“Yeah, well, I’m tired of them hosing me until the time comes that they get hosed.”
Seriously, how much are you getting hosed?
Going by what I see crude production actually being sold on, the fair price of gas is probably 75% of the market portion, plus the fixed price of taxes.
Rough justice .75(2.50) + 1.50 (taxes) = 3.38
Actual price = $4 — for a $.625/gallon hose factor
10 gallon a week? $6.25 extra a week.
Say an even $10, just for grins.
OK, it’s an extra $520/year. Big whoop -— just remember when oil was TOO LOW because the Saudis were dumping oil to destroy domestic USA production.
People always forget those days.
Most of the oil is used in the manufacturing sector. Businesses will be forced to either raise prices or layoff workers. What a shock. Unemployment just rose.
I drive about 400 miles a week. Get about 20 mpg. So that works out to $20 a week or a grand a year.
Now, lets talk heating oil. That's up a good two bucks since this time last year. Speculative price impacts cost me probably $500 bucks in additional heating costs this winter.
Now throw in the price increases for transport of food and goods, and this is all costing me about $2,500 bucks. Throw in the fact that the fed is devaluing the currency as the speculators make me pay a lot more for goods with what is left of my pay, and that's a rather large bite from a middle-class income.
I can absorb that. But a lot of folks can't.
I don't mind market forces. $70/bbl will open up a lot of development, enhanced recovery and alternative fuels such as coal to diesel. I'm not interested in it going back to $30/bbl. But I loathe a couple grand of my hard-earned income going to line the pockets of speculators who, unlike you, don't produce jack in the way of real goods and who are messing up market after market with their manipulations.