OIL JUST HIT 70.90 PER BARREL unleaded gas UP 20% again 2.88 OUT OF HAND

[quote name='onetrackmind']i find that extremely difficult to believe[/QUOTE]
Normally I would too. However, I remember a couple years ago, a lot of the gas stations around here ran out of gas (I can't remember the exact situation, but I remember prices kept rising, and finally the town was nearly dry). This time around, its much worse obviously.

Unfortunately, "expert" opinions don't mean anything when people panic. Sure, if normal gas consumption continues, there would be no problem. However, with everyone panicking when they see prices going up $.10+ per day, and see prices in cities like Atlanta, people are going to get as much as they can now before it gets anyworse. Plus Labor Day weekend on average has a higher consumption rate due to travel. And of course, despite their bitching, a lot of people don't have the common sense to just put off or cancel their trips.

I'm personally not extremely worried, since I drive MAYBE 10 miles per week now that I'm at college, but that doesn't say anything for society as a whole.
 
Tuesday night I filled up at $2.49 a gallon, then yesterday it was up to $3.09. I'm not even so much worried about the gas prices, but it leads to everything else going up to (shipping packages, probably even food because the truckers have to spend more on gas, etc).
 
[quote name='Staind204']Tuesday night I filled up at $2.49 a gallon, then yesterday it was up to $3.09. I'm not even so much worried about the gas prices, but it leads to everything else going up to (shipping packages, probably even food because the truckers have to spend more on gas, etc).[/QUOTE]

Very well said. Cost of living can be increased dramatically if these prices keep rising.
 
[quote name='b0bx13']Actually, odds are she's getting raped in the ass with a shitty loan, and in thousands of dollars of debt...like most people who drive such vehicles.[/QUOTE]

Raped in the ass! :applause:
 
wow you guys have cheap gas compared to NJ. Exxon and the others avg about 2.71 while the smaller gas stations are over 3 for regular. i remember raceway was 3 18 for regular.
 
[quote name='zewone']No place is selling regular for less than $3 here now.[/QUOTE]

this is really starting to hurt my social budget.... I guess im going to have to take funds from my video game budget lol.

Luckally UF students get to ride the buses for free...and they can't mess with any prices...at least this semester. I live somewhat near campus, and work at the hospital which is there as well. So my gas costs are low except for visiting my friends who are on all sides of the city :(. We planned on having a family get together this weekend, a bunch of relatives were going to drive down, but some of the younger ones are staying back because of the costs :(
 
[quote name='Theenternal']Thats a place?[/QUOTE]
Sure is. A lot of people think its a mythical land, but it really does exist :lol:
 
everyone here in the ATL just went crazy yesterday because they thought there would be no gas coming in for like a week. so last night they all decided to get gas, and i saw prices up to about $6 a gallon. now today every gas station is totally out....
 
[quote name='crewj']3.89 over hurr! well, certain parts of the chicago. sucks... now it's either that greatest hits game or gas.[/QUOTE]


Damn the North side of chi, can't find a cheap gas station in those areas. Go with the gas for right now.
 
Luckally my Civic is full, been so for about a month and a half, as i have had another car to drive... ATL isnt looking so good, im going to call my friend today and see how he is enjoying it
 
[quote name='redgopher']I drive a 1990 Geo Metro. Best gas mileage evar. [/QUOTE]

I ride a 2002 CB 250 Honda. I probably get at least 20 mpg more than you (and nobody laughs at me for driving a Geo Metro). :D
 
[quote name='WeaponX2099']Damn the North side of chi, can't find a cheap gas station in those areas. Go with the gas for right now.[/QUOTE]

have you seen the bp at lasalle/clark? they've always had crazy prices! might as well make it 4.00.

WOW!
 
[quote name='crewj']have you seen the bp at lasalle/clark? they've always had crazy prices! might as well make it 4.00.

WOW![/QUOTE]

I hate going to that one. I only go o that gas station after i hit the clubs downtown or after a free movie.
 
Gas prices are 3.14 to 3.29 mostly, as of a few hours ago anyway. I called the usual cheapest one and they're 3.04 (they're strange, they often sell 87,88 and 89 octane gas for the same price, or go up 1 cent so 89 is only 2 cents more than 87). Though I think a friend said he saw one for 2.89. One that was 2.79 last night is at 3.11 now though.
 
[quote name='b0bx13']Actually, odds are she's getting raped in the ass with a shitty loan, and in thousands of dollars of debt...like most people who drive such vehicles.[/QUOTE]

Not so. I'd hafta agree with MaxBiaggi2. I drive a Hummer that was bought through my company but I bought it in 2003. If that lady did the same thing, she would've been able to qualify for the deduction that basically gave the Hummer for free. It was a tax break that Bush gave to farmers with the intent of deducting new or recently used equipment that was over 6000 lbs. at full load. There was a loophole that didn't specify that it was limited to farm equipment and thus many well-to-do/affluent ppl were able to use that deduction initially up to $25K (which was increased up to $100K). So you could basically deduct the full amount of a new SUV in 2003/2004 - in essence for free. The catch was that the vehicle must be used for business more than 50% of the time. Unfortunately, the deduction was closed last year so now only a portion of the SUV cost could be deducted but it doesn't matter for me since mine's already fully paid for. And while the gas prices are stiff, it doesn't hurt companies as bad as individual tax payers... but it does still hurt.
 
Hmm; nobody else seems to have seen gas stations that took their signs down? Wow.

So, I've been thinking about who is to blame for this. According to my local paper (and probably yours), gas attendants probably receive the brunt of the blame, and the store owners (if publicly accessible) as well. However, the clerks are merely wage slaves, and the owners (as dtcarson will tell us, among others) are changing the prices as the price *they* pay changes. So, there's no extra money being made there (the minority of gougers notwithstanding).

So, nobody's making more money at the bottom. At the top, has the cost of siphoning oil gone up since Monday? No. Has the cost of refining oil gone up since Monday? Perhaps, if refineries are increasing output (if they *can* increase output, that is); OTOH, if the cost goes up, it would likely be covered by the increased output (compared to the reduced overhead due to other refineries being closed currently).

So, on the "ends" of the oil chain (from dinosaur to consumer, that is), I'm not seeing any extra cost of profit taking place. Somewhere in the middle, however, at some point the cost of transferring oil or gasoline from person A to person B is making person A a fuckton of money. This is money from Mr. and Mrs. Average American (imagine John Kricfalusi's "George Liquor," if you will).

It is most certainly not poor people, or even middle class people, engaging in high-volume day-to-day trade of oil. So, who is this ostensibly wealthy group of people who are profiting over human panic and misery? Our government claims to fight to actively sustain any attempts at gouging (no need to argue that it was 100% lip service), but the fight they claim to be taking to gougers is avoiding the real problem, those people who are fattening their already deep pockets off of people like slidecage (as arduous and annoying as it is to attempt to read your posts from time to time, dude, I have a great deal of empathy for the position you are in).

So, the question begs, who are these fucking assholes, and where do they live?
 
slidecage, my friend. You need a new job. If they are stilling paying you the same as 1994, that is dreadful. I wouldn't put up with that crap.

-- K-rig
 
i got 2 school at 7:45 this morning, it was $2.86, i got out of class and looked at the sign, BAM shot up to $3.36..in my neighborhood (bronx) its $2.97 :(
 
[quote name='shieryda']Chicago prices range from $2.45 to $2.65.

Freaking ridiculous...[/QUOTE]
Those are CHEAPASS. here in SF and Bay area gas ranges from $2.73(regular) - $3.18(Premium)
 
Hang on again my peoples...Citgo just raised their east coast rack prices another 15-20 cents...you'll be feeling that at the pump in another 12 hours or so.
 
[quote name='Scorch']
captgagb10409010035katrinaoilg.jpg
[/QUOTE]
OMG GOD LIKE
 
Mykevermin, this gas price shock has been waiting to happen for years.

The economic theory goes that all natural resources have a bell-shaped supply curve: production ramps up as people figure out better ways to obtain more of that resource, the resource peaks (once growth of supply hits 0%), then output begins to decrease. This occurs when the resource is running out, and as a result of less supply the suppliers will hike up prices to maintain their profit margins.

I'm not saying we're out of oil as a planet. That's not happening for another 30-40 years. What we are out of is better ways to increase oil supply.

This, in combination with the shutting down of over 95% of the refineries in the Gulf of Mexico (obviously as a result of Katrina), created a supply shock in the oil supply, resulting in a large jump in the price of gas. Here, in Gainesville, gas literally increased $.18/gallon overnight--and estimates are gas will be over $3 by this weekend as more companies have a better understanding of how long the Gulf refineries will be shut down.

Uninformed people like to make this out to be the "big, evil gas corporations" screwing consumers over. But, to be honest, after the 1970s gas prices had been practically stagnant. They had gone nowhere, while in Europe some countries had been paying the equivalent of $3.50/gallon (about $.90/liter) for years. This price increase was a LOOOONG time coming. There is no "price gouging," for the most part, nor are there any "evil businessmen" who profit off of Americans' desire for gas.

In fact, when you think about this, we brought this upon ourselves. Look how many people drive gas guzzlers every day. Look at the domestic car manufacturers and how badly their fuel efficiency numbers stack up to that of Japanese or European car makers. As Americans, we always wanted bigger, faster and better when it came to cars.

But we can't have our cake and eat it too. Not this time. Now we need to suck it up and pay whatever we want, because we decided to marry our wallets to our cars by buying these SUVs and large sedans that drink gas like I drink beer after a Gators game. We have noone to blame but ourselves.

So...yeah. Thread over.
 
Ha ha, have you guys seen the headline on the drudge report?

"Bush: Don't buy gas if you don't need it"

I wish I had thought of that! All this time I've been buying gas as a refreshing sports drink.
 
[quote name='Moxio']Aren't we lucky for having elected him?![/QUOTE]

I'm not Mr. Liberal, but even I'll admit that it's a really idiotic comment. Though I'm sure it's been taken out of context.
 
[quote name='breakz']Mykevermin, this gas price shock has been waiting to happen for years.

The economic theory goes that all natural resources have a bell-shaped supply curve: production ramps up as people figure out better ways to obtain more of that resource, the resource peaks (once growth of supply hits 0%), then output begins to decrease. This occurs when the resource is running out, and as a result of less supply the suppliers will hike up prices to maintain their profit margins.

I'm not saying we're out of oil as a planet. That's not happening for another 30-40 years. What we are out of is better ways to increase oil supply.

This, in combination with the shutting down of over 95% of the refineries in the Gulf of Mexico (obviously as a result of Katrina), created a supply shock in the oil supply, resulting in a large jump in the price of gas. Here, in Gainesville, gas literally increased $.18/gallon overnight--and estimates are gas will be over $3 by this weekend as more companies have a better understanding of how long the Gulf refineries will be shut down.

Uninformed people like to make this out to be the "big, evil gas corporations" screwing consumers over. But, to be honest, after the 1970s gas prices had been practically stagnant. They had gone nowhere, while in Europe some countries had been paying the equivalent of $3.50/gallon (about $.90/liter) for years. This price increase was a LOOOONG time coming. There is no "price gouging," for the most part, nor are there any "evil businessmen" who profit off of Americans' desire for gas.

In fact, when you think about this, we brought this upon ourselves. Look how many people drive gas guzzlers every day. Look at the domestic car manufacturers and how badly their fuel efficiency numbers stack up to that of Japanese or European car makers. As Americans, we always wanted bigger, faster and better when it came to cars.

But we can't have our cake and eat it too. Not this time. Now we need to suck it up and pay whatever we want, because we decided to marry our wallets to our cars by buying these SUVs and large sedans that drink gas like I drink beer after a Gators game. We have noone to blame but ourselves.

So...yeah. Thread over.[/QUOTE]

The point I'm making is this: the cost of producing oil has not gone up drastically in the past week, and probably not in years (not the least of reasons being relax environmental standards for refineries under Bush). So it costs no more to make oil into gasoline.

Others are claiming that individual stations' per gallon rates change with the fluctuation of what they pay to have their pumps filled, so there is no extra profit on that end.

Thus, as the price per barrel increases due to trading, *someone* *somewhere* is making a killing in the trading of oil. Did you not see the financial reports from Marathon, Royal Dutch Shell, Exxon/Mobil et al three weeks ago? 91% AVERAGE PROFIT INCREASE OVER THE PREVIOUS QUARTER? Please don't give me your economic sleight of hand. Someone is making a ton of money at the expense of the American people, and we are compliantly accepting it.

For future reference, the taxation of oil in non-United States nations is appallingly high compared to here, so please don't try to compare apples and oranges, because it's unlikely oil companies are less profitable in the States.
 
Here's the short version: You said, "This, in combination with the shutting down of over 95% of the refineries in the Gulf of Mexico (obviously as a result of Katrina), created a supply shock in the oil supply, resulting in a large jump in the price of gas."

I say bullshit. If you want to tell me that there are no profiteers behind this, then explain the logic that says "supply went down, so the price immediately jumped up." I understand economic theory, but the price increase serves *ZERO* purpose except to take more money out of your pockets and place it into the pockets of the wealthy who benefit from oil prices. It's certainly not bringing you more oil, or better oil, is it?
 
The article that Drudge Report links to says the following:

Asked in an interview on ABC's "Good Morning America" if U.S. oil companies should forfeit profits during the crisis, Bush said instead American corporations should contribute cash to hurricane relief funds.

Howard Dean, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, seized on that comment. He said that while Bush was "asking ordinary Americans to do more, he ought to show some real leadership, and call on his friends in Big Oil to join in the sacrifice and stop gouging American families at the gas pump."
Click to expand...

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why I am a card carrying bleeding-heart liberal.
 
[quote name='mykevermin']And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why I am a card carrying bleeding-heart liberal.[/QUOTE]

Howard Dean did get shafted in the Democratic primaries a couple of years back. The campaign probably would been a lot more fun with him as the candidate. :D
 
Reality's Fringe said:
"Bush: Don't buy gas if you don't need it"
Click to expand...

I heard him say that on FNC a few minutes ago and just shook my head. Yeah, Bush, I just pump gas on the sidewalk every evening.

Still, I'd rather pay $3 per gallon as opposed to sitting in the Superdome right now.
 
[quote name='fatherofcaitlyn']I heard him say that on FNC a few minutes ago and just shook my head. Yeah, Bush, I just pump gas on the sidewalk every evening.

Still, I'd rather pay $3 per gallon as opposed to sitting in the Superdome right now.[/QUOTE]
if you dont understand what he meant, you clearly shouldnt be criticizing his words.
 
I do a quick summary.....oil prices artificially have been sky-rocketing....not due to supply-demand but other outside....including govt factors. Oil companies raise prices and in turn make more profit......big disaster hits and just another excuse to rape consumers......Thats the country we live in folks.....gotta love it. And BTW....Atlanta business owners(gas-stations) are con men...they are making a bad situation worse....please arrest them
 
[quote name='punqsux']if you dont understand what he meant, you clearly shouldnt be criticizing his words.[/QUOTE]

Bush should have said or meant to say: Don't use gas if you don't need to.

Or

Don't drive for leisure until prices have stabilized.

Or

Don't waste gas.


I usually understand what our fabulous leader means, but he says it so poorly.

I, like everybody else, don't buy gas when I don't need to.

How many people do you know that buy gas when the needle is on "F"?
 
[quote name='fatherofcaitlyn']

I, like everybody else, don't buy gas when I don't need to.

How many people do you know that buy gas when the needle is on "F"?[/QUOTE]
just keep prooving how you dont get it, dont mind me at all

i dont like gdub as much as the next person, but people that nitpick EVERY SINGLE fuckING THING he says are just looking for reasons to bitch about something.
 
I sort of remember bush saying the "don't use gas" thing. He was basically telling people to conserve gas, try to use as little as possible. Don't go out and horde it (people lining up to fill up their tanks, though they would normally put 10 in), try to use less gas in your home, and try not to take so many leisure or unnecessary drives.
 
[quote name='alonzomourning23']I sort of remember bush saying the "don't use gas" thing. He was basically telling people to conserve gas, try to use as little as possible. Don't go out and horde it (people lining up to fill up their tanks, though they would normally put 10 in), try to use less gas in your home, and try not to take so many leisure or unnecessary drives.[/QUOTE]
:applause:
 
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