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Post by Merge on Mar 9, 2022 17:12:05 GMT
They were making record profits before they raised the prices. What, then, was the point of raising them? They want to maintain the same level of profit so they raise the pump prices when their cost rises. The gas we're using right now was taken out of the ground as oil well before Russia invaded Ukraine. The cost of oil per barrel had not risen to the level it is now. So which of their costs had risen in order to justify the price we're now paying? They're not maintaining the same level of profit, BTW. They're increasing their profits and project another record year. |
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Deleted
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Nov 23, 2024 14:10:43 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Mar 9, 2022 17:55:26 GMT
They want to maintain the same level of profit so they raise the pump prices when their cost rises. Their profits are RISING. While the users of their products suffer. But they don't care. They are only beholden to shareholders and profits. |
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Post by disneypal on Mar 9, 2022 18:03:19 GMT
Their profits are RISING. While the users of their products suffer. But they don't care. They are only beholden to shareholders and profits. I agree with you - sad but true. They don't care, they are in business to maximize their profits, not to help consumers. |
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Deleted
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Nov 23, 2024 14:10:43 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Mar 9, 2022 18:23:30 GMT
I agree with you - sad but true. They don't care, they are in business to maximize their profits, not to help consumers. Yep. Which is why capitalism SUCKS for necessities. For discretionary stuff, it's awesome. But energy companies should not be allowed to make such insane profits on the backs of the suffering who have no choice - they have to get to work, to heat their homes, etc. |
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edie3
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,684 
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Post by edie3 on Mar 9, 2022 20:43:55 GMT
The rich keep getting richer...
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Post by aj2hall on Mar 9, 2022 22:43:17 GMT
The price of crude oil dropped dramatically but I'm not sure if we will see it at the pump. www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/03/09/stock-market-today-oil-prices/The stock rally coincided with a double-digit pullback in oil, with Brent crude, the international benchmark, tumbling 11.8 percent to nearly $113 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate crude, the U.S. benchmark, fell 10.7 percent to about $110 a barrel. |
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Post by aj2hall on Mar 10, 2022 0:55:27 GMT
Look who else is promoting the falsehood that Biden's cancellation of the Keystone pipeline is causing high gas prices. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/09/pence-backed-ad-falsely-blames-biden-hike-purchases-russian-oil/— Voice-over of a new ad, “Horrific Decision,” via former vice president Mike Pence’s political organization, Advancing American Freedom, March 7, 2022I love Chris Murphy's response www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/03/09/chris-murphy-democrats-pummeled-gas-prices/As for the Republican demand for “energy independence,” as long as we’re filling our cars with a liquid whose price is determined on global markets, that’s not really attainable in the way Republicans mean it.
Rather than yearning to produce more, the oil companies couldn’t be happier with the current situation. They’re making extraordinary profits, thanks to prices that shot up from their pandemic lows even before the Ukraine invasion.
Yet Republicans have nonetheless kept up the refrain that Russia launched its invasion now because it sensed Biden’s weakness, juxtaposed against the comical assertion of Donald Trump’s alleged strength.
But Democrats seem oddly reluctant to respond by calling out the Putinist elephant in the room: That Republicans defended Trump for years as he sought to align our interests with those of Putin and against those of Ukraine, NATO and the West.
Asked if Democrats could hit back harder on this front, Murphy noted an asymmetry. With a Democrat in the White House in the role of rallying a unified country in defense of Ukraine, Democrats feel constrained against overly harsh Ukraine-oriented political attacks in a way Republicans do not.
“I’m torn,” Murphy told us. “I want Americans to understand how disingenuous Republicans are, having supported Trump’s attacks on Ukraine for four years.”
“But I also know that it’s important to keep Republicans and Democrats together in order to show American strength to the world and try to get good policy passed for Ukraine,” Murphy continued.
Still, even if that’s understandable, the result may be that voters only hear the GOP drumbeat about alleged Biden weakness without hearing the obvious pushback to it.
“It’s hard to overhype how damaging the Trump years were to the U.S.-Ukraine relationship,” Murphy said. “It’s very plausible that Ukraine would be in a stronger position today if the Trump administration had looked at Ukraine as anything other than a political poker chip.”
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Post by Megan on Mar 10, 2022 1:46:03 GMT
I think there's an argument to be made that gas should be treated as a public utility/necessity and prices controlled accordingly. Outside of major urban centers with good public transportation, buying gas is not a luxury. People need to get to work. I also find that the exhortation for Americans to do their patriotic duty by sucking up higher gas prices, which are being artificially raised by oil companies at this point in order to increase their profits, rubs me quite a bit the wrong way. Why is it always the rank and file who are expected to do their patriotic duty? Why is it never the billionaire company owners and investors who are asked to "take one for the team?" And why on earth do the rank and file among the GOP voters keep defending these billionaires and opportunists while buying every story they tell about how it's all the Democrats' fault? The mind boggles. It seems they'd rather continue to suffer, and defend the oligarchs who are causing the suffering, than to admit they're being taken for a ride. Couldn't have said it better. 👏 |
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Post by chaosisapony on Mar 10, 2022 2:06:30 GMT
I think there's an argument to be made that gas should be treated as a public utility/necessity and prices controlled accordingly. Outside of major urban centers with good public transportation, buying gas is not a luxury. People need to get to work. I also find that the exhortation for Americans to do their patriotic duty by sucking up higher gas prices, which are being artificially raised by oil companies at this point in order to increase their profits, rubs me quite a bit the wrong way. Why is it always the rank and file who are expected to do their patriotic duty? Why is it never the billionaire company owners and investors who are asked to "take one for the team?"  Yesterday when I drove to work I passed the gas station on the corner. Diesel was $5.79 at 7am. When I went to lunch at 1:00pm diesel was $5.99. When I came back from lunch at 2pm diesel was $6.09. You can't tell me this little gas station sold out of their diesel in a few hours and had to pay more for their next delivery. Nope, this is greed, pure and simple. Like Merge said, I am sick and tired of the little guys like us who are just trying to live a basic life always being the ones getting screwed. Heaven forbid giant oil companies only make a couple billion in profits instead of several billion in profits. It's utterly ridiculous. |
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Post by papercrafteradvocate on Mar 10, 2022 2:10:17 GMT
So, even Harvard business says profits can get too high. I’m not sure why Americans are so pro-business-the-sainted-job-creators-deserve-every-cent-of-their-millions-while-the-rest-of-us-should-be-happy-we-have-a-job. Brainwashing works. The billionaires pay good bucks to get that mantra out there (think tanks, news pieces, etc) Oil & gas executives pay senators, representatives and lobbyists billions of dollars to protect them. |
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Post by aj2hall on Mar 19, 2022 21:08:21 GMT
Great article on why drill baby drill is impractical and not the answer to today's high gas prices. Maybe most importantly, profits for the oil & gas companies get in the way. www.npr.org/2022/03/19/1086925726/gas-prices-oil-crude-drillingHowever, the biggest factor for U.S. oil producers may simply be fear.
Over the last decade, U.S. oil production saw tremendous growth. But when prices crashed in 2014, investors lost big money. Oil prices are notoriously volatile, with the industry often suffering from boom-and-bust cycles.
But in the last few years, investors have been making clear to oil producers that they should not sink money into additional drilling in pursuit of the next oil boom. Instead, they want companies to pay back investors.
Exploration and production companies have responded by recording explosive dividend growth. According to the Morningstar U.S. Market Index, the average dividend in dollars per share has grown from $14 in 2018 to $40 in 2021, an increase of more than 180%.
"Energy companies were very afraid to ramp production because they were going to get punished by investors," said Morris, of data provider Alerian.
And it's those same investors that may now prevent oil companies from boosting production too much, even as others push for a "drill, baby, drill" approach. |
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Post by Bridget in MD on Mar 19, 2022 21:15:04 GMT
Apparently the Gov. of MD signed a no gas tax for 30 days. Our gas is now back under $4/gal, with some places reporting $3.63!
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MDscrapaholic
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,634
Location: Down by the bay....
Jun 25, 2014 20:49:07 GMT
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Post by MDscrapaholic on Mar 19, 2022 22:07:01 GMT
Apparently the Gov. of MD signed a no gas tax for 30 days. Our gas is now back under $4/gal, with some places reporting $3.63! Yes, I noticed it was $3.63 when I went out today. Hope Hogan keeps it for more than just 30 days. |
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Nov 23, 2024 14:10:43 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Mar 19, 2022 23:16:29 GMT
Apparently the Gov. of MD signed a no gas tax for 30 days. Our gas is now back under $4/gal, with some places reporting $3.63! I wish instead they would sign a no-profits bill for 30 days. |
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Post by aj2hall on Mar 20, 2022 16:14:53 GMT
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