Exxon retirement
- Thread starter just.me
- Start date
So they are a consortium?Toxick said:
And what do you propose to do when oil companies form a consortium and all agree that their prices will be such-and-such? It's not like this is China and you can just confiscate all their equipment and Socialize the oil industry. And I am against the government regulating oil prices, similar to how California regulated their electricity prices - we all remember how well THAT turned out. It got Gray Davis thrown out of office, it worked so well.
It slays me that we live in the BEST country in the world, where we want for nothing - we're not starving, we're not unsheltered or unclothed, we don't have Sally Struthers crying over our fly-blown children. So what do we ##### about? Gas prices.
Go live in China. Go to Mexico. Go to any country in Africa. I hear gas is cheap in Venezuela.
FromTexas
This Space for Rent
vraiblonde said:So they are a consortium?
And what do you propose to do when oil companies form a consortium and all agree that their prices will be such-and-such? It's not like this is China and you can just confiscate all their equipment and Socialize the oil industry. And I am against the government regulating oil prices, similar to how California regulated their electricity prices - we all remember how well THAT turned out. It got Gray Davis thrown out of office, it worked so well.
It slays me that we live in the BEST country in the world, where we want for nothing - we're not starving, we're not unsheltered or unclothed, we don't have Sally Struthers crying over our fly-blown children. So what do we ##### about? Gas prices.
Go live in China. Go to Mexico. Go to any country in Africa. I hear gas is cheap in Venezuela.
Maybe the could go to Europe and pay $5-$7 a gallon. :shrug:
BuddyLee
Football addict
So, we're an exceptional country then.vraiblonde said:
Why not? We're exceptional. Who cares about China, Mexico, Africa, or Venezuela when speaking of the money coming out of my wallet? I don't really care. If we're an exceptional country I think we can b*tch about any minute detail we want. We've stood the test of time and have succeeded, let the other countries worry about the problems we faced decades or centuries ago and let us worry about our prissy issues. We've earned our b*tching degree.vraiblonde said:
Larry Gude
Strung Out
I think we should go right ahead and see to it...
...that the government is in control of gasoline. I think we should just take Bruzillas grand plan and, what the hell, just try it. Why, being the government and all, I'm sure that we can just go back to the way it was if that doesn't turn out happy enough.
So, write yuor congressmen people. Tell them to take over 'big oil'. Start a department of oil and gas stations or whatever it is y'all want. The squeeky wheel gets the grease. March on Washington;
"No Money for oil!"
or
"If $1.25 a gallon was good enough in the past it's good enough now!"
Tell 'em wonder bread costs more but Safeways store brand costs less. That way they'll know exactly how you see the world and will be able to legislate accordingly.
Tell them that a 10% profit is too much, way too much. Tell them what it should be.
Get on TV. Put placards in the yard. Start a movement, git er done, then, we'll have the template in place so that it won't be as difficult for the government to take over a business in the future.
Make it happen!
...that the government is in control of gasoline. I think we should just take Bruzillas grand plan and, what the hell, just try it. Why, being the government and all, I'm sure that we can just go back to the way it was if that doesn't turn out happy enough.
So, write yuor congressmen people. Tell them to take over 'big oil'. Start a department of oil and gas stations or whatever it is y'all want. The squeeky wheel gets the grease. March on Washington;
"No Money for oil!"
or
"If $1.25 a gallon was good enough in the past it's good enough now!"
Tell 'em wonder bread costs more but Safeways store brand costs less. That way they'll know exactly how you see the world and will be able to legislate accordingly.
Tell them that a 10% profit is too much, way too much. Tell them what it should be.
Get on TV. Put placards in the yard. Start a movement, git er done, then, we'll have the template in place so that it won't be as difficult for the government to take over a business in the future.
Make it happen!
True dat. But you can't have everything. And I'm not a person who casts about for something to complain about.BuddyLee said:
Okay, yes I do.
But gas prices are so far down on my list that they're nonexistent.
Larry Gude
Strung Out
You are NOT making this any easier...
...I can't WAIT to listen to these people really ##### once the government pumps open up. It'll be like Jersey; mandatory full service.
Tehre's pumps open all the time but, well, you gotta wait like everyone else.
This kid comes out and starts filling us and we ask "So, why is it full serve only in Jersey?'
Kid, thinking about it...
...
"Duh, err, well, it's the law."
It should be great fun seeing how the chain works, from pumping, to refining, to delivery, to in your tank when Uncle Sam gets busy!
FromTexas said:
...I can't WAIT to listen to these people really ##### once the government pumps open up. It'll be like Jersey; mandatory full service.
Tehre's pumps open all the time but, well, you gotta wait like everyone else.
This kid comes out and starts filling us and we ask "So, why is it full serve only in Jersey?'
Kid, thinking about it...
...
"Duh, err, well, it's the law."
It should be great fun seeing how the chain works, from pumping, to refining, to delivery, to in your tank when Uncle Sam gets busy!
This is a true story, by the way. In New Jersey, it is against the law to pump your own gas. There are signs all over the pumps warning you to wait for an attendant. So the kid comes over and, curious, I ask why this is. And he goes, "...it's the law..." with this stupid look on his face.Larry Gude said:
I still have no idea why it's against the law to pump your own gas in NJ. I should Google it. But it's probably something ignorant, like half the crap they mandate in that godforsaken state.
Well, THAT took all of two seconds:
http://ask.yahoo.com/ask/20040715.html
It's been that way since 1949.
http://ask.yahoo.com/ask/20040715.html
It's been that way since 1949.
SmallTown
Football season!
FromTexas said:Of course they are priced about the same, Bru. Because Exxon doesn't set the prices except within a small fraction.
Commodities, regulations, commodities, regulations, commodities, regulations...
http://www.mdpolicy.org/research/pubID.33/pub_detail.asp
How can you march when you don't even know they're MAKING a law like this? They did the seatbelt law the same way - snuck it in.SmallTown said:
Doncha just love it? People wasting their time excoriating Exxon, when they should take a look at what their lawmakers are up to.
Another goodie:
:fixed:BuddyLee said:
BuddyLee
Football addict
I'm pretty much with you on the gas situation. It sucks but I don't really care to complain about it so much. Unless you're going to actually DO something about it, shut up. Otherwise, stop complaining to me and every other pedestrian on the street.vraiblonde said:True dat. But you can't have everything. And I'm not a person who casts about for something to complain about.
Okay, yes I do.
B
Bruzilla
Guest
vraiblonde said:
Well... what else is new.
Do you do any shopping Vrai, or does Larry do that? I ask because you seem to be clueless about how retail sales work. Most anything that is sold... food, electronics, clothes, jewelry, watches, pizza, etc., have multiple items that are priced at high and low price points, generally with a 35% to 45% price difference, but sometimes a lot more. Speaking of shoes, a consumer who can't afford a pair of $150 Nikes can afford a pair of $19 Starters, so the consumer's needs are being met. People who want to pay $2.99 for Wonder bread due to it's perceived quality can do that, and those who don't care about brand names can by store bread for .99 a loaf. Again, the consumer's needs are being met. Now, why is this happening? It's happening because people don't need bread or sneakers to get through their lives. So it's not enough for retailers to compete against similar stores, they also need to compete with needs vs. wants as well. If gasoline were marketed and sold in the same manner as everything else is, gasoline at a Exxon would cost $2.80 today, and gasoline at an off-brand gas-station only operation would sell for say $1.79. Instead we've allowed gasoline producers to fuzzy up the retail sales picture by yelling about the cost of oil, which is a strictly arbitrary figure that's driven by speculators and not supply, cost of production, cost of shipping, etc. Look at Chevron. All of their oil comes from off the coast of Venezuela. None of it comes from anywhere near the Middle East, yet their products are sold at or near the exact same price as a heavy Middle East importer like Exxon. If gasoline were really fairly priced, the price of Venezuelan oil/gas that's shipped a short distance would be far less than the cost of products shipped from the volitile Middle East, yet all of the prices are the same within two or three cents.
Since there are no alternatives to gasoline there's no pressure on oil producers to keep retail costs down. Most people must have gasoline to make a living, so we'll buy it regardless of how much it costs. So when Exxon wants to jack up it's stock value 25 percent, they can just up the prices of its product because they know sales won't go down. And once Exxon ups it's prices, every other supplier and retailer ups their prices as well because there's no external consumer products for them to compete against.