Lock'em UP!!!!!

[ivwshane]

See my respons above. It's called price fixing, something memory manufactures for in trouble for by limiting production to artificially inflate prices and increase profits.

The problem with claiming price fixing is that you’d have to show collusion between the companies and that ain’t going to happen.

I think we’d have a better shot at passing excess profit laws for such things as energy and healthcare.

Or start breaking up the oil companies again.

 

[sportage]

I always say....
Americans are the greediest amongst one another.
Think about it...
The min wage was $7.50 (something like that), then businesses felt guilty and afraid when Obama started talking about raising the min wage to $15, so wages went up to $11, $12, and up to $15 an hour.
So here we have the lowest paid workers finally getting A LITTLE ahead, finally getting a break, and what happens? Everyday prices go thru the roof.
American G R E E D against one another.

Then, those poor senior citizens trying to get by on a social security check, they finally get a tiny 5.9% cost of living increase. And AGAIN, what happens? Rents go skyrocketing, groceries prices go skyrocketing, and only because seniors got a few dollars more a month, the GREED steps in. Greed smells money, even if its only 5.9%, and once again as typical the poor become the victim.

While the min wage was stuck at $7.50 an hour prices were pretty much stable for most of those years, then workers began earning $15 and seniors begin getting a little bit extra income, and LOOK OUT!!!! Good ole American capitalism pounced like spider on a fly. Suck those wage earners dry. Suck those seniors dry because NOW they can afford it. Greed has no limits.

There is a reason that the rest of the world has this perception that Americans are soooooo rich, and that perception is why Americans are gouged for everything from gas to food to goods to rents to taxes to houses to car prices..... YOU NAME IT.
Americans just can not get ahead, not even a little bit. With ever nickel increase in the hourly wage, costs for everything rose a quarter.

And WTF do we keep giving 33 billion to support foreign war when we can not even give Americans a little help over here, or maybe another stimulus check would be nice oh say $10,000 each, or a little relief money for college debt forgiveness, or how about spending 33 billion to get the homeless folks off the streets in cities across America? Is THAT not worth 33 billion ??? I never seen Joe Manchin throwing a shit-fit over 33 billion to Ukraine, but a little help for Americans? OH NO... THAT'S SOCIALISM!!! OHHHHH. SCARY....
I just wonder.... when are Americans and American workers going to rise up and say I'M TIRED OF THIS SHIT ???

I'm sorry, but when some super billionaire can spend 50 billion to buy a social media platform while millions of Americans can't even pay the rent, or afford to go to college, or people must live in a cardboard box,
then capitalism definitely HAS FAILED. Capitalism has run amuck AND.... no longer feasible.
No one individual American should be allowed such wealth, NEVER, especially business owners. And it makes one wonder how much the people are being over-charged i.e. GOUGED for what they do pay for?

For all we know, 79 cents a gallon is still a fair honest price for a gallon of gas, and.... covers the actual production cost.
I remember when a friend who worked for Coca Cola back in the 80's told me that it cost coca cola 3 cents to produce one can of coca cola, and that included the cost of the can itself. THREE CENTS !!!!
Then, apply that greed to what we pay for gas, and heating, and groceries, and taxes, and prescriptions, and housing, and clothing, and healthcare.
Welcome to our America of greed. It is not THEM doing it to us.... it is us doing it to OUR OWN.
Grrrrrr.

 

[NWRMidnight]

The problem with claiming price fixing is that you’d have to show collusion between the companies and that ain’t going to happen.

I think we’d have a better shot at passing excess profit laws for such things as energy and healthcare.

Or start breaking up the oil companies again.

I understand what you are saying, but really, they have been price fixing and colluding for decades. We have just been so conditioned to it we don't recognize it. But it's been on full display right in front of us. That's why gas prices change unilaterally across the board simultaneousl for every manufacturer/brand and those prices are for the most part identical regardless of the differences In production and operating costs differ between companies, or their supply on hand. And when prices come down anything meaningful, usually months later after oil prices have droppedz they all come down at the same time.

How about when refineries get damaged by hurricans and such in Texas . It effects prices across the nation, even the areas that they do not supply.

Let's look at it from a different perspective, or rather let me insert a different example that should clarify what I am trying to say.

Let's take the food industry such as restaurants and even some aspects of grocery stores for example. Where they have substantial price fluctuations for the ingredients/products that they make the oil barrel price changes look like child's play. Produce and meat prices are a great example, (produce can double in price without warning). Do we see restaurants or grocery stores unilaterally immediately raise prices across the board all at once when prices increase, with some of the high prices lasting months? Nope. Because the only way that can happen is if they all where in agreement to do so, regardless of any supply contracts they have in place, or price increases that take place. And you are a fool if you believe the gas manufacturer/refineries don't have simulator contracts where oil is concerned. They are not paying today's market prices for their oil they are purchasing right now. Just as many restaurants and grocery stores are not paying today's higher beef prices as they have contract that shield then form such fluctuations. Yes, they will absorb today's prices at a later date when they renogotiate their contracts.. which is just another example of how big oil is price fixing and manipulating the public.

Another example is electronics.. when gold, silver, copper prices go up, do we see immediate unilateral price increase across the board for all electronics... Nope.

We don't see it in any other industry, even though every industry has the same gasoline price increases. No other industry unilaterally increase prices simultaneously across the board immediately. If that happened in any other industry, it's almost certain there would be investigations because such cost increases hit each and every company differently and at different times, including the oil industry.

 

[HomerJS]

Maybe Biden needs to pull a DeSantis, hit oil companies with a windfall profits tax rebated directly back to the consumer.

 

[fskimospy]

I understand what you are saying, but really, they have been price fixing and colluding for decades. We have just been so conditioned to it we don't recognize it. But it's been on full display right in front of us. That's why gas prices change unilaterally across the board simultaneousl for every manufacturer/brand and those prices are for the most part identical regardless of the differences In production and operating costs differ between companies, or their supply on hand. And when prices come down anything meaningful, usually months later after oil prices have droppedz they all come down at the same time.

How about when refineries get damaged by hurricans and such in Texas . It effects prices across the nation, even the areas that they do not supply.

Let's look at it from a different perspective, or rather let me insert a different example that should clarify what I am trying to say.

Let's take the food industry such as restaurants and even some aspects of grocery stores for example. Where they have substantial price fluctuations for the ingredients/products that they make the oil barrel price changes look like child's play. Produce and meat prices are a great example, (produce can double in price without warning). Do we see restaurants or grocery stores unilaterally immediately raise prices across the board all at once when prices increase, with some of the high prices lasting months? Nope. Because the only way that can happen is if they all where in agreement to do so, regardless of any supply contracts they have in place, or price increases that take place. And you are a fool if you believe the gas manufacturer/refineries don't have simulator contracts where oil is concerned. They are not paying today's market prices for their oil they are purchasing right now. Just as many restaurants and grocery stores are not paying today's higher beef prices as they have contract that shield then form such fluctuations. Yes, they will absorb today's prices at a later date when they renogotiate their contracts.. which is just another example of how big oil is price fixing and manipulating the public.

Another example is electronics.. when gold, silver, copper prices go up, do we see immediate unilateral price increase across the board for all electronics... Nope.

We don't see it in any other industry, even though every industry has the same gasoline price increases. No other industry unilaterally increase prices simultaneously across the board immediately. If that happened in any other industry, it's almost certain there would be investigations because such cost increases hit each and every company differently and at different times, including the oil industry.

There are bad faith actors manipulating global oil prices but it’s the Saudi government, not the private oil companies.

The reason why you don’t see immediate price increases in electronics when the cost of copper and gold go up is that those costs comprise a tiny fraction of the cost of the electronic gear. For example I just googled this and apparently the average laptop as 0.006 grams of gold in it. Needless to say, this is essentially zero of the cost. With oil and gas the cost is overwhelmingly that of the input good.

 

[NWRMidnight]

There are bad faith actors manipulating global oil prices but it’s the Saudi government, not the private oil companies.

The reason why you don’t see immediate price increases in electronics when the cost of copper and gold go up is that those costs comprise a tiny fraction of the cost of the electronic gear. For example I just googled this and apparently the average laptop as 0.006 grams of gold in it. Needless to say, this is essentially zero of the cost. With oil and gas the cost is overwhelmingly that of the input good.

In my opinion, this is false and just more manipulation from the oil industry, mainly the American oil companies. America is the world's largest oil producer in the world (20% of the world market vs 12% for Saudi Arabia who is second). ExxonMobile is America's largest oil producing company, followed by Chevron. How is Saudi government controlling America's oil and America's companies? America also consumes 20% of the world's oil production. Since American oil companies are choosing not to increase production and/or keep oil drilling rigs shut down purposely, and they are also the ones who supply the majority of market, they directly control the prices by such actions, not the Saudi's.

Googling the amount of gold used in electronics fluctuates depending on source, I have found 1/10 gram in laptops, in just one source. But we are also ignoring all other precious metals that go into electronics. Some industrial video equipment use up to 56 grams of gold in each machine. (that is over $3500 in todays gold prices) Even if gold, copper, silver was the majority of the cost, you still wouldn't see unilateral price increases (see my example above about the food industry and contracts). Heck, motherboards take roughly 1oz of copper per layer. Point is, Every Industry in the world sees price fluctuations, with the primary material/ingredient increasing in price, but you don't see any other industry unilaterally increase prices across the board all at the same time, immediately when the prices increase, largely because most have contracts in place to shield them from such fluctuations. The oil industry (specially gas refining and production) has contracts in place to shield them from price fluctuations just the same, it also helps when you are the ones controlling the production of the primary ingredient. Anyone who thinks otherwise is a fool.. (no I am not calling you a fool, you are far from it, and a very smart intellectual person).

 

[Thump553]

Very interesting video on point which explains a number of points the original post raised. Personally I've found Wendover videos to be pretty decent factual analyzations without any overt political bias being pushed. If this is correct we are entering a new era of permanently high oil/gas prices. Frankly I'm surprised we didn't hit this point two or three decades ago.

 

[Fenixgoon]

Very interesting video on point which explains a number of points the original post raised. Personally I've found Wendover videos to be pretty decent factual analyzations without any overt political bias being pushed. If this is correct we are entering a new era of permanently high oil/gas prices. Frankly I'm surprised we didn't hit this point two or three decades ago.

Good. It will encourage more efficient vehicles, public transit, greater density, and a greener economy.
Yes, it has a cost, and yes, it will impact the poor the most. If only there were some way to mandate a wage that guaranteed some minimal standard of living!

 

[brandonbull]

I think the point is Tucker and the GOP are still going to blame Biden.

Because Trump and Putin are to blame? Score another one for the "Putin price hike"?

 

[UNCjigga]

Because Trump and Putin are to blame? Score another one for the "Putin price hike"?

Not Trump, but Putin and his invasion have way more to do with the current price of oil than Biden. Do you disagree? Or would you rather blame Biden's liberal world order for imposing sanctions on poor Putty?

 

[Homerboy]

Because Trump and Putin are to blame? Score another one for the "Putin price hike"?

Did I mention Trump or Putin? Those two sure "live rent free in you brain", don't they? It's multiple factors - one of which clearly is in fact Putin. The other is companies (and Wall Street) clearly taking advantage of the situation and making grotesque profits once again that do nothing but enrich the already wealthy and impoverish the already impoverished.

Good try though.

 

[Captante]

Anti-price gouging laws are hardly revolutionary OR unprecedented.

Any claimed "free-market" that regulates prices via real competition in America these days is mostly BS.... corporate special-interests and their big-dollar lobbyist's are killing this country.