Gas Prices?

[Slaughter]

Ok, so this is really become an annoyance.. going to fill up and having to pay $2.00 a gallon and upwards of 30 a tank has really gotten to me.

So heres what I have heard, correct me if I'm wrong.

Fact: Bush tried to fund a war and cut taxes, seemingly unsuccessful on both ends (the last part being my opinion).

Now, heres where I get hazy because I don't pay attention that much.. What I heard is that Bush signed a bill raising the taxes on gas by $.45, There is something going on in Venezula (which happens to effect the world oil supply), and the Bush Campaign is using the fact that Kerry signed on the bill for the Gas Tax as some major front against him.. when infact it was Bush that signed it into law, or some such thing like that..

Like I said, I don't pay attention to politics that much.. but gas prices are rediculous. I never have liked Bush, this is not making me like him more at all..

Correct me if I'm wrong, and don't hold my Anti-Gdub views against me..

[[AK]Bribo]

Well, I think you're facts are wrong. At last the ones concerning the president. The president has very little to do with gas prices.

There are many reasons prices are high. Here are the major ones:

- Crude oil prices have stayed higher than expected, in part because it's taken longer to get Iraq back on line.
- In addition, about 300,000 to 400,000 barrels daily of Nigerian oil production are curtailed because of local political turmoil.
- At the same time, Venezuelan oil production has not returned to pre-strike levels.
- And on top of everything else, OPEC has cut back on quotas,

This according to John Felmy, chief economist at the American Petroleum Institute (API).

The president can make policy and negotiate to try to to influence OPEC but it is largely out of his hands on what they set the on price of crude.

There are more calls from Congress (here)to open up the nations strategic petroleum reserves to lower prices.

I for one think these reserves need to be guarded for dire circumstances only.

I don't think we are at that state now. Yes, the prices are high. Yes, people are grumbling. But they are still filling up and travelling just as much.

[[AK]Bribo]

I thought this was appropriate for this thread.

[[AK]Bribo]

Apparently, the New York Times agrees with me.

"President Bush is rightly resisting the call. Since 9/11, the administration has been adding to the reserve in a disciplined manner, and it is closing in on its goal of filling up the reserve's capacity, 700 million barrels. Tapping the reserve to assuage motorists at a time of increasing security threats to already tight fuel supplies would be foolish."

And on the causes:

"The real culprit behind rising energy costs is the roaring demand from growing economies, especially China's and the United States', though the volatile situation in the Middle East does seem to add a risk premium. Most of China's energy demand is for industrialization, which, in turn, contributes to the global economic recovery. In contrast, roughly half of the United States' petroleum demand is for personal consumption, primarily for cars, trucks and S.U.V.'s, a situation that, in turn, makes the nation ever more dependent on an increasingly endangered supply of foreign oil."

[[AK]Squidly]

Fact: Bush tried to fund a war and cut taxes, seemingly unsuccessful on both ends (the last part being my opinion).

"Bush tried to fund a war." Good! I'd prefer that the war effort be
funded.

"...and cut taxes." Good! Low taxes spur economic growth. We're in
a major boom right now.

As far as the 45cent thing - I think you're getting Bush confused with Kerry, who espoused a 50 cent tax (or was against cutting taxes by that amount, depending on which version you read.)

BTW - it cost me $47 to fill my tank yesterday, so suck it up you weenie.

[[AK]Sonic Boom]

My $.02 on Kerry's 50 cent "gas tax."

A Bush ad released March 30 attacked Kerry for once supporting the "wacky" idea of raising the gasoline tax by 50 cents per gallon. That was a decade ago. More recently, the man who later became Bush's own chief economist said higher gasoline taxes would lead to "less traffic congestion, safer roads, and reduced risk of global warming" and that raising gasoline taxes 50 cents to pay for a cut in income-tax rates "may be the closest thing to a free lunch that economics has to offer."

Kerry's support for a 50-cent-a-gallon increase in the gasoline tax happened a decade ago, back when regular was selling for a national average of $1.01 per gallon. Kerry's support was so fleeting that the only evidence of it to surface so far are two old newspaper clips in which Kerry complains that he deserved more credit as a deficit-cutter. He never voted for, or sponsored, legislation to impose such a tax, and he doesn't support one now.

[[AK]Squidly]

Sonic - I read your opinion word for word in an article that I dredged up in a google search on the topic about 5 minutes before I posted. Dude! What are the odds!?

My opinion - a 50 cent gas tax is a stupid idea - whether or not it's a new tax or a repeal of an older tax cut. It would cost jobs and drag our economy down.

Another opinion - both sides are playing politics with this issue, as expected.

Kerry's record is so wonderfully full of questionable votes, waffling stances and downright stupidity that I would be shocked if this is the last such attack we see from the Republicans.

UPDATE - Whether or not Kerry supports it now, there is little doubt that he'll be raising taxes promptly if elected. It's what he's all about.

Sincerely, Squidly (Who is still waiting for the cheap-iraqi-oil that the moonbats promised me.)

[[AK]Sonic Boom]

Hey, I never said I wasn't above plagiarism...

For once on this thread, I pretty much agree with everything you said, except for the part on Kerry's waffling votes. It's no accident that the last U.S. Senator to become President was Nixon. I'm convinced that it's easier to elect Governors because they have no national voting record.

The political distortions from both camps are only gonna get more ridiculous from here on out.

[[AK]Squidly]

That other US Senators waffle doesn't excuse Kerry from waffling. It's tough to nail down what a candidate stands for if he's always changing his stance based on which way the political wind is blowing.

[[AK]Bribo]

For once on this thread, I pretty much agree with everything you said, except for the part on Kerry's waffling votes.

That's WHEN he actually votes!

"An effort co-piloted by a Bay Area congressman to extend unemployment benefits for up to a few million people was rejected by the Senate on Tuesday for want of just one vote -- with Democratic presidential candidate U.S. Sen. John Kerry lone absentee , and most Republicans calling the measure un-needed."

Full story.

For the "working man", eh? </sarcasm>

[[AK]Nuts]

BTW - it cost me $47 to fill my tank yesterday, so suck it up you weenie.

Once again I would like to extend to you my personal thanks for purchasing petroleum and petroleum based products. That new video card is now closer than ever!

Also:
ANALYSIS-Not-so-fickle funds target $50 for surging oil

[[AK]Leonidas]

What I had heard was consistent with the NYT quote: China and India both want a lot more oil. It's simple supply and demand. Now let's go to Alaska and get some more supply.

[[AK]Bribo]

What I had heard was consistent with the NYT quote: China and India both want a lot more oil. It's simple supply and demand. Now let's go to Alaska and get some more supply.

Amen, brother.

[Slaughter]

Going to Alaska, I like that idea.. not only could we make a butt load off some oil there, but what about our newly aquired state: Iraq?

[Slaughter]

I thought this was appropriate for this thread.

Wheres that from? Christ, its only 2.00 a gallon for regular here.. (though I pay 2.10 cause I will ONLY put plus+ in my car).