Oil: The world's biggest scam?

I know we aren't a country or a world for that matter, of complete morons. Oil companies use EVERY threat, whether manifested or not, as an excuse to jack up crude prices and, consequently, gasoline.

This is the biggest scam in the world that continues to go on with barely a check until everyone screams and hollers. What if the same thing were to be done with wheat? Corn? Beef?

Sorry, we can't sell steaks at $.99/lb today, there was a flood in California and it threatened to wash away the beef cattle. Well, did it flood? NO, but we had to be cautious so we jacked it up to $2.50/lb.

They take a commodity like oil, one that has to be used DAILY for life to go on as we know it and exploit it. What's next if we go to hydrogen fuel cells? Oh, we had to raise the price on water today because there was a perceived threat that a terrorist cell was planning on highjacking all the oceans. Give me a break. There are alternatives out there. Nobody wants to promote them though, i mean, look at what happened to Harry Whittington. If you poke around too much in the political stew, someone will take a pot shot at you.

'nuff said

It just goes to show you how little the government cares about the people. The big game is global power, and they know that fighting for the people to have cheap oil is a no win situation - because it is no longer abundant. Cattle, on the other hand, is renewable.

Do not get too overwhelmed by the fact that oil companies will be allowed to gouge us all - this is their last grant of economic raping before they will no longer be able to do it to us anymore, then it will be a more competitive business like anything else that exists, to provide energy. The only difference is the shift in cost. They will no longer make windfall profits, but also energy will cost us all more and people will become more aware of conservation. Think of it as people will not take energy for granted as much anymore.

My advice to you is to concern yourself with your own ways of sustaining your finances concerning energy and let everyone else's chips fall where they lay. Let the spoiled masses whine and complain and fight over everything and you sit back and smile

I know the government could careless for its people. My point though is, what is the next big thing they are going to use as a lever to rape the hard working citizens out of their money when the oil is gone? There has to be one big thing all the time.

Originally posted by Truthwillsetyoufree
I know the government could careless for its people. My point though is, what is the next big thing they are going to use as a lever to rape the hard working citizens out of their money when the oil is gone? There has to be one big thing all the time.

Your guess is as good as mine. The unfortunate fact is that most people are too caught up in their own affairs to worry enough about affecting change, which is sad. Sure there are people who do care about these types of things, but they are a minority, and even less of them would actually do something if given the opportunity.

It isn't just problems like this that needs addressing, but the fact that the populations are no longer bold enough to make changes, and it is the ones who care who suffer the most.

I believe we are being screwed by the oil companies but to play Devil's Advocate: How do we know it is gouging and not just supply and demand? Also in capitalism should we not really have any merit to an argument about prices, if you dont like it dont buy it?

Originally posted by Truthwillsetyoufree
I know the government could careless for its people. My point though is, what is the next big thing they are going to use as a lever to rape the hard working citizens out of their money when the oil is gone? There has to be one big thing all the time.

Well you did mention Hydrogen. Shell oil is already promoting the pumps. It just seems logical for the big oil companies to control that feul source. That ought to keep it going for quite some time. The oceans scene you discribed might be a bit far fetched, but what about the hydrogen generating plants? Yes any water can be split to make hydrogen, you can do that in your garage... but to compress, store and dispence it. These plants are just as much a taget for storms and supposed terrorists

Coffee was one on a smaller scale... Earthquake in Gautemala some years back hiked coffee to 8 bucks a can... we don't GET coffee from Guatemala... why would Columbian and Brazilian go up?

Back when the Smith Brothers cornered silver... reached 45.00 an ounce. The price of film jumped due to the use of silver in film manufacture. Then when silver hit an all time low, did film go back down? nope

Originally posted by zorgon


Coffee was one on a smaller scale... Earthquake in Gautemala some years back hiked coffee to 8 bucks a can... we don't GET coffee from Guatemala... why would Columbian and Brazilian go up?

Back when the Smith Brothers cornered silver... reached 45.00 an ounce. The price of film jumped due to the use of silver in film manufacture. Then when silver hit an all time low, did film go back down? nope

Exactly. This is what I am talking about. They will keep the price at its peak for as long as they can without ever thinking to drop it back after the "crisis" has been averted.

Coffee was just over 9 dollars a can a month or so back, you know why? I guess it had something to do with a Russian province. An early frost or something and what does that have to do with Brazil and Columbia? nothing, but they hiked it regardless then too.

Big oil (which one day soon will just as well be termed "big energy") screws us more than is readily apparent to us on first glance.

See, it's not just their own commodity(oil) that they affect when they jack up the prices. Let's take your cow/meat commodity for example:

Big oil raises prices.

Transportation costs must rise to cover the loss from increased fuel spending(Truckers).

Which is passed onto the companies that have to ship their cattle(steak) to market. So they rise the wholesale prices of their cattle(steak) to cover the cost of their transportation increase.

Which is passed onto the grocer. Well the grocer doesn't want to be left out of his normal profit magin, so he ups the price of your cattle(steak) to offset the cost of the wholesale price increase.

Which is passed onto YOU the consumer. So now you're paying more to drive to the grocer, where you pay more for any commodity that has been affected by the increase in oil prices.


Meanwhile back at the batcave(whitehouse) minimum wage increases are neglected. Dropping your poorest folks standard of living more than even THEY(the poor folks) can comprehend. While your middleclass is currently just thankful to have decent jobs and tries to not worry that they haven't seen a cost of living increase raise in the past 24 months. "It'll be ok, right, they won't forget about us middleclass folks, right" As most of these rising costs of industry drive more and more of america's true industry out of america.

So now Habeeb in the east(no offense) is taking Joe Sixpack's job and poor joe rolls down to the bread line.


Yet we all sit here and take it while the fat cats rake in record profits for big oil, the middlclass disappears more and more each quarter, and the poor folks are getting more and more "new neighbors"(ex middleclass) on Hud Section 8 housing, which costs more money for the Fed government, which it passes along to us all in TAX HIKES.


Yes indeed we are living in the land of the free(where nothing is) and home of the brave(fat cats who daringly lead us to poverty)!

Rejoice!

X

[edit on 3-7-2006 by Xatnys]