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| BIG OIL photo by r.a. kukkee 2010 |
With winter close to full swing and the Christmas season fast approaching, I
thought,
(or more likely imagined, suffering from a lack of natural sunshine ), that
Corporate good-will might flare up for a change (
'Tis the season to be jolly and all that !)
It seems I guessed wrong. Instead, it appears that corporate profits remain their primary concern, and the Grinch himself is flailing about with much gusto in one sector in spite of the spirit of the season, or the stifled North American economy.
Only a few days ago the price of gasoline once again skyrocketed like magic, inexplicably and forcefully, just in time for Santa to stuff great bags of cash into the bulging coffers, caves and penthouse apartments of the richest and most powerful corporate elite in the world. Who else could that be, but the Petroleum Industry?
The price of gasoline at the pump jumped more than ten cents per liter, from $1.09 per liter to over $1.20 per liter within a day.
Instantly. Why did the price jump sky-high?
I wonder how that happens?
I am also curious to know 'who'
actually makes the calls to set the new universal price we see almost immediately at the pumps, regardless of brand.
Let us imagine for a moment THAT mysterious
“Mr. Who” is on the telephone.
“ Hello? Is this Joe’s Gas station? You got gas? Surprise! Your gas is a new, improved price starting right now!”
“....... But Sir, what about the gas in the tanks here, should I sell it at the old price?”
“Are you kidding, Joe? You a bit stupid or something? Do as you’re told, don’t ask questions, jack up the price on it too, why not?” Mr. Who orders with disdain, “After all, what are the peasants going to do about it?” Mr. Who, ( is he related to the Grinch, by any chance? ) , smirks happily and hangs up.
What just happened at Joe’s Gas station seems to have happened everywhere. How can that be?
How can gasoline prices possibly be so closely orchestrated?
According to
www.Oilprice.com, the
price of crude oil was $89.02 as of Dec. 6th at 10.00 a.m. EST. (1)., having risen
from approximately $85.00 a few days previously. That equates to a price increase of $4.00 US for a whole barrel of crude oil.
One must immediately
wonder how a $4.00 increase in the price of a barrel of crude oil equates to a pump price increases of a half-buck per gallon for gasoline?
The fact is, it does NOT. Did all petroleum industry executives fail to get a passing grade in arithmetic in school? Perhaps that’s the problem.
Perhaps we should calculate it for them.
Let’s see....We know that about 20 US gallons ( 75.70 liters) of gasoline is produced from each barrel of crude oil. Crude oil is
not all made into gasoline. Other products such as diesel fuel, home heating oil, and various other oils and lubricants are ALSO made from the same barrel of crude oil
Any doubt about that?
See for yourself.
Check them out at:
http://www.txoga.org/articles/308/1/WHAT-A-BARREL-OF-CRUDE-OIL-MAKES
Regardless, and
totally ignoring price increases on other products listed, the recent price increase at your local gas pumps
infers there was an increase of about $8.00
per barrel of crude oil.
---
But wait, Virginia, the real price increase for raw crude oil in that same time period, as we now know,
was only about $4.00 per barrel.
Clearly a problem exists. Does price gouging by
error, or by design?
Executive ineptitude, or just willful, blatant greed? Organized criminal activity? Government control? Eyebrow- raising cooperation and a wink between oil-producing nations? Perhaps the reader has other suggestions.
Who is assigned the responsibility of calculating the price of gasoline, and how does it magically become the new, virtually universal price?
Is this all part of the cute board game called
Monopoly?
Should any thinking individual be expected to actually
believe there are
not cooperative and behind-the scenes forces controlling prices at the gasoline pump? Huge and instantaneous price increases just do not magically
happen, and there is one certainty.
The imagination is sorely over-worked to believe it is “competition”.
Vehement denial of unfair practice is the standard response in any investigation of price-fixing, monopolistic practices or price-setting agreements by Big Oil.
The
classic defense offered includes arbitrary excuses historically used to justify
windfall profits.
It is such good fortune we suffer to know why we are being robbed.
The search for answers becomes a quick spin on a “
Wheel of Fortune” for which the consumer must both
play and pay.
The wheel is spinning.... automobile owners everywhere are waiting at the pump with abated breath.....Which of these wonderful excuses shall be offered this time?
Official List of Excuses and Justifications for Windfall Profits
- The price of crude oil at the pump (Set by Mr. Who?)
- Global prices (Controlled by Mr. Who?)
- Low supplies (Controlled by Mr. Who?)
- OPEC policy and agreement changes ( Controlled by Mr. Who?)
- Corporate losses. ( Details to be offered by Mr. Who? )
- The bad economy
- Competition (we may have to laugh about that one)
- Bad weather
- Drilling and exploration costs
- Refinery fires and equipment failures
- The unstable Mid-East and it’s perpetual political unrest, the war against terror (ad infinitum)
- Shipping accidents ( the Exxon Valdez, was that oil collected in 5-gallon buckets for resale?....)
- Oil spills and rig fires ( BP Gulf --2010 --all that spilled crude oil in the gulf just “happily” disappeared after a few weeks?)
- Government taxes on gasoline ( the most famous excuse offered in Canada )
Understandably, other exciting game features conveniently left off of the sparkling corporate wheel are:
- Corporate greed
- Excessive Profits
- Multi-million dollar year-end bonuses for chief executive officers.
- Creative pricing agreements
We have but
one question for the petroleum industry:
Which excuse are you going to use this time? Not that it matters.
At this time of the year even Santa himself would have to call your actions unethical, opportunistic, and monopolistic price gouging.
Naughty, naughty, naughty.
Santa’s list is getting longer by the day.
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