Hate war but tired of feeling powerless? Buy exxon stock and learn to love the bomb!

http://money.cnn.com/2006/04/18/news/economy/gas_price_investigation/index.htm?cnn=yes

Never heard of supply and demand mr. Shumer? Ya numb-nutz. What you are seeing is an industry demonstrating precisely how capitalism should work. The one legal obligation a corporation has is to it's shareholders. It is obligated to make them filthy rich, regardless of the sniggling details, and should not be tempered by a sense of civic obligation or by the compunction to be good earthly stewards. At a time capitalist shills (like everyone of our elected officials) should be holding up Exxon as a parragon of our economic model, we see these hypocritical dunder-headed congressmen grandstanding with musty "power to the people" homages and defenses of the rabble's right to live a fat and happy life unemcumbered by consequence, and unconstrained by the very idea of "restraint," and less yet, of "conservation."

....because they pretend to smell a rat.

It's sickening.

You don't think for a GD minute that microsoft doesn't also participate in supply side schemes? Or that walmart doesn't engage in unfair business practices? Really, the profit margins that the oil industry is attaining are the envy of the corporate world. That's why folks like Exxon's out-going CEO, Lee Raymond retire with hundreds of millions of dollars. They earned every damn cent of it the old fashioned way: they out-conned and out-hoodwinked us all, as we all attempt to do to the next guy. They are simply better at the con, and for that they deserve our reverence. Hail hail!

That's how the GD game is played. And we all know it. It's how its always been, and we americans will die to defend it. Wise up: join the con: buy Exxon stock now, because prices and profit margins are only going up. With this new sensibility, you will not only support the next mid-east adventure, you will salivate in anticipation of it! A category 5 hurricane in the Gulf? GOD BE PRAISED!

Join the con, playa!

Last edited: Tuesday, April 18, 2006 at 9:31:13 PM

An impressive dissertation, however cynical it may be. One question though....why post it on a gaming website littered with non-taxpaying teenagers, most of who can't drive, and would rather grab a flag and drive off a cliff repeatedly typing LOLOLOLOL than worry about corporate fleecing? Still, a nice monologue.

I have to disagree. Many of us actually play the game. Altho I do not post in these kind of subjects often ( I let the ppl who it affects more and those who actually care to argue) but many ptters/tters post in these kinda subjects.

Okay, that was joke. I'm very aware that most people play a clean game. I was only stating that such well written literacies should be posted on a broader stage. I'm not meaning to degrade any of the masses of you who seem to pummel me each time we play!

^ Although I appreciate your point, in a democracy there's no 'broader stage'; the stage is everywhere: on the porch of your house, at the bar, in the newspaper, at school, on PTT. Mass Media don't have the exclusive right to democracy - in fact they are mostly suspect.

One thing that I have always been amazed at during this whole oil rise is how we "Americans" have sat here taken it right in the tailpipe. Gas greater than $3.00?, holy crap. I have already got rid of one car (an suv, to a minivan, averages 6mpg better) and am already thinking about getting a motorcycle for the summer to get to work. I guess I was/am very amazed at the lack of hybrid cars. Yes there are a few, but none really for a family of 5. Is the oil "lobby" really that strong to stop the automakers from giving customers what they want? Or is that the automakers have inhaled a little to many fumes.

If you think $3/gallon is expensive, you should try leaving the country sometime. Fact is, we still get gas cheaper than everyone else! Why are there so few hybrids and TRUE economy cars? Because most people STILL don't buy them....because we get gas cheaper than everyone else. But, what's really infuriating is where that money is going!

Personally, I don't think we'll really get into efficient cars until the gas prices get even higher. I get annoyed at what the Government finds tax-worthy at times, but I'm surprised at how little taxing there is on gas, the one source that government really DOES have a hand in providing. There should be a weighted tax system that provides cheap gas to buses and trains, and then crank up the tax on gas while reducing taxes on the other goods. However, this is only a good idea if we had a mass-transit system that actually WORKS for most people. Talk about catch-22.

I live in the Bay Area, which is one of the very few places where mass transit is actually beefy enough to be useful. So, I take my bike to the bus-station, and ride the bus to work. This was not really feasible in the other cities I lived in.

But, let's do the math on this, shall we? Let's see that your job is 15 miles away. That works out to roughly 600 miles a month. Let's say your old car gets 25 miles per gallon at $3/gal. That comes out to a WHOPPING $72/month on gas (sarcasm). Most people spend more on cheeseburgers. So, let's say you get a new hybrid car with the advertised 35mpg. That's a 40% increase in efficiency, so that's nothing to sneeze at. Now your fuel costs come to $51.43. Wow...you saved about twenty bucks a month using a costly, high-maintenance Hybrid vehicle.

However, double the cost of gas, and it doubles your savings. At my job, they give me a free bus-pass, which translates to instant savings. Eventually, personal driving will get expensive enough while mass transit will get cheap enought that THEN (and only then) will we really start "thinking green).

Until then, just keep in mind that the Exxon Ex-Commander is going home with your money.

PS. @Three...yah, it seems strange to have such conversations on a gaming forum, but it's been happening for a LONG time. It seems Think Tanks attracts a larger-than-average mature crowd. I can't count how many times I've heard trash talk like, "You can't just drive straight and blind with the scrum! You get your tactics from Rumsfield?" :P

LOL :)

Good post JB.

Definitely true, as anyone who has lived abroad or travels much can attest.

So nut up folks! Don't lets start getting critical now, or the terrorists win! (heavy sarcasm).

I agree with JB. As it stands, rising gas prices only eat into our discretionary spending...and we will not really need to change our earthly habits just yet. When they double, you are going to KILL to live in a city like sanfrancisco or portland or so that you can take advantage of the mass transit system. For those of you living in backward thinking cities, you will be drastically behind the curve (this means you seattle. Oh, and I suppose, it probably applies uniformly to EVERY city located in a RED STATE. Backward thinking seems to go with the territory there.)

One thing is very clear: suburban homes will not be worth a sh%t in the future, because who the hell can afford to commute?

Incidently, I think it exceedingly funny that our uber conservatives don't seem to know how to comment on my lead post. Typically they are all sputtering nonsense by now. But what are they to make of that post? I envision the grinding of mental gears.

I have to give you props that was lovely

If you are going to level that criticism at this post, you'd have to level it at about 3/4 of all posts. Those of us who write on political subjects, and there are many, are posting for each other's benefits, not for the teenage crowd.

If you prefer marco polo, be my guest.

Last edited: Wednesday, April 19, 2006 at 4:03:33 PM

MARCO!!!!

_{I jest, of course. Good message. I'm buying Exxon/Mobil stock tomorrow.}

Last edited: Wednesday, April 19, 2006 at 3:20:36 PM

Agreed, $3.00 for gas is cheap comparative to other countries due to the taxes.(Have left the country a few times )

Lets just play with the numbers a bit. They are very close to my actual numbers. I drive about 15 miles to work, cept I only get 19 mpg (older buick). So that $72 quickly becomes $94. Thats at $3.00 for gas, just filled up today on the way home at $3.18 (freakin reformulated gas, and thats regular unleaded) so now were heading over the $100 range. Take something like the Toyota hybrid, 45 mpg, knocks it down to $42. So the savings are roughly over $55 a month. Thats just at 600 miles a month I think my average is more like 1k a month, so almost $100 in savings a month. I agree hybrids are little more costly but I do believe they have there place. I was just/am miffed that they don't have more or a wider variety of.

Here in Milwaukee we do have good transit system, if you work dowtown. I don't anymore, kinda miss it. I am a true republican I belive tax breaks for anyone or anything. Heck even for same sex unions and rich people, I don't discriminate. (yes said with a touch of sarcasm for fun, take your pants back off geez.)

Interesting thing oil. We have more than enough but we can't get it refined fast enough. Why don't we have more refineries? Ironic who benefits, eh.

I have always considred myself a Capitilistic pig. Yet when I read these oil companies quartely reports I get pissed, not good. Wish the answer could be as easy as beefing up the transit system. Think you would hit a lot of people, but still leave a lot out in the cold.

Hmm I think we should all just work from our homes.

Riiiiiight...would YOU get any work done if you worked in the same location where TT is installed? I think not!
Bomb...James Bomb

POLO!

With that other thread up about "price gouging," I thought I'd revive this one. THERE IS NO PRICE GOUGING. None. Nope. Nada.

Its like this:

http://dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/4/25/11581/7668

How bout that?

Get a hybrid.

Only useful for city stop&go mileage. Freeway traffic is only marginally better than say, a small Ford Focus.

Use the bus or train. Pity we lack the infrastructure, but maybe if people made enough noise to put it in place...

People wonder how the Exxon CEO can walk away with so much cash while prices are so high? Simple. Supply and demand. Stink laid it out. 3% supply and 25% demand. Frankly, I'm amazed that gas is still so cheap here in the states. Prices will continue to rise until the demand finally drops down to the supply level. Where does that money go? Well, in a free market economy, it's called profit. There's nothing illegal about it.

Gas should be like buying stereos and shoes: if you think it's overpriced, then don't buy it. You'll just have to start planning on how to reduce your consumption.

1. Get a bike for those short trips. In-city mileage is the worst gas-burner. Besides, it gets you in shape.
2. Keep bus schedules and maps handy at your house, or find an online service for your city that plans mass transit. http://transit511.org works great for the Bay Area.
3. Stop buying an SUV that will never see a dirt road. Get a more efficient van or station wagon. If you think that the "cool-factor" is that important to you, then you have no right to bitch about the mileage.
4. If you have to drive, then make a serious attempt to carpool.
5. Do you really need a V8? Unless you're towing a massive boat, probably not.

Don't cry to the government about gas prices. All they can do is add a tax to make it even more expensive. The only way to lower the price is to lower demand. And please, for the love of God, don't demand that they regulate it. "Fixing" a price structure just breaks things elsewhere. Keep in mind that there is already more than enough government influence in gas prices to keep the cost lower than nearly all other countries.

I use my bicycle to get to the bus for work each day. I use the train to go to the airport for family trips. I have a bike trailer to take my kid to the store. I use my car once a month to go to drill and the occasional quick errand, and it's a Ford Focus sedan that gets 32mpg. My total monthly cost in car gas is around $30. It's not that hard if you're willing to put a little effort in it.

- Bomb...James Bomb

Major oil companies report first quarter earnings tomorrow. It's gonna be real interesting to see how this administration spins the soaring profits and margins. I'll bet it's front page, lead story news everywhere tomorrow. I'll also bet Fox News won't mention the fact that this administration included oil executives in it's energy policy setting discussions.

Yar, and gave them R&D tax breaks.

Good post JB. Public transport is a very good option for the city. For the city with the foresight to have invested in it. But JB: what do you advise folks in the suburbs or country to do? There, public transport is abysmal. And there can be vast expances of space in between your home, your work, and where you recreate.

Suburbia is all about the car. I don't see an easy fix for those of you residing there. In fact, suburban planners seemed to think that walking or cycling was a crime, or something undesirables did. Its all about roads, parking lots and big box stores. Suburbia is anathema to community living, in the sense of communal. Any solutions for saving suburbia? I hope not.

Another question: will the big lot, big box stores survive high gas prices? Again, I hope not.

"Use the bus or train. Pity we lack the infrastructure, but maybe if people made enough noise to put it in place" said JB. You may remember a movement a while back to jetison Amtrak. Guess which party thought of that one? Since then, they've been chronically underfunding it, hoping to kill it off completely.

Turns out, its not profitable. But then again, neither is public education. Useful? Yes, immensely. But how can it be justified, when it can't play by the rules of the market?

Are we starting to see the limits of governing exclusively through the lens of market economics yet? Gas hits 5 bucks, and you will wish you had access to a train. As it is, we've got a train system that the bolivians would be ashamed of.

Holy Crap!!!

The thing we need to be asking is WHY are the prices in the states rising? First it was Katrina, We had the supply of oil but couldnt refine it fast enough. This time its because we changing over the refining process and adding ethonal. I say its all bullshit and there should be an investagation of Exxon, and the other big oil companies. In fact I'll go one step farther and say the gov should step in and do away with the mid grade gas, leaving high and low octane only freeing up the refinery to make more low octane gas.

I can spew about this for ever and the more I talk about it the more I want to go postal. So I'm done. I bearly got through this post.

Pissed
CB

Prices are rising because we keep using more of it without being able to dig for more of it on our own. Prices are this LOW because of the government, actually.

For those without mass transit who have a bit of distance to the commercial zone, your only real option is to look into possible buses or just get a very economical car. Not using that Dodge Ram with the V8 is an improvement.

Let's be clear on this: energy conservation is rarely profitable, otherwise it wouldn't be an issue. The government wants to kill Amtrack because it costs money. Amtrack is a special case. Most cities are responsible for funding their own mass transit, but Amtrack travels beyond city boundaries, so it became an issue on whose money should be used to maintain it. Pity.

The government needs to put forth the $$$ if a viable mass transit system will come forth. It will still only occur in major cities, but that is where the worst problems are anyways.

Bomb...James Bomb

This is good...

I think I caught a liberal TTer doing the sock puppet thing over at another blog.

Not sure which of you wrote this, but you know who you are:

Last edited: Wednesday, April 26, 2006 at 9:24:18 PM