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."
the higher price isn't curtailing demand (for alot of reasons), and there are no shortages. so the theory that the higher price is a market force that is correcting a supply/demand imbalance, falls apart. the price is higher, consumption is the same, supply must be the same because there are no shortages, so the higher price is due to "something else".
And the President is supposed to do what?
Impose price controls?
Bush is pandering by talking about a "snitch on price-gougers" campaign, but it does no real harm an placates the brain-dead who are so stupid when it comes to economics that they carry thousands of dollars of credit card debt at 20% per annum.
My bet is that you're one of those.
*BINGO* !
Invest as you please, it's your right. Just make sure you tuck your oil futures profits away someplace safe, where Hillary won't be able to touch 'em after she's waltzed into the White House on that $4 per gallon.
All within reason, right? I'm sure you wouldn't like it if banks decided to raise interest rates to 50% because they can.
You expect oil companies to make a reasonable profit, nothing wrong with that. You expect reasonable speculation in any market, be it oil or wheat. But when it becomes unreasonable, how do you correct it? I can stop buying wheaties, and buy cherio's instead, but I can't stop buying gas to drive to work, which is a real pain in the Butt these days because the roads are flooded.
Quit the damn game of pat-a-cake with Iran. Either take out their nuke facilities, or shut up.
Executive order wiping out the boutique blends of gasoline.
Executive order making all closed military bases available for refinery construction.
All of which address supply, not price. You are right that Bush's idiotic statement at the start of the thread is worse than useless.
The more applicable column to this thread is in post # 273. ;-)
Hail Walt Williams!
These environmentalists have long said that one of their goals was to drive up the price of gasoline so that people would be forced to reduce consumption and also so that alternatives would be able to be competitive.
The excessive regulations and the constant legal hurdles and lawsuits have made it so that only extremely large and established companies have been able to to compete in this market.
Now we have a situation where demand has outstripped supply and expanding supply will take considerable time and expense.
That means that those large oil companies who have weathered the regulatory nightmares are now in a position where they are going to make a lot of money because the government has not allowed the market to expand to keep up with demand.
The problems of short supply of gasoline are government created.
The environmentalists are getting exactly what they wanted.
The oil companies who put up with the regulations and invested wisely are reaping the benefits of those investments.
Consumers are paying the price.
And now our politicians which facilitated the creation of this situation are now saying that the solution is for the government to interfere even more in the market and stop profiteering.
Socialism 101. Sell out the people to special interests and then claim that the solution to the problem you created is more government intervention.
Wrong. The truth is the higher prices PROTECT THE SUPPLY - because you'll buy less!
Let's say we go down to $1.80/gal again suddenly. Guess what?
Remember the '70s gas lines? All thanks to price controls. Go ahead, stand in line for hours in the hot sun or freezing snow and wait for your bit of gas.
Well said!
Not according to some "conservatives" here.
Just make sure you tuck your oil futures profits away someplace safe,
I don't trade oil, but don't worry about where my money is, it's safe. (because I'm managing it)
where Hillary won't be able to touch 'em after she's waltzed into the White House on that $4 per gallon.
So, what are you insinuating and what do you suggest be done to keep Democrats out of office?
Bonus question...do you value Republicans in office over a free market economy? Rather have government controlled prices and a soviet style economy or market set prices and freedom?
Thanks for the link. Walter nails it again. Most people don't like common sense though. They just want stuff for free.
Thanks, but I'll refrain from turning in business owners who do nothing but conform to the laws of supply and demand.
Doing so is our duty as citizens and patriots.
Aye aye Comrade.
I gave one simple specific example - lift the requirement for ethanol blended fuels until next year. the MTBE expiration is coming due, and production and distribution of ethanol is not ready.
Will Bush do that?
This would also allow refined non-blended fuels to be imported from other markets.
Will Bush issue an EO to allow this? Why not?
That's great.
The President has the responsibility for keeping us safe from terrorists and price gougers, not necessarily in that order.
Who, then, has responsibility for keeping the free market in petroleum -- America's lifeblood -- free? The Commerce Department? Homeland Security? The FTC?
I didn't like it when a Democrat President, John F. Kennedy, "jawboned" Big Steel in the 1960s.
I like it less when a Republican threatens to do the same thing.
Bravo. And this nonsense is perfectly being played out now in MD where the once-great BG&E is finally being "de-regulated" this Summer from price controls (made in 1999 but BASED ON 1993 prices! the rest allegedly "de-regulated"), and the price of electric supply is to go up 72%!
Well, amazing how all the welfare-queens roll out of the woodwork whenever prices are "high"! Republicans and Dems (of course) are calling for BG&E head, or at least to CONTINUE price controls! Wow, great, guys!! So we either get *more* inflation when the rug is pulled out again, or BG&E dies and have no more G&E at all!
Great comment. Too bad so few (even here) understand the reality of prices.
Of course not - I prefer a government that lets prices alone, but also takes the shackles off the "supply side" of raw materials that are essential to our economy. See post 286.
Like I said, it's the welfare-queen mentality. Most Americans are at least somewhat afflicted with that mental issue. We've become so progressively communist (right now, we really are basically fascist) through the century, that even alleged "conservatives" begin to believe the lies of "I am OWED something for no work", etc.
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