Americans Blame OPEC, Oil Companies for Gas Prices

[struggle4progress]

May 30, 2005

(Angus Reid Global Scan) – Americans are divided over who is responsible for rising gas prices, according to a poll by Harris Interactive. 32 per cent of respondents say the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other oil producing nations are mainly to blame, while 31 per cent think oil companies are liable. <snip>

Who do you think is mainly to blame for the increase in fuel prices?

May 2005 May 2004

OPEC and other foreign oil producers 32% 37%
Oil companies 31% 35%
U.S. government 27% 23%
Automotive manufacturers 1% 1%
Others 9% 4%

Do you think that American automobile companies are moving as quickly as they should to build automobiles that consume less gasoline?

May 2005 May 2004

Yes, moving as quickly as should 10% 11%
Not moving as quickly 76% 71%
Not sure / Refused 14% 18%

Source: Harris Interactive
Methodology: Online interviews with 1,160 American adults, conducted from May 4 to May 10, 2005. Margin of error is 3 per cent.

http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewItem&itemID=7419

[Mnemosyne]

1. They are ignorant.

They can't ever let the US/corporations take the blame for anything! It's FAUX news watchers, I'd guess.

[podnoi]

4. They would never blame THEMSELVES

If they would not drive gashogs they would not feel it.

[struggle4progress]

5. Disagree. 58% believe corporations or government to blame, and ...

... I'd think these natural tendencies of the public mean there's a real opportunity right now to educate people about this brave new world of government by oil executives: people are naturally receptive to the message.

[Mnemosyne]

8. You are right struggle,

I meant ignorant in that they NEED to be educated. It's all we really have. Glad to hear the % is higher than I'd have thought in *world.:hi:

[wurzel]

2. They cannot have it both ways.

On the one hand we are told the cause for rising gas prices is a lack of refining capacity. One the other we are told it is the price of crude oil. It cannot be both. If there was a shortage of refining capacity there would be a glut of crude waiting to be refined, wouldn't there? I have yet to hear a single "reporter" ask that obvious question.

[Wright Patman]

3. They've left out some reasons

(1) The failure to stabilize Iraq has taken quite a bit of supply off the market.

(2) China and the other growing economies in Asia are increasing the overall demand.

[hatrack]

6. Yes, millions of fatass Stupid Useless Vehicles are unconnected to prices!

To say nothing of our living 20 or 30 miles from where we work and spending two hours a day sitting on the "free"way. :eyes:

[struggle4progress]

7. Lots of these polls seem to compare different framings of the issue.

In this case, you can compare blaming "corporations and government" to blaming "automobile manufacturers." I think this poll strongly suggests a push on CAFE standards would find favorable reception.

[Coastie for Truth]

9. I blame

1) Our exurban, transit hostile, pedestrian hostile life style.
2) Our love affair with SUV's and muscle cars

Combined with demeaning economy cars and electrics (even as commuter cars and second cars).

3) Our abandoning of urban America (cities, the inner ring of older suburbs)
4) Economics 101

a) Peak oil
b) Increasing buying competition from China and India
c) Loss of Iraqi oil

5) The false promise of Caspian Sea and Black Sea oil (ultimately a bigger mess then the former Yugoslavia, the former Iraq, or Israel-Palestine)
6) Our political fights with Venezuela
7) The false hopes of substitutes fast.

OR, AS POGO SAID

I HAVE SEEN THE ENEMY--
AND IT IS US

[phantom power]

10. Have you seen that Saturn commercial...

The one where this 20-something guy is going on about his friend who "likes to brag that his car gets 300mpg, but leaves out that he gets passed by mopeds."

Talk about "staw man". It's a major stretch to even imagine he's making a characature of a prius. They get 50mpg, and they perform quite comparably to any other sedan in their class. They sure don't get passed by mopeds.

Reminds me of the GM mind-set. It's like they've got this image in their heads (from 30 years ago?) of what a fuel efficient car looks like, and they aren't going to let the facts on the ground get in the way of it.

I thought it was especially odd coming from Saturn, since their cars have always been relatively hi-mileage, compared to the "V8" crowd.

Although Saturn is a subsidiary of GM...

[Coastie for Truth]

11. Like they treated the EV1

I worked for a vendor who was "two clicks away" from the GM EV1 and EV2 projects.

It was very clear to me that GM regarded the whole EV project as a game to get along with the California Air Resources Board - and to "prove" to the California Air Resources Board that "the public will never buy EV's."

Going into the project, I had owned a string of Corvairs, Chevettes, and Cavaliers - and while I enjoyed driving them and they got good mileage -- they were poorly made (even by GM standards in that era). But, they were not designed or built to last.