What does that matter? This is almost as bad as comparing oil to Coca-Cola.
Everything that comes close to comparing to our dependence on oil is regulated. Electricity is a perfect example.
You can regulate the price of phone service but you can't regulate the price of fuel? That's rediculous.

This could be a possible explanation.
Our economic laws and principles strictly forbid the creation of a monopoly. So how do you explain big oil getting away with it? Bribery? Payoffs? Lobbyists hounding the halls of the senate trying to peddle their wares?
And make no mistake about it. Campaign contributions, free holidays, property, they are all payoffs.

Danny

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1984 300SD Turbo Diesel 150,000 miles

OBK member #23

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Paid $2.519 Sat at Flying J. Paid $3.019 same place less than two weeks earlier. Gas is $2.259 at local Mobil/BP. Joint across the street from them is selling gas at $2.259 but diesel at $3.129. I figure he doesn't sell that much and bought a load at the price peak and now is trying to maintain his profit margin on every gallon. That fuel may well turn back to crude before he sells it all at that price. In Ky, there is 39.4 cents tax on every gallon of gas and I think the diesel is higher. Oh and I seem to recall the profit margin for regulated industries: phone, electric, etc had a target goal of 11-14 percent at the state agencies that do the regulating here in southern OH.

Get away with it? Get away with what? Oh my gosh, I GET IT NOW!!! Exxon got away with making a 10% profit. OH MY GOSH! CALL THE FBI!

What is this country coming to? They let a company make TEN PERCENT PROFIT!!!

I think there must be lots of companies that had better get ready to be investigated because most companies that are in business are GUILTY!!!

OH MY GOSH, where's a cop when you need one???????



dannym, don't you think that as much as the W haters would love to see him behind bars that they would be all over ANY kind of impropriety with even the slightest hint of corruption between the white house and ANY company? I'm not talking about campaign contributions because most companies hedge their bets and contribute to BOTH parties or candidates. I am talking about corrupt pay offs or undue influence. In fact, you don't even have to prove the payoffs, just show me the undue influence.

You sound like Hillary Rotten Clinton. If there's anything at all that is not to your liking, it has to be W's fault.

W is certainly not the greatest President that ever was IMHO, but there is absolutely no evidence whatsoever that he's a crook.

Have a great day,

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B4D6BC280%2DC2C9%2D4609%2D9318%2DD48DBF0591AF%7D&siteid=mktw

I agree and disagree.
Basic neccesities need to be regulated.
I am all for companies making $ but not with food, medicine..etc.
Fuel is on the line in my book as I can survive w/out buying fuel.


GO VEGGIE!

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82 300D....went to MB heaven
90 350 SDL....excercising con rods

It feels good to blame someone. All you need is to figure out who: greedy businesses, EPA nazis, inept government, Mr Chavez, Illuminati, jews, aliens -- whatever rings your bell. Nothing wrong with spreading blame around, it's good therapy.

The problem is, none of the blamees can directly do much about the actual problem: the US economy depends on oil in a very bad and inflexible way, and oil is getting progressively more scarce. Sure, specific symptoms can be helped a bit: building more refineries would smooth out jitters due to refinery shutdowns; more governmental regulation and arm-twisting could do the same, increased drilling on US soil may temporarily increase US oil supply by a couple percentage points. And none of those things can reverse the overall big trend. Governmental regulation won't create more oil, and altruistic business won't either. The amount of technically recoverable oil on US soil is simply small and is getting smaller. ANWR is great topic for political bickering, but how much would extra 100,000 bpd in 2010-2015 really affect US consumption of 18 million bpd (even at today's level)?

The hard part is making peace with the fact that US is between a rock and a hard place, and all solutions are painful, long-term, and require sacrifices and lifestyle changes from pretty much everyone, not just blaming this guy and that guy, and that $hit will get worse before it gets better.

GRReeat Post! You definitely are in the running for the most logical and articulate post in this thread.

Thanks,