Yesterday the price of unleaded regular self serve at the BP and the Quiktrip on the corner hit $2.599. Ouch! If you are wondering why, this link will help explain it. In a nutshell, though it is just good old greed and if all the politicians, Rethuglican and Demoslack weren't so busy feeding that the Big Oil trough we might see some investigations on why inventories are being manipulated. Don't hold your breath.
Exxon Mobil’s second quarter earnings jumped 35 percent over last year, Royal Dutch Shell rose 34%, ConocoPhillips shot up 51%. Oil companies know that the lower the inventories, the higher the profits, because perceived shortages mean a speculative run-up in price. By keeping the inventories low the Big Oil guys rig the summer time driving season for big profits.
Don't get me wrong about oil prices though. I think they actually should be much higher. It is a finite resource and its impact on the environment is huge. It should be priced such that to willfully waste it(SUV,no public transport, etc.) should be painful in the place where people feel it most. We will never have a public transport system or viable alternative fuels and energy sources until gas gets painful. What gripes me about the current situation is that the extra revenue is going into Bush and Cheney's buddie's pockets and indirectly right back to them. The extra burden on the public should be funding a way to get out from under the thumb of the oil companies and not making the fat cats richer.
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