Gas price gouging bill

[Predator Slim]

Not sure if it'll work but click the link below and sign the petition.

Dear MoveOn member,

As of yesterday, gas prices are the highest in U.S. history—we just passed the 1981 record, even adjusted for inflation.1 Prices could reach $4.00 per gallon in parts of the country, just in time to crimp summer vacation plans. As consumers suffer, the oil industry continues to reap the windfall—breaking profit records on an almost quarterly basis. It's outrageous!

Enough is enough. Hearings start today on H.R. 1252, a House bill that would make gas price gouging a federal crime, punishable by 10 years in prison. Speaker Pelosi has said she'll move the bill to a vote this week—if there's the two-thirds majority required to fast track the bill through the process.2

Oil company lobbyists are frantically trying to stop the bill. Your representative needs to hear from you today. Will you sign our petition asking Congress to pass the price-gouging bill—and then send it to your friends?

"Gasoline price gouging should be made a federal crime before the summer price increases hurt more American families."


Clicking here will add your name:

http://pol.moveon.org/pac/stoppricegouging/

Rep Bart Stupak (D-MI), sponsor of the House bill said this of his motivation to introduce the legislation:

"In April ... crude oil was $7 a barrel cheaper than last year (but) gas prices were almost 50 cents a gallon higher. Clearly there's more at play than simply the world crude oil market."3


In April, more than two-thirds of Americans reported that their gas bills were causing financial crunches, with a full third saying it was having a "serious" impact on their families.4

That same month, the top two US companies, Exxon-Mobil and Chevron-Texaco, announced a combined $14 billion in first quarter profits.5

It seems like even the oil industry has gone too far this time, and it's time to balance the scales. The Senate passed a price-gouging measure out of committee last week, and the House bill now has over 100 co-sponsors from both sides of the aisle.

The oil industry is nervous. They've sent their lobbyists to the Hill in full force to stop—or at least weaken—these bills, and they're pulling out all the stops. The American Petroleum Institute, an industry front group of more than 400 oil and gas companies, even threatened that new laws could increase gas prices more.6

Enough is enough. This summer, we can stop Big Oil from profiting at the expense of American families. Can you sign the petition to ask your representative to make gasoline a price gouging a federal crime now?
Clicking here will add your name:

http://pol.moveon.org/pac/stoppricegouging/

Don't forget to pass it on to your friends—this week is an historic opportunity to send Big Oil a message that we've had enough.

Thanks for all you do

–Ilyse, Natalie, Eli, Tom, and the MoveOn.org Political Action Team
Tuesday, May 22nd, 2007

[ATV Chic]

I get "Page not found" :ermm:

[Predator Slim]

link didn't copy correctly, here it is


http://pol.moveon.org/pac/stoppricegouging/

[ATV Chic]

signed it!

[mxdad]

Do you have a link to the copy of the proposed bill?

[Pappy]

LOL....people sign anything, even without reading what they are supporting LMAO


BAAAAAAAAAAA

[STEVENJANNA]

Don't be so quick to jump all over "BIG OIL". If anyone is gouging the price of gasoline, it's the federal gov't. Of course the legislatures are going to try and take the attention off of themselves. $0.60 of every gal. of gasoline is straight federal tax revenue, than there are the additional dollars that are generated by the EPA. Right now $1.25 per gallon is caused by the federal Gov't.. The price of gasoline is a direct result of what the ELECTED OFFICIALS in the country have handed down to us the citizens. How many different summertime "blends" of gasoline do the oil companies have to refine because of EPA regulations. I can go on but don't be sheep.

[Predator Slim]

Originally posted by STEVENJANNA
Don't be so quick to jump all over "BIG OIL". If anyone is gouging the price of gasoline, it's the federal gov't. Of course the legislatures are going to try and take the attention off of themselves. $0.60 of every gal. of gasoline is straight federal tax revenue, than there are the additional dollars that are generated by the EPA. Right now $1.25 per gallon is caused by the federal Gov't.. The price of gasoline is a direct result of what the ELECTED OFFICIALS in the country have handed down to us the citizens. How many different summertime "blends" of gasoline do the oil companies have to refine because of EPA regulations. I can go on but don't be sheep.


Why does gas cost even more in Europe?

[Pappy]

Originally posted by Predator Slim
Why does gas cost even more in Europe?

because their tax structure is set up differently and gas is the main tax generator for the government.

you want to hurt big oil...CUT BACK. the last time i checked this was still a supply and demand economy. and steve, you forgot to mention the epa and governments involvement that has prevented big oil from opening new refineries and such, all of which adds to the problem

[STEVENJANNA]

Originally posted by Predator Slim
Why does gas cost even more in Europe?
I'm pretty sure your original post was about what's happening here in the U.S..

[STEVENJANNA]

Originally posted by Pappy
because their tax structure is set up differently and gas is the main tax generator for the government.

you want to hurt big oil...CUT BACK. the last time i checked this was still a supply and demand economy. and steve, you forgot to mention the epa and governments involvement that has prevented big oil from opening new refineries and such, all of which adds to the problem
I was going too but that's alot of typing. Here's a thought on that though. If I were "big oil" and one of my customers wanted to ban my product, why would I invest the time and money to help them refine more of it?

[Predator Slim]

Originally posted by STEVENJANNA
I'm pretty sure your original post was about what's happening here in the U.S..

It was, but you said the price was the fault of our government.

[STEVENJANNA]

Originally posted by Predator Slim
It was, but you said the price was the fault of our government.
No, that's what you interpretted it to say. I was merely stating the side of the "overpriced" gasoline story that you left out. You spun the topic pretty hard to the left by not telling the whole story.

[Pappy]

Thats politics, in public I bash you but when the cameras are off I will gladly take your money and make sure legislation doesnt harm you.

Ofcourse the left will blame Bush, when all men of power in this country are tied to oil, and gold, and stocks etc etc etc etc etc

Everyone is to blame, from town officials to the president. The local gas retailer has zero to do with it, but he will catch some blame as well. As consumers with no other available options, you can only cut back and find alternet means of transportation and cost them with fewer gallons sold. Basic economics suggests that the price will go down and stabilize as there is a great deal of profit to work with, however as Americans we havent had to curt back since the 40's so it wont happen.

[Predator Slim]

Okay look...bottom line gas is too expensive while oil companies make record profit (almost every quarter), this MIGHT help stop or lessen the increases


Happy?

[Quad18star]

You haven't been price gouged until you've lived in northern Ontario Canada .

We've learned to play their game though... we make sure to fill up Monday night , because it's a guarantee that Tuesday morning the gas will jump up by 40 cents per gallon. They sometimes throw unexpected twists at us .... like last week. Gas went up on Tuesday ... AND it went up on Friday because we had a long weekend that weekend. *******s !!!!!:mad:

But ya , like I said , you haven't been gouged until you've paid nearly $6 for a gallon of fuel and it's only going to get worse. Our country's Leader came on TV the other night and said he had no plans to put a stop to the gouging , or to lower the taxes on the fuel .

ANyone want to buy a truck ??? It's cost me over $400 in gas since May 1st .... and the month ain't over yet. :( I wish all months were short like February !!!!!!

[STEVENJANNA]

Originally posted by Predator Slim
Okay look...bottom line gas is too expensive while oil companies make record profit (almost every quarter), this MIGHT help stop or lessen the increases


Happy?
By making it a federal crime to make a profit in this country? HELL NO. Where does it end?

[Predator Slim]

Do you by any chance own stock in a few oil companies?

[Pappy]

Originally posted by Predator Slim
Okay look...bottom line gas is too expensive while oil companies make record profit (almost every quarter), this MIGHT help stop or lessen the increases


Happy?

Ummm, exactly what part of your statement helps lessen or decrease the cost of gas? The reason they are making inane amounts of profit is that as a company they sell every ounce of product they produce at a market value.

Now you can argue their profit margins based on what they report (cost of exploration, refinement, meeting government regulations, cost of crude oil on the world market) but in the end, they are a company in business to make money.

[Pappy]

Originally posted by Predator Slim
Do you by any chance own stock in a few oil companies?

Explain why that would be a bad thing? He would still be buying gas at the same price as you or a non stock holder. What are you, communist?

[Predator Slim]

Originally posted by Pappy
Explain why that would be a bad thing? He would still be buying gas at the same price as you or a non stock holder. What are you, communist?

Not a communist, just tired of being f*cked. Could have sworn that I wasn't the only one.

[Pappy]

Originally posted by Predator Slim
Not a communist, just tired of being f*cked. Could have sworn that I wasn't the only one.

You didnt get the memo, your the only one getting screwed at the pump:rolleyes:

I see you have toys in your signature, it must not be all that bad. Typing from a computer, in the mid afternoon instead of working for that almighty dollar.

Yeah, I remeber when gas was .73 cents, and i was making $3.15 an hour. This week is the first time since 1981 that the cost of gasoline has exceed inflation adjustments. Sure we should be concerned, but looking to the governemnt to help isnt the answer, they cant get d!ick done anyway. Cant you find ways to cut back here and there to offset the rise, or do you lack the personal responsibilty to handle it on your own

[Quad18star]

The oil and gas companies should just come out and say it , publish ads in the papers and run commercials on TV ... " We supply the Oil and Gas ... so we can do whatever the f*ck we want ... and you're getting screwed !!" , instead of blaming the sudden jumps on events like 6 hostages being taken on an oil rig.

That's what really pisses me off . They come out with excuses to raise the price of oil and gas . There could be a hurricane in the middle of the f***ing Arctic Ocean and they'd raise the price . I'd rather be told to my face that I'm being screwed than to listen to the lies and excuses.

When are these hydrogen cars and trucks going to be up to standards and not so insanely priced ... cuz they sound better and better every Tuesday morning .

[Pappy]

Originally posted by Quad18star
I'm being screwed than to listen to the lies and excuses.

When are these hydrogen cars and trucks going to be up to standards and not so insanely priced ... cuz they sound better and better every Tuesday morning .

I agree, however the hybrids are so far off in regards to cost offset that they will never take off. City dwellers have options, bike, walk, public transit etc. The country folks and those with long commutes are bearing the brunt for now.

Wait until people start realizing their grocery bill is 20% higher due to fuel costs, and thats just the tip of the iceberg. The buck is being passed on down the line, and sooner or later it will start running back up (as it is now)

And arent we ready for peak driving season...lol I heard that Florida has called for Washington to help because their state economy is suffering from the lack of tourism due to fuel costs. Seeing the governor of FLA is kin to Dubya I am sure it will all be corrected...LMAO

[parkers30]

Originally posted by STEVENJANNA
Don't be so quick to jump all over "BIG OIL". If anyone is gouging the price of gasoline, it's the federal gov't. Of course the legislatures are going to try and take the attention off of themselves. $0.60 of every gal. of gasoline is straight federal tax revenue, than there are the additional dollars that are generated by the EPA. Right now $1.25 per gallon is caused by the federal Gov't.. The price of gasoline is a direct result of what the ELECTED OFFICIALS in the country have handed down to us the citizens. How many different summertime "blends" of gasoline do the oil companies have to refine because of EPA regulations. I can go on but don't be sheep.


Don't know where you get your info but it WRONG. the Federal gas tax is $0.185

http://www.gaspricewatch.com/usgastaxes.asp

even if you added up all the taxes applied to a gallon of gas in any state it would not total $1.25




In pertainance to this Bill going through, I have a sneaking suspicion that it will never be used against big oil. How could they be 'gouging' if price is consistent across all those buying the fuel? Instead it will be used against the gas station owners who aren't making anything off the fuel in the long run already. I'm not saying they aren't reacting to market conditions etc. but in the long run I hope we all know this will most likely only hurt us.

[Pappy]

http://www.marylandgasprices.com/tax_info.aspx

top of the pages, average is $0.62 per gallon

[parkers30]

Originally posted by Pappy
I agree, however the hybrids are so far off in regards to cost offset that they will never take off. City dwellers have options, bike, walk, public transit etc. The country folks and those with long commutes are bearing the brunt for now.

Wait until people start realizing their grocery bill is 20% higher due to fuel costs, and thats just the tip of the iceberg. The buck is being passed on down the line, and sooner or later it will start running back up (as it is now)

And arent we ready for peak driving season...lol I heard that Florida has called for Washington to help because their state economy is suffering from the lack of tourism due to fuel costs. Seeing the governor of FLA is kin to Dubya I am sure it will all be corrected...LMAO

I agree that in some ways the additional costs of hybrid vehicle will not be quickly offset but fuel savings, BUT what we should all be doing is looking at minimalist transportation. The vast majority of people who drive trucks and SUV's day in and day out have no real reason to be driving them. They could be driving a car.

My mom has been driving a Prius now for just over 1 year and 37,000 mi in that time. If you tally her fuel savings (she went from a <20mpg small suv to this which gets right at 50 mpg consistently) She has likely saved over 1000 gal of fuel in that time or around $3000, if you add in the Tax break she for for buying it, it makes great sense and had already paid for the additional cost.

[Pappy]

i couldnt agree more. my wife doesnt understand why i drive my diesel over her dakota (26mpg vs 16mpg)

we are a nation that loves to drive!

[parkers30]

Originally posted by Pappy
i couldnt agree more. my wife doesnt understand why i drive my diesel over her dakota (26mpg vs 16mpg)

we are a nation that loves to drive!

does the diesel get 26? that would suprise me.

I only pull 22-23 out of my Ford empty

[c450Razy]

Originally posted by Pappy


Wait until people start realizing their grocery bill is 20% higher due to fuel costs, and thats just the tip of the iceberg. The buck is being passed on down the line, and sooner or later it will start running back up (as it is now)



EXACTLY!!!

I love how everyone is screamin ethanol!! ethanol!!

people need to think, " What do cows and chickens eat?" Corn!!!
and what happens when the price of corn gets jacked up? Thats right, the Dariy products and meat and the real staples of life prices sore!!

Everyday i get more fustrated about how much we the people are geting bent over and we cant do a damm thing!!!

[Pappy]

Originally posted by parkers30
does the diesel get 26? that would suprise me.

I only pull 22-23 out of my Ford empty

24 to 26 cummins 6 speed...ford..ive never had luck with them

[STEVENJANNA]

Thanks for the back up Pappy, I had to step away (had to earn some $$) for a minute.

Parker, Apology accepted.

Slim, LOL I don't own any oil stock but, I am an independent business man so my arguement may be a little different than someone who is on a fixed income. To an extent, I don't care what the price of gasoline is as long as I can get it. I have the ability to pass along the increased cost of fuel onto my customers to offset.

If I want to drive the biggest truck on the planet, that's my right. If it drives the price of gas up, than that's the price I pay. I don't have to have a 63hp DASA motor that runs on $8 gal. C-12 either but guess what I do. Like Pappy said, supply and demand is what drives the economy.

Why aren't there any bills against..... say
Milk $3.90gal.
Budwieser $9.00gal.
Red Bull $30.00gal.

[parkers30]

Originally posted by STEVENJANNA
Don't be so quick to jump all over "BIG OIL". If anyone is gouging the price of gasoline, it's the federal gov't. Of course the legislatures are going to try and take the attention off of themselves. $0.60 of every gal. of gasoline is straight federal tax revenue, than there are the additional dollars that are generated by the EPA. Right now $1.25 per gallon is caused by the federal Gov't.. The price of gasoline is a direct result of what the ELECTED OFFICIALS in the country have handed down to us the citizens. How many different summertime "blends" of gasoline do the oil companies have to refine because of EPA regulations. I can go on but don't be sheep.


Parker, Apology accepted.

There is no appology and will be no appology. Your statement above is still wrong. the FEDERAL taxes do not account for $.60 per gal. they account for $.185 that is a fact.

Now:
Together Federal and State excise taxes on fuel account for an average cost of approximately 62 cents per gallon

The state and federal together do, that is a truth, but those taxes are not something that the US congress can change on their own.

[parkers30]

what is this magical $1.25 'because of the Federal Government' you speak of also?

[STEVENJANNA]

Originally posted by parkers30
what is this magical $1.25 'because of the Federal Government' you speak of also?
I apologize to you. I used a piece of information that I heard
out of context, Plus I shouldn't have used the the word "federal" in front of my tax number.

[parkers30]

Not a problem. I just want to make sure that people are seeing real, as close to factual info as they can be. Most people take whatever the see on the internet or the news as a fact and run around screaming about the federal goverment screwing them over. :ermm:



The truth of the matter is that in the end the companies getting hurt by the high gas prices are going to the gas station owners (for the francised chains), and that sadly exactly what you say about passing on the the cost is what is going to hurt each of us the most. So much of the US economy is based on products and good thats have to be trucked to us that we will all see this come around twice.

[STEVENJANNA]

My addition was based on and an article that I read in the Wahington post (which I can't find now) concerning the "redtape" surrounding crude refinement and how it handed down inflated costs to the consumers. That plus the 20% in all taxes added up to @ $1.25 but I can't find any hard evidence to back up the inflated refinement costs.

On another note here's an interesting fuel cost breakdown.
http://www.energy.ca.gov/gasoline/margins/index.html

[JOEX]

In addition to Federal and State fuel taxes, cities, and I assume counties, may add thier own taxes. Recenty a nearby city added a fuel tax with-in the city. A coworker that lives over there said the stations are eating the tax themselves just to stay competitive with the stations just outside the city.

[parkers30]

They have a similiar issue at home being on the Indiana/Illinois border. Illinois' fuel taxes are higher, although it is not as dramatic as it once was.

[Predator Slim]

I was merely spreading information, everyone can decide whether or not to sign. As far as moveon.com, I don't view things by whether they are left or right. I don't agree with either side, so why pick one.

Sorry for starting this argument.

[Pappy]

Originally posted by parkers30
They have a similiar issue at home being on the Indiana/Illinois border. Illinois' fuel taxes are higher, although it is not as dramatic as it once was.

prime example of what happens when one side looses a signifigant portion of business, to remain competitive they have to lower the prices or offer more.

around here (other places as well im sure) its realestate and gambling that are in a fight between states that offer it and those that dont

[79400ex]

One thing the gov. is think about maybe breaking up the Big 6 oil companies. By doing this they think it will creat more compition in the oil companies, The gov. has finaly realize letting the oil companies merage in the 90' s wasn't best idea. Also, people need to realize the oil sell oil to their retailer at market prices. So what is keeping the oil companies from running the price of gas up on the open maket. just my two cent.