Proof You're Getting Robbed At Gas Pump

[Nija]

http://www.nypost.com/business/22624.htm

arch 24, 2005 -- HERE'S all you need to know to understand that Americans are getting screwed at the gas pump.

Fact 1: The inventory of crude oil in the U.S. right now is 8 percent larger than it was this same week last year. And that's the biggest amount of crude on hand since the middle of 2002.

Fact 2: That the 8 percent increase doesn't include all the oil purchased by Washington and put into the emergency Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which now has 685 million barrels. That's up from 650 million barrels last year and 599 million in '03.

Fact 3: There is 7.5 percent more gasoline in stock right now in this country than during the same week last year. And you'd have to go back to this same week in 1999 to find more gasoline inventory — when the average price at the pump was only $1.01 a gallon.

Fact 4: Including everything made of oil, there is 4.9 percent more supply this year than when Spring began in 2004. And there's about 10 percent more of all petroleum products in stock today than when the Iraqi war began.

And, finally, Fact 5: American consumers are being conned by speculators — and a media that doesn't ask enough tough questions — into thinking there is some sort of supply problem.

Now here's my No.1 Prediction: If the greedy bottom-feeders who are causing prices to rise end up being responsible for damaging the U.S. economy there will be as much hell to pay on Wall Street as there was when the stock market bubble destroyed people's dreams.

Crude oil prices were down nearly $4 a barrel over the past two days because the goon speculators are starting to lose their grip on the market.

[nhbilly]

hmmmmm

[Leebo]

But everyone still pays the price... so why bother lowering if you can make more money?

Not saying it's right and not saying I am happy with high gas prices, just looking at it from their perspective...

[ufcrusher]

The problem is most people look at gas as a necessity, rather than the luxury it once was. If you look back at history, people used to live, work, and recreate in the same general area.

Cities and metropolotian areas sprawl over gigantic areas without any real mass transit system in place. If you examine cities such as NY, Chicago, Philly, Washington DC, Atlanta and even to a certain extent San Francisco, there are mass transit systems in place to move the people within the city and even to and from the suburbs. While most people will still choose to drive their car when gas is cheap, those same people are willing to either carpool or jump on a commuter train/subway/bus when the gas prices spike.

Compare that with San Diego whereby there really is NO public transportation system. For those nay sayers who claim that there is that "trolley, coaster, buses, and Inland Breeze" I ask you to stop and think. The trolley, up until recently didnt even reach to SDSU! The coaster only goes along the coast and has very few stops. I dont know a single person who has ever tried the Inland breeze as it only runs certain times a day and is very limited in where it goes. Finally, the bus system is almost inconcequential, especially when compared with other cities.

Hell, RAIN knocks out both the trolley and coaster! If rain knocks out systems with alarming regularity, you know that its a problem.

Compare that with Philly, where you have Regional trains which run all around the tri-state area....these trains then go to hub stations whereby you can get on Amtrak and get to other metropolitian areas. (I know, I commuted from Philly to the NYSE everyday for a summer) The bus system is complex and redundant and it runs late. Add onto that other types of public transportation which run almost constantly and you see the difference. (I will fully admit that I drove my car around most of the time, but I have made use of the mass transit system a number of times)

Thus, we need gas now more than ever and the suppliers know this fact and take advantage of it.

[palayah8ta]

I know 2 things for sure.. 80% of the news is bullsh*t, and in other countrys they pay as much as $7.00 a gallon. Yey for us.

[navyones]

Imagine if a gallon of gas costs as much as a gallon of milk.

[Houdini]

I know 2 things for sure.. 80% of the news is bullsh*t, and in other countrys they pay as much as $7.00 a gallon. Yey for us.

That may be true, but many of those countries have much better public transportation systems than we have in the US. Where I (and many others) live, a car is almost a necessity.

[Maarchk]

Imagine if a gallon of gas costs as much as a gallon of milk.

???

For me, they both cost about the same...

Maybe if a gallon of gas and a gallon of water costs the same, we would respect water more...

[Nija]

Imagine if a gallon of gas costs as much as a gallon of milk.

My milk costs almost $6. I'm pissed that my gas is over $2.

[Bires]

My milk costs almost $6. I'm pissed that my gas is over $2.

WHATHA!?! My milk costs $2.40, 1cent more than gas here.


My $0.02:
Pardon me for being a little earthy here, but what concerns me is how much we consume and how much airborne pollution we create. Until gas is $6/gallon in the US, people will not take the energy/environmental crisis seriously and insecure bachelors will continue to buy giant SUVs because they can.

[Nija]

WHATHA!?! My milk costs $2.40, 1cent more than gas here.
.

We don't drink regular milk. We drink Lacatid, which is generally in the $5.50 range (unless it's on sale, then it can be as low as $3)

[ski]

That may be true, but many of those countries have much better public transportation systems than we have in the US. Where I (and many others) live, a car is almost a necessity.

I see your thought, but do you really think non-metropolis areas in Europe have good public transportation? Even if they do, you probably have to bike somewhere to catch a bus... and there's also the fact that they are smaller countries. Ehhh

[Nija]

I see your thought, but do you really think non-metropolis areas in Europe have good public transportation? Even if they do, you probably have to bike somewhere to catch a bus... and there's also the fact that they are smaller countries. Ehhh

I agree, but I don't. I think a lot of it has to do with the culture. I assume in Europe, they don't need cars as much because they don't depend on them. People can just as easily get around on bicycles, or walking. Here, people drive to go to Subway which is less than a block away.

[DJjeff1080]

All of this talk about milk and gasoline made me think of this darwin award....

"A young Canadian man, searching for a way of getting drunk cheaply, because he had no money with which to buy alcohol, mixed gasoline with milk. Not surprisingly, this concoction made him ill, and he vomited into the fireplace in his house. The resulting explosion and fire burned his house down, killing both him and his sister."

[Bires]

"A young Canadian man, searching for a way of getting drunk cheaply, because he had no money with which to buy alcohol, mixed gasoline with milk. Not surprisingly, this concoction made him ill, and he vomited into the fireplace in his house. The resulting explosion and fire burned his house down, killing both him and his sister."

[Houdini]

I see your thought, but do you really think non-metropolis areas in Europe have good public transportation? Even if they do, you probably have to bike somewhere to catch a bus... and there's also the fact that they are smaller countries. Ehhh

True, but many "metropolis" areas in the US have crappy public transportation.