Gas Prices in your town ???

wm69 said:
aw come on guys, I know ya'll are smarter than that. ... Sure they're ALL crooks, left and right, but surely no one here is stupid enough to really think that the GOP or the DNC is manipulating gas prices..........
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I think it is obvious from positions I have taken in previous posts that I usually take a fairly conservative stance on most issues. I do my best to stay abreast of current affairs, and am pretty darn well educated. I believe in Occams Razor in most instances,... including this one. Simplest explanation for the timely decrease in costs for an item which an elected official has strong ties, incredable influence, and a vested interest in during an election year.... hmmm... (note my own sarcasm here)

I can quote innumerable examples of one individuals dramatic impact on oil prices over the last 20 years. Saddam, Bush and Bush Sr., Bin Laden, and coming soon to a city near you,... Hugo Chavez in all likelihood. The list continues, albeit without such dramatic results. How unlikely is it then, that the leader of the free world might cause the needle to jump slightly if it serves his best interests?

As I stated I don't think it is stupid to believe, as do many of the most prominent economists in the country, that there have been some manipulations with regards to pricing as of late. Personal agendas aside,... even political alignment aside,... there is plenty of strong evidence to support such a claim, just as there is plenty of strong evidence to refute the same. So I guess I am wondering how recognizing this makes one foolish, irrational, or stupid?
 
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Nice post, G&D it. I'm not insenuating that Georgie or Expletive Deleted Cheney are in direct control of gas prices. America is watched by the entire world, and when there are elections and different viewpoints at stake, the world reacts accordingly. Futures in oil are affected by upcoming elections. Buyers speculate whether or not an election will have an effect on the war, for example, and if that effect is to pull troops and slow production of wartime commodities, then oil sales will take a hit. If they speculate that the election will retain the current status quo, oil futures will be stable. That's all I'm saying.

On the other hand, the current regime in our nation's capitol has the power and authority to either stockpile oil in reserves, or release it to help control fuel prices nationwide. Just a little over a month ago, these reserves were tapped, shortly afterward, prices began to fall. Now, tell me that has no correlation to who's in power and who wants to stay in power.
 

Gone&DoneIt said:
This is an election year. The party in power is the party in the pockets of big oil. The oil companies gouged the electorate early in the year, using the excess profit to add even more excess money into the coffers of the Republicans hoping to retain Congress. The oil companies then lower the gas prices nearer to the election to keep the electorate more content in hopes of the Republicans retaining Congress.
I think that sums up the conspiracy that may have gone on (and is still going on) this election year. Whether it's true or not, it's easy to see why people have their suspicions.
If you are going to ask if prices are being lowered to effect the election, then you should also look into if excessive profits by the oil companies this year were used to fund political campaigns at a margin similar to the profit margin that may have resulted from pricegouging. If an excess in profits lead to an excess in political contributions, then that in itself denotes a certain agenda similar to lowering gas prices to keep the electorate content.
American history is full of attempts to manipulate elections. Those who dismiss the possibility of gas prices being manipulated to effect elections are naive. It is wiser to be skeptical in our current political climate. The 'there is no grand conspiracy' comment is highly dubious.

"As an economist, I cannot speculate on the politics that may be involved, but my recent research suggests that the recent drop cannot be explained by the drop in crude prices or the change in inventories alone. From an economic standpoint, therefore, it certainly raises questions in my mind as to whether the high prices we saw this summer were in any way justified by market fundamentals. I do not believe that they were. To the extent that prices are now declining more than market fundamentals might dictate suggests to me that a decision has been made to reduce prices back to levels that might be considered more in line with the forces of supply and demand. Whether that is a politically motivated decision is up to others to decide, not me! Nevertheless, it is clear to me that the prices we witnessed this summer could not be justified by the market.”-Peter K. Ashton, a long-time consultant on petroleum issues who has testified on gasoline pricing before the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.

Price manipulation usually involves reducing supply to increase prices as Enron and other energy firms did earlier this decade to gouge California consumers. But if prices can be artificially upped, presumably they can be cut if the stakes warrant. The stakes in the fall election are huge, not just in who controls Congress but with what majorities. There is polling data that suggest the price of gasoline is a potent election issue; when it went sky-high recently, Bush’s popularity suffered.

The possibility that gas prices have been, or are being, manipulated to influence the election is an issue that ought to galvanize the press. The comments by Peter Ashton amount to a road map for the press. Crude oil accounts for a big chunk of the price of gas at the pump; last year on average it was 53 per cent of the cost of each gallon. If, as Ashton says, gas prices are not correlating with crude oil prices, why not?

In that connection, it would be worthwhile to know what has been happening to crude oil and gasoline prices abroad, say in Britain, France and Germany. I wonder whether Iowa’s current rank among the cheapest places for gas in the country has anything to do with toss-up races for governor and two House seats. Is cause-and-effect at work here and is there such a pattern elsewhere?

There is the possibility that the fall election is being “bought” every time a voter pulls into a gas station.

(By the way, the quote was taken from the Neiman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard)
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My father was in the oil industry his entire life. He was the president and one of the founding partners of CRI, or Catalyst Recovery Incorporated, which was a catalyst regeneration company that supplied the majority of US based refineries with the catalyst they need to distill and "Crack" the crude. I've been surrounded by big oil execs and oil politics all my life. You would be amazed what goes on in boardrooms.
 
I think you guys need to loosen your tin foil hat a bit (and I'm known as being HUGELY paranoid). I will repeat what I said earlier. Oil prices are determined by what people are willing to pay for futures at any given time. Sparky made an interesting comment that I feel holds merit when he suggested that prices may change in either direction DUE TO SPECULATION concerning the results of an election, but again the price of oil/gas is ultimately being determined by the market (buyers and sellers), NOT politicians. If Bush goes out and starts buying up crude futures in huge quantities that would drive the price up (we're talking HUGE quantities) and if he started dumping futures the price would go down. Simple supply and demand, or in today's world, possibly not so simple as speculation on the part of a bunch of numbskulls who start buying like mad whenever it rains in Iran or Kim Jong Il cuts the cheese is driving the market prices up and down in a horrible roller coaster. People trying to make money, nothing more. Lots of people making lots of money and lots of people losing their shirts. Just another day of trading. Politicians may INDIRECTLY cause fluctuations in the markets by changing peoples' opinions on what is going to happen, but that is SPECULATION, nothing more. I'm just getting real tired of "Bush made oil prices go up, and now he's making them go back down." You wanna ***** about the man's spineless amnesty program for illegals or the man's drunken democrat-like spending fire away, but the man doesn't hold the "magic gas price puppet strings". That accusation is just stupid (probably shouldn't have used the term "stupid" in the first post but I'm now clarifying the view to which the term was directed).
 

Its not even really the elections, it just goes by seasons if you watch it, like around summer time it'll jump up around to a quarter more or so. In the winter time it'll drop unless they know their will be alot more traffic. Elections just have about a third of something to do with it.
 
wm69 said:
democrat-like spending
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:shock: Now that's just funny!:lol: Must be why we have a balanced budget...oh, wait.....:?

As to the rest of your post, tin foil hats aside, you need to do a bit more research on what affects fuel prices in America. Speculation is only a piece of the puzzle. Not wanting to rehash what I already posted, but perhaps you missed it: The Prez, Congress, and the Senate have the power to release oil reserves, which in turn will drop prices. There is also lobbying in effect, pretty much all the time. You make it sound as if the oil companies are just squeaking by on a penny profit per barrell of oil, but that's obviously not the case. They are making enough profit that they can stand to lose enough here and there to keep the politicians happy, and not affect their wallet. Gone&Done It seems to have the inside track on some of this better than I, so I'll sit back and let him post. Methinks he's doing a pretty good job, so long as his tin foil hat doesn't get in his eyes.:rolleyes:
 
wm69 said:
I think you guys need to loosen your tin foil hat a bit (and I'm known as being HUGELY paranoid).
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I wonder if I can make a cowboy hat out of tinfoil,... next time I get stuck in the desert wheeling it could double as a signal beacon,.... hmmmm :lol:

The President directed the Department of Energy to defer filling the Reserve this summer. Deferring deposits will leave a little more oil on the market - and thus decrease prices in the fall,... right around election time,...

The President Is Directing EPA Administrator Steve Johnson To Grant Waivers That Would Relieve Critical Fuel Supply Shortages. Under Federal air quality laws, some areas of the country are required to use a fuel blend called reformulated gasoline. This year, we are undergoing a rapid transition in the primary ingredient in reformulated gas - from MTBE to ethanol. The EPA, under presidential advisement and direction, has agreed to waive local fuel requirements on a temporary basis. Again, dropping prices in the fall,... right around election time.

Prince Bandar, the Saudi ambassador, enjoys easy access to the Oval Office. His family and the Bush family are close. And Woodward told 60 Minutes that Bandar has promised the president that Saudi Arabia will lower oil prices in the months before the election - to ensure the U.S. economy is strong on election day. Woodward says that Bandar understood that economic conditions were key before a presidential election: “They’re [oil prices] high. And they could go down very quickly. That's the Saudi pledge. Certainly over the summer, or as we get closer to the election, they could increase production several million barrels a day and the price would drop significantly.” agreed upon with a handshake and smile, there would of course be NO PAPER TRAIL."

Cheney visited NYMEX Mercantile CHICAGO on 6/23/2006. The Commodity Hedging Report was CUT OFF from the general public on 8/1/2006. This has NEVER been done before, ever! Change in rules for commodity trading in JULY 2006. As well as platform changes. Oil futures TOP OUT second week in July 14, 2006 ( just enough time to UNLOAD the majors). See chart here

futures Second Top first week in August 7, 2006. See chart here

CHART DOESN'T confirm the Decline in OIL from August to Oct. See Chart here

Is Bush IN the OIL Futures market controling the prices? Wonder what price we get to PAY after the elections? I say 3.25 or more.
 

Gone&DoneIt said:
Is Bush IN the OIL Futures market controling the prices?
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Not according to those charts :confused:

So, the price of crude dropped, and the price of fuel dropped along with it. The price of Gold also dropped from averaging around 650 or so in July to around 590 or so in September. Fuel prices have remained rather steady in October, and the average Gold price has been about the same as in September.

Most importantly, we need to recognize the price of crude, which I am certain that no one person (sespecially from this country) could possibly influence.

I don't get it... it appears you have disproven your point :bomb: . All 3 of those charts coincide with each other.

Did Cheney lower the price of gold, too? How about the record setting stock market? Powerful lads, those GOP guys :idea:

Fuel price always drop this time of year. This year it was more intense as the prices were overinflated by a combination of world events and Katrina (remember when they shot up?). The only effect the election has had, in my humble observance, has to do with the uncertainty of who will control the house and senate and what effect it may have on our economy. It may have been that we would have even lower gas prices if it were not an election year.

I wish Cheney would talk to the dairy farmers. These kids of mine are drinking alot of milk and it's costing me an arm and a leg at roughly $2.59 a gallon.
 
what I do in my private life if none of your business!:purple: :purple: :purple:
 
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90Xjay said:
Screw_You_by_sadako10-1.jpg



:purple: :purple:
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Magnet fastener?:???: I don't get it.......
 
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