I know why oil prices are so damn high.

[iconoclastNYC]

#1 The price of crude oil is going up because the Bush crime family has destabilized the world order so much with the needless and ruinous war in Iraq and threatens to get us into an even more idiotic sequel

#2 Collusion

Crude oil is refined into gasoline, marked up, and sold on the wholesale market. It is purchased by retailers, marked up again and sold to consumers.

The oil companies have effectively eliminated or at least severely retarded competition at the wholesale and retail levels.

It's price fixing 101 and this is the sort of thing that defeats the free market and screws over consumers and holds the economy hostage.

They also use tricks like Enron did in California to artificially constrain supply. In California it has been shown that power plants were deliberately brought off line to create power shortages so that the out of state wholesalers could make obscene profit. Hmmmm. Know any oil companies that have been posting record profits lately?

If we have a real investigation where we raided these companies i'm confidant we could prove this case.

Unfortunately in America there are no politicians with the bravery nor temerity to take on the oil cartel.

Leaders who go up against entrenched power tend to wind up dead....murder by the press....or in cold blood.

[TomInTib]

1. The States are loving higher prices. My state, California...

has gathered more than $100,000,000 (that's one hundred million dollars) in gasoline tax since the first of the year.

[Lasher]

4. All states don't see increased revenues as prices go up.

Some states, such as Louisiana, levy a flat rate per gallon.

http://www.gaspricewatch.com/usgastaxes.asp

[LittleClarkie]

2. How long has crude oil been on the futures market

I thought it was because it was being speculated on, and the destabilizing factors you mentioned are what is driving the price up.

[gerrilea]

3. Collusion is the only reason...

And the fact that 1 month after *ush took office refineries in California shutdown and never opened up again...their reason at the time...there isn't enough oil to justify using the refinery...

I will see if I can find a link for this...

I saw it on FSTV...Free Speech TV about a year ago..

They keep saying that "The Gulf" platforms aren't repaired yet, either...

and I "still believe the moon is made of swiss cheese too!"

Anyways,by shutting down the refinies, the "create" a shortage...baring a really big earthquake in California...they couldn't use the excuse of bad weather there...so they had to shut them down...

[Name removed]

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