Does government play a role in gas prices?

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrA9zj94NuU"]MAXINE WATERS OUTS THE DEMS SOCIALIST AGENDA - YouTube[/ame]

 

Who knows how much government gets in revenue from the gas pumps? On average across America, government takes in about 48 cents on the gallon as where oil companies make only about 7 cents per gallon.

http://mjperry.blogspot.com/2011/04/gasoline-taxes-per-gallon-vs-exxon.html

 

The liberals will do whatever is necessary to, as Rep. Waters said, take over and the American people can just go to hell.

 

What amazes me is the stupidity of this woman. She basically spills the beans for all the world to see, and in the background all her collegues can do is snicker and laugh.

 

Not much of a role. We do have a stategic reserve which we can use if supplys get too short. However I don't think that should happen unless things get very bad. We could try to lower prices by increasing domestic production but that would take a few years to have much effect (also the oil gets more valuable every year it stays in the ground). Also a lot of the USA's oil would have a high production cost like oil shale.

Unfortunately the government with the most control over oil and thus gas prices is that of Saudi Arabia.

 

The government (both Federal and State) could temporarily suspend the collection of taxes on gas/diesel. While its not a panacea for the high prices, its a good way to start.

 

When Bush was President, and the price of gas hit $4.00+ per gallon, it sure as heck WAS the President's fault!!!!

4 years later, when domestic demand is down, supplies are in the surplus, and gas has hit an all-time high during non-peak season, it has NOTHING to do with the President! So sir!!!


People are such idiots.

 

Combine ms Waters' obvious advocacy of socialism with ms Pelosi's statement on the obtrusive healthcare bill that "we won't know what's in the bill until someone decides to read it" and you have a pretty clear picture as to what path these radical libs have and are taking while destroying our economy and America in its wake.

 

They tax it right? Kill the tax, tax other things. How about a little regulation? Those mongols set the price to whatever they feel like, whenever they feel like - lets fix that!

"Hey my wallet only has 300K in it, lets raise gas by 2 dollars"

 

Historically, any military conflicts in the Middle East have cause fuel price increases. It is just another reason to advocate for more, rather than less, stable markets in that region.

 

I honestly doubt the military has anything to do with it, look at the economy. Don't blame the military for everything, it's not cool.

 

Obama got the only fix...

Obama scoffs at rivals' promises for lower gas prices, saying there's no "quick fix"
2/24/2012 — President Barack Obama said Thursday that there are no "quick fixes" for rising gasoline prices that are threatening the economic recovery and providing fodder for attacks from his political rivals.

See also:

Obama Promotes Plan to Fight Rising Fuel Prices
February 23, 2012 - As Americans worry about rising gasoline prices, President Barack Obama is defending his energy policy. The president went on the road Thursday to answer Republican election-year criticism that he is not doing enough to solve the problem.

 

I wasn't blaming the military; only military conflict in the Middle East.

 

Only if George Bush is President. Then, according to now-President Obama, President Bush was responsbile. President Obama is, on the other hand, totally irresponsible.

 

Obama is in a little bit of a tough place. If the economy improves, gas prices will rise accordingly and offset the recovery causing it to bog down. However, if the economy does not improve, then he is toast anyway come 2012.

I have already shown two ways government effects prices, that is restricting drilling and taxing. The funny thing here is that Obama will be forced into making us all believe that the President has no control over gas prices cause they are going up no matter what, while at the same time convincing us that any improvement in the economy is due to his policies. Hilarious.

 

We have massive amounts of oil in America and the government isn't allowing us to drill. We would become independent of all foreign oil in a few months...not years, but months. Isn't that the idea? Oh, I forgot...it's an American idea, and not in fitting with a socialist agenda!

 

I find that point of view disingenuous. No one is preventing that industry from using horizontal drilling techniques or improving boring techniques until energy recovery becomes commercially viable, regardless of where it may be located.

 

Here's a better question ... Does Waters play a role in gas prices?

 

Factors contributing to the higher gas prices:

Higher prices for oil
Iran, threatening to block Hormuz
Speculators
Growing oil use in China
Refineries switching to summer blend; not enough refineries, and they're all old and developing more technical problems
Weak Dollar

Only the last factor is due to the government, and the weak dollar means more US exports (good for economy). A strong dollar does mean less $ for imported goods (such as oil), but has a negative impact on our exports and trade deficits.

Some might claim that the refinery situation is due to the govenment, but the truth is there used to be a LOT more refineries in the US 30 years ago, but the industry realized it could maximize refinery profits by closing most of them down.

 

filler post

 

I'd say the ultimate main reason why gas prices are becoming so high, is because of the outright assumption that only fossil fuels can work; that they're the only usable sources of potential mechanical energy in existence.

 

The US should stop crying about nothing. Most nations would kill for US prices.

But if people are really upset about not having cheap petrol they can always move to Venezuela.

 

Yes...

... directly through any taxes assessed...

... and indirectly via using any 'strategic reserves' to influence the supply of gasoline in the market.

 

Not completely nor directly, but I do believe the government can impact oil and gas prices heavily in an indirect sense. Taxes and regulations will ultimately have an effect on how oil companies will conduct their own business-related behavior, as well as what they're even allowed to do. In addition, consumers will act accordingly to whatever happens within the market, which will ultimately effect everything else.

Note that fluctuation in petroleum production doesn't just affect gasoline prices. It also affects any other products made with petroleum such as plastic, which in turn will make anything made of plastic or packaged in plastic (like food and drinkable liquid) more expensive also. And that's not even factoring in the shipping and logistics costs that are added as a result of more expensive fuels.

 

Of course the government has a role in gas prices, but a protective role at that. For instance, with the current rising gas prices being caused by rampant exportation and speculative bidding, government should step in and curb the speculators as well as talk to the oil companies to exercise more responsibility.