Posted on 04/18/2006 8:09:46 AM PDT by ex-Texan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush said on Tuesday he is "concerned" about high gasoline prices, and pledged that the U.S. government will keep a close watch out for profiteering.
"I'm concerned about higher gasoline prices," Bush said at a Rose Garden news conference to name new staff appointments.
"The government has the responsibility to make sure that we watch very carefully and investigate possible price-gouging, and we will do just that," Bush said in unprompted remarks about energy prices.
U.S. crude oil futures hit a record of $70.88 a barrel on Tuesday on fears of supply disruptions in Iran stemming from its nuclear standoff with the West, as well as lingering outages in Nigeria.
U.S. retail gasoline prices rose 10 cents last week to average $2.78 a gallon, up 29 cents over the last three weeks and 55 cents higher than a year ago, the government said on Monday.
Bush said high crude oil prices, rising summer driving demand and a switch to new motor gasoline standards is keeping gasoline prices high.
"It's tight supply worldwide and we've got increasing demand from countries like India and China, which means that any disruption of supply ... (is) going to cause the price of crude to go up," Bush said.
More drivers will take to the road this summer, which will also boost demand, he said.
"At this time of year people are beginning to drive more, getting out on the highways, taking a little time off," Bush said. "That increasing demand is also part of the reason the price of gasoline is going up."
"Bottom line is, what do you trust more? The free market system, or government bureaucracy?"
There has to be another choice or we're doomed.
Frightening that this kind of imbecilic comment comes from the highest elected official in the country.
I'm all for the free market. But reality should not be ignored when dealing with limited availability commodities that are controlled by a handful of producers -- commodities that are indeed central to the continued functioning of the overall economic engine.
Regulation can be stifling, but it can also be crucial. Indeed, corporations and securities markets are legal fictions that work precisely because of a regulatory framework that fosters availability, confidence, and risk taking while also checking the abuses that are otherwise inherent in these fictional business entities and marketplaces.
Europe? Their pump price is high because of taxes. They buy oil at the same price we do, don't they? (except for back door deals)
Don't we regulate electricity? Shouldn't we be glad that 5 power companies don't run the country's electricity and charge everyone hundreds of dollars a day? Like gas, yes we could theoretically live without it, but realistically we need it almost as much as food or water.
And such moves are exacerbated by the market participants' view of what supply and demand levels WILL BE in future.
Anti freedom rhetoric from know nothings on this site is an embarassment to anyone except liberals.
Anti freedom rhetoric from know nothings on this site is an embarassment to anyone except liberals.
And your evidence that gasoline is in short supply? Seems to me that the fantasy is the simplistic soundbites of the economic theorists.
Class envy = pathetic response of bitter losers who realise they failed to do what it would take to end up on top.
The market is very smart. Thats why when the market was allowed to operate freely with no checks nothing bad happened in 1929. /sarc off
Liberal nonsense.
Sadly agreed with by pretend conservatives.
Why would Exxon spend a billion dollars to build a refinery that would REDUCE their $3B quarterly profits at the pump? Boutique blends and tight supply chains are to the advantage when the commodity is a Must Have item.
Exploration, drilling, refining, pipeline construction, transportation (sea and land), capital acquisition and carry, etc., etc.
What do you mean by societal dependence on oil?
Automobiles (that carry suburbanites to jobs and form the very basis of personal mobility in the US), mass transit, cargo transit (from freight rail to trucks to barges to cargo ships), drug manufacturing, plastics manufacturing (from pipe to dashboards to pill bottles), paints, roofing, electricity generation, etc., etc.
Is there dependence because oil companies compete to deliver oil at a price the market is willing to pay?
No.
If you think we are gouging here what do you think they are doing in Europe?
Taxing the living daylights out of it, and stalling the economy in the process.
More newbie pretend conservatives chime in.
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