Quote:
Originally Posted by linksmechanic
Hey buzz: You got stock in the oil buis or something? High diesel prices can only hurt the U.S. not help it. It's really pretty easy to understand. Everything we buy, eat or consume comes off a truck. The more fuel cost's the more anything you can spend money on will cost. For obvious reasons this is not good for the American economy especially when were sliding into a recession. Of course if your in the oil buisness you don't have to worry because you are getting rich off the american economy. I work at a truck shop and if you want to talk to mad people talk to the truckers.
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Well, I do have 401K money invested in several mutual funds......those funds might include oil company stock (I hope so!).....but I can't say for sure......and, NO, I don't work for an oil company....however, I DO remember 1986 when crude was selling for less than $10/barrel and I doubt any of you were jumping on any bandwagon to help the people in the oil business who were going broke.
Unfortunately, many folks are angry enough about high fuel prices that they are ready to believe ANYTHING anybody says about why prices are high.....
except the truth.......that is both foolish and counterproductive. They hear the part of the story that tells about record profits, but they don't bother to investigate and discover that most big oil companies have rolled that profit into new exploration and updating refineries so that we will have fuel in the future. And, did everyone forget that Ultra Low Sulphur Diesel regulations went into effect last October??? Do you suppose that converting and updating refineries to produce fuel that complies with that law was free??? Do you think it costs refineries the same to produce a gallon of 15ppm ultra low sulphur diesel as it did to produce a gallon of dirty high sulphur diesel??? Do you think that just maybe the oil companies need to recover their cost of updating those refineries....or, did you think they would just eat that cost out of the goodness of their hearts???? Do you think the shareholders that actually own the oil companies would be content if those companies were selling products at a loss???? Do you have ANY idea how oil prices are set??? Have you ever heard of the NYMEX and commodity trading???
How about a quick lesson??? There are 42 gallons of crude in a "barrel of oil"........oil has been trading on the NYMEX near $100 a barrel........when refined, a barrel of oil produces 51.4% gasoline, 15.3% diesel and the rest is divided into many other petro products....that means, for every barrel of oil refined, we get 21.6 gallons of gasoline and 6.4 gallons of diesel.......so, if we just look at the price of the raw crude, we find that it costs $2.38/gallon just for the crude......that's before any refining costs, before any transportation costs, before any federal, state or local taxes, and, that's before any retailer profits.....combine that with the fact that there hasn't been a new refinery built in the US for over 25 years because of environmental laws and people suing oil companies because they don't want an oil refinery built in their backyard.......and the fact that oil refineries are running at 90+% capacity just to keep up with current demand.......now do you understand why fuel is so expensive??? When you look at the big picture, it is amazing that fuel isn't much more expensive than it curently is........
Strick9 comes on here and other forums telling us to wake up and posts this drivel about somebody meeting with somebody who tells them that fuel cost $X per gallon in some hole in the wall country.....inferring that somebody, somewhere, has conspired to rip off the American consumer.......this is total BS.....and, frankly, I had hoped that we were smarter than that! The truth is, the Venezuelan government subsidizes fuel......it is sold for less than it costs to produce.....but, Strick9 didn't bother to actually do a bit of research and tell the real truth......so, does Strick9 want the US Government to subsidize fuel so that we can buy diesel for 6 cents a gallon in the US....and, if so, who do you suppose will pay for it???
I keep hearing this, "they should pass a law", and "oil companies are making too much money", and "the government should regulate oil company profits"........can you name one industry that has increased productivity, lowered prices and increased service when regulated by the government??? Do you WANT to pay more for fuel......'cause I can guarantee you, if the government gets into the oil business, we will ALL wish for the good old days of $3.50/gallon gasoline...........
Wake Up???? Yep, some people certainly do need to wake up........and get a grip on reality!
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