Get ready for gas shortages and long lines at the pump! (1 Viewer)

[ProStockJunkie]

I Lived through the 4 hours of waiting in line during the last Gasoline shortage ( in the 70s) (also created by Government) .... Trust me... you do NOT want to have this happen.

Dear Friends,
The U.S. Senate will soon be making critical decisions on energy policy legislation. If passed, the bill would:

1. IMPLEMENT THE GASOLINE PRICE CONTROL POLICIES OF THE 1970s
2. CAUSE SHORTAGES IN SUPPLIES & LEADING TO LONG LINES AT THE PUMP
3. FORCE SMALL, INDEPENDENT GAS STATIONS TO SHUT DOWN

Contact your Members of Congress TODAY
and tell them not to impose price controls on energy!

The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed legislation that would effectively place price controls on energy products. The Senate is now considering a similar bill, introduced by Senator Cantwell!

FORCE SMALL, INDEPENDENT GAS STATIONS TO SHUT DOWN
The amendment does not clearly define "price gouging" and would force small, independent gas stations to shut down rather than face potential prosecution for raising prices during an emergency, which might be necessary to secure supplies.

CAUSE SHORTAGES IN GASOLINE
Gasoline price controls are an old - and failed - policy choice that will exacerbate shortages and increase fuel hoarding after natural disasters, denying fuel to people when they most need it.

HURT CONSUMERS
A May 2006 investigation into price gouging by the Federal Trade Commission found no instances of illegal market manipulation that led to higher prices during its investigation of fuel prices after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The Federal Trade Commission also stated that if market prices are "distorted by price controls, consumers ultimately might be worse off, as gasoline shortages could result."

LEAD TO LONG LINES AT THE PUMP
The FTC's recommendation against use of price controls is consistent with our own national experiment with price controls in the 1970s, when use of price controls on gasoline led to fuel shortages, long lines at the pump and rationing.

If Senator Cantwell's bill passes the Senate, consumers will pay the price with gasoline shortages and long gas lines!

Send a personalized letter to your Senators and Congressmen NOW, urging them to oppose this bill.

 

[none]

What bothers me most about the current gas prices is the millions of dollars the fed. gives the oil companys for exploration/research Etc.
With the billions of dollars they are making in profits I think they can do fine without going to the Fed. for more money. On the other hand, If the fed is dumb enough to give it to them, why not?

 

[Ted]

The Government should not subsidize or control the prices of ANY business!!!

 

["Dr. Dirt"]

One man's solution????

Tell that to your elected officials Ted. Although most Americans totally agree, the machine is too big and complex for them to stop at this point. It will take some very aggressive changes.

Here's my take.

Take all the money that currently goes off-shore to foreign aid and keep it home. Then stop the subsidization of giant industries such as government contractors, farming, gas & oil industry, etc. then aggressively open up the Alaskan oil fields that the Sierra Club/et al battles to keep pristine so we can begin to compete and give the rest as incentives for the research and development of bio-fuels, hydrogen propulsion, solar and hybrid options. Within a decade, the hydrogen alone will eliminate the need for most vehicle used fossil fuels. Then the middle easterners who think they control the universe will have to eat each other to stay alive.

Mark my word. One day Dubai will be the most impressive ghost town on the planet but it won't be worth visiting after the common people take it over.

 

[Toejam]

If you think Consumers are angry now about Gas prices, just wait! If that ever happened, Congress would work 24/7 to correct it! Guaranteed!

 

[Larry]

No gas to buy would definitely aid in conservation at the expense of what? An economy?
I believe in the free market and less government regulation.
Has congress even held oversight to look at why the oil companies have not built additional refining capacity.
I mean after all they have oversight to find out what color drawers Karl Rove has on today.
Are we jumping through the hoop without really knowing why?
Building anything requires about three years of studies and permits and as we know know carbon emission credits have to be purchased from someone who has them to spare unless the technology to refine has improved more than energy generation plants.
This Ethanol thing alone is enough to drive suppliers and refiners nuts.
Congress mandated using it and the supreme court says cafe standards go back to pre Ethanol days when Ethanol is from 22 percent to 28 percent less energy efficient.
I'm oiling up my roller skates.
There's plenty of oil and plenty of regulations.
More laws and regulations than only the best lawyer with a law library can remember.

 

[d'kid]

And don't forget over 1/3 of the price is Fed, State and Local TAXES, The station makes .01-.03 per gallon. The rest is the food chain (Middle men) and that includes Major oil company, not owned Franchised distribution...

Again, after the pie is sliced, the Government is the ones making the most REAL profit from a gallon of gas

 

[Larry]

I don't want the women to find out but back in the odd even gas buying days it sure was a good excuse to lay over and party after attending an out of town function like a National Race.
I deny ever stooping that low , and I sure as hell's wouldn't admit it if I did. LOL

 

[Nitrohaulic]

I don't know why anyone would want the government to step in and "control" the price of anything. I thought that what anything was worth was what someone was willing to pay for it. There's no way the government can come up with any "correct" sliderule formula to determine what the "correct" price of anything should be. How many of the people who complain about the price of gas even know what percentage of their entire budget (if they even have one) consists of gasoline expenses?

I DON'T see any shortage of $50,000 plus SUVs on the roads.

 

[ProStockJunkie]

"then aggressively open up the Alaskan oil fields that the Sierra Club/et al battles to keep pristine so we can begin to compete and ............"

And you can bet that many, many Americans will CONTINUE to keep pristine.

More, more, more..... instead of conserve, conserve, conserve.

It's sickening.

 

[Nitrohaulic]

Eventually we will get to the point that gas is in short enough supply that other energy sources will become more feasible. If we conserve, what we have will last longer and the same thing that would have happened sooner will still happen later. What's the difference? In the end, the same amount of oil will have been burned.

 

[Mooseman]

I read somewhere that there is more oil sitting under a couple of states in the USA then there is in the whole middle east

 

["Dr. Dirt"]

I read somewhere that there is more oil sitting under a couple of states in the USA then there is in the whole middle east

You're correct but it's a whole bunch deeper and more costly to retrieve than in the middle East where they pump from 1/8 the depth. I understand the USA could go another 1-2 millennia on Texas's supply alone.

 

[ProStockJunkie]

What's the difference?

Responsibility and accountability.

 

[Nitrohaulic]

Responsibility and accountability.

How does running into the same situation sooner instead of later equate to being irresponsible or unaccountable? If we conserve, and they know we can only conserve so much, it just makes more available for China or any other country that's not going to.

I just think it's like anything else. Their job, like the job of any other business, is to charge as much for their good or service that they think they can get away with. I don't care if they go to $10 a gallon, because if they did, people WOULD cut back on everything, including the types of cars they bought, and they'd be cutting their own throats. I'm happy to let the market do what the market does.

Where's all the threads about track owners gouging for $4 Cokes? If people didn't pay it, they wouldn't charge it.

 

[TJ]

There are oil fields in the middle east that have not been tapped that will last 50 years @ todays consumption according to Chevron USA.....Canada has major un-tapped fields as well..We invested in oil shares many years ago and the proxy meetings are full of interesting data...And the quarterly payments have always increased w/ splits as well...
And we (USA) have not even began to seek major ocean explorations....
I for one enjoy the price of oil...