Enough Blame Given to Oil and Gas Companies?

[erpowers]

This morning the Today Show a had a small discussion on the current price of gas. Jim Cramer was shortly interviewed and said we needed to do more drilling. Cramer did not say anything about what oil and gas companies might need to do in order to bring down the price of gass. I wonder if enough blame is being given to oil and gas companies for the high gas prices. I recently read, in the book "Take the Rich off Welfare", that each year the equivalent of 10 Exxon Valdez spills occur due to inefficency and other poor policies. So, what do others think? Should more be said about the way companies are refining the oil they use?

[sazemisery]

1. The reason no new refineries have been built in the US.....

They would have to comply with strict EPA rules which would cost the friggin oil companies more money. So they build them in third world countries that don't give a shit about their fellow man much less the environment.

[NJmaverick]

2. The real blame falls on hedge funds and investment banks

they are the ones manipulating the price

[Lint Head]

4. Exactly! The major oil CEO's are saying that oil should be 25

to 60 dollars a barrel. George Soros said that 70% of the oil price is baloney or funny money caused by index speculators. The supply and demand is very small part of the problem. :dem:

[NJmaverick]

6. That stands to reason. For example, in the US oil demand has dropped

but prices continue to sky rocket. That shows there are more than natural forces at work.

[ColbertWatcher]

3. No. Not enough blame on the corporations.

If there was they would never try to pull this shit every time we turn around.

They did it with electricity in California, gas with the whole country, who knows what they'll try it on next. Water, maybe?

Of course the GOP deserves blame too for changing the laws to make it easy for their corporate donors to play these games.

Blame on both their houses.

[baldguy]

5. If they received the blame they deserved

people would storm their corporate offices with torches & pitchforks.

[ColbertWatcher]

7. How's that saying go?

The government should fear the people?

I guess in a corporate fascist state, the government and corporations should fear the people.