Alaska shutdown

[ZmOz]

Re: Alaska shutdown

Profit margins on the major oil companies is running 10-15% right now.

Bull***. A few months ago oil was $60 something a barrel. Today it's about $73. It doesn't cost anymore to pump or refine gasoline today than it did a few months ago. Who is pocketing that $13 times millions and millions of barrels? All it's doing is making a billionare even richer and somebody on minimum wage even poorer.

 

[QC]

Re: Alaska shutdown

Z is a socialist, conservative, capitalist, libertarian . . .

 

[ZmOz]

Re: Alaska shutdown

Z is a socialist, conservative, capitalist, libertarian . . .

Like I've said before, oil companies are not part of a free market. They sell a product our entire country relies upon to live, there fore, they need to be held to different standards. Just like hospitals and electric companies. Do you think the electric company could double their rates overnight? Why not? They make the electricity, they can charge whatever they want can't they?

 

[QC]

Re: Alaska shutdown

I think I still like the private model for almost everything. Your internet service is pretty cheap, so is fuel BTW. I don't claim to understand regulated markets. I just don't like anything that encourages laziness . . .

 

[ZmOz]

Re: Alaska shutdown

I think I still like the private model for almost everything. Your internet service is pretty cheap, so is fuel BTW. I don't claim to understand regulated markets. I just don't like anything that encourages laziness . . .

So if tomarrow morning you get a letter from the electric company, and it says you now owe $0.25/KWH instead of the normal $0.09/KWH, you won't care? And when grandma gets sick, because she bought electricity instead of pills, you won't care?

Whether you care or not I don't know, but if that did really happen the entire country would be outraged and the electric company CEOs would be talking to congress and possibly going to jail. Why should oil be any different?

As for the cost of my internet service, I'm not sure if you're talking about what I buy or what I sell, but both are overpriced. I tried selling my internet services at what I thought was a fair price and nobody bought it because they thought there must be something wrong for that price...

 

[QC]

Re: Alaska shutdown

I actually meant the cost of internet service period. Private business, competition, good price.

Fuel has not increased 277% overnight, and the Power companies do, in fact, send out increase notices. BTW, what other commodity other than regulated stuff, costs more as you use more . . . BIg trucking companies pay less for diesel than the average Joe becasue they buy more, but a lowly citizen goes over his "base rate" of electricity and his rate goes up? WTF? Yeah, that's the kind of fuel pricing plan you'd cheer . . .

 

[ZmOz]

Re: Alaska shutdown

I actually meant the cost of internet service period. Private business, competition, good price..

There is no competition what so ever for the cable internet I pay 50 bucks a month for. Comcast is the ONLY provider. DSL is not competition because the product they offer is significantly slower.

Power companies do, in fact, send out increase notices.

And their increases have to be kept within certain limits, and they have to have a good reason. They can't just chose any price they want and charge it, that would be illegal. Remember that whole Enron thing?

BTW, what other commodity other than regulated stuff, costs more as you use more . . . BIg trucking companies pay less for diesel than the average Joe becasue they buy more, but a lowly citizen goes over his "base rate" of electricity and his rate goes up?

The more electricity I use the less I pay. Same goes for any large business that consumes large amounts of electricity. Same goes for natural gas companies. If you pay more after a certain cut off then you chose that payment plan and it's your own fault.