Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: *The oil companies  (who I believe are in bed with car manufacturers) spin all kinda bullshit from, war, weather, hurricanes, futures and embargo's....all of which have little impact on the friggen price they are fucking us for.  Yet we still get hammered. oh, please.  not this shit again. repeat after me:   THE OIL COMPANIES ARE NOT IN COLLUSION AND DO NOT CONTROL THE PRICES.  THEY ARE CONTROLLED BY COMMODITIES TRADERS AS WELL AS YOU, THE CONSUMER, BY HOW MUCH OIL YOU DEMAND. THE OIL COMPANIES ARE NOT IN COLLUSION AND DO NOT CONTROL THE PRICES.  THEY ARE CONTROLLED BY COMMODITIES TRADERS AS WELL AS YOU, THE CONSUMER, BY HOW MUCH OIL YOU DEMAND. THE OIL COMPANIES ARE NOT IN COLLUSION AND DO NOT CONTROL THE PRICES.  THEY ARE CONTROLLED BY COMMODITIES TRADERS AS WELL AS YOU, THE CONSUMER, BY HOW MUCH OIL YOU DEMAND. Hate to threadshit...but....come on...you really expect me to believe that demand went up so fast that gas went from $2.30 something to $4.00 in a single day after Katrina....please.... NO Fucking Shit oh yay, it's the weekly "I don't understand how the free market works" thread. Explain it to me then Expert

he doesn't have to, i already did!

and if you don't believe me, you can always read what the experts have to say.

Quoted: The price we pay at the pump is the speculated price of the next tanker truck load.

Don't screw up a very intertaining thread by introducing reality.

Regards,
Mild Bill

P.S.
Whatever happened to the 200 MPG carburator that the oil companies acquired many years ago that has been hidden from the public?

See, I fixed it.

Can any of you people post a thought without quoting a post that quotes ten previous posts?


Lets talk about Mexicans, shall we?

I don't know how things are in Texas, but here in Iowa the illegal problem is not the "same old same old". It is becoming a crisis.

Quoted: The price we pay at the pump is the speculated price of the next tanker truck load.

+1

Apu has a tank of gas in the ground that he bought last week at $1.50 a gallon that he intends to sell at $2. The next truck, due to Katrina, will cost him $2.50. Now, does he nuke his profit margin buy selling the gas at $2 knowing that he'll have to pay $2.50 next week, or does he raise his price to $3 in order to compensate for the rising price of gas?

I'm assuming that none of you types have ever run a retail business before...

Quoted: Quoted: The price we pay at the pump is the speculated price of the next tanker truck load. +1 Apu has a tank of gas in the ground that he bought last week at $1.50 a gallon that he intends to sell at $2. The next truck, due to Katrina, will cost him $2.50. Now, does he nuke his profit margin buy selling the gas at $2 knowing that he'll have to pay $2.50 next week, or does he raise his price to $3 in order to compensate for the rising price of gas? I'm assuming that none of you types have ever run a retail business before...

good job explaining it in a much more concise and elegant manner than i can

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: *The oil companies  (who I believe are in bed with car manufacturers) spin all kinda bullshit from, war, weather, hurricanes, futures and embargo's....all of which have little impact on the friggen price they are fucking us for.  Yet we still get hammered. oh, please.  not this shit again. repeat after me:   THE OIL COMPANIES ARE NOT IN COLLUSION AND DO NOT CONTROL THE PRICES.  THEY ARE CONTROLLED BY COMMODITIES TRADERS AS WELL AS YOU, THE CONSUMER, BY HOW MUCH OIL YOU DEMAND. THE OIL COMPANIES ARE NOT IN COLLUSION AND DO NOT CONTROL THE PRICES.  THEY ARE CONTROLLED BY COMMODITIES TRADERS AS WELL AS YOU, THE CONSUMER, BY HOW MUCH OIL YOU DEMAND. THE OIL COMPANIES ARE NOT IN COLLUSION AND DO NOT CONTROL THE PRICES.  THEY ARE CONTROLLED BY COMMODITIES TRADERS AS WELL AS YOU, THE CONSUMER, BY HOW MUCH OIL YOU DEMAND. Hate to threadshit...but....come on...you really expect me to believe that demand went up so fast that gas went from $2.30 something to $4.00 in a single day after Katrina....please.... NO Fucking Shit oh yay, it's the weekly "I don't understand how the free market works" thread. Explain it to me then Expert

I wouldn't  waste my time, because you're operating on emotion.

Read  Walter E Williams, Whomas Sowell, etc, for an understanding of how it all works. You can find their columns at  townhall.com or jewish world review

Other people have tried explaining it on this thread, but I feel it's all going to be a wasted of their time as well.

Apu has a tank of gas in the ground that he bought last week at $1.50 a gallon that he intends to sell at $2. The next truck, due to Katrina, will cost him $2.50. Now, does he nuke his profit margin buy selling the gas at $2 knowing that he'll have to pay $2.50 next week, or does he raise his price to $3 in order to compensate for the rising price of gas?

Actually, many stations do not work this way.  Depending on the type of station, the operator may/may not have any discretion on price.  

Quoted: Actually, many stations do not work this way.  Depending on the type of station, the operator may/may not have any discretion on price.

I'm pretty sure that they all work that way at some level.

If it is a company owned station, the company is still making the same decision as the privately owned station. The company owned station MAY have the ability to keep prices lower since they have more cash on hand needed to cover the shortfall from buying the pricier gas.

Quoted:

Actually, many stations do not work this way. Depending on the type of station, the operator may/may not have any discretion on price.

And if the head company sets prices, these prices will not always be efficient.

My point is that this is a very complex market, and not always a competitive one.  It is becoming less competitive, as mergers continue (as referenced in earlier article i linked too).  In the long-run, gas prices reflect the underlying price of crude (and demand/tax/environmental  shocks too).  But, I do believe over the period of a few years the larger companies can keep prices higher than they would be IF these markets were more competitive.

I response to oil/gas prices. This is more of a reflection of the failing value of a dollar. The more they print the less they are worth. As far as oil companies working with car manufcturers: I know a guy who's father invented a carborator in the early 70's that got around 50 MPG. He sold the patent to an oil company for 100k and part of the agreement was he could not work on that line of research any more or even build one for himself. I met him and I don't think he was blowing smoke up my ass. Maybe he was lying or maybe I'm retarted. But he wasn't the type to tell stories.

In regards to POTUS or any other politician.

I have NO respect for ANY politician who lies or violates their oath of office. If they disregard the constitution I think they should be tried for treason and exceuted. Bush has flagerantly disregarded the constitution multiple times, when he should be the poster child for abiding by it. I will not respect anyone in office simply because they are there. Respect must be EARNED not just given, so you can shove that in your pipe and smoke it. Give me an honerable constitutionalist and I will respect him. Give me a monkey with a hardon for a police state and you can kiss my ass. Oh BTW I voted for him. Not saying that the other choices were better. You get the devil or his brother.

Illegal imigration. This is a problem mainly because we have so many social services. Eliminate free health care, school, rent etc etc etc. and the problem goes away. They won't want to live here as much. There are several Mexican Groups who have plainly stated that they are trying to re-conquest the southwest. It is a unarmed invasion and therefore a threat to our way of life. I have no problems with mexicans but I have a huge problem with illegal imigration. It is an unarmed war. They are trying to out breed us. Their whole system is even more corrupt than ours, and that is what they are importing. The main problem is that poor people who CONTRIBUTE nothing are allowed to vote. They VOTE for people who keep giving them other peoples money. Kill the socialist programs and the imigration problem will dissappear.

Political Correctness has changed the way people think and they stop using their brains. 80 year old white women and medal of honor holders should not be searched. People who look like they are from terrorist countries should be. Is it "nice and fuzzy" nope but neither is reality. If enough of this happened maybe they would get sick of it and kill the terrorists before they can act out and police their own people.

Bush is a man, not a King.
I don't call anyone "President"
Clinton, Regean, Bush, Washington even - all men.

Quoted: I response to oil/gas prices. This is more of a reflection of the failing value of a dollar. The more they print the less they are worth. As far as oil companies working with car manufcturers: I know a guy who's father invented a carborator in the early 70's that got around 50 MPG. He sold the patent to an oil company for 100k and part of the agreement was he could not work on that line of research any more or even build one for himself. I met him and I don't think he was blowing smoke up my ass. Maybe he was lying or maybe I'm retarted. But he wasn't the type to tell stories.

PLEASE  Some simple math rules this out This is one of those stories that have been running around for 30 years. The original "inventor" was supposed to be some guy named Pogue or something similar. A common spark ignited gasoline fueled engine runs at about a 14.7 to 1 air/fuel mixture. Given that a running engine will most never be more than 25% of its displacement efficient, you ain't gonna get 50 mpg out of a carbureted 350 Chevy.

TO me the plain fact is this, WE have allowed certain capitalistic things to exsist that did not always exsist. Do these things exsist in other countries ? I dont know, But i do know about the US. The plain fact is the price of Gas as well as other "volatile" commodities is in the short term based around singular events and essentially psychology rather than any realilty outside the exchange.
The plain fact is people make tons of money by doing nothing other that gambling, which is what it is. For example suppose on a particular day CNN reports that Al-queda destroyed 10% of the saudi capacity by destroying a pipeline. The futures market would essentially explode! Technically the price should only go up about ~10% of it's current price. But belive me it would probably go up 50%, Why? becuase we allow it. Because people are legally allowed to speculate on the futures of certain things. The demand will be driven by people willing to pay exorbitant prices by essentially "paper shuffling" in a building in NYC. No real "Wealth" is created just contracts made. Some will gain money some will lose, this is the essence of gambling. The only people who truly lose in the long term are the people at the pump who get gouge fucked by the speculators. But then the following thing happens, Two days after the news cast and two days after the prices got raised to spectacular heights, CNN RETRACTS the story. Turns out it was all fake. And it took two days because it was a remote part of Arabia and the Gov't was preventing people from going there to verify the story. Turns out someone just "mistranslated" a communique. So money was made, People got gouged, and it had nothing to do with realilty or creating any real wealth. Have a nice day.