shortage. Let me guess, you think they should lower their profit margin. What company other than Big Oil has a profit margin as low as 9%? They make their money by volume. When we import most of the oil use. So the price that OPEC sets is what we pay. Right now it's OPEC that is controlling the price per barrel not American owned oil companies. Drilling in ANWR and other states would relieve our dependence on OPEC causing the prices to go down. It's basic supply and demand. That won't happen though because the Democrates stop the building of new refineries and drilling in ANWR. That's a fact. So it is a political issue to a large extent.

So I suggest you take your mouth off the libral tit and get real. You can be libral minded or realistic. You obviously don't know anything about capitalism or economics. You imply that corporations are evil, well it sounds like someone is just jealous. Why are corporations so evil? The idea that all or majority of corporations are evil is just plain stupid. Do you really think that corporations are evil? You might want to get checked out ( mentally ). No one is out to get you. Corporations are not out for your blood. They just want to be successful. Just because you think those who are successful are evil does not make them evil. I find most people who are not successful blame the successful. Are you really that miserable with your life that you have to hate those who are successful. Grow up and Get over it. " oh no, they are successful and I'm not. That's not fair." This mentallity will only make you more miserable. I can't believe you think 9% profit margin is to high. You would be the first fired on the Apprentice. Get REAL.

Here you go strraight from the WasingtonPost-

"Most financial institutions, such as commercial banks, are routinely more profitable than Exxon Mobil was in its third quarter. For example, Exxon Mobil's gross margin of 9.8 cents of profit for every dollar of revenue ."

Now that 9.8 cents is taxed at a higher rate than you or I. Your 401K should do better than 9.8 cents per dollar. If you company matches then you are making over 100% profit on your investment. You are a FCKING idiot.

First and foremost, we need to cut our dependence on the Middle East for our oil.  And I believe that ethanol is the answer to that.

Forget the damn hydrogen!  It's dangerous and using current methods, takes as much or more energy to produce than it provides.

Ethanol can now be produced using just about any cellulose material.  That pretty much means that you can make it from any plant or plant by-product.  Grass clippings, hay, wood pulp, whatever.  And it burns clean.  Not to mention, there are already 4 million cars already on the road that can burn it.  The bonus is, that it is relatively inexpensive to retrofit all the others.

Sure, it's not perfect.  It's not as efficient as gasoline, meaning you get less mpg (somewhere around 10% I think).  And right now, it costs as much or more than a gallon of gas.  But that would change dramatically if there were more supply.  So if the big oil companies want to keep making those record profits, now would be a perfect time for them to start investing in this technology and build a few refineries.

The tax has been there forever and it doesn't change daily.  It's that damn price per barrel of oil thats screwing us.  (I don't know if that stance makes me a liberal or a conservative, just my 2 cents)

The metro  busses here in Cincinnati are burning what I think is called "biodiesel," a 50/50 mix of diesel fuel and vegetable oil, which I think they get from Ohio farm products and recycled frying grease from McDonald's and the like...

The reports say they are saving beau coup dollars on their fuel, and it burns clean, and doesn't have any detrimental impact on power, fuel economy, and such...

I'm of a mind to build some additional refinery capacity here, and tap in to our domestic supply (ANWAR, and anywhere else).  The hybrid engine technology is improving, so if we can cut our demand and usage, plus increase our refining capacity, the price will drop, and that's good for everybody.

Another point is that after living in Europe for 6 years, where gas prices are high, it's interesting that we Americans complain about the price of fuel.  If you look at it in relation to inflation, we ought to be paying $3 to $4/gallon.  Compare the price of motor fuel to a loaf of bread, a gallon of milk, a pack of cigarettes, and the current price may be a little easier to swallow.  Oh sure, we live in a capitalist society, and yeah, the oil companies are getting rich, and I hope that will be dealt with.  I don't mind if Exxon makes a profit- that's what being in business is all about.  But please don't screw the consumers by raising the price of gas because of "fears of Iranian war," or the impact the hurricanes had on Gulf shore production...  Federal and state fuel taxes help pay for our roads, which in most areas of the country are all pretty good.

Should the feds regulate the price of fuel?  Maybe- it's such a key component of our national economy that some control would be nice.  BUT, I look at AMTRAK, and some of the other areas where the government has gotten involved, and I'm awfully nervous about Uncle Sam sticking his fingers into areas where they have no expertise, or common sense.  Usually when you mess with the laws of supply and demand, it turns to crap.  Look at farm subsidies- pay a farmer NOT to grow a crop on his land?  When there are people starving all over the world?  If people can't afford a loaf of bread because the government controls how much wheat we grow strikes me as silly.  Let's improve getting the wheat to a global market, and sell our surplus at a good price overseas, and keep the prices low here at home.  Mr. wheat farmer makes a buck, and we can have cheap bread for the masses...

Well said Doc...