| Author | Message | ||
     Wceviper |
First things First, This is just one persons Idea. If it works, Great! But I am sure it would need alot of people to follow it. So if you have a better Idea that still allows people to travel freely, post it and lets try to use it! As most of you know the increasing Gas prices are complete B.S. I know that some people plan black out weekends not to buy gas, But I dont think thats enough. The entire month of september and october I only plan to buy Gas on Mondays And Thursdays. I also plan to reduce the amount of driving and the need for Gas. There are a couple of reasons I am choosing Monday and Thursday. Monday is the begining of the week. Everyone needs gas to get to work, and if no one has bought gas since Thursday, then there will be more supply then demand, 3 days of refined gas sitting at the refinery. Thursday is right before the weekend, I know I used to get gas every friday for the weekend. If no one buys gas on tuesday or wednesday, There will be another 2 day supply created at the refineries with no buyers. The total of 5 days of Reined gas not selling every week will be more then enough to make the supply greater then demand! And if its done for several weeks in a row there will have to be a reduction. (Message edited by wceviper on September 02, 2005) | ||
| Scitz |
I also think that everyone should get rid of and stop buying cars and trucks that get less then 30mpg. I can understand SUVs and Trucks for commercial purposes but people are going to have to make a sacrifice. Send a strong message to automakers that we want alternatives. | ||
| Firemanjim |
Talked to a guy from one of the refineries(Tosco) here about a month ago at a class and he said when the gas leaves his place they are charging 40 cents a gallon and making a profit,it's after that we are getting hosed. | ||
| Jeremyh |
I JUST BOUGHT 2 MOTORCYCLES TO SOLVE THIS PROBLEM. One Cruiser and one Sport Bike. I fill them both up and then 3-4 weeks later i return to the pump. Yeah i have two bike to maintain but i find that more of a luxury than a problem. | ||
| Ara |
ALL: Below is the text of a letter that I just sent to my Congressman and Senators. You can screen capture it and make whatever alterations you deem appropriate. The fastest way to write to your Congressional representatives is via www.house.gov and www.senate.gov. Here's my letter: Honorable Senator XXXXX, Petroleum products that have already been extracted from the rock and transported as crude, then refined, transported, and distributed as a final product cannot justly be priced and marketed as if all of those events occurred the moment you pump the gas at the service station. The price of gas has risen 40 cents in less than 48 hours, but that fuel was produced under pre-Katrina conditions. This is un-American and unreasonable profiteering and price gouging, sir. If it isn't illegal, it should be. If it is illegal, prosecution should follow. I implore you to call for a Joint Congressional Investigation into the way gasoline is priced and who profits from these practices. It has to be resolved immediately - before people in the North have to choose between food and necessary medication and fuel oil to heat their homes in the winter. Very sincerely, | ||
| Honu |
Jim The guy from TOSCO left about 2 dollars off that number. Just last night at work I was reading the daily report from Oil Pricing Informational Services (OPIS) which is a report on spot market prices of all oil related products. Gasoline is broke down into west,gulf, and east coast prices. Yesterdays West coast price was $2.63 a gallon, Gulf coast was $2.82. Normally West coast is higher than the other two, but due to basic supply side economics the Gulf coast price is high. Add taxes, distribution costs, and station owner costs to the above numbers. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Here are my alterations: Dear Honorable Senator.. The fuel situation sucks, but there is no situation so bad that a little bit of big government can't make it any worse. Please don't mess with the free market. If you feel compelled to do so anyway, then look at government first. There should be a single gas formulation mandated nationally, and it should be based on objective, measurable, and factual scientific results, not hypotheticals and political pressure. Further, if there is going to be an overall increase in cost per gallon of $x dollars for a given reformulation, that formulation should only be mandated if that same amount of money applied elsewhere could not achieve superior environmental improvement. Also, please streamline the construction of new refineries. The best way to accomplish this is to cease your own involvement wherever possible. Very sincerely, | ||
| Ara |
Reep, I don't think we disagree. I've worked for the government (U.S. Army) for 28 years and I know a government/bureaucratic snafu by the odor. But we both know that somebody is getting filthy rich as a result of gasoline price gouging, and I'm sure I'm not alone when I express the sentiment that they'd look their very best behind bars. Nowhere else in the economy do we pay for a product today as if it had been produced tomorrow. It's gotta stop before people freeze this winter. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Agreed! I can't remember if this is a quote from Dilbert or Winston Churchill... Communism: The most painful route between capitalism and capitalism. Anyone profiteering off the suffering in New Orleans has to answer to God. I don't envy them the moment. If they want to profiteer off of greedy people with the need to drive the biggest vehicle they can find anywhere and anywhere they please, then I don't know that I really care. Doing without a personal car in modern America takes some significant life changes, but is by no means impossible. I have a sister in DC that has been doing it for going on a decade now. | ||
| Buelluk |
Jim...anybody in the oil refining industry will tell you that Tosco has not existed since 2001 at the latest when it was bought out by Chevron Phillips...and everything Honu says is true as well, he works for the same company I work for , and i get the same report on my desktop everyday ... plus you need to take into consideration that we are paying a hell of a lot more for our crude as well! There is so much bulls*** circulating about oil prices ...BTW we didn't start the hurricane , or is there an internet conspiracy to prove we have some big hurricane generating machine hidden out in the Gulf | ||
| Oldog |
FMJ: please see this post http://www.badweatherbikers.com/cgibin/discus/show.cgi?tpc=4062&post=507493#POST 507493 | ||
| Dana P. |
Station owner make jack on gas thats for sure!! | ||
| Buelluk |
I can't remember if I read it here or on some other website ,but a station owner said his margin was 8 cents per gallon! | ||
| Buelluk |
Jason, I love your brilliant idea. You are right there is limited storage at refineries and tank farms for finished product and US refineries currently, weather allowing, run at 97% capacity, but we can always run the refineries at a lower rate , that means we won't have to do a turnaround so quickly and the $500 -750 million we save on that can go straight to the bottom line and we can make even more profit..which means a bigger bonus for me and my stock going up in value. I love your idea! PS given the choice I can walk two miles to work ! (Message edited by buelluk on September 02, 2005) | ||
| Jlnance |
The price of gas has risen 40 cents in less than 48 hours, but that fuel was produced under pre-Katrina conditions. If the price of gas went down today, you'd still be willing to pay extra for the expansive stuff made yesterday?  | ||
| Prez |
hey buelluk...it's probably more like 2 cents profit on the gallon.if that..most stations make their money on the store,not the gas... | ||
| Dana P. |
Prez hit the profit....and sometimes less... right on the head.Stations make the money on soda.cigerettes,lotto,etc. | ||
| Dagwood |
I sure wish Phoenix had a subway system. | ||
| Cmm213 |
I agree with the large vehicle idea I understand that companys need to drive the things they do ,hell I drive a giant frieghtliner everyday but I also drive a civic on the way home. All I'm saying is that there is no need to take out the suburban or H2 to run around town. I can understand if you need to pull a boat or trailers. | ||
| Honu |
Look at gas station prices that reside along any Interstate Hwy, then check prices of same branded stations inside cities and the difference is up to ten cents a gallon. Station owners get greedy also. | ||
| Honu |
Lets don't forget the traders of gasoline, they are speculating about and buying gasoline now for Oct, Nov etc.. Speculation, fear, and panic by them will drive the price of fuel up without warrant. They are already speculating about the Heating oil markets right now, causing some buyers to start driving the price up. | ||
| Dana P. |
Stations on the HWY also go through twice as much gas the prices are higher.Its not greed from station owners Honu.They would much rather sell you a couple packs of cigerettes,gallon of milk,candy bar for your kid in the back seat,10 lottery tickets and a car wash.They made much more of of you then the 20 bucks you just pumped at 10 cents more a gallon. | ||
| Cochise |
How much does it cost for a gallon of Coffee at Starbucks, how much does it cost for a carton of cigarettes? But it's gas prices that get everybody up in arms? | ||
| Aldaytona |
Not everyone drinks Starbucks or smokes but........................................... What business is the Bush family in?  | ||
| Thepup |
I was filling my bike up thursday on the way home from work and overheard a conversation between 2 women about the price of gas.One was in a Hummer H2 and the other was in a mid-size VW.The woman in the Hummer was complaining about the price of gas and how her husband had to spend $64 for a half of tank of gas for his truck,I am sure it was one of those 4 dr dually.I wanted to say to her to STFU,it was her and her husbands choice to buy vehicles that get about 10 mpg.I am getting 55mpg on my bike so I feel no sympathy for ppl like that. | ||
| Ara |
JInance, Look, when you go down to Best Buy to purchase a TV, do you pay for THAT unit or do you pay a price that's based on what the manufacturer and distributor project it will cost to produce a unit to replace the one you bought? That's what we're doing with gasoline and the practice gives rise to un-warranted and frankly un-American profiteering. It's a pricing practice that simply has to stop. Period. How does the guy who works two part-time jobs and has three kids who need eyeglasses, braces for their teeth, school supplies, clothing, and proper medical care fill up his old beater at $3.00 a gallon? This profiteering is the equivalent of a regressive tax in that it hits the less fortunate harder than the more fortunate. If this pricing practice is allowed to continue, there will be citizens of the "world's only remaining superpower" who will be forced to choose between food, necessary medication, and proper and necessary medical care and buying fuel oil to heat their homes this winter. WE CAN DO BETTER THAN THIS. So yes sir, I am willing to pay the proper and fair price for the products I purchase. BTW, a very good friend of mine used to own and operate a Texaco station and he never made more than a penny a gallon on gasoline sales. The way he characterized the business was that the gasoline was merely the hook that pulled customers into the store, but the sales of coke, candy, and other items inside the store is what kept his business afloat. I don't think the retailers or the manufacturers are making the unwarranted profits on fuel, I personally suspect that it's the distributors. But opinions are cheap. We need to KNOW because we need to stop it. That's why I've written to my Congressman and Senators. | ||
| Dana P. |
So right you are Ara. | ||
| Brucelee |
For all you brilliant economists here, tell me, How much SHOULD you pay for a gallon of gasoline and why is that price, the right price? How do you know that this is the right price? Now answer that question for your Buell. How much SHOULD it sell new and why? Price controls have an interesting effect on products and services. For example, ever try to find a rent controlled apartment in NYC? Ever wonder why this is near impossible to do? Ever wonder why there are not more of them being built? Do some reading and get back to the us here in this post. BTW-how much SHOULD you earn in your present job? | ||
| Court |
Elasticity of Demand - See McConnell | ||
| Cochise |
That is the BIGGEST cop-out, I have ever heard. These prices will be this high no matter WHO is in the White House and no matter WHAT business the presidential family is in. If Kerry were the president would Ketchup prices go through the roof?? The biggest point is, if the prices gradually rose every time the cost of living went up, we probably wouldn't be having this discussion. EVERY TIME there is a crisis gas prices go way up. Look on the bright side, the Locking Gas Cap sales are through the roof now, and more people are buying motorcycles these days, the Hummer people can afford the gas. They should have a Hummer Price, a bike price, and so forth. But everybody is correct, it does suck!! |
