About Those "Skyrocketing" Gas Prices

Creators Syndicate ^ | Thursday, May 31, 2007 | Larry Elder

[IrishMike]

What to do about — choose the adjective — "spiraling," "skyrocketing," "out-of-control" gas prices? .................... A national morning show interviewer practically high-fived the governor of Florida for urging an investigation into "gouging." Meanwhile, over at one of the cable news networks, the "newsman" beat his desk, his chest and anything he could find to express his concern, outrage and downright indignation.

The California speaker of the State Assembly said that while he lacked evidence that oil companies engage in cheating, he still felt they did. Why? His gut told him so. In fact, over the last 20 years, 30 federal investigations seeking evidence of price manipulation or collusion came up with, uh, well, a dry hole.

But the conspiracy theorists press on. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., asked the Government Accountability Office to conduct an investigation. A year ago, he asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate. By then, the FTC had already conducted two investigations, uncovering no evidence of unfair business practices. But, who knows? Maybe the oil company CEOs pulled a Sandy Berger, and stuffed damning evidence in their pants. So, by all means, let's look harder.

The mainscream media reports on the "outrageous," "unacceptable," "unjustifiable" "record profits." Never mind that following price peaks in 1981, low crude and gas prices during the '80s and '90s bankrupted some oil companies. But that was then. Today, Exxon Mobil, Chevron and ConocoPhillips earn tens of billions of dollars annually in profits that "defy common sense."

Why bother reporting that, with Big Oil profits at eight to 10 cents on the dollar, other companies and industry sectors earn more — including, for example, Internet giant Google and the banking industry. In California, the state "earns" about 40 cents per gallon, with the feds' cut coming in at almost 19 cents.

[Clam Digger]

Good! Storing smaller amounts, like in a snowmobile or jet ski have not been good to me in the past. Sta-Bil gas additive has helped a lot.

[Clam Digger]

I heard they GROSS around 3 cents a gallon, and many retailers have to rent the place from the big oil companies. they don’t clear more than about a thousand a week to cover other operating expenses. Selling gas is almost a loss leader for many retailers, really only serving consumers in to buy items they can make a proit on.

[Clam Digger]

Very few people truly NEED to buy gas. Most of us have made our lifestyles such that we THINK we NEED to buy gas.

[Half Vast Conspiracy]

The governments' take (sorted lowest to highest):

State	State	Other State	Total State	Total Federal &
	Excise	Taxes	Taxes	State Taxes
Alaska	8		8	26.4
Georgia	7.5	4.7	12.2	30.6
Wyoming	13	1	14	32.4
New Jersey	10.5	4	14.5	32.9
South Carolina	16	0.8	16.8	35.2
Missouri	17		17	35.4
Oklahoma	16	1	17	35.4
New Mexico	17	1	18	36.4
Indiana	15	3.1	18.1	36.5
Mississippi	18	0.8	18.8	37.2
Virginia	17.5	1.4	18.9	37.3
Arizona	18	1	19	37.4
DC	20		20	38.4
Louisiana	20		20	38.4
Minnesota	20		20	38.4
Texas	20		20	38.4
Vermont	19	1	20	38.4
New Hampshire	18	2.6	20.6	39
Alabama	16	5	21	39.4
North Dakota	21		21	39.4
Iowa	20.1	1	21.1	39.5
Kentucky	15	6.4	21.4	39.8
Tennessee	20	1.4	21.4	39.8
Massachusetts	21	0.5	21.5	39.9
Arkansas	21.5	0.2	21.7	40.1
Colorado	22		22	40.4
Ohio	22		22	40.4
North Carolina	22.1	0.3	22.4	40.8
Delaware	23		23	41.4
Washington	23		23	41.4
Maine	22	1.5	23.5	41.9
Maryland	23.5		23.5	41.9
Kansas	23	1	24	42.4
Oregon	24		24	42.4
South Dakota	22	2	24	42.4
Utah	24.5		24.5	42.9
Idaho	25		25	43.4
Nebraska	24.5	0.9	25.4	43.8
West Virginia	20.5	4.9	25.4	43.8
Michigan	19	7.2	26.2	44.6
Pennsylvania	12	14.7	26.7	45.1
Montana	27	0.8	27.8	46.2
Florida	13.6	16	29.6	48
Connecticut	25	4.7	29.7	48.1
Illinois	19	11	30	48.4
New York	8	22.3	30.3	48.7
Rhode Island	27	4	31	49.4
Wisconsin	28.1	3	31.1	49.5
California	18	14	32	50.4
Nevada	23	10.3	33.3	51.7
Hawaii	16	19.1	35.1	53.5
U.S. Average	17.9	5.7	23.6	42

[Half Vast Conspiracy]

But, you are only working on the Demand side. OPEC has a tight grip on the Supply side. I’m not discounting what you are saying...just building on it.

[ClaireSolt]

As long as we go along with this world price market, they have a very big effect. If we formed a NAFTA market we could have our own prices as do some countries like Iraq and Venezuela where gas is very cheap. However, nobody is going to suffer so the richest country in the world can have lower prices, not Mexico or Canada, for sure.

[Alberta's Child]

We already have a "NAFTA market," though it isn't set up the way those other closed markets are. The North American Free Trade Agreement basically keeps the governments of Canada and Mexico from taxing the heck out of their energy sectors -- like Canada did back in the 1980s under Pierre Trudeau's National Energy Policy (NEP).

This "NAFTA market" doesn't cap the price of oil in North America, but it does help ensure that there are no impediments to the sale of oil from one country to another.

[ClaireSolt]

Occasionally I see a reference to efforts to crack or puncture this OPEC price. You can’t really have a free market that contains a dominant cartel. Of course our government is very anti competitive with all of its restrictions.

[Paladin2]

I’d agree that storing gasoline is problematic. Keeping a vehicle in a relatively low, constant temperature location (like a garage dug into the ground, or in the shade in the fall, winter, spring) can extend the useful life of the gas. In general, its best to use it relatively soon, especially as there are winter and summer blends with different distillation curves. Still, having a buffer to get through holiday weeks and (lately) hurricane approaches to the US, provides great satisfaction as the MSM goes nuts about gas prices.

[SoFloFreeper]

A national morning show interviewer practically high-fived the governor of Florida for urging an investigation into "gouging."

One reason to be concerned about Chuck Crist.

[stevie_d_64]

That seems like a reasonable question to ask her or any democrap for that matter...

“You democrats are quoted as saying this last fall, so waz up wit dat???”

Would make for a fine Q&A session if you ask me...

I’d be expecting that 1000 yards stare, and chirping crickets sounds after that question...;-)

[lepton]

It is unlawful to tell the public who and how much ‘taxes’ they are actually paying.

That applies to a number of utilities, and in some states to insurance as well.

[SALChamps03]

Aren’t liberals funny?...hahahah.

[SALChamps03]

Price gouging is a myth. There is no such thing.

[lepton]

Stop making excuses for collusion and gouging.

Do you have evidence of Collusion, and can you even practically define Gouging?

[lepton]

Awhile back I recall hearing that gas stations only earn 1 to 2 cents per gallon......now I see even an oil apologist labels profit margins as 8-10%. Wonder what they REALLY are?

Please...read that again. Note the difference between a gas station, and the oil company it buys from.

[Dan Evans]

What exactly causes gas to “go bad”?

[mattdono]

Interesting.

Funny thing too. I’m a conservative libertarian, I have an SUV (Jeep Cherokee), but I ride my bike to work minimum 3 days per week. And, it’s not that I abhor cars (like most liberal hippies), I just love riding bikes.

Maybe your liberal brother should either 1) get a job closer to his home or 2) move closer to his job...you know, so he doesn’t have to “contribute to the madness that is global warming”.

It’s a big joke. Interestingly, the recent comments by the NASA chief is being categorized as “outside the mainstream scientific thought”. Meanwhile all he said was a simple reality: global warming may be occuring, but in order to say we should do something about it is based on a premise that our recent global temperatures is the optimal climate.

So, the head of NASA isn’t even saying global warming isn’t real. He isn’t even saying it’s real, but humans are/aren’t causing it. He’s just saying, paraphrasing, we’re quite egotistical to assume that temperatures in the last 5-10(our history) is the best possible temperatures a life-sustaining planet can have. We simply just don’t know that to be the case.

And, he’s already under attack from the leftist enviro-kooks.

Maybe you should remind your brother and sister the most lively ecosystems are also in the hottest, wettest climates.

If they would have ever been to the jungles of Costa Rica, they would realize that there are more species of different animal life than scientists can identify.

Most of these liberals -like your brother and sister- live in the concrete confines of a city or (as it appears in your case) live in the suburbs of a concrete jungle.

It really is their own guilt about their circumstances. They want the higher paying job and their daily Starbucks, but God forbid they live a much simpler life. A life without so much “stuff” and actually make a difference in the ecosystem where they live.

Basically, they’re hypocrites of the highest order.

Now, I have to run. My son and I are going for a 20-mile mountain bike ride. You know, actually help save the environment, instead of talking about it.

[IrishMike]

Great post, thanks.

[sauropod]

Gas taxes by state are on the net. I looked it up a couple of weeks ago.

Also on the Net is ExxonMobil’s financial statement.

Pretty instructive if you know how to read it. Particularly wrt “profits” and all the other expenses they have (exploratory dry wells, etc. etc.).