Ok, what does Fuel economy have to do with Politics?

Question

I have read so much now about 'Bush and the Gas prices' and I'm blown away. Fuel is the most basic form of supply and demand in our economy (world wide!), heck; it's a lifeline to industry! It's so much on it's own outside of the US government (remember, our economy is separate from government... it's been standing policy since the beginning).

Fuel is a supply and demand issue alone, and no broker or fuel company is going to 'hold back' or redirect over a domestic political issue. It’s corporate suicide! We use more fuel than most of the world! And the Fuel companies sell based on supply and demand... if there is less, they sell for a couple pennies more, if there is more, the sell for a couple pennies less, because of Competition!!

Ok, so, how could any responsible Broker or Fuel company still turn a profit if they were playing this game of price control?? How would they survive the competition from around the world running all over them if they did?

fr chuck,

You make an excellent point about how our government can control the expansion of resource and in turn controlling the amount of supply. So, if Bush (who seems to be the heart of the attack for being in this business) wants to see more resources (let’s explore in Alaska, etc) and the opposition has done nothing but put blocks in the way, it stands to reason that the opposition to Bush's policies are creating higher fuel prices, affecting the supply and demand.

I have to admit I was thinking about this while I was out jogging, glad you pointed it out, though.

Answer 1

don't confuse liberals with the truth, Bush is in the oil business, so liberals want something to attack bush on, and lies work well if told loud enougn and long enough

The government over all ( congress) does control the oil industry, they tell them where they can drill and where they can't. They tell them how they can drill, they control how the oil has to be transported, stored and treated.

So in basics, there is no way for them to complete really against each other using any different method, since they are all controled. And they all pay about the same price for imported oil

And oil companies are making alot of profit now because they can't explore for oil hardly anywhere, off shore of Fla and California have been blocked in court, they can't in alot of alaska.

And if you look not at the total billions profit, but look at the precent of profit, it is so low that if they were not that big, they would close, if a store or other business operated at the percent of profit oil companies do they would be considered operating poorly. It is only thier pure size that makes them appear to be making such a big profit.

Answer 2

For the federal government (which also buys and maintains a reserve of oil) fuel is not purely a supply and demand issue. That demand is so powerful that it is often the driving force behind policy. What do you suppose the Iran-Contra Affair was really all about? Supply and demand. Currently, Hugo Chavez has been making lots of noise. Why haven't we just removed him from the equation? Supply and Demand. Think about the oil embargo of the 1970s. Tell me that had nothing to do with the shaping of foreign policy. Look back to the great robber barons of this country. Standard Oil and the anti-trust suits.
Tommy Jefferson and Madison wrote the Constitution. Jefferson understood that "Freedom" is power. And the only way to obtain THAT kind of power/freedom is through finance. Money is freedom. Those that have no money are enslaved to those who have it. Currently, oil is better than gold and that means money.
Without governmental intervention, the oil brokers can (and have been) pricing at will. They know we MUST pay it. Look at the third quarter earnings of Exxon. Record profits. Why won't Washington intervene? Fear of another oil embargo. A lesson hard learned by Jimmy Carter and his administraion. A lesson quickly forgotten by most Americans (typically).

Answer 3

There is more demand than there is supply, so companies can do anything they want. Even lower the price before an election to buy votes for the government they want.

Answer 4

There are no fixes on oil and gas. It is a very complicated system. The problem we had with fast escalating prices had to do with MTBE being removed and ethanol being added in its place. The problem was not enough ethanol. Thus prices skyrocketed.

Answer 5

Competition??? There are only 5 major oil companies now! And they have many joint ventures, so it might as well be 1 company
There goes your idea of competition!

Answer 6

Large banks & corparations own & control everything in the world including the US government.Money wins..........

Answer 7

every issue has to do with politics.
marriage-sex-power-church-berr-voting-gay-matters not--its politics..

as they say its politics or religion or both.