$8-a-gallon gas (And why it would be good for us)

[mini]

I wonder how much of this fuel price hike is being caused by the war?

[dnr1128]

Some.  In my limited understanding of the futures market, the prices are largely driven by speculators who negotiate prices based upon current events, supplies, projected demand, and other factors.  A few months back when the US temporarily suspended filling the strategic reserve, the price dropped a little, because there was a little more oil available on the market.  But, when the workers at the Scottish refinery went on strike, the price went up.  Since Iraq supplies some of the oil on the global market, political instability, including the propensity of the terrorists to disrupt the oil flow, affects the market prices. 

I would venture to guess that a larger factor in the price of crude is the weak dollar.  Since the dollar has been growing progessively weaker versus foreign currencies such as the euro over the last year, and oil is pegged to the dollar, it is causing oil to grow more expensive. 

[dnr1128]

There's a couple good opinion pieces regarding US energy policy in the WSJ, at http://online.wsj.com/public/page/opinion.html as well as a good piece on AmericanThinker.com

Edit: 

Go to YouTube and search for "lindsey williams"  He was a chaplain on the TransAlaska Pipeline during the heyday up there and was granted executive status, and was able to sit in on meetings of the oil company execs.  There is an eight-part video on youtube of him talking about what he learned. 

[yosemite]

a few nights ago there was a guest on coast to coast that made a lot of sence. here is a little of what was said.

Author Howard Bloom joined the show in the third hour to offer analysis on the oil and food crisis. Blaming food riots in various countries on the increased production of ethanol is a "snow job," he declared. OPEC bought up a huge share of commodity futures and this is what drove up the price of food, he explained.

while this may be true food hike is also due to the cost of transporting it. also did you know that domestic oil is still 35$ a barrel. why are we buying imported crude when we can use our own cheaper. why cant we drill our own and just do away with the middle east totally. this aint bush's fault, its the democrats!! they are the only ones stopping us from drilling our own oil. did you know that indeviduall states set the out put for a well? if a well can put out 200 barrels of crude a day, the state will set it to produce 30 barrells a day. acording to this the records will be wrong as to how much domestic crude is available per day. why? its all a power play, and will result in a one world gov..  -yo

[dnr1128]

YOu listen to C2C?  Dude I love that show!  I've got several DVDs full of MP3s archives of my favorite shows...Ian had "Jesus Christ" on last weekend.  hah

[yosemite]

yeah, i drive a truck and this show is very famous among truck drivers. i do most of my driving at night and this show is very either entertaining or helarious, depending on who he has on each night. here lately i only get one trip a week and only get to hear maybe two shows a week, i look on the web site to see what was said the other nights.

dnr- do you also subscribe to infowars.com  or prison planet.com with alex jones?

i think alot of the conspiracy is jiberish, but some of it(IMO) is right on the money.

you most not have payed any attention to my avatar!!  LOL

lindsey williams was also on coast to coast. you can also look up past shows to see what he said.

[yosemite]

here's what oil solution.com says: 


Three-step plan to drive oil and gas prices down fast!
June 13, 2008

Americans feel frustrated and powerless to solve the oil and gas crisis;


The average U.S. gasoline price is now at $4.07 a gallon, reports Gas Buddy.
The cost of gas has risen 24% from its year-ago price of $3.10 a gallon.
Crude oil prices are up 35% so far in 2008 and may rise to $250 a barrel by 2009.
Speculation in the energy markets is up twenty-fold since 2003, reports CNBC.
"What can be done to curb $5-$10 a gallon gas and $150-$250 a barrel oil?"


"We need leaders with the political courage to take on the environmentalists blocking access to massive untapped reservoirs of U.S. oil offshore and in the ANWR," said 86% in a WND poll.

"The key to bringing oil and gas prices down quickly will be opening strategic areas for production which will flush out widespread energy speculation from the market. Serious government action will send speculators running for cover," writes Craig R. Smith author and CEO.

Contact your elected officials to request three immediate actions;

1) DRILL FOR OIL NOW!
Approve fast-track legislation to begin extracting oil and natural gas from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) and deep waters in the Gulf of Mexico, reducing foreign dependence.

2) REFINE MORE OIL NOW!
Approve fast-track legislation to build at least four new, strategically placed oil refineries throughout the U.S. as well as building new pipeline infrastructure to deliver finished product throughout the U.S.

3) STRONG US DOLLAR NOW!
Demand the federal government puts a freeze on new spending and reduces our $9.4 trillion national debt and deficits. This action will immediately strengthen the dollar and help reduce inflation. ( quit blaming bush for this to. it was started by the federal reserve in its time and clinton when he sold out to nafta thus starting an uncontrollable defecit and bush just got caught in the aftermath of it all !!)

Will this plan work? Yes! If 'We the People' speak up!


In 2006, the sale of port management, in six major U.S. seaports, to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was crushed by We the People who made our voice heard and stopped the proposed sale in the name of national security.

In 2007, The Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act never even got to a vote after We the People put our foot down and told our elected officials we demand enforcement of our borders before allowing amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants.

In 2008, surging oil and gas prices threaten to crush the middle class in America as they fuel rising inflation, which will soon trickle down and affect the cost of everything. It is time to be heard again on Capitol Hill.
Let's Change Red "No Zones" Into Green "Yes Zones"
"To bring the price of fuel down the government must quickly pass legislation to open up our domestic sources of oil such as the ANWR, the Great Basin, the Outer Continental Shelf, and the Gulf," said Mr. Smith to WND.

"Our problem in America gets solved when we aggressively go for domestic exploration... if we expand our refining capacity, promote nuclear energy, continue advancing of alternative energies as well as conservation," said President Bush last weekend, reported AFT.

"For decades, the minority party has blocked one effort after another to responsibly develop the energy resources our country possesses, transforming vast areas of opportunity into 'The No Zone,' said then Idaho Senator Larry Craig in May 2006.

"Buying oil is draining $600 billion a year from the United States," says Texas oil billionaire Boone Pickens, who expects the price of oil to reach $150 a barrel this year, reports CNBC.

Merrill Lynch reports that each 1-cent rise in gas prices drains $1.3 billion a year from consumer spending. Do the math! $6.00-a-gallon gas equals $260 billion gone from American wallets!
*********************************************************************
if i may, i might add that we quit blaming bush for what the democrats are doing. bush is only following what our country was built on, the freedom to acumalate wealth. if we restrain him what about others as well as yourself. the blame bush theme is a brainwashing and a democratic tactic for communism. if we place a limit on people as to how much they are allowed to make, what would you call it? i say communism!!

I'll also say bush cant do anything in office alone, he has to be backed up by congress, and that is made up of a majority of democrats. so why blame bush? its an unfounded blame game !!!  if he done anything while in office to establish a personall profit that would not have naturally happened, he would be impeached and in prison by now!!

my opinion to this is that all of us need to WAKE UP!!!! we are being played and we need to find out who is actually doing the playing because we are falling right into their hands.       -yo

[dnr1128]

I just now noticed your avatar.  Yeah, I have the show in my archives of Lindsey Williams.  No, I don't suscribe to Alex Jones' stuff.  Although I believe in the Bilderberg group and other influential groups that seek to control policy on a global level, I don't buy some of the things that Jones stuff, and I think his high-energy presentation doesn't help his nutcase image. 

Are you a streamlink member?  it's only about 6.95/month, and you can download all the mp3s of the last 90 days commercial-free and listen to them.  That's how I listen to the show now, so much easier.

Good points in the article you posted!  I'm all for drilling.  Lets drill a well in the backyard of the White House.

[yosemite]

I just now noticed your avatar.  (neat aint it)

Good points in the article you posted!  I'm all for drilling.  Lets drill a well in the backyard of the White House.

we need to drill some where local and get more domestic oil. this imported stuff is killing us.

neah, not a stream linker yet. dont know how to hook up. i only recently started using the computer.

[yosemite]

the new york times is atuned to some news to!!



Spencer Platt/Getty Images

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By PETER S. GOODMAN
Published: June 7, 2008
The unemployment rate surged to 5.5 percent in May from 5 percent — the sharpest monthly spike in 22 years — as the economy lost 49,000 jobs, registering a fifth consecutive month of decline, the Labor Department reported Friday.
Ric Francis/Associated press
Looking at listings at a Los Angeles job fair. Federal officials said Friday that the unemployment rate rose to 5.5 percent in May from 5 percent in April, the sharpest monthly gain in 22 years.
The weak jobs report, coupled with a staggering rise in the price of oil — up a record $10.75 a barrel to more than $138 — unleashed a feverish sell-off on Wall Street, sending the Dow Jones industrial average down nearly 400 points. The dollar plunged against several major currencies.
Investors' recent hopes that the United States might yet skirt a recession sank swiftly in the face of gloomy indications that the economy is gripped by a slowdown and pressured by record fuel prices.
For tens of millions of Americans struggling to pay bills, the jobs report added an official stamp of authority to a dispiriting reality they already know: A deteriorating labor market is eliminating paychecks just as they are needed to compensate for the soaring cost of food and fuel, and as the fall in house prices hacks away at household wealth and access to credit.
"It's unambiguously ugly," said Robert Barbera, chief economist at the research and trading firm ITG. "The average American already knows that gas prices are up a ton and it's really hard to find a job. Sally and Sam on Main Street are already well aware of this, and that's why sentiment surveys are lower than they were in each of the last two recessions."
President Bush acknowledged the jump in unemployment as an indication of "slow economic growth," but he held out hope that $100 billion in tax rebates now being distributed to American households would spur spending and generate jobs.

"We're beginning to see the signs that the stimulus may be working," Mr. Bush said during a swearing-in ceremony for the housing secretary, Steven C. Preston.

In a presidential election year in which the economy has emerged as a crucial issue, both major candidates used the employment data as an opportunity to criticize their opponent's governing philosophy.

"The wrong change for our country would be an economic agenda based upon the policies of the past that advocate higher taxes," said Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, in a written statement. "To help families at this critical time, we cannot afford to go backward as Senator Obama advocates."

Senator Barack Obama, Democrat of Illinois, called the labor report "a reminder that working families continue to bear the brunt of the failed Bush economic policies that John McCain wants to continue," in a statement. "We can't afford John McCain's plan to spend billions of dollars on tax breaks for big corporations and wealthy C.E.O.'s."

Democrats on Capitol Hill and advocates for the unemployed pointed to the spike in joblessness in arguing for the swift extension of federal unemployment insurance.

Among the 8.55 million people who were unemployed in May, 1.55 million had been unemployed for 27 weeks or longer. Unemployment benefits now expire after 26 weeks. An Iraq war financing bill approved by the Senate includes a provision that would extend cash benefits for an additional 13 weeks.

"It would show a new level of callousness by Congress, a new level of disconnect between Washington and the rest of the country, not to pass an extension now," said Andrew Stettner, executive director of the National Employment Law Project, an advocacy group.

The White House has said it would veto the bill for imposing deadlines on the withdrawal of troops from Iraq. The administration also argues that jobless benefits should not be extended, with the unemployment rate still low by historical measures. Tony Fratto, a White House spokesman, said Friday's report did not change that position.

The spike in joblessness significantly cooled talk that the Federal Reserve could stop worrying about recession and might soon begin to raise interest rates to choke off rising prices for crucial goods like gasoline and food.

Since last fall, as fears of recession have grown along with the financial turmoil resulting from falling home prices, the Fed has cut interest rates to encourage investment and spur economic activity. A chorus of economists has warned that the Fed has unleashed too much easy money, feeding inflation and driving down the dollar. Some have suggested the Fed might have to reverse course and raise rates. Not anymore, as the labor market continues to offer up evidence of enduring trouble.

"There's a greater chance of peace breaking out in the Middle East," said Mr. Barbera, the ITG economist.

[yosemite]

Recap
Meltdown: The Economy & Oil
In a special program looking at issues surrounding oil & the economy, trends analyst Gerald Celente appeared for the full show. He was joined by investment advisor Catherine Austin Fitts in the third hour, and oil expert Matt Savinar in the last hour.

The dollar has lost 41% of its value during the Bush administration, and we're going to see company failures so big they won't be able to be bailed out, like Bear Stearns, said Celente. He cited the Federal Reserve, which functions as a private company with no congressional oversight, as one of the major problems. Predicting food & gas riots, as well as tax revolts, Celente suggested diversifying your savings among a number of banks, if you have more than $100,000.

Catherine Austin Fitts commented that the demise of Bear Stearns may have been a hit job, "cannibalized" for the good of other finance companies. There is an effort underway to centralize the economy and shift assets away from local communities, she warned. Fitts described these efforts as "economic warfare" being conducted on a global scale that is fostered by technology and "invisible weaponry," such as satellites. The US economy is purposely being "pumped and dumped," she noted.

Matt Savinar said global oil supplies have plateaued, and with lessening oil reserves it becomes increasingly expensive to bring up the remaining oil. Prices will continue to skyrocket upwards, he suggested, as we enter the down side of "peak oil." Tapping unused reserves in the United States and Canada will only postpone the problem for a short time, and the theory of abiotic oil is a kind of misinformation, Savinar argued. The oil crisis is an "economic 9-11," and we're going to see a crash worse than the Great Depression, Celente added

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c2c what a show!!  LOL   -yo

[dnr1128]

Personally, I place some of the responsibility for the economic situation we are in right now squarely in the lap of President Bush.  He has expanded government spending more than many recent presidents.  For example, the federal budget has expanded 40% since 1997.  So, while the tax cuts are a good thing, and have helped, they haven't totally offset the damage caused by the federal budget hemorrhaging money. 

[yosemite]

again, i dont think Bush can be singled out in this mess. a bill has to be introduced to congress for the elaborate spending and both congress and Bush has to pass it.

as for the start of this mess you can blame the democrats. clinton helped pass severall tree hugger policies and NAFTA (he even sold military secrets to red china).where do ya think korea got the ability to build a nuke? it wasnt russia, as they would have you to think!! he so-called protected our most plentifull oil reserves for the sake of owls and things i feel were not threatened. clinton sent our jobs overseas. now all they needed was a scape goat,( clinton was finished with his two terms), now comes bush and 9-11 and the war. it fell into his lap!! he did not create the problem, though he MAY have contributed. as the world turns!!
when oboma gets in ther we gonna see a lot more drama.

why is it when a democrat is in office everyone gets amnisia and falls asleep? then when a republican gets in there everyone wakes up and feels that the republican got them into trouble? it just dont make sence to me!! heaven forbid if he has money when he goes in. then he's a crook and robbed the white house and misused his athority. if bush had done so he would be on trial or in prison at the very least impeached. clinton has misused his office twice as much as any republican has!! hahahaha, in more ways than one too!!  LOL  which should not be a laughing matter, but goes to prove my point.....         -yo