So what's the biggest myth surrounding the oil companies today? It's that they're greedy beaurocrats bent of sucking the life out of Americans so that they can make a ridiculous windfall profit. Is this true? No sir! In fact, oil companies only make about 8-9% profit on gasoline. Where do their windfall profits come from? Maybe from the fact that the majority of America uses their product? Oh yea. 8-9% is usually nothing, but when the country is so reliant on gasoline, it does translate into an incredible profit for the big oil companies, but they aren't to blame. Who sets the price of a barrel of oil? OPEC!
So why is OPEC going to raise prices? Americans are finally settling into the cheaper gasoline phase, and it's about to get swept out from under them. Blame our good friends in Iran and Venezuela. Ahmadenijad and Chavez (yea, those names just scream "pro-American") have talked our boys at OPEC into a higher price for a barrel of oil. Great. Like we didn't have enough to worry about, what with home foreclosures and a crunch on credit.
Is this timing coincidental? No way, these guys are always looking for a new and improved way to screw America over, and this comes at the most perfect and opportune time (for them). How will Americans handle? God only knows, but hopefully we can make this work.
1 comments:
The price of oil rests a lot on oil speculators, who are a group of fat head capitalists from Dubai, England, the US, China etc. etc. etc. These are groups of investors who buy and sell oil like stocks. If they THINK a conflict will erupt in an oil rich nation, or oil somewhere in the world will somehow be compromised, they buy and sell at a higher price. So whether or not any conflict actually erupts, the price of oil will go up.
The price of a barrel of oil obviously has a whole lot to do with the price at the pump, I will admit, but it also has to do with the oil companies. Exxon and other disgusting oil conglomerates claim that the gas available to the US is limited to some extent because of the limited refining capacity. They claim that they cannot refine oil at a faster rate than they are now, so they have to raise prices to make demand match supply.
This is utter bullshit.
Dozens of oil refineries have closed over the last few decades. There are dormant oil refineries in existence IN THE US, it would just take a few million dollars to get them working (which is pocket change to oil execs), which could dramatically increase refining capacity, and in turn increase supply and reduce the price at the pump.
Maybe oil companies are only making 8 or 9%, but that is still billions and billions of dollars. Yes, oil companies are entitled to a profit, and a generous profit at that, but they are turning record profits when truck drivers etc. are out of work.
Sure Iran and Venezuela don't have America's best interest at heart, but it is certainly not only America which is hurt by an increased oil price, and it is certainly not beyond the blame of the oil companies.
In my opinion, the oil industry should be socialized. I know this is a scary thought for Americans, who have been raised with the fear of communism pounded in to their brains since they were young, but it would make the price of gas at the pump drop dramatically. Just look at Venezuala and Dubai! Gas is a few cents a gallon! It might not get THAT low in America, but it would definately not sting nearly as much to fill up.
Pardon my french and thanks for reading.
(this is mike from honors 100 btw. Don't worry about how i found your blog. :D)
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