Why is it that jacking up the prices of water immediately after a hurricane is illegal and considered 'price gouging' yet jacking up the price of gasoline immediately after a hurricane is 'the law of supply and demand'?

I guess its because the president doesn't own a piece of a water company...

Both cases of price gouging are quite illegal, but in the water case, it's more needed for human survival than oil is.

The raise in gas prices this time actually makes sense. A hurricane (I really cannot remember the name, I don't keep track anymore.) took out quite a few oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. According to our local newspaper, some of the oil rigs cost upwards of 300 million a shot. The local newspaper also said that it accounts for, I beleive, 60% of all oil. Though they didn't clarify the meaning of "all oil", i'm assuming they meant in the United States. When I went out today, gas was 2.69 USD per gallon, by the time I got back it was 2.93 USD per gallon.

The refineries immediately impacted output 10% of all the US's oil and the region itself around 50%.

The actual cost of the refineries wouldn't be an influence - they would be insured and they make a lot from the oil anyhow.

What I don't like is that the cost could be lower but we have an idiot in the White House (sorry Mr. Vice President, I wasn't talking about you).

When Mr. Idiot gave a speech today about his surveying the area that got hit by Katrina, I was surprised by the following:

1. He didn't say that it look like a hurricane hit the area.
2. No stupid comments about finding Katrina and making her pay for all the damage she did
3. Knowing that it wasn't a studio doing a movie take about some sort of disaster.

Someone must have filled him in before the speech.

Mmk, you're done. If you're going to insult the man in charge, at least make it somewhat funny.

Sadly, I was being totally serious.

Still not funny, give it a rest.

Dude, I dislike Pres Bush, this is after I was initially for him back in 2000. Since he has gone into office, the nation has gone downhill. If I wish to state my dislike of him then I will, ok? It doesn't mean you have to agree with me nor that you have to disagree with me. Considering that the prices have gotten outrageous, and he is in a position to actually DO SOMETHING about it so that it improves not only for us, but for others as well, it just burns me up that he isn't even trying.

That part was actually funny....

There isn't much that the President can do to lower gas prices. Tapping into the reserves won't lower gas prices.

"Since he has gone into office..." - we'll never know but I'd be willing to bet that we'd be in roughly the same situation had any other president been in the White House when the events of the past 5 years take place during their presidency.

It was mentioned by political experts that he could control the prices. I forget exactly how, but he does have some control over it. I doubt he could have stopped it from increasing at all, but with the gas prices going up, the economy is headed for a downfall.

Without getting into a huge debate, it has been proven that Al Gore was the true winner in 2000, not just by popular vote. I honestly believe that he would have done a better job and been better received by other nations, especially for a second term.

Can he wave a magic wand and fix the refineries, since that's the cause of the price hikes?



Refer to image above.

I can't help grinning ear to ear after Jay's responses. :">

Actually the situation would be much different. The US under a Democratic president would have been less llikely to

• Open trade doors with China, which fueled their economy and oil consumption
• Go to war with IRaq which destablized the area and lead to supply concerns
• Increase the national debt and drag down the US Dollar
• Eliminate gas mileage regulations for SUV's and trucks therby increasing demand

These four things are the biggest influences on the price of oil.

What the heck?

Ok you Bush lovers... you're on a roll here.

HELLO? Bush & Cheney, big with OIL? Ya think?

HELLO? War! Let's jack up prices of gas since we can CLAIM we get our oil in Iraq!

Oh no people figured out we get MOST of our oil in Canada and our gulf.

Oh good, Katrina came, so we can jack up the prices MORE! NOW we tell part of the truth and say we actually get our oil from our gulf, with Katrina we can continue to get away with jacking up the prices!

More money for Bush/Cheney and other big oil companies.

How much does it cost to make a barrel of oil? In some places $1.22. How much are they selling it for? In some places $70. WHO GETS the PROFITS of that measure?

Yeah let's NOT hold Bush accountable for ANYTHING, even though this has been the worst we've ever seen in many ways. Oh he's doing good things for the rich isn't he? Come on get of the high "Bush" horse and learn the TRUTH.

Lol, librals are funny.

First off, we don't get most of our oil from Canada, but Saudi Arabia. Some people have yet to figure that out.

Any semi-intelligent person realizes from (economics class) when the supply is down and demand is up, the price will increase. Oil refineries had to be shutdown in the gulf, therefore supply down.

Please continue, I find this very amusing.

Explain to me how FIRST we got it from the mideast and after the hurricane it was our gulf then?

Seems to me near everything I've read we get quite a bit from Canada. I better take your economics class, or SOME class since according to you I'm not even SEMI-intelligent.

Also shouldn't that be liberals?

Uhhh...Mr Semi-intelligent...you do get more oil from Canada than any other country.
Prices increased on the perceived supply/demand imbalance not the actual. Gasoline , like oil, is traded as a commodity and contracts are purchased three months in advance.

Ha ha! Props to you. And to Granat...

GRANAT - Get the facts.

The US imports more oil from Canada (and usually Venzuela) than we do from Saudi Arabia. Last year, we imported more from both Canada and Mexico than we did from Saudi Arabia. In fact, we produce 8 and a half million barrels of oil a day and import about 11 and a half, so we produce more oil than we import from any one source as well.

Don't be a smug prick unless you know you're right.

Why would you textually attack me if you are actually agreeing with me? You're infamous for this, but why?

Of course I knew I was right, don't be such a jerk although I know you're used to it

Umm...he was agreeing with your entire post and disagreeing with Granat

I beleive the only thing the President can do with regard to gas prices is to waive the federal tax on it. In the same light, governors of each state can declare an "emergency" and waive the state tax. Some states have already done this.

Here in California/San Diego, they recently enacted a new law where it is illegal to price gouge due to disasters, etc in OTHER states. Prior to this new law, it was only effective if the disaster happened in the state of California.

That would be assuming it would be a Democratic Congress as well not just a Democratic President.



What is also funny is that most of the US refineries have already switched over to producing home heating fuel, so that should see the rise not the gasoline if anything.

I'm infamous?
Well, that makes my day.



What he said.

A little sensative today, are we?

It's because after the Civil War, carpet baggers and price gougers haunted the streets of the South.

Well because water is a neccesity that we can't live without, and therefore perfectly inelastic (but of course no-one in their right mind would over-charge for water) - and petrol is a "luxury" therefore relatively inelastic - so in the long term, consumers have no effective substitute and so price can come up...

Actually I apologize, a case of mistaken identity with the name.

Also I didn't read the post right and yes it did appear you were attacking me.

Again, sorry.

Well whether we get our gas from one place more than the other, oil companies will find any excuse to increase the price of oil. And since the president does own part of the oil companies, I think its obvious why he hasnt done anything about it. The simple fact of the matter is gas prices are going to go up more and more, and will continue to do so. I remember when I was about 10 years old gas was somewhere under $1 a gallon to $1. Its gone from $1.50 to $2.50 in 4 years.

The only thing that will counter the increase of gas prices is awareness in alternate fuel sources. Almost every negative thing you may have heard about an alternate fuel source came from a paid spokesman of the oild companies whether it was obvious or not. And people woulnt start caring about alternate fuel sources until it gets so crazy they cant afford gasoline. And the biggest reason why alternate fuel sources havent been developed as far as they should be is because the oild companies have bought out and dismantled attempts/successes, or had their government pupets manipulate the law in their favor.

I'm really not here to argue, but the point im trying to make is: Its not going to get better unless it gets so bad, everyone sees it and finnally decides to do something about it. The same is true with polution: The day man stops poluting the enviroment is the day before earth can no longer support life as we know it OR (if you are religious) when Armegedon comes.

Ah, yes... I can see that the old saw about "those that forget their history are doomed to repeat it" still holds true.
Let's take the Wayback Machine to 1971 when president Richard Nixon and Congress imposed price controls on just about everything, causing massive supply shortages across the board (metals, construction material, oil, etc.). The controls were a worse "fix" than the then runaway 4% inflation rate, so Congress dropped all but the price controls on oil in 1974, feeling it was too important.
The catch is that price controls only work for domestic companies, so in 1971 we also started importing more oil from abroad resulting in Saudi Arabia's leverage over oil (which they excercised), resulting in the fuel shortages starting in 1974 thanks to the 3 month export boycott it staged.
Within 2 weeks of entering office in 1980, president Ronald Reagan lifted the price controls on oil and investors once again "fueled" the oil market, eventually knocking the price of oil back to $10 a barrel which effectively threw OPEC into a tailspin.
Time passes, and inflation has taken its toll, but imposing new price controls will only put us further at the mercy of foreign markets, which is the last thing we need right now.

That's it for today's history lesson - class dismissed.