At least gas prices are good
- Thread starter troutman
- Start date
This letter to the editor was written in 2008 in response to an article by an elderly woman staff writer where she blamed and was "deeply offended" by those evil oil companies who raised the price of gasoline. Of course it was rejected because my "hateful anti-feminism". Some folks reject knowledge at all cost.
I Am Not Offended
I was not offended by the well written opinion article in the recent [redacted]newspaper by staff writer [redacted]. She writes well. The content of her Opinion article did not insult the intelligence of her readers as those of others sometimes do.
I disagree with her in regard to the oil companies.
The big five US oil companies own only 2% of the world’s producing oil reserves, and actually produce less than 5% of the world’s daily oil supply. The price of gasoline at the pump is not the same thing as the world price of oil, although related. The cost breakdown of a gallon of gasoline is approximately as follows: 68%-price of crude oil, 13%-cost of refining crude oil into gasoline, 7%-cost of getting the gasoline to the pumps, 12%-federal and local taxes, and the last 7% is the gross margin from which the oil companies try to make a profit. It is the local dealers that set the price of gasoline at the pump.
Crude oil is a commodity, just like copper, iron, corn, wheat or sugar; the market price is determined on a daily basis by buyers and sellers competing in a global market. The problem for the American consumer is that by international agreement, the world crude oil price is denominated only in American dollars
In 1968, with gold priced at $32/ounce, a gallon of gasoline retailing at 14 cents/gallon cost .004 ounces of gold. Today, with gasoline priced at $4.00/gallon, and gold at around $1600/ounce, the real cost of gasoline is only .0025 ounces of gold per gallon. Today’s real price is only about half of what it cost in real money in 1968. If one truly wants to be offended at someone, why not go after the source and be offended by those who have debauched our currency and stolen almost 95% of the purchasing power of the dollar by deliberate inflation since we went off of the gold standard in 1971?
The immediate problem for all consumers, myself included, is that I, like many others am a member of the despised and persecuted small-business/middle-class, and cannot earn dollars at my profession, faster than our elected representatives in the US government can steal their purchasing power by printing them out of thin air and inflating them into oblivion. So by ranting at oil companies, Jamie is doing exactly what the government propaganda spin-masters want her to do, and that is to draw attention away from the real villains and the greatest threat of all to American business: government.
Each day, investors make decisions as to which stocks, bonds, or commodities they will risk their money on. The truly greedy would invest their money in bovine flatulence if they thought they could make more money vs. another investment. Investors in US oil companies should be commended for risking their wealth to acquire and produce something that Americans want and need, in spite of their belligerent adversaries in government.
I suspect that Jamie’s choosing to take offense at the oil companies is really the manifestation of a personal preference, rather than a reflection of true belief or conviction. We could all easily defend ourselves from the ravages of the oil companies by not driving our cars, cutting the electric power to our homes, cooking with wood, lighting by tallow candles (modern ones are petroleum based), pumping water by hand from a well, using an outhouse instead of a modern toilet, and taking a bath only on Saturday. We will all be doing this anyway if we keep on the current path.
I Am Not Offended
I was not offended by the well written opinion article in the recent [redacted]newspaper by staff writer [redacted]. She writes well. The content of her Opinion article did not insult the intelligence of her readers as those of others sometimes do.
I disagree with her in regard to the oil companies.
The big five US oil companies own only 2% of the world’s producing oil reserves, and actually produce less than 5% of the world’s daily oil supply. The price of gasoline at the pump is not the same thing as the world price of oil, although related. The cost breakdown of a gallon of gasoline is approximately as follows: 68%-price of crude oil, 13%-cost of refining crude oil into gasoline, 7%-cost of getting the gasoline to the pumps, 12%-federal and local taxes, and the last 7% is the gross margin from which the oil companies try to make a profit. It is the local dealers that set the price of gasoline at the pump.
Crude oil is a commodity, just like copper, iron, corn, wheat or sugar; the market price is determined on a daily basis by buyers and sellers competing in a global market. The problem for the American consumer is that by international agreement, the world crude oil price is denominated only in American dollars
In 1968, with gold priced at $32/ounce, a gallon of gasoline retailing at 14 cents/gallon cost .004 ounces of gold. Today, with gasoline priced at $4.00/gallon, and gold at around $1600/ounce, the real cost of gasoline is only .0025 ounces of gold per gallon. Today’s real price is only about half of what it cost in real money in 1968. If one truly wants to be offended at someone, why not go after the source and be offended by those who have debauched our currency and stolen almost 95% of the purchasing power of the dollar by deliberate inflation since we went off of the gold standard in 1971?
The immediate problem for all consumers, myself included, is that I, like many others am a member of the despised and persecuted small-business/middle-class, and cannot earn dollars at my profession, faster than our elected representatives in the US government can steal their purchasing power by printing them out of thin air and inflating them into oblivion. So by ranting at oil companies, Jamie is doing exactly what the government propaganda spin-masters want her to do, and that is to draw attention away from the real villains and the greatest threat of all to American business: government.
Each day, investors make decisions as to which stocks, bonds, or commodities they will risk their money on. The truly greedy would invest their money in bovine flatulence if they thought they could make more money vs. another investment. Investors in US oil companies should be commended for risking their wealth to acquire and produce something that Americans want and need, in spite of their belligerent adversaries in government.
I suspect that Jamie’s choosing to take offense at the oil companies is really the manifestation of a personal preference, rather than a reflection of true belief or conviction. We could all easily defend ourselves from the ravages of the oil companies by not driving our cars, cutting the electric power to our homes, cooking with wood, lighting by tallow candles (modern ones are petroleum based), pumping water by hand from a well, using an outhouse instead of a modern toilet, and taking a bath only on Saturday. We will all be doing this anyway if we keep on the current path.
What the heck, it's still $1.72 out in Athens......I feel like I'm being gouged!!!!
