I found a new blog I plan on making a daily stop. Jim Wright is money. Period.
The part about this post that struck me was this:
Blowhard: Yeah. Whatever. We got him. It only took twenty years, it’s time for Barry to quit grandstanding. Gas is five dollars out in the Valley! (speaking of football, who just moved the goalposts? Zoinks! It’s weird old Mr Jenkins, the airport maintenance man!)
Dude: Exactly! It’s five dollars! When’s Oblamo going to do something about that? (And I’d have gotten away with it to, if it wasn’t for you rotten kids!)
Me: So, you guys are communists then?
Dude: (looks at me like I said “gay” instead of “communist”)
Blowhard: (looks at me like I just said “gay liberal vegetarian tree-hugging evolutionist who gives $5 hummers at the truck stop” instead of commie.”)
Me: Because, you know, that’s what it is when the government controls the price of stuff. Marxism. (Rut roe, Shaggy!)
Blowhard: The president can lower the price of gas if he wants to! He just doesn’t want to.
Me: Again, I don’t think you understand the concept of a free market. You’re saying that the president sets the price of commodities like gasoline? I’m pretty sure that’s not how capitalism works.
Yep, that's not how it works. Yet, President Obama is still getting the blame for high gas prices. My question is why. As has been said many times on here, the president and the government should not be running the economy. That's the job of the free market, right? To take care of itself. But when it doesn't, do the oil companies get the blame? The financial sector? Nope. The government does. It always gets the blame and rarely gets the credit. What a load of shit.
I've also been told several times on here that the president can't do much about the economy. If that's the case as well, again, why is he getting the blame? Why should we even talk about his economic policies?
7 comments:
Sounds to me like you should go to that other blog if you want to argue with someone and actually use facts to support your opinion.
I imagine that would be a nice change for you.
Price controls have been imposed by the government several times in the past, in particular during WWII, the Korean War, and by Richard Nixon in 1971.
Originally intended to last only 90 days, Nixon's price controls lasted for a thousand days. The price controls on gasoline are widely blamed for causing the long gas lines in the Seventies.
Because of that, presidential interference in pricing is unwise except in extreme cases. We are still in a period of historically low inflation. And because we get most of our oil from foreign sources, we are at their mercy when it comes to pricing. Though there is turmoil in the Middle East, the supply of oil is essentially undiminished and crude prices are up due to speculation.
The only thing the government could reasonably do is to limit oil company profits in some way. Right now much of the increased price of gas is padding the bottom lines of oil companies (ExxonMobil's profits were up 65% this past quarter). That means, essentially, that if oil companies used to be making a profit of a dollar on each gallon sold, they're now making a profit of $1.65.
One thing the government could do is add an excess profits tax, so that 65 cents would go to help reduce the deficit instead of oil company CEO bonuses. Or the oil companies could choose to keep their profits and the price of gas lower. Their choice. Either way the American public would come out ahead.
Yet, President Obama is still getting the blame for high gas prices. My question is why.
Because an awful lot of people are pretty fucking stupid. Hell, they elected Bachmann in your neck of the woods, and Boxer and Feinstein in mine.
The only thing the government could reasonably do is to limit oil company profits in some way.
How much more evidence do you need?
Rather than just "limit oil company profits", why don't we just nationalize the oil companies and return that money to the people?
They really are the same thing, just a matter of degree.
Yet, President Obama is still getting the blame for high gas prices. My question is why.
Perhaps the fact that he's been demonizing the energy sector from day one, and is doing everything he can to make us more dependent on foreign energy has something to do with it.
(ExxonMobil's profits were up 65% this past quarter) That means, essentially, that if oil companies used to be making a profit of a dollar on each gallon sold, they're now making a profit of $1.65.
Does it? Or does it mean they made that much larger volume of sales? Do you have any actual evidence for either, or are you just using 65% as an excuse to attack 'Big Oil', so the actual facts don't matter?
You are aware that for every dollar of profit an oil company makes in the US, there is right around 4 dollars of taxes levied, right?
And just so you know, while Obama is spending years demonizing Big Oil and trying to stir up the peasants against them for daring to make a profit off their work.... care to guess who is putting the most time, money and effort into alternative energy sources?
Exxon/Mobil, that's who.
Where'd you go Nikto? How do you feel about simply nationalizing the oil companies?
After all, oil reserves should belong to the poeple, right?
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