Gas prices!

[Tigermike 3,034]

Personally I think it is a combination of all three, but more OPEC than the other two. The Fed govt buying so much oil will drive prices up and the oil companies will do their best to maximize profits no matter what. But OPEC has cut production world wide and I think that is a larger cause of the price hikes.

[TrueBlue72 0]

Gas prices are NOT really high if you compare them objectively. Have you ever travelled to Europe, Australia or even Canada? The US government policies keep gasoline prices artificially low compared to the rest of the world, with the exeption of Saudi Arabia and a few oil rich countries in the middle east. When we start having to pay "world prices" for gasoline, you will be able to buy those three ton Expeditions, Escalades, Excursions, Suburbans, Tahoes, Navigators and Hummers for almost nothing, but won't be able to drive them!

[WarEagleFL 0]

In Canada its about 2.5 times as much.

[BamaGrad03 0]

I don't think that is a fair comparision though. First we consume about 7 million times more gas than those other countries.

and also, we have taxes that offset those gas prices.

yes it is lower than other countries...but its is also much higher than has been in recent past...and not comparative to normal increases.

opec is taking advantage of us because they can. we should stop buying from them...and see how much they want to sell it for in about 3 years.

[Tigermike 3,034]

Are not most of those "world prices" artificially high because of huge taxes? Huge taxes by the countries? Huge taxes by the municipalities? I think people the world over are being screwed by high taxes. We in the US have kept taxes low for the most part haven't we? Our ancestors kicked the English out over taxes and we have traditionally wanted lower taxes because we want to take care of ourselves and don't want or expect the government to do it for us.

[TitanTiger 20,489]

Yes, it is actually the other way around. Other countries put a punitive amount of taxes on gasoline to discourage driving and move people to public transportation.

[BamaGrad03 0]

I was talking about other taxes such as state and federal income taxes. Seems to me that the government gets half of what we make now....how is that low?

[channonc 466]

I blame OPEC, mostly b/c they control the actual production numbers in their countries. Those countries represent most of the current oil supply.

If you look at the books, oil companies really aren't making the money people think they are.

The government is partly to blame, not really b/c of taxes IMO, but b/c of the amount control they have given to the ultra-liberal environmentalists. The US does not have enough refineries to keep up with the countries demand for oil. However, many environmental standards do not allow for construction of refineries.

[Tigermike 3,034]

Much is being made of high gas prices since it is an election year. During the Clinton administration they decided to lower gas prices by selling off the oil supplies kept in reserve by the government in the salt domes in LA & TX. Now the govt is buying oil to replenish the oil reserve which because of demand will push oil prices higher. Plus the military is using huge amounts of fuel in both Iraq and Afghanistan which would be another upward push. Add in that OPEC has cut production and our great allies Saudi has stated it's intention to push for further cuts in production and we could be looking a much higher prices.

channonc

The government is partly to blame, not really b/c of taxes IMO, but b/c of the amount control they have given to the ultra-liberal environmentalists. The US does not have enough refineries to keep up with the countries demand for oil. However, many environmental standards do not allow for construction of refineries.

I also agree with channonc that there needs to be some loosening of standards and or regulations to allow the construction of refineries.

[stoic-one 1,544]

Am I wrong, aren't they relatively low in inflation adjusted dollars????

Just a question....

[texaubie 0]

Am I wrong, aren't they relatively low in inflation adjusted dollars????

Just a question....

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) in 1984 was about 104. The current CPI is about 186.

CPI Link

Gasoline prices peaked in the early 80's at about $1.20/gallon but averaged about $1.00/gallon through the 80's. Gas prices today are at about $1.65/gallon.

Gasoline pricing source

Therefore, we are currently below the CPI adjusted rate. I hope my salary goes up more than 65% over the next 20 years...

[TrueBlue72 0]

That CPI index site is great; I bookmarked it for future reference.

Using data from that site, I calculated the rise in gas prices from the first time I can remember, in the mid 60's when I began driving. Gas back then was about 35 cents per gallon. With an inflation index of 5.75, that would make a gallon of gas cost about $2.00 today! Hmmmm....... looks to me like gasoline is priced rather reasonably! And no, I never worked in or have been associated with the petroleum industry, LOL. I've just travelled in enough foreign countries to know just how good we have it here..... and I want to keep it that way.

The gasoline taxes we pay, IF used to build and maintain roads and highways, are some of the fairest taxes of all. The guy who drives the miles and drives the big vehicles pays the most.... the one who gets the most benefit from the roads pays the most taxes..... what a novel idea!!!!

BamaGrad, with your attitude, you should consider coming over from the "dark side". AU produces many of the engineers, researchers, scientists and farmers who actually produce the wealth that the entire country lives on. Bammer seems to produce lots of lawyers who at best, live off the wealth produced or at worst become congressmen and legislators and take more of our money in taxes!!!!!