A Gasoline Conspiracy to Set Fire to the Obama Administration?
Hmmm...
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/ten-miles-square/2012/02/a_gasoline_conspiracy_to_set_f035490.php
February 17, 2012 2:33 PM
A Gasoline Conspiracy to Set Fire to the Obama Administration?
By Rick Ungar
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While Wall Street’s ‘priority one’ is to make money, it is clear that, for this year, priority two is the destruction of Barack Obama’s presidency. Accordingly, from a Wall Street point of view, it certainly is a happy coincidence that that priority one, making big money on oil speculation, could directly lead to accomplishing their second highest mission.
I am left to wonder whether this is a happy Wall Street coincidence or a clever strategy that could pay off big-time come November.
Gasoline prices have a ‘real time’ impact on middle-class voters. Can you imagine a better way to make voters good and angry than to insure that they are paying five bucks a gallon for the gasoline that will be powering them to the voting booth in November? And if you subscribe to the theory that the President’s opponents would like to keep economic growth down until the election is over, what better way to accomplish such a goal than to force a precipitous rise in gas prices?
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Am I simply getting paranoid as the election season is upon us?
Maybe. But there is no disputing that the higher gasoline prices go, the lower the odds that President Obama will be returned to office for a second term.
So, I’m just saying’…..
As a result of what is coming, it might be a good idea for the Obama Administration to start talking about the reasons for rising gas prices and I’d start talking about it now. This is one instance where silence is anything but golden and without a plausible explanation as to why the Administration is not responsible for what might be a dramatic rise in gas prices, it may be President Obama who is left holding the pump nozzle come December.
= new reply since forum marked as read
In a few years MAYBE, as long as we don't keep (re-)electing Republicans but where exactly are all the jobs that would help support those kind of higher prices? Wouldn't it make more sense for prices to skyrocket WHEN that actually happens? I know that they're "speculating" but still................
Hey, come to think of it, if speculators believe that the economy is going to come roaring back to support prices like what they're talking about, then how can Republicans claim Obama's policies are a failure (or that they're not "good enough"
?
One must understand that markets are driven by pluralities, not majorities. Unemployment is at 8%, that means 92% are employed. If only 40% of those employed are "doing well soon", that is sufficient to drive markets significantly.
? Don't confuse speculators with the people complaining about Obama's policies. And don't confuse what people say, with how they invest, on either side of the aisle. Truth is, many folks in the 1% agree with us more than the GOP. It's the "wanna be's" that are being fooled.
Every gallon of gas sold at the pump contains 10% ethanol & is called E10. Ethanol had replaced 15% of the gasoline sold in this country. 10% was sold as E10 & 5% was sold as E85. On January 1, 2012 the 45 cent tax cut on ethanol was not renewed because the USG needs more tax money. This increased the tax everyone paid at the pump by 5 cents since all gasoline is E10. For E85 users the tax increased by 38 cents per gallon. E85 users switched to E10 gasoline driving up gasoline demand 5% since then. The sudden price spike on the first day of 2012 is the tax hike & the continuing rise is caused by demand increase until the price rises by 38 to 45 cents so E85 use will compete once again holding gas prices in check. Also North Carolina increased their gas tax by 20 cents on the same date.
