At what point did the war on the middle class start? Was it Reagan busting unions?
How high does oil have to go before the obscene record profit barons are punished, and who is going to punish them?
Posted by TIKI AL at March 29, 2006 11:26 AMIt's ironic how our troops are in the Middle East to protect the American interests which includes mainly oil. It's as if the WH is part of a scheme to fleece the US, not unlike what Enron did to the west coast states.
And another thing, by closing its eyes toward gas gauging the WH action here parallels to what it has done so far in the name of national security. It just doesn't pay attention to what it should do at home.
Posted by anonymous at March 29, 2006 12:14 PMPss, ys, t ndrstnd mtvtn, mrly fllw th mny. Wht ls s nw? Mnwhl, r rhd vtrs ttlly ccpt th mmrlty f r pwr-lt-gds f dcptn. Pls nt tht th ntr scl fbrc s ntrtwnd/ntrmngld nd ttlly mrrd t r crprt-cptlsts lrds f ‘nblty.’ W gt wht w dsrv nd thr r n ‘nncnts.‘ sspct tht y r bgnnng t s th r-mrgnc f r nc vnqshd clss f Dks, Prncs, Prncsss, Cnts, nd 100 mlln ‘qns.’ nd thr s n wy t gt rd f ths dts bcs thr bts r n r ncks…ND W LV T!
Why d w lv r Crprt Lrds f th Stckhlm Syndrm? Bcs ths lrds f prft nd pwr systmtclly dstryd r pst scl nstttns f rlgn, dctn, pltcs, nd fmly. ftr frgmntng ths nstttns, thy njct vrs prpgnd strtgs blt pn r nnt ntr f dprvty. Lk t r ‘ntrtnmnt:’ whn hv y vr ntd sx ct, vn kss, btwn hsbnd nd wf n TV? sspct nvr; ll sxl ctvty rvlvs rnd dltry nd mnnglssnss. Frm sx, t th ntr rng f scl rblln, t ll frms f vlnc nd pwr vr thrs, r crprt md chrns t th stff f pcfctn. Ys, 'pcfctn' f r nnt dsr t prs mmrlty. Pcfctn n cmbntn wth trmnds ppndgs f thnkng cnfsn dsgnd t dflct ccntblty. Crp, hw cn w xpct th vrg rhd t mk gd chcs whn h dsn’t hv cl s t th dffrnc btwn rght nd wrng? Jst s h lvs th grss mmrlty n tlvsn, h lvs th grss mmrlty f r crprt gds nd thr fft srvnts n th WH nd n th Hll f fft. nd dn’t thnk tht th mltry s xmpt. Thy lv t hv ths pwrfl tys, nd ‘gd’ rsn t s thm, vn f thy hv t trgt vry dnky by stllt.
Hw cn w gv ys t th blnd nd rs t th dmb? W cn’t; w’r ll gng t hv t bg Gd fr mrcy. nd dn’t stp bggng fr t’s r nly hp.
Punish? TIKI, the Oil Robber Barons will be awarded the Medal of Freedom by Bushco for their enviable contributions to American capitalism!
Posted by euzoius at March 29, 2006 12:22 PMWell, I'm gonna have to piss on this parade. The problem is that cost of oil production is not US$15 per barrel. That might be the average cost, but that's not the cost basis on which commodities get priced in the marketplace. Even if one were to assume that the lowest cost oil in the market today (likely Saudi or Gulf crudes) hovers around US$10 per barrel, then 70% of the rest of the world's production is substantially than that level - more like US$25 to US$30 per barrel. The blended average cost would still be above US$20 per barrel, but that isn't the cost basis which gets used. It's the marginal cost of production for that last barrel of oil needed to clear the market and that cost basis is likely around US$45 per barrel. Throw in a desire for a 30% operating margin (typical in any manufacturing or production industry) and the price becomes - tada - US$64 per barrel. So, the premise on which the story was written was just plain wrong.
That doesn't mean that the Saudi, Emirate, and Kuwaiti friends of the kleptocracy squatting in Oval Office aren't making out like bandits. They are, because they're netting US$50 per barrel for their production. And, we're enabling them to hold us over the barrel too. It's great work if you can find it.
Posted by PrahaPartizan at March 29, 2006 02:33 PMOil companies already own existing fields of crude.
Kind of like when real estate prices go up, and you benefit because you already own a house. Do you sell it for what you bought it at 20 years ago? No, you sell it at market price and make tons of money in profit.
Are you a robber barron if you sell your home at market prices?
Posted by muckdog at March 29, 2006 05:01 PMAre you a robber barron if you sell your home at market prices?
Well, I have a choice whether to buy that house or not. I don't have a choice with regards to gas right now. Perhaps when we have alternative fuels that would be an apt comparison but right now it's another fallacious argument.
To me this isn't a Rightwing or Leftwing issue, but a national security issue. I'm tired of our money going to the Islamo-Fascist loving Camel jockeys or that nut Chavez. We should buy Ethanol from Brazil or produce it ourselves. I'm sure this is an issue Right and Left can agree with. Not everything is Conservative vs. Liberal. We have to stop thinking like that to solve problems.
Posted by Conquistador at March 29, 2006 07:20 PMBullshit.
The price of oil is high because demand exceeds supply from the ground,not because of production costs.Yes, the producers could,theoretically speaking, sell it for cheaper but that would lead to shortages.
Oil companies and producing countries have always been greedy.The reason you didn't have higher gas prices earlier because there was always somebody around to increase supply if prices arose.Now,not so much.Welcome to Peak Oil.
Posted by anonymous at March 30, 2006 02:58 AM