Being a Prophet is a Lonely Thing

Being a Prophet is a Lonely Thing.





Well, I hate to say "I told you so," but .......I told you so. I am reprinting a blog that I wrote in April of 2006 and I invite any and all of you to tell me what I got wrong. The topic? Oh, those billionaires at the Oil Companies.......



Here we go, and remember, I wrote this two years ago:


What’s That Sucking Sound? Oil Companies Sucking the Life Out of Us!

Big news!!!!

Oil companies suck. No surprise, I guess. But I feel the need to spew. I saw a most disturbing sight this afternoon. On my way home, I looked up and was amazed at how many people were lined up at the local BP gas station. No one was at the Shell station across the street. The reason? Shell was at $2.89 per gallon and BP was at the lowly price of just $2.69 per gallon. The size of the line reminded me of the gas rationing of the 70's (yes, I am that old).The sight just sickened me. We are already conditioned to think that $2.69 per gallon is a deal worth lining up for!!!

Anyway, I’m getting mad thinking of my Republican friends who worship at the altar of “market forces.” Well, Market Force this........In my previous blogs I mentioned that no new oil refineries had been built in the US for the past 25 years and, in fact, numerous refineries have been shut down during that time! There is no oil shortage, there is a refinery shortage in the US. With the limited refining capacity, what incentive is there for the big oil companies to invest in more refineries? Easy. ZERO.Why should they? They have us by the collective short hairs. They have posted record profits (36 Billion last quarter alone!) during this “crisis.” They are just fine with the refinery shortage. Any threatened disruption causes a 25 cent price spike. The oil companies just pass that along (and more). It certainly doesn’t harm their bottom line, so what do they care? What have our Republican President and Congress done about this “shortage?” Zip. Nada. Nothing. Zilch. The big ZERO.

Of course, what can they say? Market forces........market forces...........market forces...........market forces........... It’s kinda like a mantra.........until it bites you in the butt. What should they do? Easy. Nationalize the oil industry. Regulate the industry. Build some national oil refineries. Any of these options take the big oil companies out of the price-rigging business. Since all of the oil companies are acting in concert, the US must do one of the above. Why let big oil companies dictate prices to us? They are affecting our national politics and economy and are apparently above the law (since nothing is being done to them). To drive prices down, there must be more refining capacity in the US and there is no incentive for the oil companies to do that. So, you can stick your head in the sand and hope somehow for relief from the high oil prices. Unfortunately, the truth is that there is no incentive for any of the companies to help us.

Blawgerman