Bush Administration Worried About Gasoline Prices

[twilight]

March 4 — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham said on Thursday that the Bush administration is "extremely concerned" about rising retail gasoline prices.

"This administration is extremely concerned," Abraham told reporters after testifying before a Senate appropriations subcommittee on the department's proposed budget for fiscal 2005.

http://abcnews.go.com/wire/US/reuters20040304_290.html

The "administration" is concerned are they? Well, they should be a lot more concerned than they are as many are jumping off of their ship with the skyrocketing gasoline prices!

Its up to $2.15 a gallon here at gas station cheap-ohhhhhh!

:dem:

[MercutioATC]

1. Wasn't Bush filling the strategic reserve just a month or so ago?

Wasn't an airline group publicly accusing him of driving up fuel costs by doing so?

I wish I had a link.

[Alpharetta]

14. how quick can he turn on the reserve's spigot?

I wonder how much he can influence gas prices in the short run by expending reserves for a while. If possible, it seems like something he'd be likely to try leading up to the election.

[MercutioATC]

17. Practically, not much, I don't think. However,

if he uses the "I scratched your back, now you scratch mine" idea right before the GE to get the oil companies to temporarily lower prices 15 or 20 cents? Maybe...

[madrchsod]

16. you are right

they were buying while the supply was low and the price was rising, it`s a pay-off for the oil contributions to his coronation.

[Florida_Geek]

2. Bush can not excape that he and dickie are both OIL men

and people will hold OIL MEN responsible at the voting time.

[Ganja Ninja]

21. So you think with 2 oil men in charge and gas up 50% ....

since they took over that it might be more than coincidence?

Me too.

[wryter2000]

3. hahahahaha

I knew this was going to kill them. Wait 'til Murika can't afford gas for the Hummers with the tattered flags on them. Those types are "Me first, and to hell with the rest of you."

My only consolation at watching the prices soar ($2.08 rock bottom in my area) is knowing this is going to hurt Bush big! I hope his oil buddies tell him, "Screw you, George. What have you done for us this week?"

[twilight]

6. yep

Some redneck around here was actually admiring my 2002 Honda Accord the other day - asking me about what mileage I get on it, etc. He said he was thinking of trading is his gas guzzling 4 X 4 for one of them ... LOL!!! I LOVE IT!!!!!

:party:

This gasoline "thing" is of little personal issue to me as I do not drive very much myself. However, if I had 3 Broncos, an Suburban and another junker in the driveway, I'd be VERY worried indeed!

:dem: :kick:

[wryter2000]

24. Yep, yep

Actually, I worry about people who have to drive large trucks for their jobs. Otherwise, let the gas guzzlers cry into their beer.

[never cry wolf]

4. Of course they're concerned

May make people start thinking about conservation and smaller cars. Bad for the family business in the long run.

[catzies]

34. You just gave me a good laugh with that!

Imagine, conservatives thinking about conservation! Whoda thunk it?

[tridim]

5. They're worried about ripping their pockets open

due to the ever growing wad of cash they're making off of the skyrocketing gas prices. That's all.

[gasperc]

7. Gee maybe if we didn't fuck up Iraq and the economy in general

things wouldn't be so FUCKED UP,
Clusterfuck brought to you be "the adults in charge"


can never use the word fuck enough when it comes to BushInc.

[tigereye]

13. personally I think that gas prices are a good indicator

of how the public will judge a president.

I remember thinking that Clinton would never be impeached ( fortunately! and there were other reasons as well) since the gas prices were so low at that time. I think gas prices/and the tie-in with Iraq mean George and co are in big trouble.

[gasperc]

8. we know they are extreme but concerned?

nah, as long as the oil men are raking in huge profits which will in turn will be big bonuses for their execs which in turn they will use to donate gobs of money to BushInc and the GOP

Then everything is all fine and dandy!!!!!!!!!!!

[Sagan]

9. But in 2000, Chimpy said he could make OPEC do his bidding!

What happened, Chimpy?

Anyone who is surprised that gasoline prices are at record levels while an Administration of oil executives are in the White House is just beyond naive.

[JohnOneillsMemory]

18. OPEC and EU are attempting to economically destabilize W*. Lucky us.

This is a slow-motion 9/11. Economic attack against the Bush* regime.

This is a classic economic warfare tactic that the US uses all the time. And now the world is using it against the US gov't and it will be the people who suffer the consequences.

That's how it works: hurt the people so that they go after their own government. Enron ripped off California so that Ahnuld SchwarzenGroper could step in. Aristide was starved in Haiti. Sanctions against Saddam killed thousands of his people.

[onehandle]

10. It's an election issue.

Bush is the Big Oil President. This will hurt them.

Especially if Kerry pushes counter energy proposals.

[bif]

11. Worried because he's going to have to pay for his own soon

I'll bet.

[NickB79]

12. 6-cent jump overnight

From $1.69 to $1.75, highest I've seen it here in over a year. Ouch already, and its only going up.

[leodem]

Just saw on CNN

That Hummer sales are down for the six straight month. They are very overstocked now and are doing everything to get rid of them like no first month payments, low interest, and so on.

[twilight]

19. drat!

I hate to admit it but I never new what a "Hummer" was until just now. I searched for one on the internet and my gawd they are so fuggin ugly! Who in the hell would want one of these monstrosities? YUCK!!!! :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke:

I find the yellow Hummers esp. ugly because they are so visible. :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: (another few likewise colored pukes ... ) :evilgrin:

:dem: :kick:

[jackstraw45]

15. Worried they'll drop of course...

Still feeding from the BIG OIL trough....

[Zero Gravitas]

20. They should be worried

Much of their non-fundie support is from willfully ignorant, we-don't-even-care-if-Saddam-was-behind-9/11-lets-kick-some-A-rab-butt, SUV drivin', flag totin', intellectually lazy, Murca Uber Alles suburban angry white male types who really thought that once War-President Bush showed them "towel-heads" who was boss gas prices would plummet to well under 1$ a gallon.

If those fools start having to pay $2.50 a gallon instead they will stay away from the polls in droves, some of them might even vote for Kerry despite him being French (Massachusetts is part of France, right?)

[tomlu8]

22. Watch prices this summer...

If they stay high too long it will hurt Bush, but he's been filling the National Reserve with oil and keeping prices high all winter by doing so.
When it gets close to election time and prices are high yet...watch him flood the refineries with cheap oil from the Reserve to give himself a boost in the polls.

[NickB79]

26. I don't know if even that would be enough

If gas prices hit $3/gal, is there enough oil in the Strategic Oil Reserve to make a significant dent in price? Even if they can make it drop a full dollar (which would be simply amazing) we'd still be paying $2/gal.

[treepig]

27. the bottleneck is NOT crude oil supplies, it's refinery capacity

U.S. Refining Capacity:


Refineries are operating at 95% capacity, compared with an average capacity utilization rate in other industries of 82%.
Despite the rising demand for gasoline, no new refinery has been built in the U.S. in 20 years.
The U.S. just doesn’t have enough refining capacity to convert crude oil into gasoline.
During last summer’s price hike, crude oil was actually exported so that it could be refined and imported later as gasoline.
U.S. gasoline inventories total 193 million barrels, the lowest springtime level since 1994. At the same time, crude oil inventories are up and crude oil prices, while high, have been steady. According to Bill O’Grady, an oil analyst with A.G. Edwards, “We have enough crude oil. What we don’t have is the refining capacity to keep up with demand.”


http://www.ethanolrfa.org/leg_position_gasprices.shtml

as can be seen from the following graph, the recent rise in gasoline price has not been forced by crude oil costs:

[michaelwb]

23. in Bizarro World

In Bizarre World - the President just announced that he is extremely concerned about rising homelessness, joblessness and poverty in the US; and pledges to make taking care of these problems his top priority.

Unfortunately, we all live in this world....

[catmandu57]

29. Summer driving is just around the corner

I don't know how they intend to increase supply in the strategic reserve, when fuel will be in demand. Or how they'll starve the military to increase supply.
Yesterday, I read of OPEC's decision to cut production, today it seems they want to increase production, sounds kind of schizo to me.
The supply is decreasing, the price is going up, even after a year in Iraq, bubba is paying more than ever to keep his sux on the road.
What could be worse though, is all the suburban women driving their gas guzzlers, when they start their bitching watch out.

[salin]

25. fake hand-ringing... watch next: It's a Crisis... Pass Bushjr's Energy

Bill Now! I sense a set up. Has to demonstrate how handsomely he can really pay off his biggest donors from the last election now that he is out begging for more dough... and even his donors recognize that the economy is on shakey grounds and their long-term interests could be harmed by bush policies... but if they get huge short term payoffs... then its still appeals to the greed... yet if bush can't even deliver them the Energy Bill... after 3 years of trying...

[Fovea]

28. Worried about them?

That is amazing, since they have done everything they could to increase them.

In the next 2 months, the OPEC production cutbacks will start to hit the system, and the strategic reserve will *not* be used for economic support. That price is going to go straight up in April.

[peterh]

30. EIA Chief: Gasoline Pump Forecast Of $1.69 To Be Hiked

NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--The U.S. government's forecast for average nationwide
retail regular gasoline prices of $1.69 a gallon will be increased, the head of
the Energy Information Administration said Thursday, but wouldn't say how much
higher gasoline prices could go.
In testimony before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, EIA
administrator Guy Caruso noted that current prices of $1.72 a gallon top the
forecast, which will be raised in EIA's next Short-Term Energy Outlook due March
9.
"We'll be raising that," Caruso said.
But Caruso refused to be drawn on the possibility that the national average
gasoline price could rise to $2 a gallon due to tight supplies.
"I don't know the answer to that for sure," Caruso said, referring again to
next week's updated report.
The record high average nationwide retail gasoline price is $1.747 a gallon
set in late August 2003.



This administration is all about setting records….in the wrong friggin’ categories….record gas prices…record spending…record deficits…Hello America, are ya awake out there?

[Joanne98]

31. Watch them blame it on Chavez

n/t

[lumpy]

32. It appears

that the petroleum industry is one industry that Bushco cannot control. After all what could Bushco do about it anyway. Considering all the money that has flowed into the Republican party picks from the select pants pockets of the oil ceos.

[indepat]

33. How convenient: it's a shame this Administration has not heretofore cared

[Chronicfuture]

35. Gas Prices

It's true...no one cares. Wait until the Nascar Dads finally figure out that they are being used by George W. They will cry "Uncle", but by that time gas prices will top $3... and the jobs will be headed out the door.