Although I'm no proponent of "corporate America", I think you guys may be
over-simplifying things, a bit. In the first place, profit is not immoral,
and fuel prices are subject to free market economic forces (thank God, and
our Founding Fathers). The law of supply and demand is what dictates
prices. And we pay a huge price/penalty for our over-zealous repression of
the petroleum industry, which has resulted in (among other things) the
closing of a large number of refineries, and the economic un-feasibility of
building new ones, in this country. Also, another major factor in the cost
of fuel is the lack of imagination, and the blindness to reality of our
legislative types, when it comes to allowing drilling and exploration in
"environmentally sensitive" areas within our borders. With the technology
at our disposal, today, making the safety of such exploration and drilling
far safer than it was years ago, it makes no sense (in "real world"
thinking) to continue to pay high prices, for large percentages of our oil
needs, to the volatile, unstable middle eastern oil cartel.
Instead of whining about high fuel costs, we should all be writing our
legislators, and demanding that they eliminate some of the over-regulation,
and make new refinery construction/operation economically attractive, and
demand that they stop the stupid, partisan politics, and open some of our
domestic oil sources for exploration, drilling and production. We also need
to become world leaders in new technologies, which would allow us to better
utilize our huge domestic coal reserves, as well as exploring and developing
new energy sources.
There are no quick answers, or quick, pain-free solutions to our energy
problems. But, to continue down the same path we're on now is to invite
disaster.
Bud Osbourne
P.S. I hope we all have enough sense to encourage Sen. Arlen Specter (who's
never been my favorite, but, he's on the right track, here), in his inquiry
into monopolies/mega-mergers. Imagine Mo$$ Motors buying out all of it's
competitors, and what that would do to prices.....that's what's been
happening in "corporate America" for the past 25 years.
-----Original Message-----
From owner-spridgets at autox.team.net
[mailto:owner-spridgets@autox.team.net]On Behalf Of bjshov8
Sent: Sunday, February 05, 2006 12:52 AM
To: Spridgets@autox.team.net
Subject: Re: Bugeye Group..... Re: [midgetsprite] SHELL RANT
My theory is that they charge as much as they can without the crowds of
peasants with torches and pitchforks gathering at the gate. If they charged
$10 there would be enough uproar that there might be serious repurcussions.
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