Gas Prices are obscene

[NakedRicci]

Topped $4 here in flyover country today. Not happy about having a 90mile daily commute to work

[davidgrey]

Any excuse they can to raise the prices and they will. Then when they drop it back down but not quite to where it was before it all started and we will think the prices are a bargain. This really needs to get back under control or it could really hurt the economy even more.

Only a couple years ago it was less than $2 a gallon. When we had the huge increase to $4 a couple years ago, it seems that it went down to $2.50 or so and that was a bargain. It has climbed since and I would not be surprised when it goes back down if $3.00-$3.25 is the new bargain price.

Many things rely on the price of gas, so all sorts of stuff will go up in price. The poor are the ones that get hurt the most as they are often already living pay check to pay check and don't really have the play to absorb the extra money. I'm probably spending at least $50 a month more than last year at this time for the same amount of driving (And really just drive to work and to visit the family).

Our vacation to visit my sister-in-law in Minnesota is no longer a cheap vacation. We will probably be in for over $500 in gas alone. Since there is no hotel anywhere near them and they only have one extra bed, my brother-in-law is taking his truck and pulling his 5th wheel up, while my mother/father-in-law are driving their RV, so I bet they spend $1,000 in gas each. If we did not need to have our car up there to help transport everyone, I'd fly the family up.

[Hammer]

heck my pizza lunch special went up a buck today.


WHEN WILL THE MADNESS STOP????!!!

[bryanbutler]

a more interesting graph corrects for inflation:



i blame bush :O

[GwynnInTheHall]

a more interesting graph corrects for inflation:



i blame bush :O

Where's the graph that correlates how hard we're getting ****ed with how much profit the oil companies are making?

[Gregg]

Who are "they"?

You of all people know who "they" are.

[bryanbutler]

LOL. Whitey? Christians? Pink Floyd? Republicans?

They

[Gregg]

They

the red x?

[chancellor]

Where's the graph that correlates how hard we're getting ****ed with how much profit the oil companies are making?

Just follow Obama's advice and buy a new high mileage vehicle from GM.

[GwynnInTheHall]

Just follow Obama's advice and buy a new high mileage vehicle from GM.

Obama should follow my advice and do what we elected him to do. End the dependency on Oil, Coal and other dirty energies. Cap speculators when this crap happens. Take the Oil subsidies and give them to the working class in energy tax breaks.

then I can drive whatever green car they build because it'll will be clean, efficient and pay me to drive it because I'm using clean energy.

[PaleoMan]

Obama should follow my advice and do what we elected him to do. End the dependency on Oil, Coal and other dirty energies. Cap speculators when this crap happens. Take the Oil subsidies and give them to the working class in energy tax breaks.

then I can drive whatever green car they build because it'll will be clean, efficient and pay me to drive it because I'm using clean energy.

But then Goldman Sachs wouldn't be getting their bang for their bucks. You'd be surprised how much influence you can gain from close to a million dollars.

[GwynnInTheHall]

But then Goldman Sachs wouldn't be getting their bang for their bucks. You'd be surprised how much influence you can gain from close to a million dollars.

I get ya, which is why I say to hell with the rich and corporations.

[PaleoMan]

I get ya, which is why I say to hell with the rich and corporations.

Most of those corporate puppeteers are socialist types, which is highly ironic but very telling. Taking risks with the public's money, in order to maximize profit potential is ingenious.

[hombre]

Where's the graph that correlates how hard we're getting ****ed with how much profit the oil companies are making?

It's interesting to me that when presented with a graph, showing how inflation-adjusted retail gas prices have consistently FALLEN for nearly 80+ yrs, your response is a one-liner decrying how much those evil oil companies are ****ing you.

The world's largest oil company (Exxon Mobil) had a 6.2% net profit margin in 2009. In 2010, it was 8.6%.

For comparison's sake- Apple's 2010 profit margin? 23.8%. And (perhaps) nearer and dearer to your heart... Qualcomm's 2010 profit margin- 35.0% Maybe if there was an Exxon Mobil stadium somewhere in San Diego you'd be less harsh??

And I'll spare you and others the time- yes I understand the oil industry is different from the software industry, which is different from the chip industry- different capital requirements, different risk/reward levels, different business models. I understand all that. I'm not saying that Exxon making 6% per dollar is inherently right or wrong, any more than Qualcomm making 35% on your dollar is right/wrong. And vice versa.

My only point here is that I always find it ironic/amusing that millions of your ilk will scream at evil Exxon for making their 6 cents on your dollar- while Apple can take 4 times as much of your hard-earned dollar, and somehow they're the "good guys." Where's the outrage for "greedy, evil" Apple lol?

And if you're concerned about getting ****ed at the pump, why don't we look at the real reason.... Uncle Sam. Let's avoid a dissertation on upstream vs downstream profits of the oil industry, simplify things and say that if Exxon gets 6% of each $2 gal of gas in 2009, they made $0.12 a gallon. If they get 8% of the current $3.70/gal, they get $0.29. Here in CA, $0.65 a gallon goes to state/federal taxes. So in 2009, the government took 5 times more than "evil, greedy" Exxon per gallon- so I think we're in agreement that we're being ****ed and the pump, but I think we disagree on who is doing the brunt of the ****ing!

[Hammer]

It's interesting to me that when presented with a graph, showing how inflation-adjusted retail gas prices have consistently FALLEN for nearly 80+ yrs, your response is a one-liner decrying how much those evil oil companies are ****ing you.

The world's largest oil company (Exxon Mobil) had a 6.2% net profit margin in 2009. In 2010, it was 8.6%.

For comparison's sake- Apple's 2010 profit margin? 23.8%. And (perhaps) nearer and dearer to your heart... Qualcomm's 2010 profit margin- 35.0% Maybe if there was an Exxon Mobil stadium somewhere in San Diego you'd be less harsh??

And I'll spare you and others the time- yes I understand the oil industry is different from the software industry, which is different from the chip industry- different capital requirements, different risk/reward levels, different business models. I understand all that. I'm not saying that Exxon making 6% per dollar is inherently right or wrong, any more than Qualcomm making 35% on your dollar is right/wrong. And vice versa.

My only point here is that I always find it ironic/amusing that millions of your ilk will scream at evil Exxon for making their 6 cents on your dollar- while Apple can take 4 times as much of your hard-earned dollar, and somehow they're the "good guys." Where's the outrage for "greedy, evil" Apple lol?

And if you're concerned about getting ****ed at the pump, why don't we look at the real reason.... Uncle Sam. Let's avoid a dissertation on upstream vs downstream profits of the oil industry, simplify things and say that if Exxon gets 6% of each $2 gal of gas in 2009, they made $0.12 a gallon. If they get 8% of the current $3.70/gal, they get $0.29. Here in CA, $0.65 a gallon goes to state/federal taxes. So in 2009, the government took 5 times more than "evil, greedy" Exxon per gallon- so I think we're in agreement that we're being ****ed and the pump, but I think we disagree on who is doing the brunt of the ****ing!

This was a very good post.