by Jack Lee
Here we go once again: Pump prices spike the moment there is even a hint of an oil flow disruption.
Any turmoil in the Middle East is reason enough for the speculators to drive up the price of crude, that much I get. But, what I don’t get is how it impacts the price of gasoline at the pump at the same time? According to my research there is at least a 6 week delay before today’s crude reaches the gas pump.
If a hurricane was approaching and the lumber yard jacked up the price of plywood we would call that price gouging – it’s illegal. But, if its gasoline that’s jacked up in anticipation of a problem in Libya it’s just capitalism? If we say it’s wrong and further it is illegal to charge more for that plywood then spiking gasoline prices at the pump should be illegal too.
Did you know that for every .10 cent hike in gasoline, about $40M is diverted away from normal consumer spending to spending on gasoline?
We’re hanging by our economic fingernails already and the pump prices jumped overnight by .06 cents. That brings us closer to a double dip recession, especially if it continues for any length of time. I know, I know, Obama’s ban on drilling our own oil and the surcharge on imported ethanol and the corn lobby all have played a part in today’s energy cost, but that’s the subject of another story later. Stay tuned.
PS Good thing we conquered Iraq, we now have a cheap and unlimited supply of oil – NOT!
Ye can worship God or Capital.
Ye cannot worship both.
By the same token, you can lament God or Capitalism. You cannot lament both
Odd that, today, you would lament the inherent lack of fairness in Capitalism . . . . .
The current gas prices are one more mark of failure for our president, or success, depending on what you think his agenda is.
The truth is people are suffering under the current prices. Regular, working people in this country have to have a way to get to work and support their families. How much of these high prices are market driven, and how much of it is simply because of government interference?
Would our prices be lower if we lowered the gas taxes?
Would our prices be lowered if we allowed ourselves to extract our own oil off the coasts and up in the Alaskan wastelands?
Would the prices be lower if government didn’t force the latest gasoline mixture fads at the state level?
How about if our president got a little tougher with OPEC? Might our prices be lower then?
The people are suffering. We’re having to eat beans while the president eats ribs. Does he hear our cries for tax relief? Does he listen at all?
Steve: The short is answer is no, he doesn’t listen because he is proccupied with protecting entitlements and enhancing entitlements which he feels is the key to being re-elected.
My husband and I went out to pick up a few groceries Thursday night – we couldn’t believe the new prices at Safeway! Gouge-a-rama!
Quentin, there are two kinds of “capitalism”. There’s the kind practiced by decent people, and there’s the kind practiced by opportunists. Here’s what we do with gougers – we don’t shop at their store anymore. Right across Palmetto from Safeway Mangrove is Cash and Carry. They have acceptable produce at about a third the price of Safeway.
And then there’s WalMart. I will be making a weekly trip to WalMart whereas I only used to shop there about once a month or less. They have the same manufactured goods as Safeway for about a third the price.
One of my favorite books is “The Long Winter” by Laura Ingalls Wilder. At one point, everybody is starving, the town is snowed in. A couple of fellows have ridden 40 miles in blizzard conditions to get a load of wheat from a farmer out of town. The trip was sponsored by one of the town storekeepers, the only guy with that kind of cash. He demands to have all the wheat, even though the other fellows risked their lives for it. And he’s going to sell it at an outrageous price, even though every body standing there knows what he paid for it.
At this point, Pa Ingalls says to the storekeeper, “Fuller, you’ll have to live in this town after the snow melts…” Fuller puts that in his pipe and smokes it, and then agrees to sell the wheat at his cost.
That’s how you handle gougers. I’ve boycotted Safeway when their employees have walked out on strike, and I’ll boycott Safeway when they try to take advantage of their loyal customers.
Same goes for gas – start asking yourself, and I’m not kidding – is this trip REALLY necessary?