Rising price of oil

[Melena]

If we as American's invested more in diesel tech like the rest of the world for the short term, we'd be getting better gas mileage and wouldn't be as dependent or could at least start to ween off. American's still aren't buying into diesel for whatever reason. Diesel prices have been a bit more stable than gas and might help relieve some of the speculation.

Part of that is Diesel has a bad reputation of being horrible for air quality despite the improvements.

[test123]

[*Shinzon*]

Part of that is Diesel has a bad reputation of being horrible for air quality despite the improvements.

It's perpetuated by non car people spewing nonsense. I'd own a diesel and love every minute of it. They're not only more efficient but give you so much more torque, which is what city driving is all about. No matter as prices keep going up people will start to learn.

[Anton]

Part of that is Diesel has a bad reputation of being horrible for air quality despite the improvements.

In the 40's.

Clean diesel tech has vastly improved it, but I see the reputation still stands.

I drove across France and back again on a single tank. The mileage you get from a diesel is mind-boggling.

[Alleya]

I think we all need to take a deep breath and look to a place where we know we can get answers on this complex, nuanced issue. A source we trust above all others, whose keen insight, attention to detail, and razor sharp intellect can cut swath through the tribulations of our age and expose the meaty core wherein the heart of our very generation beats.

I'm talking, of course, about Sarah Palin's Facebook.

http://www.facebook.com/note.php?not...50112361088435

Thank god. It's all so clear now. It's so good to know that no matter what, there's always one person whose fault everything is.

[Melena]

In the 40's.

Clean diesel tech has vastly improved it, but I see the reputation still stands.

I drove across France and back again on a single tank. The mileage you get from a diesel is mind-boggling.

Oh I know it's much cleaner and more efficient now. Doesn't take away the fact people here diesel and think exhaust blowing big rigs, generators and boats and they are destroying our precious air. Someone notify president skroob immediately!

[Gwynplaine]

I understand how speculation works, and i want oil speculation regulated. So it seems your hopes are unfounded. And i still find it funny how you insist on equating speculation to some sort of fait accompli/natural order of the universe sort of thing. No doubt you mean to imply that it's something we cannot change and we should accept, and no doubt you're also a free marketeer (or close to it).

The whole 'the market is a natural phenomenon' is part of the free marketeer trope and also their justification for why regulations should not exist. Except that certain marketeers, especially neo-liberals, like to take it a step further and imply that playing with money is also some sort of natural order, which i imagine even libertarians find suspect.

I'm saying that values are a cold hard part of reality. And that's ultimately why regulations don't accomplish what they pretend to. It's not "playing with money". If you really think that oil speculators are wrong about oil prices increasing then I'd suggest you go make a fortune and invest against that happening. If you're right then prices will decrease anyways.

Look for example at the three government sanctioned credit rating agencies. They rated the junk investments as triple A giving a false sense of security. But was it true? Is something valuable by fiat because a regulation or a piece of paper say so? Would it change reality if a regulator wagged his finger and told speculators they were wrong about price increases? Obviously not. And eventually reality will catch up and have repercussions like with those golden AAA rated junk financial investments that turned into dirt.

My solution doesn't fix prices, it only makes it more difficult to create an artificial shortage to exploit.

Speculation helps to safeguard against actual shortages, and so doing that would only make it more certain shortages would happen. Would it be better to have expensive gas or have no gas and have to wait in line for hours to find out you got shafted?

[Melchiah]

Speculation helps to safeguard against actual shortages, and so doing that would only make it more certain shortages would happen. Would it be better to have expensive gas or have no gas and have to wait in line for hours to find out you got shafted?

Except that what they are doing is creating a shortage in order to adjust the price. You really want me to believe that speculators are safeguarding the economy? You and Swampy would get along well. The motive behind speculation is to profit by it, not some altruistic desire to stabilize a market. Please.

Explain why last time this happened, prices screamed up to $4/gal and then dropped to pre-Bush administration prices when all those speculators had to dump the oil they were holding on the market?

[arus2001]

I miss $0.90 a gallon when I first started driving.

[Acevalefor]

Don't forget to blame the Tea Party!

[arus2001]

Actually, I fully expect this to be Obama's fault come 2012.

[Alleya]

Actually, I fully expect this to be Obama's fault come 2012.

You kiddin? It's been his fault since 2008, before he even won the nomination.

[arus2001]

Touche.

[Headspace]

Prices have gone up bc wages have. Duh

K-ROLD

[Moss]

Price of a barrel of oil dropped $3 today. I wonder why.

This thread probably

[SephYuyX]

Price of a barrel of oil dropped $3 today. I wonder why.

The same reason a gallon of gas will rise 3 cents.

[greenhills]

supply and demand?
and...

Hockey masks and ass-less chaps.

all chaps are ass-less.

[Acevalefor]

Greenhills...I thought I was the only person in portland that was on these boards.

On Topic, a drop in crude oil doesn't reflect anything at the pumps until companies have to lower the price to stay competitive. Crude sells for $200/barrel, gas stations immediately raise their prices from $1.90 to $4.50 in a matter of 3 weeks. Crude takes a nose dive in price and sells for $50/barrel right after these massive price hikes, the gas stations drop the price $.02 or $.03 per gallon at a time over the course of 2 years...of course crude oil will never stay low like that for 2 years, so the net change is a steady climb in price.

[Gwynplaine]

Except that what they are doing is creating a shortage in order to adjust the price. You really want me to believe that speculators are safeguarding the economy? You and Swampy would get along well. The motive behind speculation is to profit by it, not some altruistic desire to stabilize a market. Please.

Explain why last time this happened, prices screamed up to $4/gal and then dropped to pre-Bush administration prices when all those speculators had to dump the oil they were holding on the market?

Speculators don't "create" shortages. I don't know what you mean by that.

Of course speculators act in order to profit. Their motivation isn't to consider some vague idea of what's good for "society" or the "global economy", but in doing so they are as a consequence doing just that. That's why it works. When you go shopping or go to work are you doing it because you want whats good for "society" and to "stimulate" the economy?

Speculators are an important part of an economy. You want a concrete result (low gas prices) detached from all its causes in disregard of why or how. Only because your feelings don't like something about people making a profit. "Society" and "The Economy" are just a large group of individual people. When one person trades for legitimate values, everyone else as a consequence better off (even though that's not the justification or motivation).

[SwampdonkeyPLD]

Results do not matter to liberals, only intent.