U.S. Gas Prices Continue To Fall 398
First time accepted submitter nmpost writes "Earlier this year, as gas prices hit record highs in the winter and spring for that time of year, experts warned we were headed for all time records this summer. Something strange happened before every motorists recurring nightmare happened: gas prices actually started dropping. In fact, prices have fallen over $.50 since they peaked in the spring. Experts have now flipped their projections, and believe prices will continue to tumble through the fall."
Re:Fall, really? (Score:4, Informative)
that being said, he can't really be blamed for their insane increase, either. we have Egypt, Israel, Syria, Iran, Saudia Arabia, gas price speculators, BP, and a whole slew of other bad actors to blame for that
Re:This is not new, guys (Score:3, Informative)
Did everyone already forget our current Administration saying they'd try getting gas prices below $2.50/gal by election time?
Bullshit. Nobody in the Obama administration with any credibility with the media EVER said ANYTHING like that.
Newt Gingrich made some promises that sounded like that, though.
Re:Is this pump price? (Score:5, Informative)
crude is at US$20/barrel
It's actually at $80USD a barrel.
Re:Maybe (Score:2, Informative)
On average, cars were more fuel efficient 30 years ago. The problem is with pollution controls.
Engines attain maximum efficiency when they run hotter, the problem with hotter running engines is that they produce more nitrogen oxides and cause more smog. So, in the 1980s, they imposed pollution controls to reduce the nitrogen oxides and therefore smog. The only way car makers could meet this was to make engines run cooler, and in so doing reduced the efficiency of the engines.
Miles per gallon hasn't changed much in the average family sedan, but 30 years ago the cars were bigger and heavier and used a lot more steel.
LK
Charts (Score:4, Informative)
And here I expected a story about changes in the price of something over time would include a chart.
To remedy the lack of charts: http://www.consumerenergyreport.com/2012/02/27/how-high-have-gas-prices-risen-over-the-years/ [consumerenergyreport.com]
(This is a good link because it includes an inflation-adjusted chart.)
Re:Maybe (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Fall, really? (Score:4, Informative)
You say that as if something like OPEC doesn't exist.
No, I say it as if OPEC doesn't have the type of price control it used to have, and not anywhere near the price control it wishes it had. Here's a nifty little link: http://people.hofstra.edu/geotrans/eng/ch5en/appl5en/shareopec.html [hofstra.edu] OPEC currently controls about 45% of global output. The Persian Gulf sits at below 30%. Furthermore, OPEC is definitely not the single entity a lot of people make it out to be. Yes, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States are pretty much in lock step. You know who else is part of OPEC? Iran, aka mortal enemy of Saudi Arabia.
So yes, they do influence the market. But they are clearly not able to control the price to the degree you intimate.
The same applies to your argument about companies, by the way. And then, as you rightly guessed, politics are also thrown in the mix. And the global economy. All in all, you make my point: while there are some entities that have more control over price than others, there are so many that it is ludicrous on the face of it to argue that there is even the possibility of a cabal. And then there's the data, which conclusively proves that individual actors have very little influence on the price of gas in the US.
While it might be reasonable for someone to question whether prices are subject to global manipulation, it implies that that person has never looked closely at either gas prices or who the players are.
Re:Maybe (Score:4, Informative)
Bigger, yes, heavier, no. Modern cars don't creak like those cars of 30 years ago, because much more steel is used to make a stiffer unibody than in the past. The modern mini, while slightly larger than the original mini is almost twice the weight. My 5-passenger car weighs the same as the 7-passenger minivan that it replaced.
Re:California Gas Prices (Score:5, Informative)
Considering that the total tax for on the road gasoline in California is less than fifty cents a gallon, you might want to check your numbers. That's combined state and federal excise taxes as well as a variety of other fees added by the state.
http://taxfoundation.org/article/state-gasoline-tax-rates-january-1-2012 [taxfoundation.org]
Re:Is this pump price? (Score:4, Informative)
Brent crude is around $90, only about a $10 premium over WTI.
Re:California Gas Prices (Score:4, Informative)
Did you even bother to read, well, anything other than your bullshit tea bagger propaganda? The link you provided is nothing but failed reading comprehension and awful scare tactics. High property taxes even with Prop. 13? Two percent of a McMansion in Malibu is still going to be a lot more than a twenty percent tax levied on a yurt in Oklahoma. Blame big government. lawl.
The link I provided broke out the taxes into excise and other taxes. So that's state+federal excise taxes plus other things like "environmental fees, storage tank taxes, other fees or taxes, and general sales tax" for a combined rate of forty-eight and six tenths cents per gallon. That's also based on the API's February 2012 prices.
If you want to look at the link that you provided, go ahead. The fear mongers come up with higher numbers that aren't directly comparable to the ones I provided. Look at the API data the tea baggers use [api.org]. California's at 69.0 cents (same #2 rank) per gallon, with an average of 49.5 cents. Per the link you posted, including DC, the only state with less than 30 cents per gallon in combined taxes is Alaska.
So, no California does not charge fifty cents more per gallon of unleaded gasoline in taxes than most states.
Re:Maybe (Score:4, Informative)
Give credit where credit is due (Score:5, Informative)
Obama pushed through several regulation to control what they could do (sadly, he did not restore the laws about commodity trading). The is why you're paying less at the pump. He also has used the threat of flooding the market from the national reserves to keep the speculators in check. He did these things well over a year ago, but it takes that long for the savings to make it through the pipeline.