Old Gas Stations Charging By The Half Gallon

from the not-quite-the-bargain-you-thought dept

Thu, May 29th 2008 6:52pm — Mike Masnick

At the beginning of May, we mentioned that a bunch of gas stations were discovering that their older pumps couldn't handle prices over $4. They ticked up to $3.99 9/10 / gallon and that was it. For now, it appears that some regulators are allowing such gas stations to start selling gas by the half gallon -- or, rather charging half-price and doubling it at the register. They're only allowed to do this if they can show that they've ordered new parts that will handle up to $9.99 -- though, of course the folks who make such parts are running out of them quickly as a bunch of stations are rushing to upgrade. Any bets on how long until we'll be writing about the gas stations running into problems when the price of gas reaches $10/gallon? What's scary is that even at the half price ($2.03/half gallon), it wasn't that long ago when that seemed really high for a full gallon.

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Filed Under: gas pumps, technology

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some old guy, 29 May 2008 @ 7:16pm

Well, considering all things
When you look at the prices that other countries are currently paying for gas, you realize that we have it INCREDIBLY cheap. As China consumes more and more fuel, our prices will rise up to those of the rest of the world. (uk is already well over 10 USD/gallon)

So really, it should be less than say... 5 years before we hit that area too. Pure mindless speculation, of course, but thats how I see it.
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Anonymous Coward, 29 May 2008 @ 7:31pm

It's not cheap compared to the UK. It's a different country there. The US consumes much more fuel, we drive more, these days still out of necessity. The UK has had higher gas prices for a long time, due to high taxes. They are used to paying more. But now we are all experiencing the same economic hurt from the price increase, percentage wise.
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DB, 29 May 2008 @ 7:35pm

Metric System
Maybe its time to switch to liters.
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jon, 29 May 2008 @ 7:41pm

hmmmmm.......lets take a look around.
You know what i love, is that everyone is just cursing at the government and the big oil companies over how much they are going to raise the prices. But yet no one wants to do anything about it. Now believe me, I hate BIG OIL just as much as the next (Especially since i grew up at .84 Cents a gallon) And if your wondering what i might mean about that. well lets take a look around shall we? Over the last weekend stocks in the crude oil business rallied up(wow, not a whole quarter percent) And this is supposed to be one of the most travelled times of the year. Yet through all this the price at the pumps went down. (I know it wasnt much). So...if we all try a little harder and try not to use so much of the ole gas pumps and take the demand for the dwindling supply (from overseas of course, since uncle sam dont want to give up any of the reserves) Just maybe, and I mean maybe, the prices may lower, And hey and if im wrong, well..at least you got to work on those thighs and glucs while riding that bike to work. (LOL) WAY TO GO AMERICA THANKS FOR STAYING HOME OVER THE MEMORIAL WEEKEND. YOU GOT THE PRICES DOWN...LETS KEEP IT UP.
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Deb, 29 May 2008 @ 8:12pm

Re: Well, considering all things
Considering what, exactly?

You don't seem to realize the taxes imposed on gasoline by the European nations (which is what drives the prices up so high) pays for universal healthcare and social programs.

The $4.00+ gallon we pay in the US does nothing but line the pockets of the oil companies.

So tell me again how the prices in Europe matter when compared to the prices here?

If we got universal healthcare and well funded social programs out of ridiculous gas prices, I don't think all that many would complain.
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some old guy, 29 May 2008 @ 8:12pm

Re:
ok, so they don't pay twice as much 'cause they're used to it. Brilliant logic there.

Also, when comparing different countries, its rather assumed that those compared will actually be "a different country there".
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Deb, 29 May 2008 @ 8:13pm

Re:
The taxes imposed on gasoline by the European nations (which is what drives the prices up so high) pays for universal healthcare and social programs in those nations.

So while more money goes to fuel, less is spent on medical expenses and it balances out.

We do not have that balance in the US.
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ERICA, 29 May 2008 @ 8:24pm

bike
ok, time to change and get a bicycle. thats what i am going to do about it - not pay for gas! Though I will need a gallon for my lawnmower
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Lazy Americans, 29 May 2008 @ 9:00pm

=
Lets face it we are all a bunch of lazy Americans. I have friends that drive a half a block away to 7-Eleven. If you do it your lazy too! Everytime I show up to another friends house he wants a ride like two blocks away to the store.
Americans can't stop driving. Can't even grasp the concept of supply and demand. You mean if I stop buying it they will lower the price, get out of here!

The oil companies are getting fat. They don't even run the Mini Marts in some areas anymore. They are making plenty of cash just selling the gas and instead of finding out ways to sell more gas they just doubled the price and called it a day.

I wouldn't be surprised if one day the gas attendants are making more then the educated work forces. Nice sharp clothes with automatic machines that put the gas in the cars and they just smile and wave goodbye as you drive away paying 15 dollars a gallon.
Other people cant separate from their cars because their so scared to walk the streets in fear.
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Anonymous Coward, 29 May 2008 @ 9:06pm

Other people cant separate from their cars because their so scared to walk the streets in fear.

Maybe Mr.Rove could come back and scare us into our "safe car" again.

ok, time to change and get a bicycle

Interesting... In other unrelated news, Childhood obesety hits plateau...

Could it be related to the price of gas? Details at 11...
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Anonymous Coward, 29 May 2008 @ 9:14pm

How much does hydrogen cost ?
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Thomas, 29 May 2008 @ 9:15pm

Oil, Taxes, and Healthcare
"The $4.00+ gallon we pay in the US does nothing but line the pockets of the oil companies."
!? You are so wrong.

Take a look at the numbers. The U.S. government makes more per gallon than the oil companies.

I'd bet the majority of the profits go to the shareholders rather than executives. It is likely your retirement fund and even your insurance company invests in these.

If the oil companies are making such a great profit, go buy stock. (From what I understand, percentage wise, it isn't all that great of an investment, compared to other stocks or even mutual funds.)
"If we got universal healthcare and well funded social programs out of ridiculous gas prices, I don't think all that many would complain."
The problem with socialist countries is whole they have universal healthcare, it is universally poor. Further, most of these healthcare systems are bankrupt.

Given the choice of paying out of my pocket for true healthcare v.s. paying taxes for a healthcare system, I'll take healthcare that works.

If you like socialism so well, try living in a socialist country. (I have. I prefer a country without all that.)
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MAVric, 29 May 2008 @ 9:17pm

prices...
i got just one word that explains the reason gas prices here in the US have skyrocketed, and its not inflation... its speculation. look up the change in the amount of money speculators have spent from year to year for the last 20 years, then match that up with the inflation rate. they dont match. what does that mean? speculators are the ones making the extra money that you are spending at the pump.
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Squidly, 29 May 2008 @ 9:36pm

Thought provoking...
A good, thought provoking, post. I hadn't heard about any pump price limits - let alone they were at $4/gal.
What's scary is that even at the half price ($2.03/half gallon), it wasn't that long ago when that seemed really high for a full gallon.
This is definitely scary!
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JON, 29 May 2008 @ 9:46pm

Ok so we have figured out the reason for the price at the pumps. And now weve all figured out what we need to do. Right? So write your local congressman and do something about it. Get behind those that are making the veggie diesel. Help others get to work by carpooling. Take the bus, go for a walk, go work off those extra pounds by riding a bike (and i dont mean a GAS powered one either). Look i have two of the most expensive gas guzzling suvs on the market today, believe me i got to get off my duff and do something about it. Enough is Enough. This is America, Home of the Brave
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Anonymous Coward, 29 May 2008 @ 9:51pm

But these are all mostly misconceptions
Firstly, oil company profits have soared because of the demand level, rather than the price. If you can find some figures that prove that price rises are a result of increased margins for oil companies at the point of sale to the distributors or to petrol stations, that I will be more than impressed.

Secondly, the parties making out like bandits are largely governments that apply a % tax (like VAT or GST) on the gross sales of petrol and petroleum products at the pump.

Finally, the current scenario is mostly a nonsense. Whilst I won't suggest that anyone is going to see .80 gallons anytime soon (or ever again for that matter), what you are seeing is speculation in action - and arguably to levels that this moves from being merely speculative to being a bubble.
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JON, 29 May 2008 @ 9:51pm

Ok so we have figured out the reason for the price at the pumps. And now weve all figured out what we need to do. Right? So write your local congressman and do something about it. Get behind those that are making the veggie diesel. Help others get to work by carpooling. Take the bus, go for a walk, go work off those extra pounds by riding a bike (and i dont mean a GAS powered one either). Look i have two of the most expensive gas guzzling suvs on the market today, believe me i got to get off my duff and do something about it. Enough is Enough. This is America, Home of the Brave Land Of the Free. Come on people Raise up and fight. Dont just sit around and let 10.00 a gallon just creep on in. Take Action. Its better than Sitting around you house, watching 500 channels on a hdtv while eating the most greasiest burger there is. (ok....now i gotta go, im hungry now, "Honey, Go Get THE EXCURSION gased up...were goin into town ....."
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neo, 29 May 2008 @ 10:13pm

Re: =
part of the reason we drive so much might also be attributed to the fact that america doesn't have that much of a public transit system. i would love to just take a bus to work, or a cab. but in my area there aren't buses, only 1 to take old people to the doctor, and it's paid for by the hospital. for me to walk to work would take almost 2 hours, and i have no other way to get there. europe, on the other hand, can be crossed from one end to the other entirely on train. people i've spoken to, namely from Germany, say that a car isn't necessary at all, it's a luxury. now that doesn't mean that only the rich have them, it's just not necessary for daily life like it is here in some areas. it's comparable to an HDTV or cable internet. not necessary, but nice. here that just isn't so. maybe giving us some more options here in the states is in order?
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Anonymous Coward, 29 May 2008 @ 11:35pm

I have a 85 honda ch80 scooter. it gets about 100mpg. cheaper to insure than buying a second car.
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Anonymous Coward, 30 May 2008 @ 12:07am

Re:
and with a motorcycle you can take the car pool and park in better spots, also avoid traffic jams... all a win. however the counter is if a careless driver hits me on my bike im probably dead. that one fact outweighs the many other positives.
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Phil Seymour, 30 May 2008 @ 1:40am

Here in California
I might understand raising prices if your oil is imported, but California has it's own oil and refineries. We even export oil! Our prices go up every time someone burps in the middle east, and we don't even use oil from there. Talk about getting screwed by Big Oil. If you think I am mistaken, Google California oil production and dig through the sites. There is even a California.gov site that gives statistics. We import 32% from Alaska, but I suspect that's in exchange for use of our refineries. We import 2% from Malaysia. I have often wondered what that's all about. Still we pay more for a gallon of gas than any other state in the union. I can remember buying gas for 18 cents a gallon. Diesel was 5 cents, a big mac was 13 cents, and computers punched holes in big rolls of tape.
If auto manufacturers would stop selling vehicles that rely on petroleum, it would be a good start towards intelligent use of the worlds resources.
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Pissed Off Indian, 30 May 2008 @ 2:12am

Stop Complaining!
Here in India we're already coughing over nearly $5.5 per US gallon for quite some time now. There's talk now of a Rs. 16/litre hike within a few days that will see prices shoot up to the $7/gallon mark.

Poster #1 is absolutely right. Do you lazy-as-hell Americans still want to complain about your piddling price increases? Given your purchasing power, you should be happy that your country's military/foreign policy has ensured that you have been relatively insulated from the brunt of the problem so far. As long as people in other (developing) countries are subsidising your oil for you, better stop complaining about your damn $4 a gallon prices and for once take a look around at how the rest of the world gets by.
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bobbknight, 30 May 2008 @ 2:29am

I Always Love
I always love it when someone come on a forum such as this a spreads the same old Gas agiprop.
We have it so much better here because our gas prices are lower than the rest of the world. Let me first say I don't drive my car in Piltdown or for that matter anyplace other than the USA and Canada. Though I would love to be paying what they buy gas for in Caracas. The other countries that have higher gas prices cause the prices to be higher by taxing the shit out of the consumer.

We are the largest users of oil, we need to produce more, import less. we also need to triple our refining capability.
Congress and the environmentalists has caused this gas crisis.

Big oil makes a profit of 7 to 10 percent, compare that to Microsoft, AT&T, or Hollywood.

We need more nuclear power plants with the added capability of making H2 for use in transportation, and we need to build an H2 infrastructure now. To the 7th level of hell with the environMENTALists.
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Pissed Off Indian, 30 May 2008 @ 2:44am

Stop Complaining! #2
Also, before any American dares to mouth off like Bush and Condi about how the Chinese and Indians are causing food/fuel price increases (despite the obvious fact that we pay more for them), you better take a long, hard look at the per capita food/fuel consumption and waste generation figures and then see if you have anything to say.

Fact is, most of you fat-cats have got used to your hedonistic lifestyles and thus even small corrections/adjustments are made to look like life-threatening emergencies by people who have absolutely no idea how the poor of the world live and die daily.

Take responsibility for your actions and remember, you're not the only fish in the one pond that we have at our disposal. Sans jingoistic we're-the-only-ones-who-matter blinkers, your situation won't seem as bad as you thought, that's for sure.
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Anonymous Jerk, 30 May 2008 @ 3:38am

Re: Oil, Taxes, and Healthcare
DUDE! BP just announced RECORD profits for the first quarter of this year

http://www.themanufacturer.com/uk/content/4972/BP_announces_record_profits?PHPSESSID=7af1a 0a13825c0a9bc8fc7268b52172b

YES, we are slowly lining the pocketbooks of big oil.
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Anonymous Jerk, 30 May 2008 @ 3:41am

Re: Stop Complaining! #2
Dude, shut the f_u_c_k up
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Pissed Off Indian, 30 May 2008 @ 5:29am

Re: Re: Stop Complaining! #2
Ah, exactly the kind of intellectual high-brow insightful bon mot/repartee one would expect from an Anonymous American Jerk. The only thing I can commend you for is that completely apt name you selected for yourself.

Thank the heavens that not all your countrymen share your ignorance or arrogance, as is amply evident from at least some of the responses above.
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TrueAmerican, 30 May 2008 @ 5:46am

Re: Re: Well, considering all things
Well if gas prices doubled in the US to pay for universal healthcare I would scream twice as loud. I'd scream from getting raped at the pumps from not only Big Oil companies but from Uncle Sam as well. Tag teamed, ouch.

I would be screaming even loader because I would have to then goto a government subsidised doctor. Just think instead of government subsidised cheese, it's a doctor. Just imagine if we had subsidised health care today, that would mean George Bush would be in control of your health care.
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EliteTempleton, 30 May 2008 @ 6:47am

Re: Re: Well, considering all things
You don't think American's would complain about higher taxes? Please review the history books and find the section that refers to "The Boston Tea Party".

We have some the best health care options in the world BECAUSE its not controlled by the government, resulting in competition and innovation.

If universal health(a.k.a. Government health care) care is what you THINK you want, go visit your local Veterans Hospital on a Saturday morning from about 7AM - 9AM, stay there for atleast an hour, strike up a conversation or two in the waiting area and ask them how well the system is taking care of them.

Now, on to your other uninformed point: "The $4.00+ gallon we pay in the US does nothing but line the pockets of the oil companies."
On Average we Pay .47 cents a gallon in fuel taxes nation wide(varies by state). Source: American Petroleum Institute www.api.org/statistics/fueltaxes/upload/January_2008_gasoline_and_diesel_summary_pages.pdf
Also, the Oil Companies are only making about a 9% profit, which may sound like alot, but you typically pay a 25% markup for retail items. Mostly you are helping to line the pockets of foreign governments.
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John Tamborine, 30 May 2008 @ 6:50am

Enough already
What a joke. Isnt it about time for the people to stand up and say ENOUGH. Time to take back what was once ours!

JJ
http://www.Privacy-Center.net
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EliteTempleton, 30 May 2008 @ 6:57am

Re: bike
Biking to work is certainly a much more fun way to travel to work.

As for your lawn mower, no gas needed, get a Reel Mower. Takes up less space, uses no gas, and the ones they make nowadays are not heavy like the old ones because they are able to use lighter metals and the like.

Just please buy an American Made one, otherwise you are sending your money overseas rather than helping another American family put food on their table, and increasing the amount of fuel it took to get the mower to you.
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EliteTempleton, 30 May 2008 @ 7:04am

Re: Re: Oil, Taxes, and Healthcare
Thats because demand is up, so they are selling more gallons, making the same profit margins.

While U.S. demand may finally be leveling off and even going down other countries (China, India, etc) demands are going up, up, up!
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Chronno S. Trigger, 30 May 2008 @ 7:07am

Re: Oil, Taxes, and Healthcare
By my house there is a BP that actually has a pie chart on the pumps to let us know where the money is actually going. It showed that around 58% of those $4 goes directly to the oil companies. about 25% is for taxes and less than 1% goes to the gas station itself. The rest is for refineries so that 58% is just for profit.
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Anonymous Coward, 30 May 2008 @ 7:13am

Re: =
Poser! You wish you were a lazy American!
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Anonymous Coward, 30 May 2008 @ 8:22am

Get your share!
If oil companies are "fat cat" profitable... BUY ONE

It is called stock, people! Unless you are living below the poverty line (and if so, why do you have computer access and/or free time to post here?) take some percentage of your income and BECOME AN OIL OWNER.
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Anonymous Coward, 30 May 2008 @ 8:52am

Re: Re: Re: Well, considering all things
What you mean that doctors would have to follow the rules and guidelines set by the govt. This is the way it is and even more so if the doctors office takes Medicare or almost any insurance since they follow medicare. If they doctor does not want to have to follow the Medicare guidelines then they can only accept self pay patients.
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Chronno S. Trigger, 30 May 2008 @ 9:13am

Re: Get your share!
Why don't you?

To play the stock market you not only have to know exactly what you are doing you have to already be a small fat cat to afford enough stock to make any kind of decent money. And even then you will probably get fleeced by the broker. The Fat cats intentionally made it vary, vary hard for regular people to become fat cats themselves.
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Me, 30 May 2008 @ 9:46am

Re: =
Sometimes it is for personal safety... It is not safe to walk on st when there are African "American" or Latino
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Anonymous Coward, 30 May 2008 @ 9:54am

Re: Re: Oil, Taxes, and Healthcare
The 58% that goes to the oil is not profit. the oil companies have to either buy the sweet crude and refine it or drill themselves. They have already made a significant investment and how much of that 58/100 is profit depends on each company. However the government has no hand in the venture but sees 100% of the 25/100. I'll take the governments free 25% over the oil companies earned 58% but then I'd go bankrupt funding wars.
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Mischa, 30 May 2008 @ 1:41pm

Re: Stop Complaining!
It's because the prices are going up so fast. Prior to 2005 the price of gas generally didn't change more than 75 cents per gallon within one year. In 2007 the average price of regular gas in the midwest increased roughly $1.3/gallon before subsiding, barely. This year the average price has already increased about $1/gallon with more increases still expected. At the rate we are currently going, we'll probably hit $10/gallon within the next 5 years.
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Mischa, 30 May 2008 @ 1:46pm

Re: Re: Stop Complaining!
And if anyone is really interested, I got my price info here.
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Pissed off American, 30 May 2008 @ 3:08pm

Re: Stop Complaining!
You're not subsidizing anything for us. The bottom line is that we're all paying too much for the damn fuel. It's a monopoly that controls the price of oil, and if it fell under U.S. law, it wouldn't legally exist.

As far as I'm concerned, it's the demand constraints that China and India have put on the supply that is causing the price to go up- and as long as you keep getting the mighty American dollar for your goods and services- this won't change. Shut up and be happy our country is so generous as to try and make the rest of the world benefit from free trade. Or would you rather we go back to the way it was in the 50's and 60's?
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Sheesh, 30 May 2008 @ 4:34pm

Re:Re: pissed off indian
"Also, before any American dares to mouth off like Bush and Condi about how the Chinese and Indians are causing food/fuel price increases (despite the obvious fact that we pay more for them), you better take a long, hard look at the per capita food/fuel consumption and waste generation figures and then see if you have anything to say."

Perhaps the fuel prices would not be hitting so hard if all the jobs had not been exported to India. Therefore, y'all may have the money to pay those high price for gas. However, since the jobs are over there and not over here, too many Americans live below poverty level. They can hardly afford food or meds, much less gas.
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Anonymous Coward, 31 May 2008 @ 10:26am

Re: Stop Complaining!
And who do you think you are ? All Americans are not fat cats who live in glass bubbles. We work hard and do things the hard way just like you, mr pissed off Indian. You and yours are probably those people we reach on the telephone when calling one of our companies, and want to talk to someone who knows what they are talking about, but all we get is someone reading off a script and cant even begin to help with the callers actual problem. Start thinking out of the box, and maybe your country will develop to be as good as the USA. You talk all your garbage, but you admit you are only in a just now developing country and you are poor. What you need to realize is your country is developing because of ours and you are lucky to be telecommuting and working at our companies, despite your horrible level of comprehension and poor services provided.
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=, 31 May 2008 @ 11:46am

Oil Traders
I just spoke to an investment broker and he told me that gas stocks are hot right now. They are speculating the prices to these heights. Its not the oil companies. Look into to futures traders they are to blame for this problem.
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BTR1701, 2 Jun 2008 @ 7:37am

Re: Re: Well, considering all things
> The $4.00+ gallon we pay in the US does
> nothing but line the pockets of the oil
> companies.

You're kidding, right? If you think the oil companies get the lion's share of the gas money, I have a bridge to sell you.

The reality is that domestically, the oil companies get about 18 cents out of every dollar of gas sold. The remaining 82 cents out of every dollar goes to government of some type (state, local, county, federal). So if you're appalled by the amount of money the oil companies are making, then you should be horrified at the amount of money the government makes off these gas prices.
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Steve, 2 Jun 2008 @ 4:15pm

Chocolate & Coffee
Did you realize that all those $4 mochas and $1 king size candy bars are just lining Starbucks and Nestle's pockets!? Jeezus people, gasoline and oil are not some God given right that has been handed down to Americans. It is NOT anyone's right if you are in the U.S. India or China. If you really want to blame developing countries, blame them for the subsidies they hand out to their people for gasoline. However, we in the U.S. are just as much to blame for our demand for cheap fuel.
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G B, 2 Jun 2008 @ 9:26pm

The real reason for the rise in oil prices
The real reason
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Pissed Off Indian, 3 Jun 2008 @ 12:18am

Re: Re: Stop Complaining!
Ah yes, divert a discussion on oil prices into that old bugbear of Americans - Indian call centre workers. Instead of spouting rubbish about how my country-people cannot understand your incomprehensible accents, why don't you try blaming the companies who want to save a buck at any cost? Just vote with your wallets and stop buying from them. Oh, that's right - you want goods at the cheapest possible rates and yet miraculously expect A-grade service for the same. Yeah right.

Also, get off your high horse and stop thinking that you're doing us a massive favour by "allowing" us to work at your companies. If your companies recruit us and not you, whose fault is it, eh? My country has done well despite sanctions from yours in the past, thank you very much. Instead of mouthing off about how you're supposedly doing us or the Chinese a favour, try to understand one simple fact. In this globalised world, we work where we can and how we can to make ends meet. If you can't get a job while sitting put at home, them be enterprising like us and move out of your comfort zone a bit. Get off your posterior and look around, for there are plenty of jobs to go around for those really interested in them.

P.S. Since you failed to read my comments properly, I already mentioned that not all Americans display the attitude that you do, thankfully.
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Pissed Off Indian, 3 Jun 2008 @ 12:31am

Re: Re: Stop Complaining!
Now that I've finished laughing, here's a bit of news for you, bud. No country, least of all yours, is "so generous as to try and make the rest of the world benefit from free trade". I've never heard such absolute tripe ever! What a hoot! All countries try and manipulate trade laws in their favour, and the US is no darn exception. There have been enough cases where the US has arm-twisted other countries (esp. the developing ones) in order to get what it wants, anti-protectionism laws be damned. The WTO is a US mouthpiece anyway, as is made amply clear by its decisions.

Frankly, I'm amazed at the level of sheer ignorance displayed. You actually think (or expect us to think) that the US' motives are so altruistic and pure and that it champions free trade from the goodness of its heart in order to help other nations? 'Free' trade is free only on paper, Mr. PoA, and it would do you good to come down to Earth and acknowledge this inconvenient truth.
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Pissed Off Indian, 3 Jun 2008 @ 1:24am

Re: Re:Re: pissed off indian
Despite all those jobs having supposedly been exported here, you really want to compare per capita income and poverty levels in your country with those in mine? We should consider ourselves fortunate that we're even in a position to complain about rising gas prices, compared to those in our countries who couldn't care less since they have no food or water, leave alone Hummers.
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Pissed Off Indian, 3 Jun 2008 @ 2:20am

Re: The real reason for the rise in oil prices
Obviously, there is a symbiotic link between the US, the US dollar and the oil prices. And unless this truth is understood and the link broken, oil prices cannot be controlled.

Nothing really left to say, is there?
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