Far from Ike's path, an aftershock is felt: $5 gas

Everyone by now understands that the oil and gas prices are artificially inflated, and now gouging is happening. It will continue until the Senators and Representatives of the Congress and Senate initiate legitimate investigations, and back it up with tough laws and regulation.

Bush actually said that there would be monitoring of the crisis so there wouldn't be price gouging!!!? What happened to that man? Did his mind start working or his conscience kicked in!!?

He and his administration have unleashed the beasts of greed on the lose to destroy this country, by riding the working class people's backs like the old mules of the Saudi (his buddies) deserts long time ago, but when they deregulated the oil corporations and those bunch of thieves who go to speculate for their own gain, that topped it all!

The people of this country have been duped, totaly forsaken. The politicians go to media to find out from them what's the latest consumer confidence?! There is no confidence left. People of this country do not have government to rely on to be protected from greedy vultures that circle around to get the last cent of their livelihood! This is not capitalistic system. This is feudal system as in old times, just in new form!

It is interesting where they conduct those pols! But just visit Fox News Network. They'll make you think we are all living in fairytale land.They look and act like a bunch of ostriches among the sand dunes!

The hell with the oil companies and speculators who only want to make a buck and don't care about the rest of us or our country!

VOTE AGAINST MCCAIN/PALIN IN NOVEMBER - ALL THEY WANT TO DO IS "DRILL FOR MORE OIL" WHILE VOTING TO BLOCK RENEWABLE ENERGY DEVELOPMENT.

VOTE FOR OBAMA - OR IF YOU DON'T LIKE HIM - VOTE FOR RON PAUL. BOTH PEOPLE CARE MORE ABOUT OUR WELFARE THAN MCCAIN AND PALIN DO.

There is an easy way to eliminate the price gougers from future events that are caused by hurricanes and other problems, such as refinery outages due to equipment breakdowns. The general public can not rely on government to prosecute every owner/operator of "Quickie Mart we're going to screw you" service stations that raises gasoline prices during natural disaster season. Likewise, the "Major Oil Companies" that still own some of the service station are usually not the guilty party when it comes to jacking the prices of the fuel they sell during times of flooding, hurricanes, etc. Hence, the solution ....
Remember the "Quickie Marts" that gouged and boycott those service stations after the crisis has passed. Do not go back to them. Use only those stations that treat their customers fairly. Start a movement nationwide to put "the gougers" out-of-business. It won't take long before you will see a number of those stations that were gouging are "Under New Ownership" considering the way they (the station owners) have to do business with the wholesalers that supply their fuel.

This is an outrage - a true example when speculators are allowed to be greedy on a flimsy event. The oil companies are using a few day - some suppliers interruption as a way to rape the consumer. The journalist of this day are just pretty faces on the screen - NO ONE is asking the hard questions that even an average American consumer would ask "How can this be right", "This doesn't make sense" - someone do their job!!!!

My husband and I are good little scouts and prepared for this winter. That's where our $1200 tax incentive went - fuel oil. And it didn't buy much, friends and neighbors. But because we have an energey efficient home we will probably squeek it out to June '08. I am just sick. Sick of big business and the politics that fuel the greed and lies. Sick of greedy rich people and politicians in big business getting richer off the backs of the middle class. They are bleeding us dry and "government" won't do a thing about it. There really isn't much of a middle class left. We are being taxed out of existance and will join the working poor if we still have jobs. It is morally and ethically wrong for gas companies to up the prices on product purchased before their price went up; it should be illegal. It was generally stuipid for car companies to push oversized, gas guzzeling vehicles that were completely unnecessary for the suburban city dweller. How do they not learn lessons when they went through it in the 70s? Greed.
You needed a four wheel drive SUV to get to the grocery store five blocks from your home? You REALLY needed that 4,000 sq ft home for you, your wife and one child, didn't you?!! Especially since you couldn't afford to buy furniture for it. Greed. The you have let yourselves be convinced by big business, politicians and your own expectations that you can have it all without effort. Doesn't work that way. Someone gets to pay, and it's us. It sure won't be big business or politicians.

Prices of gasoline and natural gas have been falling lately due to a decrease in demand. The poor oil companies have to do something to get those profits back up, so why not use this natural disaster as the excuse. Of course they don't have any back-up power systems to operate the refineries. Why buy expensive equipment to make the system more reliable if you can make more profit by shutting off production until the grid power comes back on, and then charge a lot more for the product.

Shutting down the gas pipeline is even more questionable. These pipelines operate by using huge compressors that are powered by burning some of the very gas they are pumping. Loss of the power grid should have no effect, but it sounds good as an excuse and gets those natural gas prices back up to share-holder pleasing levels.

What I don't understand is this....They know that as soon as this is over, they will begin to drill again. The gas already in these tanks cost them "x" dollars. Why then does THAT gas go up??? If the station notices they may run out of Doritos, they don't run up their price. If they're out, they're out until they are able to get more.

And the American public fuel the fire every time they go sit in those lines in fear! On my way home from work on Friday I saw station after station with cars lined up waiting to fill up. I needed gas but refused to give in. Why? Because what happens next week, or the next time I need gas? I will go up to a pump and be forced to pay whatever price is on the pump that day, which in all likelihood will still be up near whatever price they finally settle at with this thing. Everyone knows it goes up much faster than it will ever come down. Has anyone ever seen gas prices FALL 30c overnight? Not me.

I don't blame this necessarily on the administration of President Bush. Although, it is so far gone, it will take so much more than anyone knows to fix it. This has been developing for many years. I don't know if McCain or Obama can repair much in the next administration. When it comes to decision making, to me it seems the Presidents hands are tied to whatever the House and Senate come up with. It is a joint effort on all their parts and the only thing they ALL seem capable of doing is passing the laws that include their own raise increases, both Democrat and Republican.

Here's an explanation from economist Walter Williams regarding prices. It can't get anymore simple than this. Can we please put an end to all these cries about "price gouging"!

Here's what one reader wrote: "Williams, I can understand how the destruction of Hurricane Katrina and Middle East political uncertainty can jack up gasoline prices. But it's price-gouging for the oil companies to raise the price of all the gasoline already bought and stored before the crisis." Several other readers made similar allegations. Such allegations reflect a misunderstanding of how prices are determined.

Let's start off with an example. Say you owned a small 10-pound inventory of coffee that you purchased for $3 a pound. Each week you'd sell me a pound for $3.25. Suppose a freeze in Brazil destroyed half of its coffee crop, causing the world price of coffee to immediately rise to $5 a pound. You still have coffee that you purchased before the jump in prices. When I stop by to buy another pound of coffee from you, how much will you charge me? I'm betting that you're going to charge me at least $5 a pound. Why? Because that's today's cost to replace your inventory.

Historical costs do not determine prices; what economists call opportunity costs do. Of course, you'd have every right not to be a "price-gouger" and continue to charge me $3.25 a pound. I'd buy your entire inventory and sell it at today's price of $5 a pound and make a killing.

If you were really enthusiastic about not being a "price-gouger," I'd have another proposition. You might own a house that you purchased for $55,000 in 1960 that you put on the market for a half-million dollars. I'd simply accuse you of price-gouging and demand that you sell me the house for what you paid for it, maybe adding on a bit for inflation since 1960. I'm betting you'd say, "Williams, if I sold you my house for what I paid for it in 1960, how will I be able to pay today's prices for a house to live in?"

ok . in a nut shell.if we as unimportant people(oil companies opinions) hhave a weather crisis that shuts us down, WE accept the loss,pay the price for a nature caused issue. RIGHT????????

so since when do any other companies allowed to be exempt from this. oil companies are supposed to be following the same laws as us. soooooooooo WHATS WRONG WITH OUR GOVERNMENT.

how many of you government officials are invested in oil and to afraid you MIGHT be shorted on your greedy little profits?

get off your cowardly behinds and restricke the oil companies to the same as the rest of us.

they raise prices when storm hits then allow small busnesses to do the same orrrrrrrrr start busting them with fines untill they quite. confiscate thier massive profits untill they stop thier stealing. plain and simple.

oh??? they will just raise prises . BUST THEM AGAIN AND AGAIN untill the fear of loseing gets thru thier head. A THEIF IS A THEIF IS A THEIF.

ok . in a nut shell.if we as unimportant people(oil companies opinions) hhave a weather crisis that shuts us down, WE accept the loss,pay the price for a nature caused issue. RIGHT????????

so since when do any other companies allowed to be exempt from this. oil companies are supposed to be following the same laws as us. soooooooooo WHATS WRONG WITH OUR GOVERNMENT.

how many of you government officials are invested in oil and to afraid you MIGHT be shorted on your greedy little profits?

get off your cowardly behinds and restricke the oil companies to the same as the rest of us.

they raise prices when storm hits then allow small busnesses to do the same orrrrrrrrr start busting them with fines untill they quite. confiscate thier massive profits untill they stop thier stealing. plain and simple.

oh??? they will just raise prises . BUST THEM AGAIN AND AGAIN untill the fear of loseing gets thru thier head. A THEIF IS A THEIF IS A THEIF.

The PRESIDENT's hands are NOT TIED. Mr Nixon established price freezes (and profit freezes) back when the oil business was regulated. That kept prices and inflation down. The Congress has very little power under a tyrant like Bush who believes he is right no matter what facts are presented to him and the Republicans who refuse to go against him for fear they won't be re-elected. 1. RE-regulate the oil business (and take it out of the stock market) 2. Term limits for Congress (14 states voted for 2 terms): 16 years is enough (with a reduced retirement package--they retire on more money than I'll make in a lifetime) Try putting that on the ballot and see who turns out to vote.

There have been disasters, world war 11, Korean war and the Viet Nam war that could have affected the price of oil and the raising of prices at the fuel pump but none of these instances caused the amazing increases we see today. Why is the present day any different? GREED, LIES, DECEIT is why and the government does nada.

The oil companies already had inventory at the old price for a barrel of oil before IKE hit this country.

Let's go back to the old days when FDR and Truman were in office. They froze prices on everything so that there would be no price gouging to the public.

jvh679, LoL, I read your 10:37 post. Very inlighting. Keep up the good work.

Id rather vote Republican , this time, than to put a Muslim, like Obama in office. Let raise some McCain and say no to Obama. Nobama. This is one die hard Democrat and I do approve this messege.

Ever hear of the French Revolution?

We hear from government that gouging will not be tolerated but they say that there has to be proof of collusion. the truth is when one raises prices they all match it in a few hours, and that is enough for me to claim that they are in one accord and fixing prices even though no meetings or memo have been passed.

People forget why oil companies exist. They exist to make a profit for their investors! Plain and simple. I fault the government regulators for not reigning in the oil companies when their profits become "price gouging"! There are several Federal laws pertaining to price gouging concerning commodities deemed to be of national importance. Oil is a commodity of national importance!! You will not see any movement by the government (Federal) on oil companies until the present administration is replaced. For that matter, the present political party in the white house is replaced. It's no coincidence that nothings being done right now. The API (American Petroleum Industry) is sweating bullets about Democrats in the white house.
McCain's call's for more drilling and cutting funding for alternatives for renewable energy are proof that the oil companies run that party!

Perhaps, just perhaps, I have invented a system. I realize that the vast majority of gasoline vendors are doing an honest job, but the news deals with the sub-standard ones that choose to gouge. Every business deserves a reasonable profit, and they are certainly entitled to it, it is the reason they are in business.
The proposal is, that gas stations add a double line to their signs. One would state the current price of their fuel, the other would state the price paid for the fuel currently in their storage tanks. Any reasonable consumer would be able to see and figure a reasonable profit margin. Should that margin become unreasonable, the facility should be avoided by consumers at the expense of the gouging business.

The replication in this situation will be in the consumer taking responsibility in where theirmoney goes. If the consumer refuses to patronize the gougers, they will have no further reason to conduct business.

Funny how the hurricane affected all the other states. They all hiked their gas prices. Don't blame the hurricane. Put the blame where it BELONGS............CONGRESS for not letting us get our own drilling going and GREED! Also for not using our own natural resources. They pay the other countries to screw us.
High time to vote for new Senate an Congress people and limit their terms same as President. Maybe they won't be there long enough to sell their souls to the highest bidders.
Make them also pay into Social Security same as the hard working people do. They are paid way too much for their services few times a year. Cut out all the PERKS.

I really believe, that in addition to my plan mentioned earlier, a total abolishment of the existing partisan system would help a great deal. It isn't Republicans, It isn't Democrats, It is mass ignorance allowing these parties to divide a great nation on partisan lines.. We watch our little kids come home with report cards that rate their ability to "play well with others", Isn't about time we, as adults started doing that?

About this time every 4 years or so, we get into this. All of the sudden, we are no longer Americans, we become Democrats or Republicans. Sooo... What happens if we take the Obama camp, The McCain camp, strip them of party affiliation and simply elect the best people. They all have redeeming qualities, but sometimes those qualities will never be combined and realized because of partisan lines. I think if we were electing the president of the animal world, we would look for the best solution. Be they a donkey or an elephant, hopefully we would look for the best combination of leadership and wisdom.

In answer to JVH, perhaps when that merchant is forced to purchase goods at the higher price, he should raise his pricing accordingly at that point.