Marx's Role in Gas Prices

Haven't been there haven't done that

Didn't the government try to regulate energy in the mid 1970's? Worked real well, didn't it!
Click to expand...

We're not talking about regulating energy we're talking about cleaning up commodities trading. Different thing. Simple fix is raising margin requirements to match stock trading. It would probably literally cause oil prices to crash. Might be fun to watch though. :)
 
Personally I think gas is still too cheap.
Click to expand...
Have you looked at the level of prosperity and economic vitality in Europe lately? You know, the place where gas is taxed to the point where enough elitists are satisfied that it's no longer "too cheap?"
 
Probably not much

Also, notice the difference in requirements for clearing members compared to members compared to retail customers ($7750 to $8525 to $10463). Realistically, as the market gets more frothy, it is likely the requirements will keep ratcheting up.
 
If we dont start drilling and getting oil wells on line now...if you are crying over gas prices now you will be having a nervous breakdown.

we have to buy a little over 13 million barrels of oil on the international market with a declining dollar. They are already selling oil futures for 2016.

You cant just call up and say I need 100 million barrels of oil delivered in two days.

So if we dont reduce demand and dont produce more domestically dont cry to me about what you are paying in a year or two.

With world production being about 84 billion barrels a day and demand being 80 million barrels a day any actions against the commodities market is kind of laughable since its an "international" market. If we dont buy it somebody else will. if we dont buy it that means lower oil reserves at some point in the future which will only bite the consumer in the butt also. We only produce a 4 million barrel a a day surplus which isnt bumpkis in the event of a disaster somewhere. I am sure the Chinese or Europeans would love to buy up that surplus at a lower price. for future use.

The international oil producers have us by the short and curlies big time....lol by the tune of 13 million barrelas a day. You only get 20 gallons of gasoline out of a barrel of crude oil.
 
Eghad

You and others are missing the point. Supply is constant and adequate and demand is down yet prices keep going up. The law of supply and demand has been supplanted by the law of greed and manipulation. When that is the case increasing supply does not decrease price nor increase availability.
 
You and others are missing the point. Supply is constant and adequate and demand is down yet prices keep going up.
Click to expand...

The problem is that global demand is not perceived as going down. In the US maybe, but not worldwide.
 
The problem is that global demand is not perceived as going down. In the US maybe, but not worldwide.
Click to expand...
The studies and programs I have been seeing are very clearly saying that "global" demand has leveled off and declined.

They sight the fact that many industrialized nations are moving more away from oil, that developing countries like China have started leveling off, and that many country are just plain cutting back as reasons.
 
Last edited:
Many estimates I have seen are that global demand is expected to grow by about 1 million barrels a day in the next decade, with China leading the increase in demand. China has 1.3 billion people, four times more than the US. At the moment, each American uses 10 times more oil than each Chinese. As China grows, demand for oil will skyrocket.
 
To a certain point.....

From what I have seen of demand versus supply for the world with supply being pretty tight production is what it is. Opec doesnt have as much power as it once did.

Our problem is that we guzzle 13 million barrels of foriegn oil every day. They can have some effect on decreasing supply but they can not effect demand.
Demand is what it is....demand will only increase as other nations improve their way of life.

We can not regulate or even sue OPEC as a cartel or monopoly as they are protected by FISA as was ruled in our federal court. They are classified as a soveriegn nation protecting their natural resources.

Crude oil is an international market with the goods going to those willing to pay the price. We only produce about 6% of the worlds oil.

Those nations can be as greedy as they want to be.....so unless you plan on conquering Mexico, Venezuala, Canada and Saudi...you will pay the price they want because if you dont your economy will come to a screeching halt. In an analogy they have a gun to our heads.... pay or die.

I wont argue greed with you....I agree with you. Just that we are hapless victims of that greed with no way to remove the greed from the market except to raise our domestic production and quit buying foriegn oil.
 
If I had a dollar for everytime the oil companies have been investigated for fixing crude prices I probably wouldnt have to worry about gas prices...

I dont think there has been any colusion found since the oil companies were broken up. None will be found this time... Just another political Dog and Pony show from the politcians for the masses.

You want to know who some of the investors who are driving speculation of oil prices....check your investment plans and see if they invest in commodities funds :eek: The Texas Teachers fund has about 4 billion invested in commodities funds..lol. If thats comparable with other government and personal funds we may be the responsible critters for oil speculation..lol

so check your investments and see if the commodities being traded are crude oil...if so chew yourself out.
 
From what I have read that demand is due to industries in developing nations reaching a saturation point for right now due to the economies being able to support a certain level. Once the money is right you can expect for China to be going like gangbusters. once again.

Also if you have been reading the news China has been buying land in other countries to use to produce food...that is sure to increase their demand for oil. Also they have been concluding negotians with oil producers for future oil buys.

That is sure to increase demand.
 
Just another political Dog and Pony show from the politcians for the masses.
Click to expand...

Here are a few quotes from the recent Senate Judiciary Committee hearing that heard testimony from executives of the country's largest oil companies. These are the geniuses that we are counting on to fix our energy problems:

Is there anybody here that has any concerns about what you are doing to this country, with the prices that you are charging and the profits that you are taking? ---- Sen. Dick Durbin

Yet you rack up record profits, record profits, quarter after quarter after quarter, and apparently have no ethical compass about the price of gasoline.----- Sen. Diane Feinstein

Consumers are angry, and they have every right to be. You're making more money than ever. It doesn't seem fair, guys. It just doesn't seem fair.---- Sen. Herb Kohl
 
The last year for which complete numbers on who pays what taxes are available was 2004. In 2004 there were 130 million individual tax returns filed. If you take the bottom 50% of those tax returns – 65 million of them – and add up the total amount of taxes those households paid you come up with $27.4 billion. This means that one corporation, Exxon Mobile, pays as much in taxes to the federal government as do the bottom half of individual taxpayers. How's that for paying your fair share.

There's more. The Adjusted gross income for the bottom 50% of taxpayers comes out to about $922 billion. This means that these taxpayers are paying an effective tax rate of about 3% of their adjusted gross income. Exxon? Adjusted gross income of around $67.4 billion in 2006 ... for an effective tax rate of 41%.
Click to expand...



They are also the largest investment of public pension funds in the US,
and employ 81,000 people.
 
What do you base that on? All the studies I have personally seen say it will take a decade for effects of new drilling to filter into the economy.
Click to expand...

I have working interests in new wells. I have close friends in the exploration/production business. My company is doing development work on a well logging system that will allow optimal production by existing and new wells, details omitted because of patent issues. As part of that effort, discussions about current drilling technology are required, including how fast stuff can be brought on line.

Mexico, if you go to the WSJ of today, has huge problems with developing new reserves. In that article, the notation is made that bringing a major deepwater field on line is a decade effort.

The point is that there is a lot of stuff onshore, there is a lot of stuff in shallow water. There is oil shale. None of it will take a decade to bring on line, but no one can touch it right now.

Don't even start with me about owning an interest in wells making my experience invalid. When you require brain surgery, do you go to a plumber? Chuckie Schumer? Not everybody is as corrupt as you imagine.

Add to that last idea the fact you have no idea who I am. PM me if you want to talk.
 
I have working interests in new wells. I have close friends in the exploration/production business. My company is doing development work on a well logging system that will allow optimal production by existing and new wells, details omitted because of patent issues. As part of that effort, discussions about current drilling technology are required, including how fast stuff can be brought on line.
Click to expand...
Ah, so none of this is an unbiased observation of fact, but instead a sales pitch to the public. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top