The Oil Company hose job continues

[wncvolfan]

Exxon-Mobil broke another record for the largest profits ever recorded by an American company last quarter. $10.9 billion this time. See MSN news on the net. Aren't you just a little bit pi$$ed?

 

[bleedingorange]

Exxon-Mobil broke another record for the largest profits ever recorded by an American company last quarter. $10.9 billion this time. See MSN news on the net. Aren't you just a little bit pi$$ed?

The real question is what the hell can we do about it :aggressive: :aggressive:

 

[wncvolfan]

The real question is what the hell can we do about it :aggressive: :aggressive:

I've been trying this and it seems to work for me and my family. We know our cars and what kind of mileage we get so we buy only what we need everyday. For example, I can get by with 1 gallon per day on workdays. So I buy one gallon everyday, if I have to work. For shopping trips I buy 1 1/2 gallon per day. This has disciplined me to use less. If the needle goes up a little, I don't buy any that day. My gas usage has been cut in half because I don't make unnecessary trips. What if everbody did this instead of knee jerk filling up because a rumor goes out that gas is going up....and then wastging it loafing. What if everybody bought only what they needed everyday?

 

[GAVol]

Aren't you just a little bit pi$$ed?

Oil is a commodity that is openly traded and has it's price determined by the market. I know it's not popular to say, but oil company profits have very little to do with the price of a gallon of gas. It's a lot more complicated than that.

 

[utvolpj]

It doesn't upset me in the least. Why should it? Besides, most of the profits for Exxon are made overseas. Like it or not, we live in a (mostly) free market economy.

If you don't like it there is plenty you can do. Push your legislators to invest time and money in alternative fuel vehicles. Use public transportation. Carpool. It still amazes me to see how many people in my office complain about the cost of gas for their commute, but then they all get in their cars alone and drive home where they live within 5-10 miles of each other. Don't be part of the problem, be part of the solution.

This is not going away anytime soon. With the world's dependance on oil and our new friends in Iran, the price may never drop.

EDIT: And no, I'm not a tree-hugger!

 

[la.lovesorange]

It doesn't upset me in the least. Why should it? Besides, most of the profits for Exxon are made overseas. Like it or not, we live in a (mostly) free market economy.

If you don't like it there is plenty you can do. Push your legislators to invest time and money in alternative fuel vehicles. Use public transportation. Carpool. It still amazes me to see how many people in my office complain about the cost of gas for their commute, but then they all get in their cars alone and drive home where they live within 5-10 miles of each other. Don't be part of the problem, be part of the solution.

This is not going away anytime soon. With the world's dependance on oil and our new friends in Iran, the price may never drop.

EDIT: And no, I'm not a tree-hugger!

You dont have to be a tree hugger!!!!! To me thats common sense. I drive a big gas guzzling truck but I dont complain. I bought it!!!!!

 

[kiddiedoc]

The real question is what the hell can we do about it :aggressive: :aggressive:

Walk
Bike
Ride a bus
Ride a train or subway
Carpool
Buy a car with better mileage
Buy a hybrid
Stop making unnecessary trips (go once a week to the store and do all of your errands at once)

 

[bleedingorange]

Walk
Bike
Ride a bus
Ride a train or subway
Carpool
Buy a car with better mileage
Buy a hybrid
Stop making unnecessary trips (go once a week to the store and do all of your errands at once)

walk (too far to walk to work)
Bike (take too long to bike to work)
Bus (no buses out in the county)
Train (no people trains around here)
Subway (subway in dandridge get real)
Carpool (all the people i work with live the opposite way i do)
Buy another vehicle (cant afford it)
Hybrid (look at above answer)
unnecessary trips (already doing it)

 

[kiddiedoc]

Move
Change jobs
Work at home
Get a really long friggin' drill and start hammering away in the back yard

BTW, I only recently found out that there is a new "fuel efficient automobile" CREDIT on income taxes. Don't laugh -- it may be up to $2000. Add that to the 50-150% you'll save on gas.

 

[bleedingorange]

Move
Change jobs
Work at home
Get a really long friggin' drill and start hammering away in the back yard

BTW, I only recently found out that there is a new "fuel efficient automobile" CREDIT on income taxes. Don't laugh -- it may be up to $2000. Add that to the 50-150% you'll save on gas.

Move (cant afford it)
Change jobs (see above answer)
Work at home (also see above answer)
Long friggin drill (cant afford it neither)

 

[kiddiedoc]

Pay $2.29

 

[bleedingorange]

Pay $2.29

How about $2.19

 

[utvolpj]

BTW, I only recently found out that there is a new "fuel efficient automobile" CREDIT on income taxes. Don't laugh -- it may be up to $2000. Add that to the 50-150% you'll save on gas.

Arizona used to offer it for our state taxes as well until the politicians ruined it by abusing the credit.

Sort of off topic, but many cities out here offer credits for changing out your water heaters and toilets to more efficient ones (of course I sell them.). This could help donate to the kids college vs. gas fund.

 

[rwemyss]

Hybrids only outstrip conventional gasoline cars if either (A) they have a crazy ugly design to reduce drag or (B) they are driven exclusively in the city. Even at the cost of gas now, it would take YEARS to offset the extra cost of buying a hybrid over a conventional car, like say a corolla...

The most promising answer for those hardcore enough to REALLY want an answer... get a diesel, and make your own fuel. By using the used vegtable oil that many resteraunts will GIVE you, some lye, and some methanol, you can make biodiesel for approx 70 cents a gallon... only real drawback is your truck/car winds up smelling like a fryer.

 

[CSpindizzy]

READ THIS: There is NOTHING you can do about the gas prices. The gas companies know it is an absolute need product. Cutting back doesn't work since not enough people do it. And all they do is raise the prices to compensate. So those who have to drive get stuck with the bill. The cost of production has hardly changed in the past few years. But the price of the end result has. Therefore, gas companies are sticking it to us. Record profits mean a large margin between their costs and our costs. As long as they know the demand remains they will gradually tack up the price until the market breaks. How will the market break? When the costs passed down through other products pile up....fuel costs for truckers to ship goods to stores, etc. Building costs - oil based products jacked up driving up costs for rebuilding New Orleans or even that basement job being worked on, etc.

Face it, our politicians are bought by the oil companies and will not raise a hand against their bread and butter. Nnow who votes the people into office and who really controls them? Keep in mind when Big Tobacco reps had to testify before Congress, they were forced to raise their right hand and swear what they said was the truth. When questioned why Big Oil execs were not made to do the same, Sen. Ted Stevens said it was his committee hearing and he can run it how he wants to. Principles or purse strings?

 

[GAVol]

The cost of production has hardly changed in the past few years.

Huh? Have you seen what the price per barrel of oil has done in the last 12 months???

 

[utvolpj]

READ THIS: There is NOTHING you can do about the gas prices. The gas companies know it is an absolute need product. Cutting back doesn't work since not enough people do it. And all they do is raise the prices to compensate. So those who have to drive get stuck with the bill. The cost of production has hardly changed in the past few years. But the price of the end result has. Therefore, gas companies are sticking it to us. Record profits mean a large margin between their costs and our costs. As long as they know the demand remains they will gradually tack up the price until the market breaks. How will the market break? When the costs passed down through other products pile up....fuel costs for truckers to ship goods to stores, etc. Building costs - oil based products jacked up driving up costs for rebuilding New Orleans or even that basement job being worked on, etc.

Yes, their production costs went down but it was for an understandable reason. Their pre-drilled oil wells started producing. Fewer drillings=less cost=more profit. Just because a business cost goes down doesn't mean they need to pass it along. It happens everywhere, I do it daily.

As for oil-based products, that has been happening for years. Actually metal (copper, steel) is rising at a higher rate than petroleum products. (again, something I deal with every day) Plastics are going up but they aren't scarce like metals. For example, 2 years ago copper traded @ $.82 on the commodity market and recently hit $2.21. Plastic pipe has risen from $.89 per foot to about $1.40. We have also run into fuel surcharges at least 3 time in the past 6 years just like the current ones.

We should be more worried about the Chinese than the Middle East. They are the ones driving the demand and they will pay and price. As evidenced in this thread, Americans are notoriously cheap for Foreign goods. The Chinese have the EU wraped around their finger and unlimited labor. Scares the heck out of me.

Sorry to rant, but I deal with this subject every day and it touched a nerve.

 

[GAVol]

We should be more worried about the Chinese than the Middle East.

I think you nailed it right there.

 

[KentheOrange]

Exxon-Mobil broke another record for the largest profits ever recorded by an American company last quarter. $10.9 billion this time. See MSN news on the net. Aren't you just a little bit pi$$ed?

No. Why should we be? During 2005 Exxon-Mobil made 36.13 billion on 371 billion in revenues or 9.74% net profit. Now, if that is raping the public you need to compare your company to that net profit percentage. Don't be misguided by the big numbers.

:crazy:

 

[CSpindizzy]

Huh? Have you seen what the price per barrel of oil has done in the last 12 months???

Read what I said. I was referring to the actual cost of production NOT the cost of oil.

 

[CSpindizzy]

Yes price goes up but most of these goods have actually doubled in costs in the past couple of years. Very rare do the price of goods double unless the costs to obtain them goes up as well. As for copper, it's going up because there are constant news stories about how there is little copper left to mine. Rumors spark price increases as well as the implied demand coming from the Gulf Coast states.

 

[CSpindizzy]

We should be more worried about the Chinese than the Middle East.

We should be more worried that we're depending on the world for so much of our absolute need resources like a common street junkie. It's hard to believe that the greatest innovator in technology cannot come up with alternatives to various goods we are dependent on the world for. The US has developed much of the technology the world has seen but we cannot develop cures for global dependencies on raw goods. Now every time some crackpot Third World country wants to make a name for themselves they can actually bring us to our knees. You have Hugo in Venezuela with Citgo threatening oil supplies, Iran and his nutcase self, etc. We are now subject to Third World nuts who are now gravitating to each other or China. China knows this. They know we're addicted to out-sourcing and importing goods. So they buy up foreign markets, corner them , or make deals with them where they literally have us by the balls. All this while the corporations are focusing on the small picture of money. They don't realize that in a few years, there will be no more money. We will be cornered and beholden to the Red Dragon.

Simply put become self-reliant and nations like Iraq, Iran, Venezuela, etc. have less control over us.

 

[volfan2024]

I see moving away from all crude oil before too much longer.We have several alternatives to having to use all crude oil. UT has an excellent program with alternative energy for cars. Talked to a masters level student invovled a while back.

 

[utvolpj]

I see moving away from all crude oil before too much longer.We have several alternatives to having to use all crude oil. UT has an excellent program with alternative energy for cars. Talked to a masters level student invovled a while back.

It amazes me that the people from both sides of the aisle are calling for this but our "representative" government can't figure it out.

 

[TennFan]

Actually they didn't need to raise the prices that high after the hurricanes hit the Gulf. The "so called price gouging" really increased their profits. :shakehead: Without it they would only have lost a small portion of their profits. Sure would like to have 1/10 of 1% of that profit. :thumbsup: