The prices jumped 8¢ a gallon from yesterday to today at one station I pass on my way to work. I pass a dozen gas stations daily and they're now all over $3.00.

Average of $3.07 here. As far as "why", I don't really care anymore. It's all yada yada yada. Same shit, different day. Like MC says, we bend over and take it in the rear.

I notice it so much more this year since I have moved and have been commuting to work. Between gas and smoking I'd save over $350 a month. Too bad I can't do anything about the gas expense.


TIS

I bought gas at my local Costco about 10 days ago and paid $2.559. Yesterday it was $2.759. I know that's still reasonable compared to some of the prices I've been reading here, but it's still a pretty significant jump in such a short time.

I was working at the Wall Street Journal in the early Sixties when the writer of that story, Norman (Mike) Miller moved to NYC from one of our out of town bureaus. He introduced himself to me: "Hi, Mike Miller, food beat..." He rolled his eyes as if the "food beat" was the least appealing assignment he'd ever gotten. Then he dug his way into the salad oil swindle and won himself a Pulitzer Prize. And that was on the heels of the Great Fertilizer Scandal (Billy Sol Estes):

Oh what have you done, Billy Sol, Billy Sol.
Oh what have you done, charming Billy.
You took almost every cent
From the U.S. Government,
Which you spent on fertilizer, which is silly.
(I bet SC remembers this)

3.25 yesterday...and that was the cheapest around!

Some experts are projecting $4+ a gallon next summer.

So, I guess you don't know the answer to my question. And I don't BLAME the Bush family and I don't have THEORIES. But what I am SICK and TIRED of is the endless parade of gas guzzling, oil sucking vehicles and a "civilized" world that is controlled and manipulated by rich, greedy, self-serving politicians and industrialist. The general public is stupid and easily manipulated. We elect officials to protect the general public, but short term gain for them is equating to long term loss. Forget that slippery slope, we're spiraling into the great abyss.

I'm not looking at the past 3 or 4 years. I'm looking at the past 35. Go back to the energy crises of the mid and late 70s. Lessons not learned. The future of the planet is not in fossil fuels.....or should I say, not in the way fossil fuels are controlled and utilized today. And in that regard, what is Bush's plan? a war? I don't recall hearing anything else.

I saw that in some areas in California it's $4.15 for regular NOW

And I don't disagree with you about us and our leaders NOT learning from what took place over the last 35 years.

We've had these discussions many many times here on the boards about what Bush has proposed and what has been voted against, knocked down and torn apart : Drilling for our own oil and building more refineries.

The envirementalists that support those in congress and in the senate are the ones responsible for making us dependant on foreign oil. Their ignorance has place you and I, the average consumer, at the mercy of the OPEC nations and the Big Investment funds that have been manipulating the markets and the price that you and I pay at the pump and to heat our homes.

Again, I've discussed this issue at length many many times in the past and no longer wish to get into the fine details of what has happened and how it could have and still can be prevented.

Bottom line no matter what is that you and I get screwed.

Drill, Drill, Refine, Refine. That's what needs to be done!

Your taking this very personal. MC, it's strictly business and you're taking it very personal.

What are the chances that prices will come down right before election time next year?

What parts of California?? It has been fluctuating between $3.30 and $3.40 for the past couple of weeks here in the Bay Area.

On my way to work I passed a station (one of those stop n' go type convenience stores with gas station) and it was $3.60 or so for regular and $3.70 something for premium. I am still breaking myself into accepting $3.00 but that's outrageous. Face it, if "they" want "they" can say whatever and up it to $5.00 per gallon and we once again are fu*cked .

TIS

You've got to remember that selling gasoline is a business. People get into it to make money.

Do record profits mean anything?

TIS, what letter is the asterisk replacing?? I think you need a hug.

DC, my esteemed colleague, drill, drill, refine, refine....isn't that part of the problem? That's a band aid. Where are the long term solutions? Where is the long term plan to convert to solar, wind, water....and dare I say it..Nuculer.
Where are the government sponsered messages to conserve; 55 mph speed limits, remove every other light bulb, lower the thermostat in winter, raise it in summer, ride a bike, walk, TELECOMMUTE (remember that one?) There are no government sponsored messages because our government doesn't care. They have their own agenda and it ain't conserving energy or finding alternatives....there's no money in that.

If they actually had a real job where they had to EARN a paycheck and not live off TAX PAYER MONEY things might be different.

....and they EARN those big fat pensions too.

It's not just what we're paying at the pumps, it's what we're paying, paying, paying for everything. The added cost of transportation is raising the prices of everything. Has anyone checked out the price of food? My local supermarket is charging $1 per pound for yams. How ridiculous is that? And the cost of eating out has gone through the roof. And we're not even touching on the cost of heating our homes this winter. We are paying through the nose for everything, and we're getting screwed left and right.

MC, I agree that we need to look into alternative energy sources. That's the only long-term solution. Unfortunately, the technology exists, but it is too far out of the reach of the average consumer. I know I posted here once that we looked into putting solar panels onto our roof. It was ridiculously expensive and it would take decades for us to get our money back. If it was more affordable, we would have done it in a heartbeat.

And what's wrong with making the energy-efficient hybrid automobiles more attractive economically? Why shouldn't the government be offering more rebates? These cars are also out of the reach of the average consumer.

I don't know all the answers. I wish I did. But steps need to be taken, because the middle class is being suffocated. I know we're used to being squeezed, but it's gone far beyond that in the last few years.

We certainly need alternatives to fossil fuels, and we are decades behind in this. It would be better environmentally too.

I believe the government has responded poorly to this, and while it is not government's function to develop the alternatives, there are measures, like grants and tax incentives that could put this objective on the national front burner.

In addition to securing mind boggling profits, the oil companies have very powerful lobbies and exert political influence.

Again, I don't disagree with you at all on all the points that you bring up. I'm not arguing on those points with you! My initial response was to your blaming the President for the high oil prices. The government as a WHOLE is a part of the problem and the OPEC nations as well as the big Fund Management companies are an even bigger part of the problem.

Our own drilling and own refining is not a band aid by any means. It is the start in the right direction. And as you point out we must also start to implement other programs such as solar, wind and water alternatives as ways of producing energy. Of course those kinds of actions would help us to preserve energy and oil that we could drill for and produce on our own.

I've always wondered why a passenger car/vehicle needs to have the ability to travel at speeds above 70 miles per hour!

I don't deny the Big Picture: Oil is in finite supply, but demand keeps going up, partly from Americans who need 500-hp cars to commute to work, and especially from China, India and Russia where private automobile usage was limited previously. But the other side is oil company profit-gouging. If the refiners are "merely passing on the higher cost of a barrel of crude," then how can they be making record profits?

DC, do you really think I'm arguing? what makes you think I'm arguing, I don't argue, so what the F makes you think I'm arguing? Do I argue with you? Am I here to F'in argue with you? What makes you think I'm arguing? - from Joe Pesci's remake of Goodfellas. As Michael said, this isn't personal Don C, just business. LOL, :>) I think I love you.

So what are you so afraid of?
Afraid that you're not sure of
A love there is no cure for

Or

Morgan, Wyatt is my friend
But I think I'm beginning to love you.

Gasoline has cost about $4.00 a gallon in Europe for years, and it comes as no surprise that it is now happening here. Once the price gets too high market forces will take over and whoever is selling cars that get decent mileage will make a fortune, and the morons in what is left of Detroit are going to be stuck with a lot of excess Hummers and Esclades.

One station has gas today for 3.02 another station for 3.09 another has it for 2.97.

Well the gas prices are doing their yo-yo act again, but have you heard the ads for "close the enron loophole" (.com)? Apparently there is a "loophole" that allows traders to make lots of money by monkeying around with oil futures. I find that hard to believe! BASTARDS!

Check out this website. Close the Enron loophole .....and we all remember how that company violated human dignity.

I think our gas prices have basically doubled since "the war on terror" and Katrina. I know our prices were considerably less than those in Europe, but has this same increase happened there?

Simple economics says that if supply is down - the excuse relating to the Katrina effect - then prices rise. There should be no affect on the profits of the oil companies. The same would hold true if supplies increase - the price falls but the increased volume offsets it and profits are stable.

The fact that each and every oil company has record profits each quarter since this is evidence of gouging and fraud.

I got gas yesterday for 2.72 but I had 10 cents off so I got it for 2.62.

Did the price per barrel come down?

I think I saw it was down to $89, but as we've learned that is only one of many factors in gas prices....GREED is no.1

I'm still paying $3 around here, but that's only at Costco or in NJ. If I bought gas from the guy around the corner, it's about 20 cents per gallon more than that.