CA Gas Prices Soar Overnight

Off Topic Politics & World Issues
61

[quote]pittbulll wrote:

[quote]countingbeans wrote:

[quote]pittbulll wrote:

[quote]DoubleDuce wrote:

The general sentiment is that profit as a specific thing is bad. Profit is evil. It is easier only because the hippies are enormous hypocrites.[/quote]

I think this comes from the same person that claims Democrats think the wealthy are evil same mentality and NOT TRUE. [/quote]

Right, they only like the ones giving them money to run for office.[/quote]

we agree , same could be said for Republicans though
[/quote]

Sort of… Not apples to apples though.

Republicans want everyone to have skin in the game. Democrats want people making over a certain amount to pull the wagon…

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[quote]UtahLama wrote:

[quote]pittbulll wrote:

[quote]UtahLama wrote:

[quote]DoubleDuce wrote:

[quote]pittbulll wrote:

[quote]DoubleDuce wrote:

The general sentiment is that profit as a specific thing is bad. Profit is evil. It is easier only because the hippies are enormous hypocrites.[/quote]

I think this comes from the same person that claims Democrats think the wealthy are evil same mentality and NOT TRUE. Everyone likes profits from their investment . How many hippies do you know ?[/quote]

10-ish? And I said that Obama specifically believes success should be punished. He basically stated that very plainly.[/quote]

Oh I think that Obama likes success…MOAR TAX OPPS BABY![/quote]

Lamb Chop where you been :slight_smile:
[/quote]

Killing things.

Glad to see you are still getting abused on here…there is no place like home.[/quote]

:slight_smile:

63

[quote]countingbeans wrote:

[quote]pittbulll wrote:

[quote]countingbeans wrote:

[quote]pittbulll wrote:

[quote]DoubleDuce wrote:

The general sentiment is that profit as a specific thing is bad. Profit is evil. It is easier only because the hippies are enormous hypocrites.[/quote]

I think this comes from the same person that claims Democrats think the wealthy are evil same mentality and NOT TRUE. [/quote]

Right, they only like the ones giving them money to run for office.[/quote]

we agree , same could be said for Republicans though
[/quote]

Sort of… Not apples to apples though.

Republicans want everyone to have skin in the game. Democrats want people making over a certain amount to pull the wagon…

[/quote]

as do those that think there is a differences from term in the tax code (capital gains) and the two separate words definition

64

[quote]atypical1 wrote:

[quote]MaximusB wrote:
Typical,

If you live on the coast, it means your money situation is such that you need not worry to begin with.

Not everyone lives on the coast, but fear not, because if you are deemed to be in a fire hazard area (and don’t think that living on the coast is an exemption, ask those in Malibu about it), you will be taxed additionally.

Also, your water and energy costs are reflective of what your landlord is hit with. Meaning, if he is taxed more (whether it be property taxes, energy costs, water, or whatever) it means your rent goes up.

No one is exempt from energy cost increases, but you’re ballin’ enough to have the mighty Pacific as your backyard, you’re probably not one to be bitching to begin with.

Keep in mind, if Moonbeam’s taxes pass, your landlord might be taxed more, which means your rent goes up. See how this works ? Your landlord is not going to just eat the loss. [/quote]

Hardly ballin. I can see the ocean clearly but I’m not on the ocean.

And yes, I will certainly be impacted somewhat but there’s a lot of things people can do to shelter themselves from a lot of these costs but people make the choice to not do those. My wife and I could both be driving BMWs or Lexus’s. We could move to a big house somewhere east of here (no way we could afford a big house right on the coast). But we made a decision to not go that route and that really helps us absorb these price jumps. The friend that bitches the most about gas prices is also the friend who has huge debt and is driving a new GT-R. Downsize and suddenly prices aren’t an issue.

james
[/quote]

How about we examine WHY we should/need to downsize ? What are we getting for our added taxes ? Better schools ? Nope, we are ranked 48th and 49th in English and Math. Better roads ? Nope, rated some of the worst in the nation. Better business environment ? Nope, Cali is rated the WORST place for business 8 years in a row.

What or where is this money going to go for ? TEACHER PENSIONS. I do not need to downsize for THAT of all things.

65

[quote]pittbulll wrote:

as do those that think there is a differences from term in the tax code (capital gains) and the two separate words definition
[/quote]

Please translate this to english so I can respond.

66

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[quote]countingbeans wrote:

[quote]pittbulll wrote:

as do those that think there is a differences from term in the tax code (capital gains) and the two separate words definition
[/quote]

Please translate this to english so I can respond.[/quote]

HAHA Love ya pittski

67

[quote]countingbeans wrote:

[quote]pittbulll wrote:

as do those that think there is a differences from term in the tax code (capital gains) and the two separate words definition
[/quote]

Please translate this to english so I can respond.[/quote]

Capital in the financial sense is Money

Main Entry: capital
Part of Speech: noun
Definition: financial assets
Synonyms: CD, IRA, business, cash, estate, finances, financing, fortune, funds, gold, interests, investment, kitty, means, money, nest egg, principal, property, resources, savings, stake, stock, substance, treasure, ways and means, wealth, wherewithal

Gain is GAIN Synonyms: 154 Synonyms & Antonyms for GAIN | Thesaurus.com

68

All financial gain is a capital gain or a gain in capital

69

[quote]MaximusB wrote:
How about we examine WHY we should/need to downsize ? What are we getting for our added taxes ? Better schools ? Nope, we are ranked 48th and 49th in English and Math. Better roads ? Nope, rated some of the worst in the nation. Better business environment ? Nope, Cali is rated the WORST place for business 8 years in a row.

What or where is this money going to go for ? TEACHER PENSIONS. I do not need to downsize for THAT of all things. [/quote]

Why? Because we didn’t say a damn thing when we voted people into office and voted for the things that created our shit sandwich. We’ve all watched our pensions get higher. We’ve seen our schools suck. We’ve seen our elected officials get huge, huge bonuses and pensions and we stood idly by. I mean that “we” in the collective sense of the word but I hope you get my point. Maybe the crazy gas prices will scare away the portion of the population that doesn’t think before they vote.

My kid goes to a private school and we’re going to try to get him into a charter school as our way of showing our displeasure towards the school system. I typically vote for one of the outside candidates and typically vote against the majority of measures that are put before us in the ballots simply because I feel that enough is enough (except for gay marriage and legalized pot…who doesn’t want legalized pot anyway?).

We just put forward a measure to build a parking structure in Balboa Park. Now, the roads leading up to the park require me to put the truck in 4H but the parking structure is so much more important because parking is such a huge problem there. I mean sometimes it takes me a good 2 minutes to find a spot when I go there every weekend.

james

70

And we could simply build more refineries. There’s a whole lot of empty space in the center of our state that isn’t doing anything productive. Voters should be given that choice but I don’t remember seeing that on the ballot.

james

71

[quote]atypical1 wrote:

[quote]usmccds423 wrote:
Atypicall1:

You seem to have set yourself up very nicely, which is great in my opinion. I wish more people lived the way you seem to live; however, most people don’t get a company car and it isn’t as simple as living close to work. The cost of living in the D.C./MD/Northern VA area, for example, is far more than northern MD and the commute is managable. Personally I work in Baltimore City, if I lived here (owned), I’d pay about double or $6,000+ in property taxes alone and Bmoore is the worst city in MD. So I commute for that reason among others and believe me if I could find a job closer to home I would, but good luck with that.

My point is you seem to have this attitude that if it doesnÃ?¢??t affect you than I don’t care. Well what about everyone else being screwed? What if it did affect you?

Can you see the flip side of your situation. What about the janitor making $9 bucks an hour, do you think he can afford to pay $6 a gallon?

For some people $6 bucks a gallon is an inconvenience. For others it’s a huge expense on an already burdened budget.[/quote]

But you’re making a choice to own a place instead of renting. For some reason everyone thinks that they need to own a home but that’s not something that is guaranteed. It’s all about choices and if you make the choice to have a commute then you need to budget in $10 a gallon gas otherwise you’re setting yourself up to be struggling. And don’t forget that all of you commuters are the ones helping to drive the prices up. My demand isn’t that high so I have negligible impact. People filling up twice a week are definitely not helping things out.

You’re right about the janitor though and he can’t afford to pay $6 a gallon. But then he needs to ride the bus, live closer, or try to find work in a different city. I’m sympathetic to their plight and I don’t think that they should starve but throughout history the money you make impacts your choices. If you can’t afford children then don’t have them. If you can’t afford to buy a home then don’t. Side note, I really think it’s too bad that we pay so awfully for some important jobs and so poorly for some meaningless ones but that’s the world we live in.

james
[/quote]

I agree with some of what you say in theory, but I don’t think it’s practical.

I’d love to use public transportation, but it isn’t practical for me. I’d have to ride the Metro, a bus, and then walk just for work. On days I have night class on the other side of town, I’m not sure what I’d do.

I wouldn’t rent because that to me is like throwing money away every month. I’d rather give part of my housing expense to the bank and part of it into a mostly appreciable asset. We’ll just have to disagree there. I know for sure I would never own in any city because of the extra property taxes (something your rent included I’m sure). Baltimore is over $6,000 a year for a typical $300k single family where as here we pay around 3K.

A lot of life is about choice. I agree with you 100% here, except there are a lot of people unlike you and I that don’t have as many choices. It’s not practical for a janitor making $6 to move to just pick up and move. How will he afford it?

You make it sound like it’s simple. I just don’t think it is.

72

[quote]atypical1 wrote:
And we could simply build more refineries. There’s a whole lot of empty space in the center of our state that isn’t doing anything productive. Voters should be given that choice but I don’t remember seeing that on the ballot.

james[/quote]

I grew up in this “wasteland” and that “empty space” grows about 1/3 of the produce consumed in North America.

The central valley is a shit hole…but a very productive shit hole.

73

[quote]UtahLama wrote:
I grew up in this “wasteland” and that “empty space” grows about 1/3 of the produce consumed in North America.

The central valley is a shit hole…but a very productive shit hole.[/quote]

I didn’t call it a wasteland. I like a lot of that space and I spend a bit of time in the desert exploring. So I definitely don’t think it’s a wasteland.

It might be productive but there’s a lot of it and not all of it is being used in the most efficient manner. Some of the production that’s currently there could be shifted to other locations, other production we could simply shut down, and there is just some other areas that simply aren’t really being used. I think of places like just outside of Death Valley or even in the central valley itself.

james

74

[quote]usmccds423 wrote:
I agree with some of what you say in theory, but I don’t think it’s practical.

I’d love to use public transportation, but it isn’t practical for me. I’d have to ride the Metro, a bus, and then walk just for work. On days I have night class on the other side of town, I’m not sure what I’d do.

I wouldn’t rent because that to me is like throwing money away every month. I’d rather give part of my housing expense to the bank and part of it into a mostly appreciable asset. We’ll just have to disagree there. I know for sure I would never own in any city because of the extra property taxes (something your rent included I’m sure). Baltimore is over $6,000 a year for a typical $300k single family where as here we pay around 3K.

A lot of life is about choice. I agree with you 100% here, except there are a lot of people unlike you and I that don’t have as many choices. It’s not practical for a janitor making $6 to move to just pick up and move. How will he afford it?

You make it sound like it’s simple. I just don’t think it is. [/quote]

It’s not practical because you chose to buy instead of rent. It’s a choice that you made of your own free will.

And you’re right about the janitor but that’s not to say that he/she couldn’t live close to work. It’s all possible depending upon how you’re willing to live your life.

james

75

[quote]countingbeans wrote:

[quote]pittbulll wrote:

[quote]countingbeans wrote:

[quote]pittbulll wrote:

[quote]countingbeans wrote:

[quote]pittbulll wrote:
http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/smui/Gasoline%20Profit%20Margin%20Breakdowns_final.pdf

Average profit margin in 2011 was 44%[/quote]

Not sure you read that before posting it.

It includes intercompany transactions which is retarded, and understimates costs.

I can turn a pretty word doc into a .pdf and link it to a blog with shit information too… [/quote]

I am sure the article is intended for more than my purpose. Your point is ?
[/quote]

My point is, you’ll need more than that .pdf porduced by god knows who with admitted shitty estimates to prove your point.[/quote]

The group responsible for the Shitty PD file
[/quote]

lol, I swear you just refuse to see what is in front of you. http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/smui/

Yes, this guy looks like a non-partisan who understands the finer points of inter company transfers and internation business.

Got to be kidding me. [/quote]

Dont know about the US, but over here you study 6 years to undertand those finer points.

76

Didn’t that idiot from the Dept. of Energy say that European gas prices would be a good thing ?

Make no mistake, both Governor Brown and even Obama are getting wood over this, because they want to funnel people into big cities, and out of the suburbs.

If Jerry Brown was not trying to pass a $16 Billion tax increase, he would not be doing jack shit about this.

I am sorta glad this is happening, because maybe people will FINALLY see how this Democratic Mafia is and has been fucking up this country club known as California with their policies that made us drop from 5th largest economy to the 9th.

I also hope that the rest of the states pay attention to this shit, so you get a glimpse of the epic failure that has happened when you let one-party-rule fuck up a state.

Gridlock is good, because it means no one can get away with pulling stupid shit like this.

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[quote]pittbulll wrote:

[quote]tmay11 wrote:
Pitt -

If oil companies have such control over prices why did they let oil crash to $35/barrel in 08/09 and then let it stay sub $50 for over 6 months?

Are you aware that most of the Canadian oil sands oil has a marginal cost of $60 + ? (and remember that this is the cost of producing the unrefined product…)

Are you aware that most of the large oil companies are public companies and as such, you have full access to their financial statements ?

Here are the most recent profit margins for some well known companies:

Exon - 10.37%
Shell- 5.52%
BP - 4.58%

Outrageous isn’t it ? Getting 5 bucks in your pocket for every $100 in sales !! [/quote]

some proof please and how much time is that investment for if it is a day (That’s pretty fucking good) if it’s for a year ( not so good )[/quote]

I got these numbers from Yahoo finance , they are trailing 12 months. And that is my point, that they aren’t so good.

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[quote]pittbulll wrote:

[quote]tmay11 wrote:
Pitt -

If oil companies have such control over prices why did they let oil crash to $35/barrel in 08/09 and then let it stay sub $50 for over 6 months?

Are you aware that most of the Canadian oil sands oil has a marginal cost of $60 + ? (and remember that this is the cost of producing the unrefined product…)

Are you aware that most of the large oil companies are public companies and as such, you have full access to their financial statements ?

Here are the most recent profit margins for some well known companies:

Exon - 10.37%
Shell- 5.52%
BP - 4.58%

Outrageous isn’t it ? Getting 5 bucks in your pocket for every $100 in sales !! [/quote]

You seem to be quite an expert , I am sure that is considering the profit right down to Retail(NOT)

Shell from ground to pump Shell USA - Wikipedia

These are FUCKING HUGE COMGLOMERATES glad you can wrap your mind around them with such ease
I hope you are making a killing in the market
[/quote]

Could you explain this ? ( I mean this sincerely and not as any sort of provocation).

I could be wrong ( I’m far from an expert on this) but it’s my understanding that Shell is a fully integrated gas and oil company and that the profits available to the shareholders of “Shell” (RDSA, RDSB) accrue from all segments of Shells operations and not just one. Ie. when you buy stock in Shell you hold interest in all segments of operations from exploration to retail. If that is the case then my point still stands regarding the figures I stated and the profit margin for the operation as a whole, for the last 12 months, was 5.5%.

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[quote]MaximusB wrote:
because maybe people will FINALLY see how this Democratic Mafia is and has been fucking up this country club known as California with their policies that made us drop from 5th largest economy to the 9th.[/quote]

Well, typically we don’t do anything unless there is a crisis. Maybe this is the crisis we need.

And people shouldn’t be pissed about the profit from Shell. They should be pissed about the distinct lack of competition in the marketplace amongst suppliers. Sure, the gas stations are mom and pop but they all get their gas from one place. Why not force the oil drill companies to be different than the refineries?

james

80

[quote]atypical1 wrote:

[quote]MaximusB wrote:
because maybe people will FINALLY see how this Democratic Mafia is and has been fucking up this country club known as California with their policies that made us drop from 5th largest economy to the 9th.[/quote]

Well, typically we don’t do anything unless there is a crisis. Maybe this is the crisis we need.

And people shouldn’t be pissed about the profit from Shell. They should be pissed about the distinct lack of competition in the marketplace amongst suppliers. Sure, the gas stations are mom and pop but they all get their gas from one place. Why not force the oil drill companies to be different than the refineries?

james
[/quote]

Do you know that we have this stupid summer and winter blend, which adds almost $1 per gallon ?

Also, 50 cents of every gallon of gas is pure tax ? Only in California too !