"These gas price hikes are 100% gouging by the oil companies."

[Telly Savalas]

This isn't a quote by some guy in GD, but rather by the business producer on my local morning TV news show. He went on a long rant complaining that it was theft and that neither the Canadian nor U.S. governments were doing anything about it.

It was pretty surprising in that I don't think I've ever seen a talking head on TV lay it out in those terms.

[alarimer]

1. I think he may be right.

Our President won't do anything because his oil buddies are making moeny hand over fist.

[GOPisEvil]

2. Record high gas prices and record oil company profits.

Think about it: if the oil companies were raising prices in response to higher oil costs alone, then their profit margin would be the same. But no, they are posting record profits. So, what's that tell you? They are screwing us, hard.

[prolesunited]

7. No

That can't possibly be related. :sarcasm:

[SOteric]

19. And they're not even buying us dinner first.

x(

[GOPisEvil]

24. I'd settle for a damned cup of coffee.

x(

[miss_kitty]

22. And they're not even using lube

Costs extra

[Bonhomme Richard]

3. Our Republican CT Gov was on the news.....

the other day and she (Gov. Jodi Rell) said she couldn't believe that people were not complaining like crazy about the price of fuel. It completely baffled her.

[WCGreen]

4. Wait....

[Bonhomme Richard]

6. Yeah, I have a feeling that when people start to snap.............

it's going to get real ugly real fast. My drummer, a farmer, said to me last night at practice that he had to fill 2 of his vehicles and it was going to cost him $300.00 at last nights prices.

[NewJeffCT]

11. well, in Vernon, Connecticut

I saw the price at one gas station on Route 83 go from $2.51/gallon this weekend to $2.63 yesterday, then $2.79 this morning and then an hour later, it was $2.94/gallon!!!!

[Redstone]

16. My son just called from Storrs and said it's over 3 bucks there.

Maybe we should all stay home this weekend? (Except you and others who HAVE to travel, of course.

And leave the boats at the dock, and the ATVs in the garage.

Redstone

[NewJeffCT]

18. it's getting hot now!

Most of the gas stations along Rte 83 are between $2.93 & a little over $3.00/gallon. However, one place is still $2.63 (Valero or Valeri, across from Panda Palace) and the place is literally mobbed!!! Horns are blaring & all that, tempers are short, the line is out well into Rte 83.

[Redstone]

20. Hot damn! It's 1974 all over again!

Any bets on when the even / odd days start again?

Redstone

[sexybomber]

25. In Ithaca, New York

gas was $2.66 on Tuesday.
$2.96 yesterday.
And $3.36 today.

Sixty cents in three days. I shit you not.

[Redstone]

5. The oil companies don't set the prices. Wall Street does.

The oil companies sell to the highest bidder.

It's the "commodities traders" who are driving the prices up.

Redstone

[Bonhomme Richard]

8. There was a gas station owner on the news last night....

that said that he was called by the gas company and told to raise his prices something like .22 per gallon. You know as well as I do that the gas in his fuel tanks was already paid for. Simple gouging.

[Clintmax]

10. The fundie response to this is...

The amount you pay for gas is what it will cost the company to refill the tank in the ground...not what it cost them originally to put what gas there is in there.

I don't believe it for a second! This is price gouging!

[Telly Savalas]

12. But this is precisely why the business reporter was calling it gouging.

Oil prices went up by less than 10% in the last few days, whereas gasoline prices jumped by over 20% here in Toronto. I don't believe the reporter was necessarily talking about the two year trend, but rather the 2 day spike in prices.

[Left Is Write]

28. The fundie response makes no sense.

[Redstone]

17. That part of it is truly gouging. Absolutely.

Redstone

[LoZoccolo]

13. And how do the commodities traders do this?

I'd be curious how people manage to profit off of something by artificially raising the price and doing nothing.

[Telly Savalas]

14. Unless I'm mistaken it's the oil companies that sell the gasoline

to the gas stations and hence set the prices. And I know for a fact that many gas stations are owned by the oil companies.

Here's a long article documenting ways these companies manipulate gasoline prices: http://www.thememoryhole.org/corp/gas-prices.htm

[Hugin]

9. Yup...

There's no need for this.

Ain't it amazing how fast gasoline prices are simultaneously
raised all across a nation. It's almost like they're organized.

[RedCloud]

15. And they laughed at solar alternatives...

Now we can all cry.

[In_The_Wind]

21. $ 3.59 per gallon at 2 stations $ 2.95 at 3 others ...

gouging at the local level ? ? ?

[In_The_Wind]

23. $ 3.89 ... $ 3.09 ... same grade of gas ... 24 hours later

same stations I talked about yesterday ...

[In_The_Wind]

29. $3.89 ... $3.39 ...

[doc03]

26. I can't believe these "morans" that call the talk shows and

rant about the taxes on gas. I guess they think they added 50 cents tax on gas overnight.

[Zuni]

27. the price gouging has been going on for sometime

but this is the worst it has ever been

I heard a far right wing radio talk show host bitching about oil companies price gouging and Bush doing nothing yesterday. My jaw dropped

for once they didn't try to blame it on the mere 41 cent combined state and federal gas taxes we pay per gallon in MD

[sexybomber]

30. What greedy fuckers

We should rob their houses and give all their food to the relief efforts in NO.