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Originally posted by EsotericA small economics lesson for you, so pay attention.
So you are trying to say that the oil companies have no say in how much they sell their oil? How old are you? 15?
I'll agree that im pleased people are finding alternative ways to transport thus reducing emissions and hopefully making Americans less fat, but does no one see the irony in oil companies recording thier highest ever profit when fuel prices have been the highest ever? It just plain capitalism!
Oil is a commodity and all such commodites, (like coffee, pork bellies, gold) are sold on the open market. The market price is controlled by supply and demand. OPEC controls a large part of the oil supply, since these countries can limit or release how much oil the oil companies can sell. If demand goes up and Saudi Arabia decides to stop producing any oil, it cuts off the supply of the oil and the price goes up. Alternatively, if demand goes up higher than the countries are able to drill, the price goes up.
The oil companies can control their costs in extracting the oil (by drilling everywhere or in certain known areas), but they have little or no say in how much they can sell their oil. The main reason the oil companies are doing so well is that market price of oil has shot up to $70 in the past few months.
Here's the current market value of commodities at the moment:
http://money.cnn.com/data/commodities/
If you are going to argue and insult people around here, you better know what you are talking about, otherwise you'll ending up looking more stupid than you already are.
edit: And you haven't answered my original question!
Originally posted by EsotericSo do you honestly think the goverment should regulate what everyone makes?
And i quote;
"You say people are starving because they cant afford to buy gas? well maybe the automobile industry should cut the prices of their cars in half, it would help the starving be able to buy a vehichle to get food"
This would have to be the stupidest argument i have heard. Im talking about transport costs Billy Bob. As in food being able t ...[text shortened]... eah, i bet you're over the moon about it.
You sir, are the one with the ridiculous argument.
Oh and BTW, I dont watch TV, dont even own a TV, and I spend allot of my time reading books, so quit assuming things here
Honestly I dont really care if I have to pay a couple dollors more every time I fuel up. I just charge more to my customers in construction to pay for it.
Originally posted by flyUnityThat doesn't work. It's one of the first things taught in basic economics. If you have to raise your prices because your costs go up, the customer will pay part of the cost, but you'll pay part of it because customers will be less likely to hire you.
So do you honestly think the goverment should regulate what everyone makes?
Oh and BTW, I dont watch TV, dont even own a TV, and I spend allot of my time reading books, so quit assuming things here
Honestly I dont really care if I have to pay a couple dollors more every time I fuel up. I just charge more to my customers in construction to pay for it.
Originally posted by flyUnityNo, they have more resources as individuals with which to enrich themselves. Money, political power, connections, fame, etc. They also have more experience which could be called "smarts" I suppose but that's only a part of why they are rich and I am not. The reason they have that experience comes from the other things anyway.
The rich guys must be doing somthing smarter then you are
Having been to many countries of the world I can say that Americans have been spoiled by cheap gas prices. As a small business owner I know what the price of fuel can do to a business. I have spent over $45,000.00 on just diesel alone this year. I have also made the customer pay me a fuel surcharge per mile to keep my costs down. Personally they can raise the price of gas up to $10.00 a gallon for all I care. Maybe it will put some of the cars off the road. If you can't afford to fuel it then don't buy it.
Originally posted by slimjimYeah, like those God-forsaken Hummers...the epitomy of energy waste and "in your face" SUV mentality.....
Having been to many countries of the world I can say that Americans have been spoiled by cheap gas prices. As a small business owner I know what the price of fuel can do to a business. I have spent over $45,000.00 on just diesel alone this year. I have also made the customer pay me a fuel surcharge per mile to keep my costs down. Personally they can raise th ...[text shortened]... e it will put some of the cars off the road. If you can't afford to fuel it then don't buy it.
Originally posted by slimjimThat hits the problem square on the nose. Cheap gas prices here in the US have created a mentality among all of us that gas should be cheap. We're used to it. The US is the "wal mart" of gas consumption. We buy more than anyone else, and we burn more than anyone else. We process it better than anyone else so we can get it and use it cheaper than the rest of the world.
Having been to many countries of the world I can say that Americans have been spoiled by cheap gas prices. As a small business owner I know what the price of fuel can do to a business. I have spent over $45,000.00 on just diesel alone this year. I have also made the customer pay me a fuel surcharge per mile to keep my costs down. Personally they can raise th ...[text shortened]... e it will put some of the cars off the road. If you can't afford to fuel it then don't buy it.
As long as gas prices stay comparitively cheap we're never going to pursue alternatives. We are one of the most technoligically advanced countries on earth and yet we still use the gasonline engine for almost every type of transportation. The same basic engine we've been using for almost 100 years.
Necessity truly is the mother of invention.
So until we are forced to find alternatives to gasoline, the oil companies (and OPEC) will continue to have all of us in their grasp. It's a shame we have to wait until it's absolutely necessary to make those changes though.
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Originally posted by RagnorakAbsolutely greed. That's a huge part of it. But I believe the people of the US could do something about that by simply demanding more fuel efficent cars. Instead we're complacent. We buy SUV's because they're a "fad" and because our neighbor bought one.
Greed?
D
It's just silly. Meanwhile that mentality contributes to issues like the recent "oil scare" and gives oil companies the perfect reason to jack up prices.
If we had been conserving energy in the first place we wouldn't have had the silly scare. Or at least it wouldn't have been as bad.
On the other hand oil companies do absolutely NOTHING to benefit anyone besides themselves. The automobile industry is the same way. If they think they can sell it and make a buck, then the consequences to the enviroment or the future can be damned for all they care.
So yes, both sides are guilty. One side is lazy, the other is greedy.
Originally posted by DOlivier2004I'm no economist, but I do work in the chemicals industry and I do see how oil prices go up and down (we currently buy 40-50,000 met ton refined oil per year). Exxon control ~40% of the worlds oil and appear to have a sales policy of screwing customers on price, knowing that there will always be people desperate enough to buy anyway. They are always at ~10% higher than the competition, but when they increase their prices everyone else follows: they set the oil market price. I know that there are many other influences on the price of oil, but having one company with a 40% control seems like too much of a monopoly, and if they're reporting massive profits then they would appear to be using this to control the market to their own advantage while making other business and the end customer pay for it.
A small economics lesson for you, so pay attention.
Oil is a commodity and all such commodites, (like coffee, pork bellies, gold) are sold on the open market. The market price is controlled by supply and demand. OPEC controls a large part of the oil supply, since these countries can limit or release how much oil the oil companies can sell. If dema ...[text shortened]... oking more stupid than you already are.
edit: And you haven't answered my original question!
And before I lose my job for slander: the above comments are inexpert personal observation only, and in no way meant to slander/liable Exxon and its corporate practices 😉
Originally posted by belgianfreakI bow to superior knowledge on this point. I didn't realise Exxon had that much control over the supply of oil, but then again, they are at the mercy of countries that allow them to drill the oil in the first place for export. It depends on whether they operate in an OPEC country or not. And I'd assume that they can only exercise their pricing power by selling only to countries and companies that have such a large demand that only the largest oil companies can service them?
I'm no economist, but I do work in the chemicals industry and I do see how oil prices go up and down (we currently buy 40-50,000 met ton refined oil per year). Exxon control ~40% of the worlds oil and appear to have a sales policy of screwing customers on price, knowing that there will always be people desperate enough to buy anyway. They are always at ...[text shortened]... nal observation only, and in no way meant to slander/liable Exxon and its corporate practices 😉
Eg. The market price is $70, but only Exxon (and no one else) can sell you 1 million barrels of oil, and you have to pay at $85 a barrel.