There are plenty of people getting rich on this oil situation (and I'm not one of them). They are doing it at the expense of the rest of us and driving us into poverty and bankruptcy (not very Christian of them, is it?) Think of this..the stations raise their prices, even when they haven't gotten a new delivery of gasoline. So they are taking gas that they bought at the old lower price and selling it the new higher price, thereby making that much more profit. Also it seems awfully fishy that the price goes up everywhere by the same amount on the same day, as if a decree is issued by some supreme dictator somewhere. Also, notice that the price always goes up they day after a news report about how something is going to cause the price to go up. It is all a conspiracy. There is no competition amount the stations and companies. They know very well that thay have us over a barrel (no pun intended) and are taking us on a wild ride. That refinery blast down in Texas (my condolences to the families of those killed) is probably somewhow part of a conspiracy to drive the prices even higher. The vast majority of us have no choice but to continue to drive (at least back and forth to work and basic grocery shopping) and to pay the higher prices. But that money has to come from somewhere. It will first come from things that we spend money on that are not necessary (what is and isn't necessary differs for each of us). So the overall economy will suffer because of it.
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I am not sure I agree that the gas stations really sell the gas for a higher price "even when they haven't gotten a new delivery of gasoline". Oftentimes, they are behind the curve and have to increase prices based on what goes on in the market. You have obviously noticed the dramatic increase /barrel of oil recently. The people who are getting rich are the ones who wisely invested some of their money in energy/oil stocks/funds. This could have been you. It could have been me. But, we were behind that curve, so we didn't cash in. (Maybe we need better financial planners/stock brokers?) This could have at least offset some of the pain at the pump.
I do agree though, especially here in this area (State College, PA), that there is some kind of gas price conspiracy. There is no other place that I have been to (in PA) that gas prices are exactly the same at every gas station within 25 miles, just 12-24 hours after a price change. This is, as you say, "fishy". I just recently drove down to Reading, where I saw gas prices ranging from $1.99-2.15/gallon. Obviously, there is some playing room in the price. But, up here, there seems to be no competitive spirit...like all the stations are in bed together. I hate that.
In any case though, I am not going to complain about the higher price of gasoline. Why? Well, for one, because it is a luxury item and people living here in the US are paying peanuts compared to those that live in say, Europe (esp the UK) and many other locations throughout the world. Prices in the UK are on the order of 4-6 dollars/gallon! There is a much larger contingency of people in the UK who rely on energy-efficient vehicles and mass transit. You don't see the huge vehicles there that you see here in the US. At least not the "dime a dozen" SUV's I see every day here that block my view of the traffic in front of me. Argh!
In stark contrast, because of where I live, I see the Amish travel everyday by horse and buggy to and from where they need to go. They plow their fields row-by-row with just horsepower. That is fascinating to watch. To them, gas is not a necessity. Unfortunately, in our fast-paced society, we have come to know gas as a necessity...even though it is not. Don't get me wrong, I could not live my current lifestyle without gas. But, I am not going to complain because the higher prices are affecting it. It is a luxury to me.
Ms, You are right about the gas prices in Europe. I was in Denmark 30 years ago and the gas prices were higher there than than they are here now. You didn't see anyone driving SUV's and such...it was all economy cars and bikes. The woman I stayed with did not even have a car. We walked or took the bus everywhere. But here, the goverment will not subsidize mass transit so it is expensive and inadequate. Also, many of us can no more afford to trade in an old "gas guzzler" for a new fuel-efficient vehicle than we can afford to keep the guzzler and pay the higher gas prices. So we are caught in a catch-22 squeeze.
The Amish have a great and simple way of life. My great-grandparents had a small farm and grew much of their own food. However, there are far too many people in this country to be able to return to this way of life.
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