Gas prices "dropping" to spur holiday shopping? Are we under control?

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Prices shot up to their highest level ever weeks ago, from already historic highs, but now there's a big drop. We're almost under $2 a gal. for regular unleaded.

If its possible we've been gouged, by oil companies supported by two greedy oil men from Texas who have given us two brutal and bloody ongoing invasions/occupations in the most oil rich region in the world upon which we rely greatly for our corporate-state lifestyle, and if its possible that the "secret" energy policy meetings - of which oil co. heads were a part - tho they denied it before a Congressional hearing (at which Dem efforts to get them under oath were defied by the repub chair) - then is it possible that these gas prices might be being manipulated to gouge and perchance control "the people?"

But hell, ken lay's co. Enron did some royal screwing of CA in what might have been a test case/model for those who now control the most awesome arsenal on the planet while seeking to control the momentarily most valuable resources on the planet - at all costs.

That guy, ken lay - bush's TX buddy "kennyboy" - the good friend of one of the oil men from TX who have given us war abroad and chaos at home and emptied our treasury while the other one's former co. has made billions in record profits with our troops as security detail - securing ownership of oil fields and pipelines for the new powers...


Considering all that, does it seem so far fetched that gas prices are now tumbling in a controlled way (much like the WTC fell), for hidden reasons - to spike the economy by spurring more shopping, more consumption?

Are we that much under the influence, that easily manipulated?

I'm just wondering...

[TheDebbieDee]

1. I think the drop in gas prices was caused by loud

public cries for an investigation into whether or not the oil industry has been engaging in price gouging for the last 3 or 4 years!

I think they lowered the prices to take the heat off themselves, those greedy BASTARDS!

[rzemanfl]

2. Of course we are. It's retail's turn. Gas prices will go back up

after the holidays. Three dollar a gallon gas would have caused a disasterous Christmas shopping season. Instead, we have two dollar a gallon gas and mobs at the stores. God bless the United States of America, where they brag on CNN about how we spend more on Xmas than the gross national products of some countries.

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3. God its sinful, isn't it?

The way we slop around like fat pigs, leaving a stiking trail and winking at the poor and starving of the world...

[rzemanfl]

5. I flicked on CNN and they had some female talking head

comparing our Christmas shopping excesses to the GDP of Austria, Chile and Finland among others. Made me want to puke and return the presents I bought. Problem is that I have grandchildren too young to understand why greed sucks or in a couple of cases even what greed is. My two-year old grandson was here today and I had to pull a circuit breaker to do a little repair around the house. When the TV and DVD player went off you would have thought it was the end of the world. I can remember when TV didn't even come on until 4:30 in the afternoon...and you were really lucky to have one.

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12. Its insane, and its unsustainable, imho.

Its like having the starving look in on us while we go for thirds.

Somewhere its gone from lucky to have a tv to driving 50 miles to buy the latest playstation, because, you're led to believe, it'll show my kid how much I love him. Not that I blame anyone for buying a child what a child wants - they are too young to undersand.

And its not coming from the people, it is coming from our tv's and our internets. They're grabbed up young. We're grabbed up young. As young as possible.

and part of the world is dying for lack while we play with our toys

whew, its boggling

[rzemanfl]

17. The two year-old was happiest when we took him to a park where

he could RUN as much as he wanted to. It was a really well designed playground for two to four year-olds with some sort of rubberized surface on the ground so that if a child fell they just kind of bounced. I look at all my grandchildren, three of whom are really privileged (Daddy is a cardiologist) and participate in expensive organized activities and I really don't know if they aren't missing out on their childhood. They have all this EQUIPMENT for everything they do, like complete soccer uniforms for kids who kick at the ball and miss it by a foot and a half. I don't understand, when I was a kid we just went out and played.

[tx_dem41]

4. Simple supply and demand....

the price of oil is down 25% since Labor Day, refineries are back on line, and the demand for gas is in its usual Fall dip.

[rzemanfl]

7. No offense, I hope you are right, and I'm wrong, but have you

considered that the b.s. you hear in Texas might be a little deeper than in the rest of the country? Just asking.

[tx_dem41]

9. I'm basing this on an education in economics and data that is

widely available to anyone on the internet. I don't know a soul in Texas that is in the oil industry, save one person that I don't talk to about oil.

[rzemanfl]

10. Then I have a question. Isn't there a base level of demand for

gas (for commuting to and from work other "necessary" travel) that would exist even if gas prices were to triple or more? Doesn't it make the gas market different from, say the demand for DeBeers diamonds (which I am convinced DeBeers manipulates) or velvet Elvis paintings? Even if Country and Western CDs were a penny each, delivered to my door-I wouldn't buy one, but I need a certain amount of gasoline.

[tx_dem41]

14. Yes.....but relative to the annual market we are at a low now

in the demand cycle.

[rzemanfl]

11. One more question. Can you trust the data? I have no idea, but

the only information that I trust that comes from our government is the weather forecast.

[tx_dem41]

13. Yes I can trust the data.

None of it comes from the Government.

[rzemanfl]

15. Does it come from the oil companies? n/t

[tx_dem41]

16. Mainly consumer advocacy groups...

and of course the commodity numbers and academia.

[rzemanfl]

19. Thank you. I still don't trust the oil companies but I will take your

word for the supply and demand thing. Do you agree that retail would have taken a hell of a hit if gas was still over 3 bucks on "Black Friday?"

[tx_dem41]

22. Its probably too short a shopping season to have seen a big hit.

If it would have taken a hit, it would have been minor.

[rzemanfl]

23. Interesting. Maybe I am not looking at the big picture. Maybe I

just don't have enough money.

[tx_dem41]

21. No. n/t

[Horse with no Name]

24. I asked this question yesterday and got a completely different

assessment than tx is giving.
Please read it.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x5445455
>>>snip
I've been following the shut-in numbers for gas and oil from
the gulf and the price drop makes no sense (Especially in light of the
fact that shipments of 2 million bpd from the EU strategic reserves
ended last week.

http://www.mms.gov/ooc/press/2005/press1123.htm

Today’s shut-in oil production is 615,623 BOPD. This shut-in oil production is equivalent to 41.04% of the daily oil production in the GOM, which is currently approximately 1.5 million BOPD.

I don't think we have seen the worst of it yet

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18. You say there was no gouging in the wake of Katrina/Rita?

There seemed to be pending Congressional investigations at one point, but that seems now to have fallen from the headlines. So many suspected gouging, seemingly. I suspect it as well. And it leads me to wonder how far it might go, and how high it might go, and how long its been going on. I find the fall in gas prices, at a time when the current regime sees the people increasingly agitated, just a little susicous.

Not privy to your facts/stats. Just talking gut feeling, I guess...

[johnnyburma]

25. Agreed

I enjoy your posts tex_dem. Quite often the voice of reason.

[tularetom]

6. "we" aren't that easily manipulated but

many of the American people are, sad to say. I agree wholeheartedly that the lower prices are a scam to take the pressure off retailers and try to stimulate holiday shopping. I don't agree with the characterization of bush amd cheney as "oil men". Bush's ventures in the oil bidness were marked by failure after failure and bailouts by daddys rich friends while cheney is known primarily for Halliburton's acquisition of Dresser Industries which had a gazillion dollars of asbestos liability hanging over its head. Its widely agreed that his tenure as CEO was a disaster by any standard.

[rzemanfl]

8. Cheney has either fixed or is working on fixing that little asbestos

problem through "tort reform" when he isn't busy organizing torture plans.

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20. Iraq Warned Against "Straitjacket" Oil Deals -

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1948083


WASHINGTON, Nov 23 (IPS) - Oil exploration deals currently being negotiated between the Washington-backed Iraqi government and multinational oil companies could cost Iraqis up to 194 billion dollars in lost revenues and transfer more than two-thirds of the country's oil reserves to the control of foreign firms, a new report warns.

"In short, the winners for control of Iraq's oil are the U.S., the UK, and their oil companies," said Steve Kretzmann of Oil Change International and co-publisher of the report, "Crude Designs: The Rip-Off of Iraq's Oil Wealth".

"The losers are the Iraqi people," he added.