Who was getting rich off the high gas prices

The question should also be who IS making profits off of gas prices STILL. Just a week ago Petro Express in the Charlotte area was making an average of .40 a gallon. Gas has come down since then a good bit, but they are still making at least .20-.30 a gallon. Compared to their normal take on gas of .5-.10 its a good bit more.
 
DAMN THEM TO HELL for making money!!! Who do they think they are! They should share the WEALTH and pass it out to everyone.... like Obama's ideal American Society....... c'mon
 
mbalbritton said:
DAMN THEM TO HELL for making money!!! Who do they think they are! They should share the WEALTH and pass it out to everyone.... like Obama's ideal American Society....... c'mon
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So I guess you don't use gas?
 
yes I do.. in fact, last night I was sitting on the couch trying to figure out how I was going to buy my next tank of gas to get me thru to my next paycheck. I'm flat broke.

But can I blame then for making a buck? nope. Did you or anyone that complains about them making money, stop buying gas? nope, we all kept buying it because we (for the most part) still needed. Did I like paying $4 a gallon nope, not one bit. am I glad to see gas at $2.24 at my local station now. yep.

Have you compared their profit margins? Compared their profit margins to other industry profit margins?

No one made me buy gas, I could've ridden my bike 30 miles to work, or just VPN'd in from home. Or I could've asked for more money from my employer or got a job making more money to cover increased prices.

Businesses aren't in business to give us their product at cost.

$14.83 billion isn't that much in the big picture of oil.
 
My point is just that gas prices should have dropped as fast as crude did and if they would have kept the same profit margin they always make, then many people would not have been unnecessarily struggling to buy gas over the past 3 months in order to make it to work.
 
Please remember who actually profits the most from higher gas prices, the government. They do nothing to find, obtain, refine, transport and make fuel available to the public but they TAKE the lions share of the "profit". Why don't other people complain to their state and federal government to drop/reduce the taxes on fuel instead of believing in the hype that BIG OIL is just out to screw us. The oil company's are just trying to make a buck just like me. If people don't like what I charge for my services then they can get their service elsewhere, which is fine by me, one less headache. Like mbalbritton said, he could make other choices but he chose to buy fuel. We all have a choice, first we should decide to use that 3lb piece of gray matter between our ears and learn our lives are OUR responsibility. We make our own choices, if you choose to change you lifestyle to accommodate not buying gas or anything else for that mater, good for you. If not, quit wasting time complaining in a web forum and call and write your representatives until they do something about it.
 
Rox&Mud said:
Please remember who actually profits the most from higher gas prices, the government. They do nothing to find, obtain, refine, transport and make fuel available to the public but they TAKE the lions share of the "profit". Why don't other people complain to their state and federal government to drop/reduce the taxes on fuel instead of believing in the hype that BIG OIL is just out to screw us. The oil company's are just trying to make a buck just like me. If people don't like what I charge for my services then they can get their service elsewhere, which is fine by me, one less headache. Like mbalbritton said, he could make other choices but he chose to buy fuel. We all have a choice, first we should decide to use that 3lb piece of gray matter between our ears and learn our lives are OUR responsibility. We make our own choices, if you choose to change you lifestyle to accommodate not buying gas or anything else for that mater, good for you. If not, quit wasting time complaining in a web forum and call and write your representatives until they do something about it.
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Aren't gas taxes a set amount per gallon, not a percentage of cost? If that is the case like I think, the govt. suffers from higher gas prices as demand declines and less revenue comes in.
 
awspence said:
Aren't gas taxes a set amount per gallon, not a percentage of cost? If that is the case like I think, the govt. suffers from higher gas prices as demand declines and less revenue comes in.
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X2, it is posted on the pump.
 
mbalbritton said:
yes I do.. in fact, last night I was sitting on the couch trying to figure out how I was going to buy my next tank of gas to get me thru to my next paycheck. I'm flat broke.

But can I blame then for making a buck? nope. Did you or anyone that complains about them making money, stop buying gas? nope, we all kept buying it because we (for the most part) still needed. Did I like paying $4 a gallon nope, not one bit. am I glad to see gas at $2.24 at my local station now. yep.

Have you compared their profit margins? Compared their profit margins to other industry profit margins?

No one made me buy gas, I could've ridden my bike 30 miles to work, or just VPN'd in from home. Or I could've asked for more money from my employer or got a job making more money to cover increased prices.

Businesses aren't in business to give us their product at cost.

$14.83 billion isn't that much in the big picture of oil.
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Not when you think that they are paying 40 billion in taxes.
 
awspence said:
Aren't gas taxes a set amount per gallon, not a percentage of cost? If that is the case like I think, the govt. suffers from higher gas prices as demand declines and less revenue comes in.
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The government suffers from it?!?!?!?! Hahahahahahaha!

The government makes billions and billions of dollars off of fuel every year, which out doing anything but regulating it.
 
Rox&Mud said:
We all have a choice, first we should decide to use that 3lb piece of gray matter between our ears and learn our lives are OUR responsibility.
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Technically, the grey matter (actual neuron cell bodies) is only a pound or less. The majority of the weight comes from fluid. :beer:
 
awspence said:
Aren't gas taxes a set amount per gallon, not a percentage of cost? If that is the case like I think, the govt. suffers from higher gas prices as demand declines and less revenue comes in.
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Federal appears to be set but the state of NC has flat and variable rates. Therefore when prices go up so does the tax income.

I found this info for ya in about 2 seconds w/Google, but then I choose to pay extra for high speed.

After crude oil costs, taxes are the second largest contributor to the price paid at the pump. Together Federal and State excise taxes on fuel account for an average cost of approximately 62 cents per gallon. Rates include Federal excise taxes 18.4 cpg for gasoline and 24.4 cpg for diesel. cpg = cents per gallon

North Carolina 48.6-gas 54.6-diesel
0.25cpg inspection tax.
17.5 cpg flat rate
plus a variable rate of 12.35 cpg wholesale price component
 
Rox&Mud said:
Please remember who actually profits the most from higher gas prices, the government. They do nothing to find, obtain, refine, transport and make fuel available to the public but they TAKE the lions share of the "profit".
Click to expand...
jeepinmatt said:
The government suffers from it?!?!?!?! Hahahahahahaha!
The government makes billions and billions of dollars off of fuel every year, which out doing anything but regulating it.
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I guess by the time they got to the bottom they had forgotten what they read at the top. Just think all that tax money flowing to government and all the government had to do was decide how to spend it on something other than what it was intended.
 
Agreed 100% on the government making substantial amounts of money off of us each time we pump the black gold into our 19th century internal combustion automobiles.

Why the hell do you think we are still burning oil, driving gas/diesel based vehicles?
And the topic of all topics, WHY do you think we went into the middle east? One simple word answers both questions...OIL.

Look @ our President, our government, the group of individuals that our country is run off of, they all have their hands very deep into oil companies.
As tough as it is to grasp, our country and government is nothing but a huge profit churning business set out to use the American people as slaves to their profits and wages.
What can we do about it, not a damn thing.
We are all guilty.
Americans need to pull the iPods outta their ears and wake the F'k up.
 
I foresee nu-q-lar cars in the distant future, IF people will get over the unsafe stigma.
 
Macdaddy4738 said:
And do what?
Its not like finding a solution to our oil use is easy. Its not like we simply cant just stop using it.
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First off, we don't need to stop using oil products. Everything in our lives revolve around oil. Question, look around, how much plastic do you see? I'll bet a fair amount. Where does plastic come from? Answer, petrochemicals. Petrochemicals are made from OIL and it will be in our lives for a long time in one form or another.

Secondly, we Americans need to wake up and realize it is OUR responsibility to tell the government what to do not the other way around. The government says they can't get by without the existing taxes let alone cutting taxes but every time we Americans get to keep a little more of OUR money, the government caufers begin to fill quicker. Why is that, any economist out there? If people would quit bitching in forums and use the same time to email their representatives maybe we could get them to finally represent us. You know, use that liberal squeaky wheel thing.
 
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