Why are the Presidential candidates not talking about increasing the supply of gasoline to lower the price?

Question

There is one very important way to reduce the price of oil and gasoline and that is to increase the supply.

Oil and gasoline are internationally traded commodities, the price is set by the world market.

Many of my fellow members of the Democratic Party are distracting our attention from the real solution, increasing the supply by telling that high prices are caused by speculation and collusion among the oil companies.

Anyone who has even a modicum of knowledge of economics knows that when demand for a commodity increases and the supply remains essentially the same, the price increases.

We have not built a refinery in the United States of America in over 30 years. We cannot increase the supply of gasoline even if we have more oil because we do not have the refining capacity.

The President has a great deal of power to ease regulations for building refineries and remove restrictions on drilling for oil in the United States.

Why will these clowns not use that power?

Answer 1

Check out your history.

The liberal greens in congress made it imposable to build a refinery in the US and make any money. They have replaced so many restrictions that it is a money loosing deal.

Instead, we buy gas and other refrained products from overseas where they produce many times as much pollution as would be produced here while making the same product.

These same people have blocked us form drilling in almost all of Alaska, about 80% of the coastline...almost all of the major oil deposits in the US. Instead we get our oil from countrys that produce a lot more pollution then we would ever allow.

Does it make sense to stop US companies from spilling a 1000 barrells a year in the Gulf of Mexico and force us to by from a country that would spill 100,000 barrels to produce the same amount of oil? Is it not all the same system of oceans that we are trying to protect?

This is not something that the president can do anything aboubt. He DOES NOT have the power! That power resides in congress. To change any of the you would have to get the support of the democrats in congress.

Think about who created this shortage and who needs to fix it next time you vote.

I my humble openion, you can lay half the cost of gas on the democrates front doorstep.

Answer 2

You and I are at the bottom of the ladder holding up this huge political conglomerate with no possibility of ever letting it go. So why would anyone on those wrungs above us want that to change?

Answer 3

Because it is not a good way to do it. If gas supplies rise, consumption will just rise and we'll be back in the same place. Refining capacity is not the reason we have $4/gal gas. That is absurd. Increased efficiency is the only sustainable way to go.

Answer 4

It is much more in our best interests to decrease demand to the same price effect.  And demand is fully within our control, supply is not.

Answer 5

Because its running out. We have 30 years, tops at the current rate before there's none left. Which means no more petrol, no more plastics, the loss of some medicines...

And you're talking about INCREASING the demand? Are you nuts? We don't even have a plan in place for when it runs out... If we had any sense we'd start searching desperately for a new alternative to oil in cars and start building nuclear sites. But no, because lazy people accept that there's a problem, but expect it to fix itself.

Answer 6

The president does not have the power to institute the construction of a refinery.  That must come from the house then the Senate.

However everything else you said is true.  I am a Republican and frustrated with this.  Castro can drill off the coast of Florida and we can not.  

We will probable disagree with on this, but as an engineer, I understand the difficulties in supplying the US with that much of a flammable liquid.  I believe the oil companies do us a great service and should be entitled to make 8-10%.   I am moved by what they achieve.  It is dangerous and not easy.  (I am not an engineer for the oil companies, I do analyze risk on flammable and cumbustible liquids) Walmart makes 10%, if you do not make 7% you will not be in buisness as no one will invest.

Answer 7

because there's nothing they're gonna do about it, that's why they're not talking about it.... i don't think anyone in gov't is overly concerned about rising gas...they don't pay for their gas, we do.  they have gov't cars along with gov't fuel cards.  doesn't hurt them one bit if gas is 3 dollars or 6 dollars a gallon

Answer 8

The dimmocraps are up to their elbows into the pockets of the econut lawyers and the greenies and don't dare offend these big contributors and their gang of vote blocks. Have you noticed how the price of fuel has gone up dramatically since Pelosi and Reid took control of congress?

Answer 9

We have more power to lower our demand than to increase supply.  Building more infrastructure to drill for and refine additional oil and oil products is a very long range and EXPENSIVE undertaking.  It's not going to lower gasoline prices anytime soon if ever.  

We are much better off to adopt conservation efforts AND invest in alternative energy sources.