Well just want to throw this out. I own a gas station. My last invoice showed the cost of regular unleaded per gallon was a little less than 2.50. I am currently selling it at 2.99 right now. But that price doesnt include freight, and all the associated taxes. After I figured it all up. It is costing me about 2.968 per gallon. So I am making about 2 cents per gallon on what I am selling. Its these taxes that are hurting EVERYONE.
I think everyone realizes that the independant station owners are not getting rich of of gasoline, however the oil company execs and state coffers are.
People need to wake up and realize the reason gas prices are so high isn't because of greedy big oil companies. I will spell it out for some.... 1) Environmentalism is the reason we no longer drill for oil in this country. 2) Envronmentalism along with stupid government is the reason why all states don't have the same grade of gasoline, different mixtures of gas for different states then there is the transportation from overseas or around the country. I find it hilarious how some attack big oil and gas stations constantly while ignoring other factors involved. I have a question for you big oil blamers, gas taxes? Does anyone really believe that the gas tax is only actually used for road improvements? I know how inefficent our government operates, they always steal money from one pot for another. WE are OVERTAXED to death on everything. Just stop and think for a minute like I did, think about all the cars driving around and all the gas that is consumed. There should be more than enough money to fix the roads but your politicians are stealing that money for other purposes. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/09/11/BAGKRL39O81.DTL http://news.postbulletin.com/newsmanager/templates/localnews_story.asp?z=2&a=294155 Five cent gas tax increase, Democrats have never seen a tax they didn't like! http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/17/1767.asp Gas tax to be used to fund seatbelt road blocks! This is America I am opposed to this and the seatbelt laws enforced on adults!
Flat out wrong on this one SD. You may be able to say that it's an absolute lack of any environmental controls in 3rd world countries but the constraints on drilling here aren't that bad. It's just a hell of a lot cheaper when you can flare gas non stop for years and dump toxic waste in the ditch instead of doing the responsible thing. Yes some regulations do go too far but the oil and gas industry is a very very powerful lobby and defeats most of the regulations that go farther than is necessary. Here you couldn't be more right.
I stand corrected, thanks for the info!:thumb: I get tired of blaming big oil for high gas prices when there is more to it than that. Many people don't take into account the 22 cent tax and other expenses that are included in gas prices.
I think it's a lot higher than 22 cents here in Louisiana, but I'm not 100% sure. EDIT: The state tax is 20 cents, not sure how much federal or other taxes in La. http://www.lmoga.com/taxrates.htm EDIT#2: Fed tax is 18.4 cents http://www.gaspricewatch.com/usgastaxes.asp
Thought some of you traveling this weekend might like this website- www.gasbuddy.com We're headed to Hot Springs this afternoon and I plan to fill up in LA before crossing over into ARK.
You say that, but if that was really the case, why do the big oil companies routinely post record profits? Granted, I'm no economics professor, but it seems to me like their profits wouldn't be so high if there were other factors. But when I see gas at $3.00 a gallon and Exxon posting multi-billion dollar profits for the first QUARTER of the year, what am I supposed to think? Last time I checked, we were in control of the Iraqi oil fields. Now I'm not saying we should be getting their oil for free, but we should definately be getting it at a bargain price. Lastly, I live on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Chevron has a refinery about 20 minutes from where I live. So, using the logic (and I agree it could be flawed) of the US being in control of Iraqi oil and us having a refinery in our own back yard, the Mississippi Gulf Coast should have some of the cheapest gas in the country, but we don't. I'm still looking for a reasonable answer as to why.
Actually we do drill for oil in this country. In fact we are the third largest producer of oil in the world. LINK Economics is why we buy so much oil from overseas. It is cheaper to produce there from vast shallow reservoirs. When oil goes to $100 or $200 a barrel, more deep US reserves will become economically feasible to drill. Do you care about the environment at all? Why do some folks kiss Big Oil's ass all of the time? Environmentalists only point out problems that must be addressed so that our air and water is safe. Have you ever spent a day in Los Angeles? It is state governments that are taking action to clean their environments because the current administration is in the pocket of Big Oil and is doing very little. First of all, no one has blamed gas stations. And taxes do go to transportation. 84% goes to highways and 15% to mass transit. LINK Moreover, the tax is assesed per gallon. They take no more money from you at $3.00 than they do at $1.00. Oil companies make a profit based on a percentage of of the price per gallon. The higher the price, the more profit they make, even if their costs have not gone up, as is happening now. They have no incentives to bring costs down through competitive pricing or to build sufficient refineries to eliminate shortages. No, they have taken advantage of high oil prices to make huge profits that come out of our wallets. And now they are taking advantage of shortage that they engineered to make record profits on the summer driving peak in the US. It's Darwin's natural selection law at work. In time, fatal accidents will remove foolish people from the gene pool, thus strengthening the species.
I'm going to go ahead and say taxes. The state gets a little bit, but the federal government takes a lot. then you add other cost and that why the trading price of gas is $.60 cheaper. In fact it's trading at 2.39 as we speak. Crude is around the $65 mark
