Gas prices surge 3¢ overnight on news of four refinery failures.
Today, UCAN's Cheap Gas Locator survey reported a retail price surge in the cost of gasoline due to minor problems at four California refineries. The problems panicked the spot market, driving prices 20 to 30¢ higher in as little as 24 hours on the wholesale market. The current average price of gasoline is now 3.317.
Barring a sudden lack of refinery greed, UCAN expects the price hikes to contiinue through the weekend. Today, the LA Times reported that gasoline consumption statewide has decreased, contrary to oil industry claims. Adding fuel to the fire is the fact that oil on this day last year cost $6 less per barrel. Last year on this day, gasoline in San Diego County cost 30¢ less per gallon.
Bottom line: This year the cost of oil is down, people are using less gasoline, and we are paying at least 30¢ a gallon more for our gasoline than on this day last year. UCAN believes that California refineries may deliberately use rumors of refinery failures to create market uncertainity and retail price spikes. The most ridiculous excuse to date? A raccoon singlehandedly disabled one California's largest refineries. Expect to hear more excuses soon. San Diego is currently about 10¢ away from breaking the all-time record high for gasoline prices set on May 11, 2006.
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hangings, togas, big oil & capitalists
In response to "the Time is Past". -- Karl Marx once said "When they are hanging the capitalists in Red Square, one of them will be out there selling rope."
The problem with the current gasoline market is that the oil companies have a perverse incentive to not compete. The oil industry also knows that if they don't hang together, they'll all hang separately (for additional commentary, see "Inversion Perversion".
The challenge in a capitalist society is to harness formidable power of greed in a way that serves the public good. The oil industry understands that competition costs them money. This is the failure of our regulators and elected officials: they must structure the market so that it is more profitable to compete than cheat. Until that happens, we'll keep seeing outrageous gas prices, and equally outrageous abuses of the public trust.
Today, we published an article showing an equally egregious abuse of power at CPUC, the California Public Utilities Commission, which has refused to enforce substantial court ordered fines against companies that have aggressively defrauded California consumers. Read this, and you may also want to holler "get a rope."
Charles Langley
UCAN Advocate
transfer of wealth from the US to the Middle East.
Top 5 Sources of Imported Oil
Canada
Mexico
Venezula
Saudi Arabia
Nigeria
Crude Oil Imports (Update)
The rank I posted was from memory for 2006.
More current numbers:
http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/petroleum/data_publications/company_l...
Only three middle eastern countires (Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait) on the list of 15 countries.
Raccooned Refinery
What happened to the raccoon? Maybe this week the refineries' arrogance will reach an all-time high and 6 refineries can tell the media that one grizzly bear knocked them all off-line! We discuss family values, radio and TV host comments, music lyrics and the list goes on. When do our lawmakers and media start discussing the possibilities of collusion? I want lawmakers to start concentrating on us instead of the money feeding their power.
I, Mr. Normal Conservative, am doing my part
I've taken to riding my bicycle to the coffee shop in the morning instead of driving my truck. I work there and at home. My truck stays parked for days at a time.
Did you know that for every gallon of gas burned, about 19 lbs of carbon dioxide is produced. How about the 30+% increase in carbon dioxide in our planet's atmosphere in the last century?
As a conservative, I do not want to make Earth more suited to algae and cockroaches than man. What could possibly be conservative about driving an SUV? No, that's just being wasteful of resources and wealth. I'd rather have savings than a car payment.
Do your part to reduce the transfer of wealth from the US to the Middle East.
Next...photovoltaic panels.
Doing Your Part
For some reason, what you wrote really hit home. Yesterday, my daughter and son-in-law put their SUV up for sale!
SAM
The time is past for ever
The time is past for ever getting the perpetrators of these lies to capitulate. The time has come to hang them. Who's with me?!?!?...toga! toga! toga!
Great more new excuses to scam people
I am so sick and tired of the oil monopoly repeating lies to the American public. Why dont they just admit how they want to rape the people for money.
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