Five Myths About Gas Prices

[harborlady]

Originally Posted by Oerdin

If the price of oil was different in Tokyo vs NYC vs London beyond what could be explained by transport & delivery costs then investment houses would have a field day doing arbitrage and making themselves rich(er).

It's because the price is the same that they've done an end run around market. Speculators do control the price. Go through archives and see how goldman sachs recouped it's enormous losses in RE toxic waste by hyping the price of oil, then cashing out that same summer we peaked to obscene levels. Nothing changed for speculators so expect it again. Repub's blocked all reforms that had any meaning. Some of those repubs were calling themselves dems.

[odinloki1]

Originally Posted by Calvinist

A lot of folks don't realize that the government makes more per gallon than the oil companies.

I don't see the government raising taxes on oil when crisis hit. Or when companies switch to their summer blend.

The reason for these idiotic spikes is oil speculation.

Essentially its a rich person on wall street taxing us (via hikes in gas prices, air fare, goods made with oil) to make sure he stays rich.

[pvande55]

The gasoline tax was originally used to fund the roads, now it only covers half the cost. I don't know if E85 even pays it. In the 1950s the Federal gas tax was 4 cents, 16% of that 25 cent gallon. Now gas taxes of all kinds, Federal, State, Local, average 48.1 cents, less than 14 percent of the $3.50 you pay today.