Gas price revolt!

Unit 5302 · 04-16-2002, 06:25 PM

From 97-00 oil companies had competition. End of story.

As far as the price, like I said before, price isn't the issue. It's the unwarranted fluctuation. Oil prices do not directly affect the cost of refining. If oil goes up $5 a barrel from $25 to $30, the increase you pay at the pump should be less than the 20% increase because the price of refining should remain constant, and therefore defuse part of the increase in price. It's not. In most cases it's more like a 40% increase. If oil prices go up, you see it at the pump the same day. If they go down, you see it in 1 week to 3 months. Yes, there were refinery's closed last year as prices went through the roof here in the midwest. There was no reason given for 2 of the shutdowns.

The only thing I'm trying to convey is the idea of monopolies and price fixing. Microsoft could charge way more for it's products, but it hasn't. If Windows was a fee based software, and the fee's went up 50% and hung out there for a while until an investigation was mentioned or people started screaming, and then dropped back down would you accuse Microsoft of "price gouging?" Obviously the answer is yes, and the American people would DEMAND Microsoft be dismantled, and sued for being a monopoly etc etc. They got dragged into court for no legitimate reason. The two largest oil companies, and two of the largest computer companies are approved for mergers in the shadows of the Microsoft saga. Now the oil companies have flexed their muscles showing crazy profit margins, yet there are still people out there that would say it's all a left wing story.

The bottom line is NO company should be able to set the price of their product. You can't get together with your competitors and raise prices. It's illegal. To me, there is too much fluctuation in gas prices compared with the price of crude.

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04-16-2002, 06:25 PM	#21
Unit 5302 Registered Member Join Date: May 1999 Posts: 5,246	From 97-00 oil companies had competition. End of story. As far as the price, like I said before, price isn't the issue. It's the unwarranted fluctuation. Oil prices do not directly affect the cost of refining. If oil goes up $5 a barrel from $25 to $30, the increase you pay at the pump should be less than the 20% increase because the price of refining should remain constant, and therefore defuse part of the increase in price. It's not. In most cases it's more like a 40% increase. If oil prices go up, you see it at the pump the same day. If they go down, you see it in 1 week to 3 months. Yes, there were refinery's closed last year as prices went through the roof here in the midwest. There was no reason given for 2 of the shutdowns. The only thing I'm trying to convey is the idea of monopolies and price fixing. Microsoft could charge way more for it's products, but it hasn't. If Windows was a fee based software, and the fee's went up 50% and hung out there for a while until an investigation was mentioned or people started screaming, and then dropped back down would you accuse Microsoft of "price gouging?" Obviously the answer is yes, and the American people would DEMAND Microsoft be dismantled, and sued for being a monopoly etc etc. They got dragged into court for no legitimate reason. The two largest oil companies, and two of the largest computer companies are approved for mergers in the shadows of the Microsoft saga. Now the oil companies have flexed their muscles showing crazy profit margins, yet there are still people out there that would say it's all a left wing story. The bottom line is NO company should be able to set the price of their product. You can't get together with your competitors and raise prices. It's illegal. To me, there is too much fluctuation in gas prices compared with the price of crude.