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Post by abbey1227 on Jun 18, 2022 0:21:54 GMT
Gasoline
Blame High Gas Prices on Red TapeOil companies won’t invest in facilities to produce gasoline until they know they’ll be allowed a future. J.D. Tuccille | 6.17.2022 7:00 AM Several factors contribute to soaring gasoline prices, but the greed of oil barons is an unlikely explanation no matter what President Joe Biden claims. It's not that energy companies don't want to make a buck; to the contrary, we count on their self-interest to drive the innovation and competition that puts fuel in our tanks. But it's not as if they've grown greedier in recent months. What has actually changed is that the world has become more chaotic even as overregulation and an ideological crusade against petroleum discourage investment and make it difficult for supply to catch up with demand. In a letter to seven oil companies this week that alternated in tone between begging and berating, Biden complained that "since the beginning of this year, gasoline prices have increased by more than $1.70 per gallon." After first placing blame on Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine and the resulting economic sanctions, the president pointed at "historically high profit margins for refining oil into gasoline, diesel and other refined products" which he called "not acceptable." "To be sure, the shortage of refining capacity is a global challenge and a global concern," Biden added. "I request that you provide the Secretary with an explanation of any reduction in your refining capacity since 2020 and any ideas that would address the immediate inventory, price, and refining capacity issues in the coming months." In response, the American Petroleum Institute, a trade association, pointed to a 10-point plan it published just the day before and sniped back: "While members of your administration have recently discussed the need for additional supplies to solve the energy crisis, your administration has restricted oil and natural gas development, canceled energy infrastructure projects, imposed regulatory uncertainty, and proposed new tax increases on American oil and gas producers competing globally." The hobbling effect of regulatory burdens and taxes aren't a new discovery. "My business contacts have regularly complained of the fog of uncertainty emanating from Washington," Richard W. Fisher, then-president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, noted at a conference in 2013. "They have consistently cited fiscal and regulatory uncertainty as major impediments to capital investment and expanding payrolls." The specific effects of red tape on refining capacity are also not a new concern. "The refining industry is one of the most highly regulated in the country and has been struggling for years to maintain minimal profit margins," the Institute for Energy Research warned a full 10 years ago. "In the face of even more regulations from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), who are, imposing carbon-emission regulations as well as proposing overly-strict ozone regulations and other regulations, more closures are likely." A huge part of regulatory uncertainty is the push for ending reliance on carbon-based fuels in the future. The European Union plans to ban the sale of vehicles with internal combustion engines by 2035, multiple U.S. state governments last year urged the federal government to do the same, and the Biden administration pledged itself to a clean-energy policy, including the acquisition of only zero-emission vehicles by 2035. Ending the sale of traditional cars and trucks would hugely crimp demand for gasoline. USA Today: "Some Individuals Quoted … Appeared to Be Fabricated" Last year, everybody including oil companies struggled to recover from the economic tribulations of lockdowns and suspended travel. But "New Mexico operators say regulatory uncertainty at the federal level under President Joe Biden's administration, plus the prospect of new, adverse regulations pursued by legislators in Santa Fe, is slowing recovery even more on New Mexico's side of the Permian," according to the Albuquerque Journal. These concerns bleed over into the financial sector, where the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) movement brings a quasi-religious fervor to investment. ESG activists explicitly discourage traditional energy production in the oil industry which they see as unacceptably polluting. Corporate executives aren't stupid; they see the writing on the wall. "US oil companies used to ramp up production at even the slightest hint of higher prices," CNN reported last November as gasoline prices rose well before Russian troops crossed the Ukraine border. "The rise of the ESG movement is forcing fossil fuels companies to rethink their futures. Pressure from socially conscious investors hit a crescendo earlier this year when activist investors won board seats at ExxonMobil (XOM), America's largest oil company. That vote sent shockwaves through the industry because it was the first proxy campaign at a major US company in which the case for change was built around a shift away from fossil fuels." "At the same time, governments around the world are setting ambitious targets for cutting emissions," CNN added. "The oil industry has pointed to how this regulatory uncertainty is depressing its ability to invest in future projects." In April, Netherlands-based LyondellBasell announced that it would shut down its refinery in Houston, Texas by December 31, 2023. "Our exit of the refining business advances the Company's decarbonization goals," interim CEO Ken Lane commented at the time. Last week, Reuters reported that LyondellBasell's refinery might close even sooner and added: "At least five oil-processing plants also shut during the pandemic, leaving the United States structurally short of capacity for the first time in decades." Is the uncertain regulatory and political environment the full explanation for rising gasoline prices? No, it's not. Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the ensuing economic sanctions converted price increases from merely painful to agonizing. Pandemic lockdowns disrupted supply chains and distorted demand in unpredictable ways. And "there's no doubt that tariffs are contributing to higher prices throughout the economy," as Reason's Eric Boehm emphasized. But, as CNN pointed out not long ago, oil companies used to respond like other businesses to rising prices by increasing supply. Burying their industry in red tape and choking off access to capital has been a very effective signal to rethink their entire business strategy. Oil industry insiders may coast along and enjoy the profits from existing capacity, but they're unlikely to invest in facilities to meet demand for gasoline, and offset soaring prices, until they're certain their industry will be allowed a future.
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Post by Prometheus on Jun 18, 2022 1:41:45 GMT
Sounds like the perfect time for one of these companies to ramp up production and swoop in with lower prices and beat out the competition based on volume.
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Post by abbey1227 on Jun 18, 2022 1:46:05 GMT
Sounds like the perfect time for one of these companies to ramp up production and swoop in with lower prices and beat out the competition based on volume.
Except it's a dying business ...........at least when it comes to Washington DC's outlook
It'd like being the best damn buggy whip maker you ever saw
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Post by Prometheus on Jun 18, 2022 1:47:38 GMT
Sounds like the perfect time for one of these companies to ramp up production and swoop in with lower prices and beat out the competition based on volume.
Except it's a dying business ...........at least when it comes to Washington DC's outlook
It'd like being the best damn buggy whip maker you ever saw
Then blame the companies for not keeping up with the times not the government. |
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Post by abbey1227 on Jun 18, 2022 1:57:00 GMT
Except it's a dying business ...........at least when it comes to Washington DC's outlook
It'd like being the best damn buggy whip maker you ever saw
Then blame the companies for not keeping up with the times not the government.
I don't believe the companies had much say in whether or not new refineries could be built..........that would have been the Govt and it's regulations stymying those kind of infrastructure improvements over several decades. Just like pipelines.
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Post by Prometheus on Jun 18, 2022 2:37:10 GMT
Then blame the companies for not keeping up with the times not the government.
I don't believe the companies had much say in whether or not new refineries could be built..........that would have been the Govt and it's regulations stymying those kind of infrastructure improvements over several decades. Just like pipelines.
Really?
Sounds to me like the companies don't want to do something so they are punishing consumers in the hopes that the consumers will force the government to let the companies have what they want.
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Post by abbey1227 on Jun 18, 2022 12:10:20 GMT
I don't believe the companies had much say in whether or not new refineries could be built..........that would have been the Govt and it's regulations stymying those kind of infrastructure improvements over several decades. Just like pipelines.
Really?
Sounds to me like the companies don't want to do something so they are punishing consumers in the hopes that the consumers will force the government to let the companies have what they want.
it's blocked for some reason, sorry
Let's run with that theory...........if it's true.........do you blame them?
We've had how many storms in the Gulf of Mexico over the last few decades? and how many new refineries have been built? maybe even more inland to prevent disruptions?
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Post by Prometheus on Jun 19, 2022 0:29:09 GMT
Really?
Sounds to me like the companies don't want to do something so they are punishing consumers in the hopes that the consumers will force the government to let the companies have what they want.
it's blocked for some reason, sorry
Let's run with that theory...........if it's true.........do you blame them?
We've had how many storms in the Gulf of Mexico over the last few decades? and how many new refineries have been built? maybe even more inland to prevent disruptions?
1. Eagles: Last Resort
2. Yes and no but mostly yes... as long as we're talking about the companies.
3. Dunno. How many?
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Post by abbey1227 on Jun 19, 2022 14:43:13 GMT
2. Yes and no but mostly yes... as long as we're talking about the companies.
well, then........how about this?
More Alarming Inflation Data Undercut the Progressive ‘Greedflation’ Narrative
Companies haven’t jacked up prices to even fully match the increase in their costs, let alone exceed them.
Tuesday, June 14, 2022 by Brad Polumbo
Another day, another disturbing price inflation metric.
The federal government just released the latest Producer Price Index (PPI), an index that tracks the prices of a basket of the typical inputs businesses rely on, like energy, warehousing, etc. It finds that prices rose 0.8% from April to May, and a whopping 10.8% from May 2021 to May 2022. The PPI is the Federal Reserve’s preferred metric of price inflation, and this latest update keeps it near a 40-year high.
To see just how extreme this trend continues to be, just check out this graph from Fox Business:
Of course, this latest update comes just one day after another alarming inflation update. Released Monday, the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) showed an 8.6% year-over-year increase in consumer prices. That metric imperfectly measures prices for a basket of consumer goods a typical US household might buy, and it too remains near 40-year highs.
What’s the significance?
Well, these updates offer more proof that rising prices are hurting American families, eroding paychecks, and bursting budgets. But we already knew that.
The really interesting insight here comes from comparing the producer price data to the consumer price data. Contrasting the two undercuts the progressive “greedflation” narrative that argues rising prices are in large part due to corporate greed.
“Inflation first rose because of other factors, like Covid and economic stimulus bills,” the New York Times writes in an article explaining what “greedflation” advocates believe. “But companies raised prices more than necessary to net higher profits. They knew they could get away with it because consumers no longer had a benchmark for what prices should be. And they did not face enough competition to keep prices down.”
Or, as Senator Elizabeth Warren argues, “profiteering” and “price-gouging” have driven higher prices because “they [can] get away with it because our markets lack competition.”
But this narrative has never made any sense. For one thing, corporations are no more “greedy,” aka profit-seeking, than they were 5 years ago or 10 years ago, when inflation wasn’t surging. What’s more, some sectors have seen much bigger price hikes than others. Are companies in some industries just less greedy than in other sectors?
“Greedflation” conspiracy theorists cite market concentration, i.e. monopoly power, as why companies can supposedly be what’s driving this. But, as MIT economist David Autor notes, market concentration hasn’t meaningfully shifted in the last two years… while inflation most certainly has!
That’s why a survey of top economists found that the vast majority reject the “greedflation” narrative out of hand.
What’s this have to do with PPI, CPI, and other inflation metrics?
The new data set put the nail in the coffin for the “greedflation” narrative.
Why?
Well, if companies were truly being greedy and just jacking up prices to make money, we would expect them to be hiking prices for consumers at a rate higher than their own production costs are going up. But these data sets actually reveal the opposite: consumer prices rose 8.6% while producer prices rose 10.8%—suggesting that, roughly estimating, companies haven’t jacked up prices to even fully match the increase in their costs, let alone exceed them.
Where’s the evidence of this rampant special surge in “greed” we keep hearing about?
It’s nowhere to be seen, of course, because the “greedflation” narrative was always a political talking point simply meant to deflect blame away from the federal government and onto Big Business, a popular boogeyman.
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Post by Prometheus on Jun 20, 2022 0:28:01 GMT
2. Yes and no but mostly yes... as long as we're talking about the companies.
well, then........how about this?
More Alarming Inflation Data Undercut the Progressive ‘Greedflation’ Narrative
Companies haven’t jacked up prices to even fully match the increase in their costs, let alone exceed them.
Tuesday, June 14, 2022 by Brad Polumbo
Another day, another disturbing price inflation metric.
The federal government just released the latest Producer Price Index (PPI), an index that tracks the prices of a basket of the typical inputs businesses rely on, like energy, warehousing, etc. It finds that prices rose 0.8% from April to May, and a whopping 10.8% from May 2021 to May 2022. The PPI is the Federal Reserve’s preferred metric of price inflation, and this latest update keeps it near a 40-year high.
To see just how extreme this trend continues to be, just check out this graph from Fox Business:
Of course, this latest update comes just one day after another alarming inflation update. Released Monday, the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) showed an 8.6% year-over-year increase in consumer prices. That metric imperfectly measures prices for a basket of consumer goods a typical US household might buy, and it too remains near 40-year highs.
What’s the significance?
Well, these updates offer more proof that rising prices are hurting American families, eroding paychecks, and bursting budgets. But we already knew that.
The really interesting insight here comes from comparing the producer price data to the consumer price data. Contrasting the two undercuts the progressive “greedflation” narrative that argues rising prices are in large part due to corporate greed.
“Inflation first rose because of other factors, like Covid and economic stimulus bills,” the New York Times writes in an article explaining what “greedflation” advocates believe. “But companies raised prices more than necessary to net higher profits. They knew they could get away with it because consumers no longer had a benchmark for what prices should be. And they did not face enough competition to keep prices down.”
Or, as Senator Elizabeth Warren argues, “profiteering” and “price-gouging” have driven higher prices because “they [can] get away with it because our markets lack competition.”
But this narrative has never made any sense. For one thing, corporations are no more “greedy,” aka profit-seeking, than they were 5 years ago or 10 years ago, when inflation wasn’t surging. What’s more, some sectors have seen much bigger price hikes than others. Are companies in some industries just less greedy than in other sectors?
“Greedflation” conspiracy theorists cite market concentration, i.e. monopoly power, as why companies can supposedly be what’s driving this. But, as MIT economist David Autor notes, market concentration hasn’t meaningfully shifted in the last two years… while inflation most certainly has!
That’s why a survey of top economists found that the vast majority reject the “greedflation” narrative out of hand.
What’s this have to do with PPI, CPI, and other inflation metrics?
The new data set put the nail in the coffin for the “greedflation” narrative.
Why?
Well, if companies were truly being greedy and just jacking up prices to make money, we would expect them to be hiking prices for consumers at a rate higher than their own production costs are going up. But these data sets actually reveal the opposite: consumer prices rose 8.6% while producer prices rose 10.8%—suggesting that, roughly estimating, companies haven’t jacked up prices to even fully match the increase in their costs, let alone exceed them.
Where’s the evidence of this rampant special surge in “greed” we keep hearing about?
It’s nowhere to be seen, of course, because the “greedflation” narrative was always a political talking point simply meant to deflect blame away from the federal government and onto Big Business, a popular boogeyman.
From their site: Sounds like a libertarian think tank
From Wikipedia:
I was right.
Sorry, but your source has an ax to grind and tries to claim moral superiority. Red flags.
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Post by abbey1227 on Jun 20, 2022 0:43:24 GMT
Sorry, but your source has an ax to grind and tries to claim moral superiority. Red flags.
so the only sources we should consider are of the MSM variety? Cuz ABC, NBC, CBS and PBS/NPR have shown themselves to be unencumbered by any political bias?
That may have flown 20-30 years ago.......but now? ![[giveup]](//storage.proboards.com/7182076/images/FSYefibmKqtatIXMgHZg.gif) Their approach to everything political is clearly leaning in one direction. |
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Post by Prometheus on Jun 20, 2022 0:50:12 GMT
Sorry, but your source has an ax to grind and tries to claim moral superiority. Red flags.
so the only sources we should consider are of the MSM variety? Cuz ABC, NBC, CBS and PBS/NPR have shown themselves to be unencumbered by any political bias?
That may have flown 20-30 years ago.......but now? ![[giveup]](//storage2.proboards.com/7182076/images/FSYefibmKqtatIXMgHZg.gif) Their approach to everything political is clearly leaning in one direction. Did I say that? |
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Post by abbey1227 on Jun 20, 2022 0:51:54 GMT
so the only sources we should consider are of the MSM variety? Cuz ABC, NBC, CBS and PBS/NPR have shown themselves to be unencumbered by any political bias?
That may have flown 20-30 years ago.......but now? Their approach to everything political is clearly leaning in one direction. Did I say that?
nope.......so don't take it as me putting any words in your mouth
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Post by Prometheus on Jun 20, 2022 7:39:43 GMT
nope.......so don't take it as me putting any words in your mouth
Sooo... all you have to say is that your bad source is no better than other bad sources? |
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Post by abbey1227 on Jun 20, 2022 8:51:21 GMT
nope.......so don't take it as me putting any words in your mouth
Sooo... all you have to say is that your bad source is no better than other bad sources?
"I am.......in a world of shit.........Joker."
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![[giveup]](http://storage.proboards.com/7182076/images/FSYefibmKqtatIXMgHZg.gif)
Their approach to everything political is clearly leaning in one direction.![[giveup]](http://storage2.proboards.com/7182076/images/FSYefibmKqtatIXMgHZg.gif)
Their approach to everything political is clearly leaning in one direction.![[cheers]](http://storage.proboards.com/7182076/images/engyBVslEdpmpmdnBwZQ.gif)
