Rising gas prices? Who's to blame?

Question

Choose ONE:
1. President Bush
2. Congress
3. Troubled refineries
4. Oil company executives' salaries and incentives

I'll go first.
My choice is #1.
I don't hate Bush...but...I cannot begin to explain how bad (in my honest opinion) he has been for this country: from top to bottom.

Answer 1

http://www.gasbuddy.com/gb_retail_price_chart.aspx?time=24
When you go to the link change the time period from two years to six and you will see that if you look at the chart you will see prices have risen steadily since the war in Iraq. That puts the blame on Bush. Make the Middle East unstable and the Bush family and friends at Exxon all enjoy record profits!
What an unfortunate coincidence for them.

Answer 2

Option 3, Because no refineries been built for over 30 years, and nationalization occuring in Latin America is creating a headache for comsumers of oil. The costs to suck black gold has risen exponentially in the last 4 years, and the amount that can get suck out of the ground is less. Still, if congress allow more domestic exploration, or open up Colorado, Utah tar sands to exploration probadly help a little bit, and better extraction technologies is keeping oil from being priced higher. Alternative fuels is a good idea since we dont want to be dependant on resources from unfriendly countries in the middle east. Bush is not the one to blame for oil prices like people think? Its oil is a fixed resource and its costs billions to put up the oil drill to get to black gold.

Answer 3

It's very simple. There is no one specific person to blame. Gas is something that everyone uses, therefore, there is a high demand. Oil companies can manipulate the production and that changes the supply. Hence, the price changes. If supply is lowered and the demand doesn't change...the price will go up. More people travel during the summer months and the demand grows while supply really doesn't change. This causes the price to go up. I'm not justifying it because I don't like paying the high prices, but it's all about supply and demand!

Answer 4

1, 3 and 4

Answer 5

hey middlefinger...#5 consumers who are willing to pay the price per gallon and not change their consumption habits.

the world is currently awash with oil. speculators bid on the price per barrel they are willing to pay. this generates profit for them if it goes up or down.

in the U.S. the major oil companies have for many years been cutting back on refinery capacity and even closing some. this insures a constant profit by giving them absolute control of supply.

but...the bottom line is consumption and changing habits. anyone can cut their gasoline cost immediately by using less. be advised...no matter what is done to the oil companies, they will turn a profit.

Answer 6

I don't blame GWB for this. I think the oil companies are using the war as an excuse to keep prices high. Historically, they've been manipulating the price ever since the so-called gas shortage of 1973-74.

I really don't believe you can be a CEO for an oil company without being evil.

Answer 7

You are wrong.
Try 2&3
Supply and demand. We are not the only developed nation on the block. China is demanding quite a bit of oil. We need refineries and we need more oil exploration which congress has stepped on more than once. We need to curtail our usage of oil to bring down the demand of oil in this country.
I bet you blamed the recent tornados in Kansas on Bush too? another product of a liberal public education.

Answer 8

Sorry - none of the above. It's that word "free" in free market. Who's to blame for the historically LOW (when adjusted for inflation) gas prices of the late 80s?

Answer 9

There is some historical blame to be spread back to as far as Nixon since his proclamation of an "energy Independence"
policy with no EFFECTIVE action toward same to all that followed to the present. BUT you ARE right that Dictator Dumbya IS a MAJOR culprit, MUCH more than his predecessors, who were ACTUALLY elected. Down with Dictator Dumbya!!!

Answer 10

Oil prices are not even under Bush's control. Everyone wants to blame him for everything today, without thinking through what it is they are blaming him for. It is a pity - shoot now and ask questions later mentality.