Question re price of oil and gas.....do you think??

Question

that this statement is accurate:

Price fixing of gas is "competition" and not "collusion" Do you buy that?

By law, if gas companies should call each other on the phone and say I'm raising the price, that is a crime....but to look up the street and see what Joe Blow is charging and raise your price accordingly is "competition".

Give me a break....and in the meantime, the government pulls the 3 monkey's act (hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil) after all it's more revenue for them.

I suppose they are waiting until people start smashing heads in protest before they will actually step in and do something.

Where do you think this will lead because where I think it will lead will not be pretty at all.

PS: YA conveniently did not post this question when I asked it before...why do you think that is??

Answer 1

The various oil companies are NOT supposed to be in communication with each other.  If it is found out that they are they are subject to stiff fines from the FTC.  The problem for us consumers is that there are so few of them reducing the competition.  With low competition they can slowly ramp up the price and can expect the others to do so.

It's not illegal to watch each other to see what the others are up to.  So when company A raises its price Company B and C see the change and raise their price the next day.  It's just vicious greedy cycle.

Did you ever notice that when an event happens to raise the price of oil the gas prices go up the next day even before the first barrel of higher priced oil has been pumped?  Did you notice that when an event that causes the oil price to go down it takes weeks before the gas prices fall?

Answer 2

Regarding gas prices I feel like killing myself, it's annoying and the rippling effect is one that I was not prepared to realize how extend this gas affects our daily lives.

Answer 3

i think it's gettin so bad, that everybodys lookin out for numero uno, my dear. Cant you do something about all this? I thought you were runnin for prez...