Quote:
Originally Posted by Ashley V  Our Costco in a nearby town is $2.89 a gallon!!!
Unforunately though, I think gas will rise again, after the elections. |
Ashley V this is not aimed at you, I hear this a lot.
I'm curious where this thought comes from? I hear it said that gas will go up or down before or after an election and I'm just wondering about the reasoning? Is there a person or group of people that control the price of gas? And do they have a preferred candidate? If so which candidate do they favor? If George Bush Likes high gas prices why wouldn't he have caused them to be high in the first six years of his term while he had republican control of the house and senate? If Barack Obama can control gas prices why would he let them slide now when higher prices would likely help him push his change message just before the election? If John McCain brought them down he really ought to take credit for it. If there are a few nameless faceless "Oil Barons" that control the price and there is no conclusive pattern to relate to which party, ideology, or political personality they prefer...they are not wielding the power effectively.
I'm no expert but let's throw this against the wall and see if it sticks.
The futures market has billions of dollars flowing from one sector to another looking for high returns with the least risk. Until a couple of years ago there were republicans in the house and senate. They weren't doing what they were elected to do but they were still there, and we know they are more likely than democrats to push legislation to drill for more oil. This knowledge puts some pressure on the market to keep oil prices at a level that gives high returns without triggering thoughts of increasing supplies. Later "we the people" got tired of republicans misusing the power they were given and kicked their sorry butts to the curb. Now we have democrats in the house and senate. Go check your calendar and you will see that the price increases began soon after this event...why? Because the oil industry and the futures traders, unlike most of the general public, understand that if the party in control of the house and senate are steadfastly opposed to increasing domestic supplies of oil, the market can be driven to new heights without risk of repercussion. The oil producing nations around the world began to make threats against supplies, which always drives the futures market higher. Iran, Russia, Venezuela, and others began beating their chests and challenging the world because their oil revenues were through the roof. We hit four bucks and didn't even slow down. Had it not been for the sub-prime meltdown we were headed for somewhere in the seven dollar range per gallon before Americans could react and reduce demand sufficiently to cause prices to fall. Trillions of dollars of paper value have now evaporated, confidence is currently in the tank and cornering the market on anything is very high risk, so we see oil dipping under 80 bucks per barrel. If any one person or group could control the prices.....this would never happen.
If we could switch to a corn based fuel tomorrow how long would it be before we're cursing "Big Corn?"
Fossil fuel is the engine of our economy. There is no alternative to fossil fuel
at this time, and
we have more fossil fuel available than any other nation on the planet.
If we choose to sit on it and not use it....we deserve to be ripped off every time we fill up. Regardless of who is in the Whitehouse, if we don't educate ourselves to the point that we realize when we are being sold out....we have chosen ignorance...we have side stepped personal responsibility, and we owe our children an apology.