Why Isn’t Gas More Expensive?
An interesting, short, somewhat counterintuitive article published by the Ludwig Von Mises Institute.
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12 Responses to “Why Isn’t Gas More Expensive?”
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April 29th, 2008 at 6:25 am
Compared to bottled water, which you can get in the creek in my backyard and make potable in swift fashion, it takes an incredible effort to make gasoline. First, they have to pump it from deep in the ground in a desert half way around the world. Then, it must be piped across that desert to a ship, where it makes a perilous journey across the oceans to America. We then do one of the most dangerous things known to man: hydrocracking; the process where we refine the stuff. We turn raw crude into gasoline that your car can drink. Once that is complete, we transport the gas via tanker trucks to your local gas station. The petrol makes an incredible journey from the bottom of some desert to your tank, all for less than $4 per gallon.
I HATE that the price of gas goes up every day. It needs to stabilize so the prices of everything can stabilize becuae hte price of everything depends on the price of the fuel to cart it about.
Profit margins aside, just look at the process and compare it to a bottle of your favorite water, which at a buck and a half per liter, is getting pretty pricey itself.
Keen post Sloel.
April 29th, 2008 at 6:29 am
And then there is this: Shell’s profits up 25%!
April 29th, 2008 at 6:44 am
Thanks FB…
One way that I’ve heard that would stabilize the day to day price increase is to reign in these speculators who buy oil futures on the slimmest of margins. Make them actually put up real money to buy these futures and the price will level out.
The Mises Institute publishes a wonderful article ever day that really puts the issues in perspective as they relate to economics. They are students of the Austrian School of Economics that relies on the free market with no government intervention. They’re very anti Central Bank/Federal Reserve. Go to http://mises.org/ and sign up for their daily email. Most posts are really long with big, smart people words, that I pretend to understand.
It should be required reading for the candidates.
April 29th, 2008 at 6:50 am
No doubt Shell and the other oil companies benefit from the out of control speculators.
BTW - the New York Sun yesterday predicted $10 a gallon gasoline by Summer’s end.
April 29th, 2008 at 7:28 am
I think President Bush should give the oil comapnies ANOTHER tax break…ya’ know….with the “hope” that they will do the right thing with the money and research alternative fuel sources.
April 29th, 2008 at 8:02 am
I read that $10 per gallon prediction and nearly lost my cookies.
that will stifle the American economy for quite some time.
April 29th, 2008 at 8:03 am
GREED, F’IN GREED.
I’m having anxiety attacks trying to figure out how I’m going to pay for food, gas, and just plain living. I’m ready to throw the towel in, pull out my tent and go live in the woods.
April 29th, 2008 at 10:39 am
Do you get WiFi in the woods?
April 29th, 2008 at 4:18 pm
It’s still cheaper here than most places.
April 29th, 2008 at 4:21 pm
You’d have to be an absolute idiot to want to be president of the USA at this point; I reckon that right after the election, we shall experience another great depression (bastard politicians will not allow it to happen before the election). Luckily the local utilities cut down a massive maple tree in the yard and we kept it for firewood. I’ll be warm at least for next winter. Think I’ll take up archery in order to poach deer across the street so we can eat.
May 1st, 2008 at 6:37 am
Thanks for this post. RE: up 25%, over what? Energy policy is a tricky thing. Let’s burn their oil first, then our own when its all that is left. It is estimated that the US has the largest oil reserves on the planet (this one).
May 1st, 2008 at 8:26 am
Maple wood also makes great wood for your barbeque. You could smoke up some of that tasty venison.