Can someone explain this?

[daveinspain]

I just have to wonder why the price of gas is going threw the roof in the states and here in Spain it's been very stable, going up and down a few cents over the past few years. I'm affraid someone is taking the good old US of A for a ride... These prices are in euros, right now 1 euro = about $1.50 Gas prices around the world

[ChanMan]

You are correct. Big oil is big money is big power is big influence.

 

 

It's the American way, no?

[grampa]

That's right.

[stein]

Yup. We been on a ride for a while. It seems to be catching up to us.

 

Here in the US we have this code of business that basically involves robbing each other and making it legal. Yet, we can't seem to figure out what the problem is. Except that it is somebody else's fault.

 

I think the whole thing is related to the fact that we were founded as a christian nation, but now we want to kick god out of our country. So God is like, "ok..have it your way".

[charlie brown]

Greed! Our own, as well as the oil companies. And, that "get as much, and while you can" attitude, from the suppliers, as well.

With the Middle East in (even more) termoil, who knows what will happen? Why we let ourselves in, for this "strangle hold," is a

whole "nuther" discussion.

 

CB

[ne14t?]

The middle east was only an issue when it was Egypt that was having the political problems, Libya is having there little "revolution" but Libya doesn't even account for 2% of the worlds oil so there was no real justified reason for gas prices to increase. What we really need to do is tap into the oil reserves in Venezuela as they have the worlds largest confirmed stockpile of oil and the figure they are only looking at the tip of the proverbial oil iceberg in Venezuela. The confirmed oil reserves there are large enough to feed the current worlds ever growing appetite for oil for about 300 years by itself.

[grampa]

The middle east was only an issue when it was Egypt that was having the political problems, Libya is having there little "revolution" but Libya doesn't even account for 2% of the worlds oil so there was no real justified reason for gas prices to increase. What we really need to do is tap into the oil reserves in Venezuela as they have the worlds largest confirmed stockpile of oil and the figure they are only looking at the tip of the proverbial oil iceberg in Venezuela. The confirmed oil reserves there are large enough to feed the current worlds ever growing appetite for oil for about 300 years by itself.

 

Venezuela has Hugo Chavez, not the easist person in the world to deal with.

[ne14t?]

Venezuela has Hugo Chavez, not the easist person in the world to deal with.

 

This is very true sir, but I dont think Saddam was that easy to deal with either!

[duane v]

I'm still in disbelief I had to pay $1.99 for each avocado .... I thought we grew the suckers in abundance in California

[Versatile]

From a UK perspective 'gas' has always been cheap in the US

 

Compared to our highly taxed equivalent

 

Higher fuel prices have driven food prices up substantially in recent months....

 

V

 

[Dub-T-123]

I'm still in disbelief I had to pay $1.99 for each avocado .... I thought we grew the suckers in abundance in California

 

That's pretty much where I draw the line... When an avocado is 2 dollars... Come on.

 

This is ridiculous.

[charlie brown]

Food prices, are getting ridiculous..period! And, they say it's only

going to get a lot worse, in the very near future! ;>) Well...at least

I'll lose more weight! ;>b

 

CB

[fl00dsm0k3]

In America its probably because were not drilling for oil

[charlie brown]

In America its probably because were not drilling for oil

 

uhhhh, have you been to Oklahoma, Southern Kansas, recently?

There's a LOT of new (producing) wells, being drilled, around here.

Of course, that doesn't get any "press" coverage, to speak of. It's

not as glamorous, as off shore, in the Gulf, or (Sarah Palin's) Alaska.

 

Still...they're drilling, and producing.

 

CB

[BigKahune]

.

Lately, speculation => higher prices.

[DB Cooper]

Simple explanation: it's The Man!

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxTgGR6_1ps

[jaxson50]

The US gets most of it's oil from Canada followed by Mexico then Saudi Arabia and South America, then domestic...We get less then 3% from Libya....we need more refineries and fewer speculators....

We have large oil reserves, right here in the US, Canada & Mexico to provide our energy needs for the next 150 years...what we lack is the political will and the economic discipline...

In most commercial operations the company that thrives is the one that offers the best product at the best price.....

In the oil business there is no such commitment..

[daveinspain]

The middle east was only an issue when it was Egypt that was having the political problems, Libya is having there little "revolution" but Libya doesn't even account for 2% of the worlds oil so there was no real justified reason for gas prices to increase. What we really need to do is tap into the oil reserves in Venezuela as they have the worlds largest confirmed stockpile of oil and the figure they are only looking at the tip of the proverbial oil iceberg in Venezuela. The confirmed oil reserves there are large enough to feed the current worlds ever growing appetite for oil for about 300 years by itself.

 

All that being said it still doesn't explain why it only affects US prices for gas... The price of gas here in Spain isn't going up... or in many other countries.

[Jeff-7]

I'm still in disbelief I had to pay $1.99 for each avocado .... I thought we grew the suckers in abundance in California

We do but the California crop is only producing half of what it did last year, Mexico knows this so they are holding out for premium prices from us because of the growing demand in the U.S. Some of the South American countries will start coming into play here soon so you will see some relief on the prices then.

[DMichaelG]

My understanding is that approximately 1/3 of the price is in oil speculation on the stock market. Do the math. That is a lot of money. This affects basic necessities.

 

How about we take it off the stock market? Make it a utility and monitor the price. No speculation. Less money.

[Dub-T-123]

We do but the California crop is only producing half of what it did last year, Mexico knows this so they are holding out for premium prices from us because of the growing demand in the U.S. Some of the South American countries will start coming into play here soon so you will see some relief on the prices then.

 

As much as I love to complain, I'm ignant. I live in California, enjoy avocados, and I had not heard this.

 

Do you know why this is happening and if the cause is affecting other crops as well? I was only aware of the prices rising because of gas prices.

[stein]

The graph showing the various gas prices does not say if it accounts for taxes. That is a big part of it. In the US they really like to tax gas. the environmentalist claim it will cut down on consumption and save the planet.

 

But if you really want to know, it really had a LOT to do with Bush and the Iraq war. One MUST understand that Bush jr. was heavily tied to the oil companies, in that a lot of his advisers and political allies are tied to them as well. So when it comes to big dicisions regarding world policy, decisions that might drive the price up are likely not to be a factor.

 

In the US, one of THE determining factors in oil prices is the price set by OPEC. We got a lot of oil from that source because it was cheaper than actually drilling. The other thing to KNOW is that the higher the oil price, the more profit. More profits from our oun drilling, more profits from price fluctuations, and more of a percentage. If anyone remembers, oil companies broke all the records for profits made by any company during the rise in OPEC resulting from the Iraq war.

 

As for OPEC, one of the advantages the US enjoyed (and I believe the whole of the western world) was that our cooperation and the "protection" that our military provided, the ability to protect our allies, and the advantages enjoyed by the OPEC countries tended to keep prices down. When a power like the US has the ability to do your "bidding" regarding protection of your soverienty from neighboring countries this is extremely important to an OPEC country both in motivating them to not want to raise prices in fear they would have less favor, and also wanting to HAVE favor and importance to the west.

 

When Bush invaded Iraq against the wishes of the Arab Coalition, he broke that policy of respect for the soverienty of western/Arab allies, and negated the advantages and motivations of OPEC to keep the prices down, hence the statement from OPEC: "you will never see prices as low as $22 dollers a barrel again."

 

That's how it happened. It has opened the door for a lot more countries to drill and made it profitable for US drilling to happen on a larger scale, but as for the price of oil, for those who control the prices there is no reason or motivation that would cause them to decline.

[Jeff-7]

As much as I love to complain, I'm ignant. I live in California, enjoy avocados, and I had not heard this.

 

Do you know why this is happening and if the cause is affecting other crops as well? I was only aware of the prices rising because of gas prices.

I'm not sure on the exact reason why it is happening with avocados, tree crops like that have off years sometimes. I know the funky weather you guys had in one of your major growing areas has affected a lot of your crops. Especially greens like leaf lettuce and celery. I can find out for sure, my source for info on that is the produce director for AWG.

[Rocky4]

Oil companies don't set prices. The market does. When milk goes up, do you blame farmers? Is Big Cheese pure evil? Maybe we should we have some government program that limits profits for oil companies. While we're at that, maybe we should apply that same thought to all businesses. Maybe the government should tell Gibson how much they charge for guitars.

[stein]

Oil companies don't set prices. The market does. When milk goes up, do you blame farmers? Is Big Cheese pure evil? Maybe we should we have some government program that limits profits for oil companies. While we're at that, maybe we should apply that same thought to all businesses. Maybe the government should tell Gibson how much they charge for guitars.

For me and nearly everyone I know, I drive the same amount and use the same amount of gas regardless of the price. I don.t have the option. It is even more so for companies that ship. So the market does not always have control over the price. And regardless, the market is never the sole reason for determining the prices.

 

If I have a sandwhich and a guy is hungry, do I try and sell it to him for 10 bucks? I could easily justify it by camparing the price of a subway sandwhich, the gas to drive there, the time, and a fair profit. But most would not feel that was right. It may seem totally fair to get what it cost me, as it is not my living. Most poeple, I think, would actaully give it to him and maybe some other food and something to drink.

 

The reason I give such an assinine example is because it is easy to see there but yet we hold businesses and poeple who are running businesses to a completely different standard and set of ethics.

 

Last example: If I had come across Eric Claptons actual sunburst, I might be able to get 2 million dollers for it. He might be inclined to pay that. He may have the money. But A million would be enough. I could live with that, and still be a lucky guy.