big oil has undeveloped leases all over.
they should pay a killer fee, for leasing and not drilling. fact is they have reduced drilling.
big oil wants the crude price nice and high.
besides coal to gasoline plants could free us of imported oil completely.
but again big oil gets what big oil wants.
lobbyists BUY are representives.
we could also import sugar, for ethanol. but thats illegal.
heck the law prohibiting sugatr imports helped drive hershey foods to move nearly all candy production to brazil. where sugar is both cheap and plentiful
finished candy can be imported into our country without tarriffs
Ok..One time...THe average post tax profit for oil companies is a bit under 9% per year..
If oil compnaies benefited so from high pump prices, would it not make the prioce of oil stocks skyrocket? After all, those evil profits would result in mega investment in oil stocks... Truth is Oil company stocks do not perform any better than other Blue Chips.
Oil companies DO NOT set prices. Yes they can reduce production. But that is doen for a few reasons. One is each spring when refiners must retool to begin produtcion of "boutique" gasoline blends. Also oil production is reduced in summer to prepare for the winter travel lull.
Right about the time when gas and oil prioces began their latest dramatic rise, I saw an petroleum analyst and trader interviewed on CNBC about oil and gas prices. He stated that producers were going to slow output and he predicted $100 per barrel oil by the end of November. We see that person is very worng.
Yesterday I read a report that oil traders who fo rthe most part were gobbling up oil futures contracts as a hedge vs the falling dollar now see that as a bad investment because the demand just is not there. That is why oil and gas fell about 10% last week.
Now in those last two paragraphs there is no menton of oil compnaies reducing production for the sole purpose of manipulating the consumer price.
OPEC has regualr meetings to set production quotas in order to support falling prices. But those nations have a very serious interest in price supports because oil IS their respective economies..
There are no simplistic solutions.
The political left believes we are destroying the planet by driving cars. Their solution is to have us all ride bicycles. They use phrases like " we neeed to get off oil". "we cannot drill our way out of this problem.
These idiots have never glossed the subject of interstate commerce and those who MUST operate a motor vehicle to earn a living. These things do not count.
THey know damned well that the world's economy is based almost entirely on the free flow of petroleum But those on the left along with their enviro wacko friends only want to control, not eliminate oil as a fuel. Control gives them power.
If there is a group that desires to see high prices it is our current presidential Admin and the left wing of this Congress.
Sugar..... This one is easy.....This is what happens when governments use protectionism to artificially support a market. Nobody wins.
Hershey has to do what they must because our sugar producders actually receive subsidies form the federal government to grow LESS sugar cane. In turn, thre federal government issues tarriffs on imported sugar. The sugar market is manipulated by government.