1. It is the envirowhackos who have prevented the construction of refineries for more than two decades by filing frivolous suits on behalf of spotted owls and 3-legged-toads...suits that are rubber-stamped by Carter and Clinton judicial appointees.
2. The oil industry is in the business to make money. Capitalism. That being said, prices at the pumps for more than 3/4 of U.S. gas stations are set at each station not by giant conglomerates. This is because of antitrust laws. And such prices wouldn't be so high if federal and state governments didn't tax the hell out of liquid fuels. Granted home heating oil isn't taxed the same...but the government still takes its share.
3. People freezing to death? Parade of imaginary horribles without a scintilla of evidence to back it up. Give me a break. You sound like every leftist troll who posts here. Can't wait to hear your views on homelessness, Kyoto Treaty, and the Iraq War.
P.S. Give my regards to Comrade Sheehan during your next protest.
". The oil industry is in the business to make money. Capitalism. That being said, prices at the pumps for more than 3/4 of U.S. gas stations are set at each station not by giant conglomerates. This is because of antitrust laws. And such prices wouldn't be so high if federal and state governments didn't tax the hell out of liquid fuels. Granted home heating oil isn't taxed the same...but the government still takes its share."
The price at the pump is indeed usually set by the local retailer, though by no means always. Their margins run anywhere from 5 to 24 cents per gallon, gross. Its a business of pennies, my friend. The refiners control the rack price, and the dealers and jobbers pay based, usually, on that. A simple tactic like putting out the word that there will be allocations of "unbranded" product because of an anticipated shortage will, and did, cause an unbranded/branded rack price inversion which drove up the price of unbranded to both jobbers and retailers. That in turn drove up the price of branded product on account of the traditional premium paid for "branded" product. The companies then used the fantasy shortage of gasoline product to excuse the jump in home heating oil prices. The companies made vast sums of money. But you know what, there was no shortage and no plans for an allocation. Now, if that's your idea of how capitalism ought to work, I think you'll find that as a society we decided about 100 years ago that that wasn't such a good idea.
"You sound like every leftist troll who posts here."
Oh, I think my bona fides as something other than a leftist troll have been petty well established here, my friend.