Gas prices in 1 year

[rshunter]

Originally Posted By: grampi
Originally Posted By: rshunter
Absolutely true. Oil companies do make big profits, but it's based on massive volumes. There are plenty of respected, admired and even loved companies and industries that make far, far higher profit margins than the oil industry and companies. The "EVIL OIL INCORPORATED" bit is a red herring...

And how many of those companies are selling a product the world MUST have, and/or are selling them in a market that has no competition?

Medical, pharmaceutical, computer... Want me to list them, with their profit margins? I've done it before.

BTW, when was the last time an oil company didn't exist in a competitive environment? Maybe Standard Oil back in 1911?

P.S.: If you want to know the real profiteers at the gas pump, take a look no further than the State and Federal governments...

 

[Kestas]

Originally Posted By: grampi
And how many of those companies are selling a product the world MUST have, and/or are selling them in a market that has no competition?

grampi, in the grand scheme of things, nobody "MUST" have oil. A hundred years ago, we did just fine without it.

The oil companies - as did the auto companies - long time ago offerred a product to us. We had a choice where we could have shunned the product. Nobody rammed it down our throats. Collectively, as a society, we embraced it as a cheap and reliable way to power our transportation and our country. When the time comes where it is no longer a good way to power transportation and our country, we will find other power sources. They may not be cheap, but there are other alternatives. Until that day comes, gas and oil will remain as the fuel of choice for the public.

You're just bellyaching that fuel isn't as cheap as it once was. I'll grant you that we have grown dependent on the oil companies with our infrastructure and city planning. Still better than riding a horse, don't you think?

 

[rshunter]

Here are numbers for some well known names, just for giggles...

Industry or Company ----- Net Profit Margin

Major Integrated Oil & Gas = 5.5%

Exxon Mobil (XOM) = 8.58%
Chevron Corp (CVX) = 7.76%
ConocoPhilllips (COP) = 7.00%
Royal Dutch Shell (RDS) = 3.82%
BP PLC (BP) = 2.53%

Drug Manufacturers - Major = 19.40%

Eli Lilly & Co (LLY) = 23.04%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) = 22.81%
Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) = 19.78%
GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK) = 18.91%

Personal Computers = 11.40%

Apple Inc (AAPL) = 21.18%

Water Utilities = 10.30%

Connecticut Water Service (CTWS) = 22.14%
Aqua America Inc (WTR) = 21.05%
American Water Works Co (AWK) = 15.77%

Food - Major Diversified = 8.30%

Unilever PLC (UL) = 10.86%
Danone (BN.PA) = 10.02%
HJ Heinz Co (HNZ) = 9.62%
Sara Lee Corp (SRL) = 7.46%



So, tell me more about those evil profiteers in the oil business...

 

[Dave Hess]

Quote:
" I am sorry, but, gas prices did not ruin the economy. They had nothing to do with the collapse of the economy. "

" Wrong. Gas prices may not have been the main reason, but they were most certainly a big contributor. "


Gas prices are just a VERY small reason why so many Americans are cash poor. Why do people blame gas prices for their poor financial state when they couldn't tame their spending/buying habits ?

Seems like they are looking for an excuse for being broke.

 

[mechanicx]

I think what frustrates people is everything seems to keep going up in cost while wages seems to be stagnate or decreasing along with job opportunities, benefits, and job security. Oil and gasoline is something you can only cut back so much on. When you have pundits saying $4-$5/gal gas, that sounds more like a plan than a prediction and I think people are right to be resistant. Deregulation of the market and higher oil prices sure seem to coincide. I think just about everything is overpriced in the US.

 

[rshunter]

Originally Posted By: mechanicx
I think just about everything is overpriced in the US.

It is, until you start comparing it to the rest of the world.

 

[grampi]

Originally Posted By: Kestas
Originally Posted By: grampi
And how many of those companies are selling a product the world MUST have, and/or are selling them in a market that has no competition?

grampi, in the grand scheme of things, nobody "MUST" have oil. A hundred years ago, we did just fine without it.



100 years ago, we did just fine without it, but today's society is built around motorized tansportation. Try doing everything you need to do these days by walking, riding a bike, or even by horseback. It can't be done, therefore motorized transportation, and the fuel needed for it is a must...

 

[grampi]

Originally Posted By: rshunter
Originally Posted By: mechanicx
I think just about everything is overpriced in the US.

It is, until you start comparing it to the rest of the world.


You're kidding, right? There are few places in the world where the cost of living is as high as it is here...

 

[Samilcar]

Maybe our Canadian members can chime in on the price difference on ordinary goods between our two countries. I seem to remember that many of them like to make special trips down south to stock up on certain items.

 

[Autobahn88]

Originally Posted By: grampi
Originally Posted By: rshunter
Originally Posted By: mechanicx
I think just about everything is overpriced in the US.

It is, until you start comparing it to the rest of the world.


You're kidding, right? There are few places in the world where the cost of living is as high as it is here...


Sorry, but I have travelled all over Europe and the U.S is alot cheaper in just about everything. Try paying $5 for a can of coke or $18 for a big mac combo at McDonalds. And yes, we in Canada have always payed more for many goods. So consider yourself lucky. Try paying our taxes before you start [censored] about gas prices.

 

[grampi]

Originally Posted By: Autobahn88
Originally Posted By: grampi
Originally Posted By: rshunter
Originally Posted By: mechanicx
I think just about everything is overpriced in the US.

It is, until you start comparing it to the rest of the world.


You're kidding, right? There are few places in the world where the cost of living is as high as it is here...


Sorry, but I have travelled all over Europe and the U.S is alot cheaper in just about everything. Try paying $5 for a can of coke or $18 for a big mac combo at McDonalds. And yes, we in Canada have always payed more for many goods. So consider yourself lucky. Try paying our taxes before you start [censored] about gas prices.


I didn't say the U.S. has the highest cost of living in the world, but it's certainly among the highest.

 

[Samilcar]

Originally Posted By: grampi

5 cents a gallon? That's hilarious! If you believe that, I've got some swamp land in Florida I'll sell you! Those kind of profits simply wouldn't support the hundreds of millions of dollars in retirement pensions their CEO's get.


Volume, volume, volume. Yearly US gasoline consumption is 16 Billion gallons . 5 cents a gallon profit on that would be a $800 million yearly profit, more than enough to support said retired CEO's. If as you say that per gallon profit is more like 10 cents, that would be a $1.6 Billion yearly profit.

 

[KrisZ]

Originally Posted By: Samilcar
Maybe our Canadian members can chime in on the price difference on ordinary goods between our two countries. I seem to remember that many of them like to make special trips down south to stock up on certain items.


Just to give you an example of oil prices, you guys complain that the Edge, Ultra and Mobil 1 Extended Performance cost a lot at ~$28. In Ontario Edge is at $47, Ultra is (for now) at $36 at Walmart and Mobil 1 Extended Performance is over $50. The same trend goes for pretty much everything else except electronics, which seem to be priced similarly based on the exchange rate.

So yes, U.S. is spoiled by cheap goods and general lower cost of living like heating, water, hydro and gas costs when compared to other developed countries in Europe and Asia.

How can the society be not spoiled? Just look at the money spent for Christmas and during the Black Friday. I saw the madness on TV, how people lined up for days to spend their money, or should I say CREDIT, and I couldn’t help myself but wonder, we, as a society, are really and I mean REALLY DUMB. Here we are with record unemployment rates, increasing living expanses and no prospects of manufacturing coming back to NA, and people are basically killing themselves to spend money they don’t have. This is a phenomenon that I only saw in US and Canada.

The money shot... if you think it expansive now, get ready, as it will get far worse unless the manufacturing and job markets improve dramatically.

 

[Autobahn88]

Well put Krisz. I still do not understand how some here think that the U.S has a high cost of living compared to the rest of the industrialized world. Listen, Gas and oil will just keep going up in the future. Instead of complaining about it, do something to lower you dependence on gas and oil. Drive a more fuel efficent vehicle or try alternative methods of transport. Find a solution to the problem instead of complaining. Gas is a luxury, if you can't afford to buy it then maybe you should change your lifestyle.

 

[bruno]

Spoiled ?

Try sensible !

 

[Autobahn88]

Originally Posted By: bruno
Spoiled ?

Try sensible !


I would not say spoiled or sensible. The US will finally see what the rest of the world is paying for the same goods.

 

[Thermo1223]

I am really sick of hearing the argument...

"You think it's expensive in the US, try Europe!"

First of all they had a currency forced upon them "euro" which drove up cost & inflation.

Second, they pay absolutely insane taxes to their government for services we tend to pay out of pocket for. That is factored into their fuel tax. It is a push to try and use alternate forms of transportation and cost fuel usage. Doesn't seem to work though...

IE You drive your own car and you subsidize the mass transit service for everyone else. It doesn't work that way in the US. Let us not forget in EU they have oil right at their backdoor. It needs to trucked over a long distance for the US.

http://www.whatprice.co.uk/petrol-prices/cost-litre-breakdown.html
http://www.eia.doe.gov/oog/info/gdu/gasdiesel.asp

The US pays primary for crude oil being imported and very little goes to tax. Now would I be in favor of a tax increase if it was going to implement better roads, better mass transit, better driver education to reduce accident rates, and lower insurance for all. However knowing the USA's lobbying & congress it would get swept away.

The reason everything cost more overseas is because their governments WANT it too, period.

 

[KrisZ]

Quote:
The reason everything cost more overseas is because their governments WANT it too, period.


Yes, but US government shows all the signs that it wants exactly the same thing. How else can we explain trillions of dollars spend on bailouts that did nothing to the common men and lined up the pockets of top brass?

Who do you think will pay for it all?

At least overseas people have these "services" that are available to them to justify higher taxes, all we have is a huge debt hole.

 

[Tornado Red]

Originally Posted By: Samilcar
Volume, volume, volume. Yearly US gasoline consumption is 16 Billion gallons . 5 cents a gallon profit on that would be a $800 million yearly profit, more than enough to support said retired CEO's. If as you say that per gall


Oil refiners make and sell a lot more than just gasoline. Plus some of them have operations in other countries, so the volume produced in the US is only a fraction of the total. And then again, some oil companies drill for and produce their own crude, while other buy all their crude on the open market.

Pick a company, then look at its annual reports for average daily production numbers and profits. The better companies are able to earn 5-7 cents a gallon.

 

[Tornado Red]

Originally Posted By: Thermo1223
First of all they had a currency forced upon them "euro" which drove up cost & inflation.

Every country that adopted the Euro did so voluntarily. And actually the Euro has held down prices and interest rates... which contributed to the European bubble, as Greeks got to borrow for the same rates as Germans despite Greece being a much riskier place.

Quote:
Now would I be in favor of a tax increase if it was going to implement better roads, better mass transit, better driver education to reduce accident rates, and lower insurance for all.


It is called a road use tax, and if it is raised then I want it to go 100% toward roads and highways. New roads, wider roads, repairs to bridges, etc. There are more than enough necessary highway projects to justify higher fuel taxes. But I don't want any of the fuel tax I pay to go for mass transit. IMO mass transit should make a profit without subsidies, and certainly not a subsidy from me.