Big Oil bilks US out of extra $20 billion
The jump in U.S. gasoline prices this year has so far drained consumers of an extra $20 billion, or about $146 for each passenger car in the country, the Government Accountability Office told Congress on Tuesday.
(That probably includes cars that have yet to be sold.)
The national price for regular unleaded gasoline hit a record $3.22 a gallon this week, and is up $1.05 since the beginning of February, according to the Energy Department.
The added expense is taking money away from consumers to spend on other goods and services.
I'm sick and tired of being labeled a "consumer" and not "a person."
Big Corporations, including Big Media, simply don't care about Americans in any terms other than how it affects their bottom line.
"Spending billions more on gasoline constrains consumers' budgets, leaving less money available for other purchases," GAO's Thomas McCool said in written testimony to a House Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee hearing on the cause of record prices.
Like many other energy experts, McCool said the GAO has found that current high pump costs are the result of a large amount of oil refining capacity being offline, strong gasoline demand and lower fuel inventories.
Many lawmakers blame the lack of competition in the oil industry from mega oil company mergers for the run-up in gasoline prices.
McCool said company mergers in the 1990s caused wholesale gasoline prices to rise during that period, but the agency has not performed modeling on mergers that occurred since 2000 and therefore could not say what the effect has been on current fuel prices.
What do they need modeling for??? Any idiot can tell you that more mergers means less competition.
However, he said, "These mergers would further increase market concentration nationwide since there are now fewer oil companies."
Federal Trade Commission member William Kovacic said his agency was closely monitoring the U.S. gasoline market for any unusual moves in prices.
"Because gasoline consumers typically do not reduce their purchases substantially in response to price increases, they are vulnerable to substantial price increases," he said.
Speaking to reporters before the hearing, he declined to comment on whether the FTC has found any evidence in the current price rise of oil companies overcharging consumers.
Surprise, surprise.
However, Kovacic said in his written testimony that the FTC's experience from past investigations and from its current monitoring program shows that unusual movements in gasoline prices "typically have a business-related cause," such as changes in crude oil costs, refinery problems or pipeline disruptions.
Paid shill.
Oil companies point out that over 30 prior government investigations into alleged gasoline profiteering has proven the industry did nothing illegal.
Yeah, right.
Rep. Bart Stupak, the chairman of the subcommittee, said the FTC needs more authority to punish oil companies that gouge drivers at the pump.
Stupak said he hopes to soon move a bill he has introduced that would give the agency that authority. He said his legislation already has support from over 120 lawmakers.
Stupak better stay off small planes.
Last year a bill was put forward in the U.S. House -- the “Federal Energy Price Protection Act of 2006” (H.R. 5253) -- that sought to give some protection from oil company price gouging. Unfotunately the bill did not define “price gouging.”
Oil companies protested that it would make them guilty of simply raising prices in a “competitive market,” which is not morally wrong.
It is not a “competitive market.”
It is a MONOPOLY.
When you have a monopoly, you control supply, demand, and prices.
Since the oil companies are Satanic, they twist everything into its opposite, and claim that everyone else engages in the evil that only Satanic agents engage in.
For example, oil companies say that price controls cause shortages. In reality, it is oil companies that cause shortages in order to drive up prices. Whoever has his hand on the spigot controls prices.
QRS says the purpose of the Iraq war (other than dying for israel, making weapons contractors rich, and increasing Washington's power over us) is to control the spigot. The USA is not there to simply steal Iraq's oil, but to control the production and distribution of all oil. At present, the purpose of U.S. troops is not to get oil out of Iraq, but to keep that oil in the ground.
Regarding the oil companies themselves, agents of Satan always twist any debate, so that people bicker about everything but the problem.
For example, oil companies always steer discussion away from the fact that they have a monopoly. They cause everyone to bicker over the exact definition of “price gouging,” which goes nowhere.
It is like steering discussion away from private central banks by getting everyone to bicker over economics.
Or here’s another jewel….oil companies say their managers have fiduciary duty to maximize profits for their shareholders in a high-risk market. They say this is inherently desirable “in the long run” for consumers and the market.
See how they do it? You’re for markets aren’t you? You’re for free trade, aren’t you? You agree that it's morally right to be competitive, don't you? So what’s the problem?
THE PROBLEM IS MONOPOLIES (as QRS says).
The evil ones use ordinary words, but define them very differently from how you and I define them. For me, “free trade” means no monopolies. For the rich, “free trade” means freedom to oppress people.
Even words like "faith” are twisted. “You have faith in the free market, don’t you?”
Keep them bickering, and they will never see your power.
Twenty-eight states have laws against gasoline price gouging, but there is no federal law, and there never will be. Thus, when someone talks about controlling the oil companies, the oil companies simply start a debate between federal versus state control. Always keep them bickering. That's how you divide and conquer them.
The solution is simple: bust up the monopolies.
Divide and conquer them.
Truth Seeker-- This is one of the reasons why gas is so high there are war criminals running companies from the state department..
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.diosa.net/art-net/Cond...
Not surprised. I have to buy gas for ten or 15 bucks per stop and it's still slightly less than half full.
Unlike the majority of the people bitterly complaining about the price gouging they blame on the Arabs (OPEC), 'commies' (Venezuela), and companies hiking up price.
I sort of know the inside workings of the oil industry, the executives and their lucrative severance packages.
Dick Cheney and GW Bush have the healthy relationship with the oil industry which the public and mainstream media ignore.
If Iran gets messed with and it retaliates with ferocity, you can bet oil price per barrel will shoot up through the roof. Uneasy international relations contribute to oil spike, either for real good reason or exploiting paranoia and crisis at opportune time for increasing profits.
For more hard-hitting information, my blog post dated Jan 7 '07 on quest for oil by warfare.
I recommend the Google video The Oil Factor which will shock and amaze you.
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My blog Last Throes of US Empire