The turmoil in Libya, Bahrain and elsewhere in the Middle East is playing havoc with crude prices.
Ultimately, this is going to settle down as other producers make up the shortfall, but you've probably already noticed the spike at the pump.
Big Government actually likes higher gas prices, because of the taxes they collect. In my home state, that means .60 to .80 per gallon, depending on local sales taxes.
Perhaps one day we'll start drilling our own oil, gasifying our coal and processing the shale in the Rockies and elsewhere..but certainly not while Obama is president.
this definitely has a "taking of pelham 123" feel about it.
ReplyDeletelibya alone accounts for only 2% of global production, yet this unrest has resulted in an instantaeneous increase at the pump of 25%.
fuzzy math.
must be what they learn at all them fancy northeastern business schools.
here in flyover country we're sitting at $3.19/gallon.
Gas prices here are between the low $3.53 or so and anywhere from .20 to .25 cents more...a function of L.A and California's high taxes and whether the gas station is in a high rent district.
ReplyDeleteGovernment makes far more per gallon in taxes than the oil companies make in profit.
Markets function on fear and greed. If wholesale buyers are worried about the unrest spreading or OPEC not being able to cover Libya's output, they bid up to try and get supplies in, and traders speculate on commodity futures...and remember, thanks to Obama's ban on drilling we're bidding against consumers willing to pay $5 to $7 dollars and up retail for gasoline overseas.
That all affects prices.
i think monkey boy is a trader speculator.
ReplyDeleteI think your last two paragraphs in this post pretty much nail it. Its pretty interesting that the government makes more in taxes than the oil companies make in profit. Yet other than the "military industrial complex" nothing gets demonized by the main stream media more than "big oil", when in actuality "big government" is primarily responsible for the high prices we are paying at the pumps rather than big oil. The dupes who dutifully repeat what the media tells them really should read more!!
ReplyDeleteI think its no accident. You see the media loves "big government". They don't like "big oil." An independet America that meets its own energy needs does not fit their agenda. Also, it would be interesting to see how much of the propaganda against "big oil" is being financed and directed. Somehow I don't think any one in the main stream media will do this investigation.
Not only does big governmnet benefit from higher oil prices, our enemies do as well. The biggest benefactor is Russia. I'm thinking the Russians are probably behind the unrest there right now. In addition, higer oil prices = more money going to Al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations via countries like Saudi Arabia.
By drilling for our own oil and gassifying our coal we would get more utility for our national security interests than any thing we are currently doing. This would help on so many levels it is hard to know where to begin. First of all, had we been doing this when the unrest in the Middle East broke out, we would be in a position to supply those who have had their supplies disrupted and we could do it at a cheap enough price that those over seas would not have to pay so much for retail gasoline. This would certainly help our image!! Perhaps more importantly, for us at least, we'd have more leverage when negotiating with the likes of OPEC.