GAS PRICES!!! The government took Ma Bell apart so why can't it do something about oil companies?

Question

They decided that there was a monopoly and dismantled the phone company. They even went after Bill Gates. The oil companies are making billions in profits and NOTHING is being done. Please give better answer than Bush. The DEMS control Congress and they aren't doing anything either.

Answer 1

You must be unaware of the latest push by Congress about the gas price-gouging and Congress wanting to hold the oil companies accountable.

Answer 2

since the oil companies make an average of 13 cents on each gallon of gas, I'd think it obvious that nothing is being done along the lines you suggest because such action won't accomplish anything.

Btw, your Congressperson knows this, even the ones who are 'investigating' the oil companies. They also know that the oil companies have been investigated before, multiple times, and no evidence of collusion or pricefixing has been found.

The 'investigation' is a sham. It's sole purpose is to convince you that your Congressperson is doing something about the high price of gasoline when, in fact, Congress is much of the reason why gasoline is so expensive.

More production of energy in all forms would lower the cost of the most expensive forms -- and gasoline is one of the most expensive.

But, there are powerful lobbies who do not want you to have life easier. They want you unhappy so you can be fooled into voting for their programs -- whose sole real purpose is to seize power for them and tell everyone how they must live.

Most of these lobbies press Congress to deny permission to anyone and everyone to do things that would be cheaper.

What things?


Build nuclear power plants.
Build more coal fired power plants.
Drill for oil in a small part of Alaska.
Drill for oil off the Florida or California or Virginia coast.
Drill for gas anywhere it isn't already being drilled for.
Build a wind power plant off Massachusetts.
Prevent competition by requiring 17 different types of gas.
and on, and on.

Answer 3

I was explaining monopolies to my son yesterday during breakfast. He's 12. I told him that even though there are many different small companies there is still one parent company that owns all the small companies. I used crayons as an example. There is the parent company Green. Green owns blue, orange, red and green and they all sell the same product controlling the price of that product. As well as ensuring that they retain most of the profit off the sale of that product.

They aren't doing anything about it because even though they sit on different sides, they all work for the one big parent company and their God is Money.

And there will never be a compromise because each side is going to come up with far radical ideas insuring that neither idea is accepted and therefore things will stay exactly as they are. Just like the parent company wants it.

Answer 4

The best is when people say we are in Iraq for the oil. If that were the case, wouldn’t oil be cheap? The truth of the matter is that demand is at an all time high. Oil is not at record prices but gasoline is. That is because no new refineries have been built. The oil companies WANT to build new ones but it is nearly impossible to get it approved, thus there only option in very few cases, is to expand existing ones, and even that is difficult. Would you want a refining plant to be built in your neighborhood? Of course not.

The other reason is that our MPG average for vehicles in this country has dropped since 1992. You can thank GM and Ford for that. It is not (unfortunately) an American right to have cheap fuel. It is subject to market conditions like everything else. China is growing like mad and with 1.3 billion people all wanting to live like Americans, their domestic demand for oil has skyrocketed since 2000.

American oil companies produce less than 45% of all oil/gasoline we consume in this country. You dont think they want to produce more in order to increase their profits? Of course they do! There just isnt enough oil in places where they have access to drill. Most of the oil reserves on the planet are under Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, and Venezuela. All places I personally would never want to go. They are all very inefficient producers of gas and are currently not expanding production in order to manipulate prices.

Breaking up the oil companies will have ZERO effect on the price of gas. In fact, it would probably increase the prices in this country due to lack of economies of scale. We need to cut back on gas guzzeling SUVs and promote public transportation in this country to lower our gas intake. For every 1 MPG we improve on average, the price of gas will fall around $.50.

Thats why gas prices are so high.

Answer 5

Well you see, the government COULD do something about oil monopolies, just not this particular administration. The Clinton era anti-trust lawsuits against Microsoft were very quietly allowed to die under Bush's governance. His administration has NO interest in pursuing Microsoft. Double ditto for the oil companies. Bush and Cheney are both former (and future?) oilmen.

Answer 6

They created a monopoly, dismantled a monopoly and considered themselves great? Besides, Oil companies are not a monopoly. Since when are profits bad? Do you understand economics? Supply and demand?

Answer 7

The gas tax on the federal point i believe is in basic terms 28 cents. and that i agree that the oil agencies are charging in spite of they think of we are going to pay. in the event that they have been basically charging what the extra effective fee from OPEC necessitated, then their earnings margin could have stayed stable over the final various years, relatively of spiking to astronomic proportions as they have executed. it relatively is easy elementary experience and that i did no longer desire Obama to tell me that. as far as what to do, i believe the only element which will substitute it relatively is to get a gasoline which would be in direct opposition with gas, and that doesn't incorporate corn-based ethanol. yet till they even have opposition to handle, they are going to proceed to be robber barons. the government is definitely no longer waiting to inspect or legislate the present difficulty away, considering they're interior the wallet of massive oil. yet hypothesis is a topic with the aid of the full securities and substitute device. i think of day-figuring out to purchase and merchandising could be made unlawful at the beginning.

Answer 8

Big oil is your government. These corporate monopolies are too powerfull to stop. They decide who wins an election, they dictate foreign policy and they control the media. I'm just glad they're on top of this situation in Iraq.

Answer 9

Your example is baseless ever since SBC bought up all of the Baby Bells, then bought ATT.

Ma Bell rerose just like the Phoenix.

Answer 10

For years it's been about money, money for the lobbyist that keep the Republicans in power. Now that the Democrats are in power in Congress, they've already introduced legislation to make gasoline price gouging a Federal crime.