Don't Try to Defend Them

Okay, I was going to rant about the state of my beloved Vikings coaching and quarterback ineptness, (in short, fire the coach, cut the QB, they both have reached new heights of suckitude) but then I heard the news that gas prices were going to drop by 9 cents today. Sounds great right? WRONG, the reason they are going down so dramatically is that the possibility of damage from Hurricane Ike pushed them up by 13/14 cents last week. Now, that the hypothetical 'catastrophic' damage didn't happen, prices are going back down. See a discrepancy there?

Now, before any one tries to defend the oil companies, let me say this to you in as calm and even way I can muster:

SHUT THE FUCK UP!

Listen, I know that there was some damage to the refineries, I understand that. I know there may be some lost production from those refineries around the area Ike hit. It's not rocket science. But the constant stream of excuses for the greed of oil companies is tiresome, to say the least.

I read last week someone in a on-line forum try to justify a 13 cent per litre hike because of supply and demand. I'm sorry it doesn't apply. This was a pure anticipatory price hike on the hypothetical damage that could happen to affect supply over the coming days/weeks. These are not the only refineries in North America, the supply was not sufficiently effected, yet prices did not return to pre-Ike levels. A token effort was made to put the price down so people with a memory retention of shorter that a weekend will buy. The rest of us can see what you are doing oil companies.

It takes less than five minutes to look at the oil/gas prices over the last year and see there is something not right with the old lines and b-s they like to feed the public. Using Toronto prices, not because I'm biased, but because that is were I am, last year at this time gas was roughly 92c/litre, crude oil was roughly $80 barrel. Today current prices are 129.4c/litre and around $93/barrel. That's a 17.7% increase in oil prices, but a 40.7% increase in gas. (Thanks to my friend D for point out the egregious percentage, hits home a lot better that way than eyeballing it, eh?)

http://www.torontogasprices.com/retail_price_chart.aspx


And that was after a summer of gas prices jumping WAY higher that oil prices hitting over $1/litre for the first time. Check out the trend over 18 month or 2 years.

Now some of the big oil apologists will point out that the gas prices didn't jump as high as oil did this summer. Granted, good point. But it also works against them. For years whenever the subject of price gouging came up the oil companies standard excuse was something along the lines of the profit margin being so low that when oil cost went up they had to immediately raise gas prices to reflect it. (And of course when oil prices dropped " well it takes up to six months for that type of cost reduction to be reflected in our prices.) Does that mean big oil was so concerned with our well-being this summer that in all their well known magnanimous benevolence they decided not to pass on the costs THIS time? They must have been losing millions a day. Yeah, right.

Look I don't have any problem with anyone making a profit, that is why you run a business instead of a charity, and I include oil companies in anyone. But this is pretty blatant collusion on gouging. When costs where going up they put up their prices as high as they dared, but now that cost are plummeting the prices are staying relatively stable. As the saying goes, don't shine a flashlight up my ass and call in sunshine, (or something like that). Make your money, but don't cry poverty and look for sympathy when every quarter I hear about record profits for the oil companies.

Don't even get me started on European prices being higher, or suggesting a boycott. Look The European prices are way higher because of taxes. Taxes they use to try and find better energy solutions. We don't. Hell, the combined North American governments would rather bury their head in the (oil)sand that address any other alternative energies. The boycotts are so ridiculous I can't even discuss it rationally. (MANY People NEED gas. Buying it is the ONLY option.)

So what's my point? There really isn't a lot we can do without government intervention. Our elected officials are the only ones with the power to stop the gouging, but lack the political will/chutzpah to really dig into it and doing anything to big oil. Sure they'll make noise and form inquiries, etc etc. But from what I have seen the extent of these investigations starts and ends with going to big oil and asking:

Gov't: "Are you price gouging?"
Bog Oil: "No. Of course not."
Gov't: "Okay, good enough for me!"

Is there a solution? Short term, maybe gov't regulation. A good time to talk about with the upcoming elections. But the better solution is to rid ourselves of our dependence on oil. I don't trust the politicians either but at least we have some sort of influence on them every 4-5 years.

Long term, if we can come up with a viable, renewable, clean alternative, perhaps then the bullshit will stop. Well, at least they won't be able to claim the cost of the wind or sun is going up. There's lots of promising stuff out there that once developed and becomes affordable to the average person, might just do it.

Until then, if you hear someone defending the greedy bastards in the oil industry, feel free to punch them right in the face.*


Until next time.

*NOTE: When you get arrested for assault, tell the police that the future King Ian told you it was okay. Yeah, that'll work. At least you'll get a nice padded cell.