Let's Go, Brandon!

[abbey1227]

Mar 8, 2022 4:46:12 GMT merh said:

What do you want?
Biden to send government workers out to drill the oil?

Govt workers would simply delay the process and cause the prices to go even higher........as if Joe hasn't done enough already.......

Gas prices are now the most expensive in US history, breaking record from 2008
Jordan Mendoza
USA TODAY

After days of dramatically rising gas prices in wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the national average for a gallon of gas is now the highest in United States history, breaking the record that stood for nearly 14 years.

As of Tuesday morning, the cost of regular gas in the U.S. is $4.17, according to AAA, up from $4.06 on Monday. Last week, the average cost was $3.60.

The previous national average high was $4.11, set on July 17, 2008, according to AAA.

The cost for diesel is also nearing the record of $4.84, which was also set in July 2008. The current price for a gallon of diesel is $4.75, over double what it was in October 2020.

[merh]

Mar 8, 2022 12:42:35 GMT abbey1227 said:

Mar 8, 2022 4:46:12 GMT merh said:

What do you want?
Biden to send government workers out to drill the oil?

Govt workers would simply delay the process and cause the prices to go even higher........as if Joe hasn't done enough already.......

Gas prices are now the most expensive in US history, breaking record from 2008
Jordan Mendoza
USA TODAY

After days of dramatically rising gas prices in wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the national average for a gallon of gas is now the highest in United States history, breaking the record that stood for nearly 14 years.

As of Tuesday morning, the cost of regular gas in the U.S. is $4.17, according to AAA, up from $4.06 on Monday. Last week, the average cost was $3.60.

The previous national average high was $4.11, set on July 17, 2008, according to AAA.

The cost for diesel is also nearing the record of $4.84, which was also set in July 2008. The current price for a gallon of diesel is $4.75, over double what it was in October 2020.

This is Joe's fault?
Nothing else?

[abbey1227]

Mar 8, 2022 13:11:23 GMT merh said:

Mar 8, 2022 12:42:35 GMT abbey1227 said:

Gas prices are now the most expensive in US history, breaking record from 2008

This is Joe's fault?
Nothing else?

There's always several factors at play..........but you haven't noticed the coincidence of these same policies driving inflation before?

[merh]

Mar 8, 2022 13:15:27 GMT abbey1227 said:

Mar 8, 2022 13:11:23 GMT merh said:

This is Joe's fault?
Nothing else?

There's always several factors at play..........but you haven't noticed the coincidence of these same policies driving inflation before?

Pandemic drove prices down so the gas companies wanted to maximize profits as quickly as possible?

[abbey1227]

Mar 8, 2022 13:29:36 GMT merh said:

Mar 8, 2022 13:15:27 GMT abbey1227 said:

There's always several factors at play..........but you haven't noticed the coincidence of these same policies driving inflation before?

Pandemic drove prices down so the gas companies wanted to maximize profits as quickly as possible?

The entire world is going Green..........so why isn't consumption dropping like a rock?

[merh]

Mar 8, 2022 13:36:22 GMT abbey1227 said:

Mar 8, 2022 13:29:36 GMT merh said:

Pandemic drove prices down so the gas companies wanted to maximize profits as quickly as possible?

The entire world is going Green..........so why isn't consumption dropping like a rock?

I've been conspiracy theory this is l to push electric sales....
I know it's not, but the idea lurks...

Apparently you can't buy electric cars.
There's a 2 month backorder & they are all pre-sold.

[abbey1227]

Mar 8, 2022 14:13:43 GMT merh said:

I've been conspiracy theory this is l to push electric sales....
I know it's not, but the idea lurks...

Apparently you can't buy electric cars.
There's a 2 month backorder & they are all pre-sold.

I may have sold my hybrid too soon. Oh well, serves me right for doing a good deed, huh?

And man OH man have the prices skyrocketed on anything decent Used

[abbey1227]

Mar 8, 2022 14:13:43 GMT merh said:

Mar 8, 2022 13:36:22 GMT abbey1227 said:

The entire world is going Green..........so why isn't consumption dropping like a rock?

I've been conspiracy theory this is l to push electric sales....
I know it's not, but the idea lurks...

Another thing to consider.......... IF shutting down pipelines over there hurts Russia's economy........ doesn't shutting them down here hurt ours?

[merh]

www.needhelppayingbills.com/html/free_gas_vouchers.html

Get free gas vouchers.
The Salvation Army, charities as well as churches may be able to provide free gas vouchers to qualified individuals in an emergency situation. There may also be some form of other transportation near you, including gasoline vouchers provided by local community action agencies, if the need is for work or a job interview. Funding is limited, and the vouchers or free gas cards are only distributed in a limited number of situations with a focus on employment needs or in some cases addressing emergency medical requirements.

Find more information below on how to get free gasoline from charities, the Salvation Army or other non-profits near you as well as who to contact. Other forms of transportation assistance may be provided as well, such as bus passes, tokens pay for public transportation or car repairs. In addition, gas will only be generally given to low income families or those in some sort of financial crisis.

The Salvation Army is a nationwide non-profit charity organization that can provide gas assistance or cards to individuals and families regardless of their background or religion. Other emergency programs are also listed below, including from the United Way. However the low income, seniors, families with children and most disadvantaged are given priority.

Most of the services they offer, including gasoline vouchers, debit cards and transportation assistance, are to help people in emergency situations. In addition to offering financial assistance they will also offer provide counseling as well as longer term case management to get the client back on a stable financial path.

Free gas vouchers or cards as well as general transportation assistance is offered by most Salvation Army centers and some other local churches or non-profit charities that often partner with the United Way near you. Only a small number of people who apply for this resource will receive it.

First of all funding is very limited, and not all locations even offer this form of assistance. The price of gasoline also increases costs to the program, and therefore further limits the number of people who can receive help. Free vouchers for gasoline are usually only offered if someone needs help getting to a job interview, school, medical appointment, or a job training program. Call a center or agency near you to get more information.

kiwicrunch found this.
Instead of just bitching & moaning

[merh]

[merh]

“Well… The Keystone XL Pipeline…. That Would Bring Oil In From Canada… That Was Already Coming In Through A Different Path”

[abbey1227]

Mar 9, 2022 1:41:03 GMT merh said:

“Well… The Keystone XL Pipeline…. That Would Bring Oil In From Canada… That Was Already Coming In Through A Different Path”

Basic Supply/Demand arguments.

When the Demand remains high..........but the Supply is cut back........ then the prices will obviously go up.

[merh]

Mar 9, 2022 6:28:50 GMT abbey1227 said:

Mar 9, 2022 1:41:03 GMT merh said:

Basic Supply/Demand arguments.

When the Demand remains high..........but the Supply is cut back........ then the prices will obviously go up.

[abbey1227]

Mar 9, 2022 23:27:20 GMT merh said:

Mar 9, 2022 6:28:50 GMT abbey1227 said:

Basic Supply/Demand arguments.

When the Demand remains high..........but the Supply is cut back........ then the prices will obviously go up.

I realize that's what and how you'd like to believe it.

But cutting back on oil production in the US........ on both public and private lands reduces the Supply.

Biden pledged to do it and he has.

Then you've all got the gall to claim he's got nothing to do with rising prices? C'mon. You're too smart to actually believe that nonsense.

And all those other prices rising? That's ALL corporate greed, too? Cuz nobody wants to operate at a loss? They should all just eat those rising prices? Anything to give the Govt more control?

[merh]

Mar 10, 2022 2:19:23 GMT abbey1227 said:

Mar 9, 2022 23:27:20 GMT merh said:

I realize that's what and how you'd like to believe it.

But cutting back on oil production in the US........ on both public and private lands reduces the Supply.

Biden pledged to do it and he has.

Then you've all got the gall to claim he's got nothing to do with rising prices? C'mon. You're too smart to actually believe that nonsense.

And all those other prices rising? That's ALL corporate greed, too? Cuz nobody wants to operate at a loss? They should all just eat those rising prices? Anything to give the Govt more control?

How about oil on federal lands belong to the American people & not the fucking oil companies?

Yet the leases give the companies the oil in that area. 
So yeah.
I say pristine land is preferable to oil rigs dotting the landscape.

[abbey1227]

Mar 10, 2022 10:12:13 GMT merh said:

How about oil on federal lands belong to the American people & not the fucking oil companies?

Yet the leases give the companies the oil in that area. 
So yeah.
I say pristine land is preferable to oil rigs dotting the landscape.

Great..........so where's our weekly/monthly allotment of oil/gasoline? Same goes for lumber and other natural resources. This land is yours and mine........where's our cut for all of it?

Well, then........start shrinking those large metropolitan areas and let them return to nature then.

You can't keep enjoying this modern life while calling for an end to petro-chemicals. You just can't.

[merh]

Like I said, Cower is pissed at me for suggesting we have had high inflation before.

Mar 11, 2022 15:32:29 GMT @cowherpowerforever said:

Record Food Prices Could Leap 22% More on Ukraine War, UN Warns

Or as Merh would say "Who cares! We had it worse."

finance.yahoo.com/news/record-food-prices-could-leap-135000572.html

Bloomberg) -- Record-high global food costs could surge another 22% as Russia’s assault on Ukraine stifles trade and slashes future harvests, the United Nations warned.

A report from the agency’s Food and Agriculture Organization on Friday shows the far-reaching fallout of the war on the world’s food system, with the impact set to stretch well beyond the next season. Ukraine and Russia together account for more than a tenth of all calories traded globally, and those flows have been stifled since the conflict erupted late last month.

Soaring production costs means other countries will only partly be able to compensate for the “sudden and steep reduction” in Black Sea grain and sunflower exports in the coming 2022-23 season, FAO said. That will likely push international food and feed prices 22% higher and a “considerable” supply gap will linger going forward if the war persists and energy stays expensive.

“The likely disruptions to agricultural activities of these two major exporters of staple commodities could seriously escalate food insecurity globally,” Qu Dongyu, FAO director general, said in a separate statement, adding hunger could also rise in Ukraine. “International food and input prices are already high and volatile.”

Read more: The world’s next food emergency is here as war componds hunger.

As many as 13.1 million more people worldwide could go undernourished next season in a worst-case scenario. That assumes a 25-million-ton drop in Ukraine and Russia’s combined wheat and corn exports, and a 3-million-ton drop in oilseeds. A more moderate supply shock could still mean about 8 million additional people facing hunger.

The war is likely to leave 20% to 30% of Ukraine’s crop area for the 2022 season unplanted or unharvested, the FAO estimates. Winter grains such as wheat were planted months ago, but farmers would normally begin sowing corn and sunflowers in a few weeks time.

“Massive population displacement” has meant worker shortages, Dongyu said. Plus, some fields are mired in conflict zones and producers are likely to have trouble spreading fertilizer and chemicals.

Russian production isn’t likely to see major impacts in the near-term, but farm income could be depressed by the effects of international sanctions, weighing on future harvests. The war has also spurred a wave of protectionism as governments seek to ensure domestic food supplies. FAO urged nations to keep trade flowing, emphasizing such trade barriers could exacerbate soaring prices on international markets.

All one can do is hunker down & live on whatever cheap food-ramen, rice & beans, etc, one can to get through it.

I'm not even sure this addresses the US. I thought we raise a lot of our own food so really the only think Uncle Sam could do is help farmers with harvesting & transport.

Infrastructure
Build Back Better.

You know, that bill that didn't pass.

[merh]

Mar 10, 2022 13:05:02 GMT abbey1227 said:

Mar 10, 2022 10:12:13 GMT merh said:

How about oil on federal lands belong to the American people & not the fucking oil companies?

Yet the leases give the companies the oil in that area. 
So yeah.
I say pristine land is preferable to oil rigs dotting the landscape.

Great..........so where's our weekly/monthly allotment of oil/gasoline? Same goes for lumber and other natural resources. This land is yours and mine........where's our cut for all of it?

Well, then........start shrinking those large metropolitan areas and let them return to nature then.

You can't keep enjoying this modern life while calling for an end to petro-chemicals. You just can't.

This isn't Scandinavian countries that nationalized oil production so the profits support healthcare, etc. 

The leases allow oil companies to keep the oil they pump & profit off it, probably selling it to China.

Yes, I can keep hoping for an alternative fuel.
Oil isn't going to last forever. It will run out.

We should be on the next fuel by now.

[abbey1227]

Mar 11, 2022 15:54:14 GMT merh said:

This isn't Scandinavian countries that nationalized oil production so the profits support healthcare, etc. 

The leases allow oil companies to keep the oil they pump & profit off it, probably selling it to China.

Yes, I can keep hoping for an alternative fuel.
Oil isn't going to last forever. It will run out.

We should be on the next fuel by now.

Open market..........they sell to whomever is buying. Just like we're buying from Russia.

Pretty silly way to use 'OUR' national resources, doncha think? I've said the same about the logging industry. And water.

We can all hope for alternatives. Free energy and all that sounds wonderful........but UNTIL it actually is invented and works ........STOP pushing it with Govt to force participation.

We should be onto the next great extinction by now.

[merh]

Mar 12, 2022 3:15:09 GMT abbey1227 said:

Mar 11, 2022 15:54:14 GMT merh said:

This isn't Scandinavian countries that nationalized oil production so the profits support healthcare, etc. 

The leases allow oil companies to keep the oil they pump & profit off it, probably selling it to China.

Yes, I can keep hoping for an alternative fuel.
Oil isn't going to last forever. It will run out.

We should be on the next fuel by now.

Open market..........they sell to whomever is buying. Just like we're buying from Russia.

Pretty silly way to use 'OUR' national resources, doncha think? I've said the same about the logging industry. And water.

We can all hope for alternatives. Free energy and all that sounds wonderful........but UNTIL it actually is invented and works ........STOP pushing it with Govt to force participation.

We should be onto the next great extinction by now.

Mobil was pushing moss or algae for 5 minutes.
Then fracking came along & that's cheaper.

/real-reason-big-oil-wont-

Time
The Real Reason Big Oil Won't Save the U.S. from High Gas Prices
Justin Worland/Houston
Thu, March 10, 2022, 12:18 PM·

As gas prices spike for American drivers, fossil fuel boosters have slammed President Joe Biden for policies they say constrain U.S. energy production. “We have the reserves here and this is preventable,” Rep. Garret Graves of Louisiana, the ranking Republican on the House Select Committee on Climate Crisis, told reporters in Washington Tuesday. “No leasing or energy production—that’s not an energy policy.”


But to understand why the industry really isn’t ramping up production, it helps to hear what its leaders are telling each other off camera. In Houston this week, where oil and gas executives are gathered for the industry’s most influential annual conference, CERAWeek by S&P Global, industry insiders are having a very different conversation than the one broadcast on cable TV. The primary thing holding back more production isn’t government policies, they say. It’s money.

Getting more oil flowing requires capital and comes with high risks in a volatile oil market. With steep losses in recent memory, the investors who control the purse strings are keeping the companies on a tight leash. “Ultimately, companies have to make a decision to risk their capital… nobody knows how this episode is going to play out,” Mark Viviano, managing partner at Kimmeridge, a private equity firm focused on oil and gas, told a packed conference room on March 8. “I don’t think it’s realistic to think there’s going to be a collective industry response to this crisis. Unfortunately, it’s just not the way the industry is.”

In theory, that’s not how the market is supposed to work. Typically, a steep rise in oil prices would drive a steep uptick in drilling, but this time around may be different. After the industry suffered huge losses in the years leading up to the COVID-19 pandemic, investors continue to prioritize safe profits. And even though the Biden administration has enacted few climate regulations restricting oil and gas, industry leaders say they continue to feel the climate pressure from investors.

The oil industry adopted its timid investment approach over time. For decades, the industry and those who followed it considered oil to be a finite resource that would eventually run out. And, with that in mind, industry leaders looked desperately for anywhere they might be able to find so-called black gold.

A little less than 15 years ago, the advent and widespread deployment of hydraulic fracturing, commonly referred to as fracking, changed the dynamics. Fracking dramatically expanded the areas ripe for production at a relatively low cost, so oil companies responded by producing more oil—a lot more. In fact, they produced so much of it that by 2014 supply vastly outstripped demand and, as a result, prices began to fall rapidly. Between June 2014 and July 2016, the U.S. benchmark price of a barrel of oil declined from more than $100 dollars to around $30.

At those prices, companies focused on fracking quickly lost vast sums of money. Some went bankrupt. Others were eaten up by much larger oil majors, which were also losing money. All of this contributed to oil and gas ranking as the worst performing sector on the S&P 500 stock index over the past decade. Upset at their returns, investors started demanding changes, imposing what is widely referred to as “capital discipline.” Instead of financing drilling anywhere and everywhere, investors told oil companies to focus on their most profitable oil projects and shelve the others. The COVID-19 pandemic, and the resulting lockdown that briefly sent oil prices negative, confirmed the wisdom of that strategy.

Jeff Ritenour, Chief Financial Officer at Devon Energy, an Oklahoma City-based oil and gas company, described at CERAWeek a “fundamental shift” that his business made to use profits to pay down debt, provide a reliable dividend to shareholders and buy back shares. In order to do that, the company has maintained a “low reinvestment ratio”—meaning it limits its investment in new production. Similar approaches have played out at firms across the industry and made “capital discipline” industry orthodoxy.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent moves targeting the country’s energy exports have created the biggest challenge yet to that way of thinking. As oil prices trade well above $100, many oil executives are keen to produce more oil. In the Permian Basin, the West Texas oil field behind the fracking boom, producers can profitably drill a new well if the U.S. is benchmark is around $50 per barrel, according to data from the Dallas Fed. That’s a lot of potential profit if prices stay high.

But investors aren’t convinced that drilling is the best best this time around. The most obvious reason for staying the course is that high prices are good for investors. Oil companies are extremely profitable right now and Wall Street firms generally prefer that the companies return those profits to investors—either through dividends or stock buybacks—rather than spend it on new projects that may not be profitable down the road. As oil prices rise, the profits that can be returned to investors will only grow. If they fall, the companies have sufficient padding to avoid steep losses.

So it sounds like it's investors who are holding the reins on drilling.

They got burned when prices dropped before.
Remember?

www.macrotrends.net/1369/crude-oil-price-history-chart

Average price/barrel
2022 $91.68
2021 $68.17
2020 $39.68
2019 $56.99
2018 $65.23
2017 $50.80
2016 $43.29
2015 $48.66
2014 $93.17
2013 $97.98
2012 $94.05
2011 $94.88
2010 $79.48
2009 $61.95
2008 $99.67
2007 $72.34
2006 $66.05
2005 $56.64
2004 $41.51
2003 $31.08
2002 $26.19
2001 $25.98
2000 $30.38
1999 $19.35
1998 $14.42
1997 $20.61
1996 $22.12
1995 $18.43
1994 $17.20
1993 $18.43
1992 $20.58
1991 $21.54
1990 $24.53
1989 $19.64
1988 $15.97
1987 $19.20

Remember everyone mocking Obama for suggesting we keep our tires inflated properly?

Remember the whole 55 mph speed limit from Nixon we had for 22 yrs that saved like 150,000 barrels a day?

Remember Trump threatening California over our emissions standards & making a giant deal out of throwing out the rules Obama put in place?

WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump is poised to roll back ambitious Obama-era vehicle mileage standards and raise the ceiling on damaging fossil fuel emissions for years to come, gutting one of the United States' biggest efforts against climate change.

The Trump administration is expected to release a final rule Tuesday on mileage standards through 2026. The change — making good on the rollback after two years of Trump threatening and fighting states and a faction of automakers that opposed the move — waters down a tough Obama mileage standard that would have encouraged automakers to ramp up production of electric vehicles and more fuel-efficient gas and diesel vehicles.

abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/trump-mileage-standards-gut-obama-climate-effort-69879489

Gas prices obviously didn't matter to car buyers

Bestsellers from 2021
25. Honda Pilot (143,062 units sold)
24. Toyota 4Runner (144,696 units sold)
23. Ford Escape (145,415 units sold)
22. Hyundai Tucson (150,949 units sold)
21. Subaru Outback (154,623 units sold)
20. Subaru Forester (154,723 units sold)
19. Chevrolet Equinox (165,323 units sold)
18. Mazda CX-5 (168,383 units sold)
17. Tesla Model Y (172,700 units sold, est.)
16. Honda Accord (202,676 units sold)
15. Jeep Wrangler (204,610 units sold)
14. Ford Explorer (219,871 units sold)
13. GMC Sierra (248,924 units sold)
12. Toyota Corolla (248,993 units sold)
11. Toyota Tacoma (252,520 units sold)
10. Honda Civic (263,787 units sold)
 EPA Fuel Economy, combined/city/highway (mpg) 33 / 30 / 38
9. Toyota Highlander (264,128 units sold)
 EPA Fuel Economy, combined/city/highway (mpg) 35 / 35 / 35
8. Jeep Grand Cherokee (264,444 units sold)
 EPA Fuel Economy, combined/city/highway (mpg) 21 / 18 / 25
7. Nissan Rogue (285,602 units sold)
 EPA Fuel Economy, combined/city/highway (mpg) 31 / 28 / 35
6. Toyota Camry (313,795 units sold)
 EPA Fuel Economy, combined/city/highway (mpg) 32 / 28 / 39
5. Honda CR-V (361,271 units sold)
 EPA Fuel Economy, combined/city/highway (mpg) 29 / 27 / 32
4. Toyota RAV4 (407,739 units sold)
 EPA Fuel Economy, combined/city/highway (mpg) 28 / 25 / 33
3. Chevrolet Silverado (519,774 units sold)
 EPA Fuel Economy, combined/city/highway (mpg) 16 / 14 / 19
2. Ram Pickup (569,388 units sold)
 EPA Fuel Economy, combined/city/highway (mpg) 22 / 20 / 25
1. Ford F-Series (726,004 units sold)
  EPA Fuel Economy, combined/city/highway (mpg) 19 / 16 / 22

Top 3 sellers being pick up trucks that aren't exactly fuel efficient speaks to our old love of horsepower. People flocked to the cars that get better mileage when prices shoot up, but run back to the trucks & stuff so quickly.