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Okay, enough is enough people. Let’s stop placing the blame of exorbitant gasoline prices on the oil companies and rest the culpability where it really belongs. Let not our tempers rise as the price at the pump increases, unless the displeasure is directed towards the correct source of our discontent. Where does our blame need to be focused? The fault lies with our government.
You people who believe in the great conspiracies, cover-ups, and back room dealings by oil companies have to understand that oil is just another one of the many commodities on the market, like oranges and its more profitable orange juice. Our market economy, all market economies are based in the supply/demand world. Gasoline/oil is no different. It too bows down to the great curve where the supply and demand of the commodity determines the price per barrel, not the oil companies.
Those might say that the oil companies drive the price up on crude and thus inflates the market price, but this is not at fault of the oil business, but that of our own government via strict regulations and control. There is no conspiracy to make oodles of money. I say this because as a business that is their goal. There is no scheming to this; a business purpose is to make lots of money. The oil companies are providing a service, a product for the market consumption. I do not want to go into the ethics of whether or not our country should rely on oil or not, because that is a topic for another day, and is not to be focused on when talking of the price of gasoline and who is to blame, unless the blame is directed toward special interest groups and the government of our dear, dear country. The government is responsible for the high prices of gasoline prices due to three reasons: the amount of taxes the government issues both on the companies themselves and on their finished product; strict regulations on refining; strict control of the supply.
Taxes upon oil are paid twice by us consumers. The first time is in the preset price per barrel of oil, where the government taxes the oil companies themselves, and like all businesses that provide services, they turn around and instill that tax cost into the sale of their oil. All companies do this. The higher the taxes upon them, the higher their product costs. If businesses did not do this then they would cease to be good businesses because they would not make any profit. So, we consumers have to bite the bullet on that one. It is just the way it goes. If and when the government issues tax breaks to these companies (any company—and boy do those liberals complain when big businesses get tax breaks) then the price of their product goes down and it is better for us consumers. That is, unless the second tax which is inflicted upon the product is raised or something (which often occurs). This second tax is again something we all have to pay on just about everything, which is sales tax. Nobody likes that blasted tax, and why should we? We are already paying for the taxes on the product to begin with by paying the initial taxes already included in the price. The state turns around and charges one hell of a sales tax on gasoline and this is why the price of gasoline is so high. The actual price of oil, with inflation accounted for, is roughly the same price it has been at since World War II. The sales tax is the variable that has increased (exponentially) since that time. This is the major factor of increased oil prices since that time.
The other two reasons why oil prices have jumped can be somewhat lumped together in a category of government regulation. The minimal increase that the oil itself has gone up (adding in inflation) aside from the taxes accrued upon it, can also be blamed on our government as well. Like the initial taxes placed on the companies raise the original price, government regulations have placed a profit burden on the companies and have influenced the cost of producing oil, which is reflected in the eventual price of oil. Some factions in our country decided a couple decades ago that oil was bad for the environment, and though this may be so, our government (and factions) has yet to provide/establish a suitable/marketable replacement for the product which they deemed harmful. Yet they still inflict harsh regulations and standards on the companies. This has adversely made the price in oil jump up. Not only does it cost more now to produce the oil because of regulations (i.e. certain cities have specific designated oil in order to minimize pollution), there are regulations (some of them are loony) upon where the companies can obtain the oil. This decreases the supply of oil which cannot be sustained with our current cultural climate and demand. And since the demand ever increases for this product, the prices flair and our government’s foreign policies sometimes reflect this ever growing need. But this again is another topic or aside that should be saved for another time.
So, what I am trying to say, to beat into you guys is that big business, whether it is oil or macaroni, aren’t necessarily the bad guys here. Like I said, I do not want to talk about the ethics of whether or not oil is right for the world or not, but from a business stand point, they are no different. They are in it for the money, as they should be. But to blame them for the astronomical prices (though they may have gone down a bit, a bit) of gasoline is the wrong thing to do. The problem with the oil companies is that they have a horrible PR person. For too many years, the special interests groups (namely the environmentalist groups) via their governmental lackeys have been working a pretty successful smear campaign against big oil. They say their evil and greedy, and we all believe them. They say those companies should be taxed (again, not just big oil) more for being so damn evil and greedy. And the companies should have strict regulations inflicted upon them to reduce pollution. Then what do we do? We all agree. But what really happens? They tax more so we feel better because we stuck it to the “man.” Then the companies turn around and raise the cost of their product so they can make a profit. Who gets screwed? We do. And then who makes even more money on the higher cost of oil? The government (that of the state) who gets a higher sales tax percentage paid by guess who? Yup, it’s us again.
No, the government and their backers (who all drive cars too) will never get rid of the oil companies because the process is just too damn profitable for them. And this is why I argue that the blame should not rest on the companies (who by the way provide millions of jobs let alone a valuable service to mankind in a way of transportation and etcetera) but the government, big government. This is why this argument can stand alone without the hurtle of arguing their politics, of why oil is bad for the environment. Perhaps one day the masses of Americans, the World will unite and adopt a new method of fuel, but until that day, and for now, I will keep fighting an arbitrary battle against the almighty powerful governmental monster which is the United States.
Okay, enough is enough people. Let’s stop placing the blame of exorbitant gasoline prices on the oil companies and rest the culpability where it really belongs. Let not our tempers rise as the price at the pump increases, unless the displeasure is directed towards the correct source of our discontent. Where does our blame need to be focused? The fault lies with our government.
You people who believe in the great conspiracies, cover-ups, and back room dealings by oil companies have to understand that oil is just another one of the many commodities on the market, like oranges and its more profitable orange juice. Our market economy, all market economies are based in the supply/demand world. Gasoline/oil is no different. It too bows down to the great curve where the supply and demand of the commodity determines the price per barrel, not the oil companies.
Those might say that the oil companies drive the price up on crude and thus inflates the market price, but this is not at fault of the oil business, but that of our own government via strict regulations and control. There is no conspiracy to make oodles of money. I say this because as a business that is their goal. There is no scheming to this; a business purpose is to make lots of money. The oil companies are providing a service, a product for the market consumption. I do not want to go into the ethics of whether or not our country should rely on oil or not, because that is a topic for another day, and is not to be focused on when talking of the price of gasoline and who is to blame, unless the blame is directed toward special interest groups and the government of our dear, dear country. The government is responsible for the high prices of gasoline prices due to three reasons: the amount of taxes the government issues both on the companies themselves and on their finished product; strict regulations on refining; strict control of the supply.
Taxes upon oil are paid twice by us consumers. The first time is in the preset price per barrel of oil, where the government taxes the oil companies themselves, and like all businesses that provide services, they turn around and instill that tax cost into the sale of their oil. All companies do this. The higher the taxes upon them, the higher their product costs. If businesses did not do this then they would cease to be good businesses because they would not make any profit. So, we consumers have to bite the bullet on that one. It is just the way it goes. If and when the government issues tax breaks to these companies (any company—and boy do those liberals complain when big businesses get tax breaks) then the price of their product goes down and it is better for us consumers. That is, unless the second tax which is inflicted upon the product is raised or something (which often occurs). This second tax is again something we all have to pay on just about everything, which is sales tax. Nobody likes that blasted tax, and why should we? We are already paying for the taxes on the product to begin with by paying the initial taxes already included in the price. The state turns around and charges one hell of a sales tax on gasoline and this is why the price of gasoline is so high. The actual price of oil, with inflation accounted for, is roughly the same price it has been at since World War II. The sales tax is the variable that has increased (exponentially) since that time. This is the major factor of increased oil prices since that time.
The other two reasons why oil prices have jumped can be somewhat lumped together in a category of government regulation. The minimal increase that the oil itself has gone up (adding in inflation) aside from the taxes accrued upon it, can also be blamed on our government as well. Like the initial taxes placed on the companies raise the original price, government regulations have placed a profit burden on the companies and have influenced the cost of producing oil, which is reflected in the eventual price of oil. Some factions in our country decided a couple decades ago that oil was bad for the environment, and though this may be so, our government (and factions) has yet to provide/establish a suitable/marketable replacement for the product which they deemed harmful. Yet they still inflict harsh regulations and standards on the companies. This has adversely made the price in oil jump up. Not only does it cost more now to produce the oil because of regulations (i.e. certain cities have specific designated oil in order to minimize pollution), there are regulations (some of them are loony) upon where the companies can obtain the oil. This decreases the supply of oil which cannot be sustained with our current cultural climate and demand. And since the demand ever increases for this product, the prices flair and our government’s foreign policies sometimes reflect this ever growing need. But this again is another topic or aside that should be saved for another time.
So, what I am trying to say, to beat into you guys is that big business, whether it is oil or macaroni, aren’t necessarily the bad guys here. Like I said, I do not want to talk about the ethics of whether or not oil is right for the world or not, but from a business stand point, they are no different. They are in it for the money, as they should be. But to blame them for the astronomical prices (though they may have gone down a bit, a bit) of gasoline is the wrong thing to do. The problem with the oil companies is that they have a horrible PR person. For too many years, the special interests groups (namely the environmentalist groups) via their governmental lackeys have been working a pretty successful smear campaign against big oil. They say their evil and greedy, and we all believe them. They say those companies should be taxed (again, not just big oil) more for being so damn evil and greedy. And the companies should have strict regulations inflicted upon them to reduce pollution. Then what do we do? We all agree. But what really happens? They tax more so we feel better because we stuck it to the “man.” Then the companies turn around and raise the cost of their product so they can make a profit. Who gets screwed? We do. And then who makes even more money on the higher cost of oil? The government (that of the state) who gets a higher sales tax percentage paid by guess who? Yup, it’s us again.
No, the government and their backers (who all drive cars too) will never get rid of the oil companies because the process is just too damn profitable for them. And this is why I argue that the blame should not rest on the companies (who by the way provide millions of jobs let alone a valuable service to mankind in a way of transportation and etcetera) but the government, big government. This is why this argument can stand alone without the hurtle of arguing their politics, of why oil is bad for the environment. Perhaps one day the masses of Americans, the World will unite and adopt a new method of fuel, but until that day, and for now, I will keep fighting an arbitrary battle against the almighty powerful governmental monster which is the United States.
the Omnipotent... Everybody loves SuperInsignificantBoy wrote this at 2:16 AM
5 Feedback:
Don't forget about OPEC, they determine the original price for a lot of the crude oil we get. But you are right, it's mostly the taxes and everything that drives the price up. One time at a gas pump I saw the price breakdown of what it costs, and the actual price of the gas was a very small portion of what I was paying.
The same argument goes for Tobacco companies, they are just providing a product for consumers. Somehow they are now evil companies who want everyone to get cancer and everyone wants them to be held responsible. So they get huge huge taxes, and now cigarettes are $4 a pack. Bastard government......
Ah, but by talking about OPEC we deviate from the said topic slightly because of two reasons: 1) OPEC is just a group of businesses trying to protect their own interests, and you really cannot blame them for that; and 2) this is leaking into the topic of ethics, which I did not want to get into. But since I knew the response to my essay would no doubt contain an objection concerning OPEC, I knew that I must address this issue. Though, I will not divulge in any great detail because my attention span isn't long enough.
Basically, this issue all boils down to whether or not the U.S. should allow additional refineries and drilling to take place where it has been deemed previously as unacceptable, such as in Alaska or parts of the California coast line. But this is the ethical question. Would drilling hurt the environment as they say? Does it matter if it did? In Alaska, the main concern is that the tundra environment is a very fragile one. The vegetation is very homogeneous and not very stable, if drilling is allowed it might disrupt the environment that is up there, thus causing a ripple mark effect on the surrounding environments, and so on and so forth until the effect is on a global scale. Now whether or not one believes this could happen is probably where one lies on the ethical scale. But the main part of this burden still lies on the government because they have decided to not drill in northern Alaska (which to me sounds like a redundancy... northern Alaska), and therefore caused our economy to be susceptible to the whims of foreign based oil and the companies who regulate them.
I should add to the last line of the afore statement, "and therefore caused our economy to be susceptible to the whims of foreign based oil and the companies[and governmental foreign/domestic policies which] regulate them...
Ah, but Josh... You missed my entire point...
"You can't tell me that these taxes are hurting the oil companies in the wallet. They'll survive either way..."
The point was that gas prices are high because there are so many taxes on them. Taxes don't hurt the oil companies because the prices they are taxed are reflected in the prices they inflate the oil too. DUH! we the people are taxed twice! But this isn't the fault of big oil... All Businesses do it... they all apply the taxes they are charged into the final product price... it is how business is done... As far as I am concerned, YAY Capitalism--boo poverty (but again that is another topic all together)...
"And as far as environmental regulations go, just take a glance over at the former Soviet Union. That can give you an idea of what rampant oil drilling can do to a natural landscape."
Again, this is an ethical question, which I did not want to step in because it is so muddled. I was merely pointing out that the reason gas was so costly was because of the taxes....
However, you may know how I really feel about the ethical question and applied that biased privied knowledge to this essay I wrote. Maybe my opinion was too loud between the lines. Yet, I am still not going to say whether or not drilling should be allowed, as it is method of opening Pandora's box upon me with liberal assault... in other words I ain't touching that one with a forty foot pole... And still haven't...
Well, good for them??? I keep hearing this fact over and over again... You know who else made record sales in the past quarter? The past few years? Goddamn near everyone! Jesus Christ jumping on a broken record pogo stick! The economy is booming, mind you, you may not have heard about it while watching CNN or listening to any college professor, but it is. That is what happens. But only the oil companies are being looked at because we all hate big oil don't we, josh? Sure not everyone is recording record shares, but then not every company have had a specific supply versus demand issue as of late have they? (the hurricanes... people on wall street panic because the supply in the gulf and the buying demand shoots way up and guess who makes the money? Oil companies do.) Besides, what happened recently, now that the panic is over? All the prices shot down from three bucks/gallon round here down to two. We'll still complain though won't we.
And since all the companies are all making money, should we complain about that too? Doesn't that over all benefit the reciprocal nature of the economy anyway? It does and that was a rhetorical question. But we can't have that either, companies making money, because even they, the giant conglomerate companies are evil as well...
I have never gone one way or another as far as my opinion of our dependency on oil, but I do still determined not to blame the so-called source of our madness when it is us who buy the damn machines which require the gas. We are happy enough to just gripe about the problem and dream of the solutions. Hell, we're Americans... We have the American Dream, yet we are too lazy to apply it.
I am just too damn tired of overhearing people complaining about the evil gas companies while they fill up the tanks of their cars (and SUV's) at the gas stations...
business is business that's what they are supposed to do.
Taxes are taxes, yet I hate to pay for them twice. I understand that many of these same gasoline taxes go to pave and widen my roads and maintain them (though Deerfield Township has been after the glutton/Republican state of Ohio to widen Montgomery road now for years), provide emergency services, and etcetera. Yet much of the taxes go toward unnecessary stuffs. Instead of higher taxes upon the people who buy the gasoline, who drive to work, who are the gears of our economy, why not put the wasted funds to better use and let the people keep their money. Not only keep their money, but put it to better use, private use, which will in turn better the economy. I know most liberals don't believe in trickle down economics, but most economist do. Every econ teacher I have ever had (the total is now up to five different ones... i had two teachers twice) in college have all told me the same thing, they have all incidentally voted for Republicans in elections, even though they might stand on differing principles when it came to social politics. They are like me. When it comes to my money, the country's money, the world's money, they know as I do, it is much more of an important topic when it comes down to it. But this is a new topic for a different discussion.
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