Oil and US Elections Redux
I did a quick Google on "bush oil prices election" and ran across this fascinating article on MSNBC. It talks about allegations in the new Woodward book that the Saudis promised to boost oil supplied in time for the November elections to help the Bush administration.
Did Saudis assure Bush on oil prices?
Wait. The 'new' Woodward book is "Plan of Attack". Hey, this story is from 2004! If nothing else, you have to admire Mr. Bush's good luck when it comes to energy prices during those oh-so-so-close elections.
Did Saudis assure Bush on oil prices?
Wait. The 'new' Woodward book is "Plan of Attack". Hey, this story is from 2004! If nothing else, you have to admire Mr. Bush's good luck when it comes to energy prices during those oh-so-so-close elections.
posted by Dr. Steven Morphy-Godchaux III at
8:49 AM
5 Comments:
Does anyone really believe that people look at the price of gas and then decide whom to vote for? It seems to me that if you don't already know which candidate you like long before the election, the price of gas isn't going to help you decide. You'd have to be smart enough to know the differences between the parties, and for people in that crowd, I don't think they pay enough attention to recognize the differences. This is all just media hype. The liberal media wants so bad to be able to say something negative about a good thing (low gas prices) that they make up this stuff about price manipulation. What it really does is give me insight into the minds of the guys writing the stories. That's how they think and how they'd act, and for them it's incomprehensible that everyone else isn't like them. Well let me tell you, we aren't.
By
Murphy "Mac" Morphy, at Thu Oct 05, 11:51:00 AM CDT
What low gas prices are you looking at? Here in (location witheld to protect secret identity) we're at $2.01/gallon. That price may be cheaper but it sure ain't low.
By
Thurston J Morphy III, at Thu Oct 05, 02:01:00 PM CDT
Mac, I too find this odd. Voting based on the daily price of a gallon of gas seems extremely foolish, but it seems to be the way things happen.
By
Dr. Steven Morphy-Godchaux III, at Fri Oct 06, 09:08:00 AM CDT
On oil prices: oil is controlled by OPEC, a cartel. This is illegal in the US, but internationally OPEC operates to restrict the supply of oil produced. On the local side, consolidation in the oil industry through mega-mergers has concentrated pricing power, especially when it comes to refineries. There are many other issues, like the difficulties in getting a new refinery built in the US, but the oil market is less of a free market than at any time in our lifetimes. No consipracy necessary here.
By
Dr. Steven Morphy-Godchaux III, at Fri Oct 06, 09:12:00 AM CDT
Gasoline prices in the US are down 9 weeks in a row. There has been little serious data on why this is occurring, and there was little on why it went up so high, either. Going back to basics, one would have to look at a supply decrease. Since refineries in the US are known to have 'pricing power' these days, one has to assume this is price manipulation. On the flip side: with such pricing power, why don't the refineries act to counteract this drop and 'stabilize' prices? It still looks like a big campaign contribution by Big Oil from here.
By
Dr. Steven Morphy-Godchaux III, at Wed Oct 11, 08:30:00 AM CDT
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