What is going on with this GAS rising daily?

[Blue_Roses]

:argh: Good grief! This is ridiculous!!

I think Bush and his oil buddies are in a rush to line their pockets before a Democratic President steps in and stops this shit!

[waiting for hope]

1. The Hurricane prediction may

be another excuse - they've used it the past two years. Asshats.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

13. Well, it's not like there is a predictable season or anything like that.

[waiting for hope]

19. Remember two years ago?

http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/outlooks/hurricane2006/August/hurricane_body.html

Even after they updated it, gas prices continued to rise. They are going to latch on any excuse they can find.

[nancyr]

2. They do it because they can.

Who's going to stop them???

[Andy823]

5. Thats pretty much it.

With Bush in office they know that nothing will be done to prevent them from making a killing this summer. Everything has been put in place for them to make the highest profits since Bush took office. The low dollar, saber rattling against Iran, no really energy policy in this country, and Dick Cheney pulling the strings for them, what more could they ask for!

[Blue_Roses]

7. as much as I hate to admit your post

it's true--at least for now.:banghead:

[havocmom]

3. Thinkin it has something to do with Robo Sales calls and spam for ED fixes

people would never buy.... the Stressing Out of the American Citizens. We are not going completely loony and rioting fast enough for cheney's schedule?

Just something that goes through my head as I swear at the telephone and the spam emails....

[FSogol]

4. Its the Enron Energry Crisis all over again.

They need to make huge profits before Obama becomes President.

1. Oil companies are investing in Storage facilities. If there was a true shortage, why would they need more storage?

2. A record number of refineries are closed for cleaning, repairs, etc.

3. Ships are not bringing oil into ports. By staying out at sea a couple of weeks, they can sell it at a higher price. They blame the ships staying out on a record year of fog. Which of course is major BS.

[BlueJac]

6. Enron loophole....google it.

[Blue_Roses]

8. I live in Texas...

Enron is not a very nice word here.

[kentuck]

9. The Repubs want ANWR before they go out of business ??

would be my guess?

[DangerDave921]

23. May be off base here

But. . . what is so wrong with drilling in ANWAR? I've read a lot on this topic, and it seems that the area they're talking about is miniscule comparied to the size of the wildlife reserve. It's a frozen tundra. Why such vehement opposition to it?

[liberalmuse]

10. The Bushie's time is almost up.

They're going to screw Americans out of as much money as they can get. Fucking criminals.

[all.of.me]

11. Do you think prices will plummet right before the election?

Wouldn't be the first time! :)

[On the Road]

18. I Do Think That Prices Will Fall Before the Election

Bush may not have directly caused the spike in oil, but he has levers he is not using. Clinton eased prices by lowering reserves. He may have already made agreements with foreign leaders.

[FSogol]

21. Same here. After the summer, gas will drop to under $3.00 a gallon. n/t

[LTR]

26. October surprise?

Still, the only way it could possibly work is to lower it to the level that it was at the beginning of Bush's presidency. And we all know that ain't happening.

[On the Road]

30. Any Fall in Prices Will Have an Effect

They won't have to go all the way down. Pre-2005 levels are probably unattainable without some pretty basic changes in energy supply and demand.

[PoliticalAmazon]

12. I paid $4.47 yesterday evening; same gas station this morning has posted $4.57. n/t

[DangerDave921]

14. Economic Reality

Please explain to me what a Dem President is going to do to lower the price of gas.

We grossly over-estimate the power that a president has over economics. Presidents can't magically raise or lower the price of any good.

So I have to ask again: What is a Dem Predident going to do to lower the price of gas?

[kentuck]

16. They can do a lot.

They can release supply from the oil reserve. They can contract smaller oil companies to drill in the public lands that the oil companies now have access to but refuse to drill. They can budget for wind, solar, and other fuels. They can withdraw from the Middle East. There is a lot the President can do.

[nebula]

29. The President has massive influence over the economy

like when the President bankrupts the treasury in order to invade and occupy other countries, for example. or when they pass laws like NAFTA which result in the shipping of tens of thousands of jobs overseas.

...or like when they sign the CMFA into law....The CMFA was drafted by Enron Lobbyists working with senator Phil Gramm and signed into law in December 2000 by President Bill Clinton:


Commodities Futures Modernization Act (2000) and its Notorious Enron Loophole promoted energy speculation


The CFMA, which exempted from regulation and federal oversight, energy trading from global electronic platforms such as the Intercontinental Exchange(ICE)in London where, for example, the Amaranth Advisores Hedge Fund lost $6 billion in late 2006 trying to corner the natural gas market which suddenly crashed in the September 2006. Amaranth shifted its trading to ICE after NYMEX exchange officials ordered the hedge fund to reduce their excessively large positions. The Municiple Gas Authority of Georgia, a public utility, accused Amaranth of artificially inflating the cost of their bulk natural gas purchases by $18 million in the winter of 2006/07 through their domination of the natural gas market in the early part of 2006.

The rolling blackouts experienced in the State of California in the first quarter of 2001, were attributed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to speculative trading in energy futures on an unregulated trading platform established by Enron called EnronOnline. Such trading platforms were exempted by Sen. Phil Gramm's amendment to the 2000 CFTA. Gramm continues to defend the measure today as does John McCain who has taken on Gramm as his presidential campaign's main economic advisor.

In September 2007, Sen. Carl Levin, who conducted Senate inquiries into the effects of growing commodities futures trading on the price of crude oil and gasoline, appealled to Bush to close the "Enron Loophole" and bring global oil prices more closely into line with actual conditions of supply and demand. According to Levin's Senate Committee, about 30% of the price of WTI crude over that last couple of years on average is accounted for by speculative activity.

New bipartisan Legislation sponsered by two Democrats and one Republican (Levin, Feinstein and Snowe respectively) has the support of both the energy industry and the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The CFTC has already fined several energy firms for illegally corning local energy markets to the detriment of consumers and rate payers through price inflating speculative trading including BP. The Enron Loophole closure amendment was included in the recent Farm Bill sent to Bush for signing. Both he and McCain oppose the farm bill in its entirety including the bipartisan amendment to regulate commodity futures trading in energy markets.

[progdog]

15. Still pushing to open up Arctic Reserve.

n/t

[BanzaiBonnie]

17. One word

speculation

[WinkyDink]

20. BINGO.

[shadowknows69]

22. Ding ding ding we have a winner

I think you just answered your own question Blue.

[K Gardner]

24. That's exactly what I think.

[tedoll78]

25. I'm not entirely sure, to be honest.

I'm suspicious of peak oil issues, but with this crowd running the show right now, I can't be sure that it's not profiteering.

In fact, I sincerely hope that it's profiteering. It would suggest that we might still have some time.

[DangerDave921]

33. more oil

I think there's a lot more oil out there in the world and coal and shale. And I think we need to get it while we run a parallel course of developing new technology. Oil won't sustain us, but it can help bridge the gap while we develop new and improved sources of energy.

[LTR]

27. Bush needs to make money somehow

After all, who's going to pay him millions of dollars to give speeches?

[ChimpersMcSmirkers]

28. Heres a chart for July Gasoline Futures

http://quotes.ino.com/chart/?s=NYMEX_RB.N08.E&v=d6

The energy markets are going parabolic. I would guess that we still have some more hurt coming before the bubble bursts, if it ever does.

My buddy and I have a running debate about how much our mid-east adventures vs. demand from China etc. account for the run up.
No matter how much the impact, it's pretty obvious that the Iraq debacle is a significant part of the oil rally.

If I were Obama, I'd be out there directly connecting Iraq and oil/gas prices on a daily basis. They are definitly connected.

[snooper2]

31. It's gone down 5 cents since last week where I am at...

$3.93 ...

Just filled up the bike, cost $14.09 :)

North Texas

[QC]

32. Speculators are doing the same thing to food and gas that they did to housing

a few years ago and internet stocks before that. This is another bubble and the same class is making out like bandits that always gets rich off bubbles.

I keep hoping that Americans might wake up and decide that it's not such a great idea to let billionaire speculators set the prices of everything.

[iconicgnom]

34. US creditor nations (including those in mid east) have gotten cold feet

about funding even more US debt.
So to keep the ball rolling the US has to print more $$, weakening the US $ even more, in a destabalizing chain-reaction.

At the same time as the US has piled on the debt, it's exported its industrial capacity to China esp., but also to other nations with extremely low labor standards. Where industial capacity goes, so eventually goes creative, research, and management capacity. The US (and North America in general) is facing a crisis. Going deeper into denial and debt by funding short-term cheaper gas (by lowering or eliminating taxes) would only accelerate the downward spiral. Required is a fundamental rethink of political/economic assumptions, and a collective belt-tightening. An answer doesn't lie in cheaper gas for outdated SUVs and status cars.