perfidy

Ask a gas station operator what the per-gallon gross margin on gasoline at the pump is.

Quibble as you may with Ross' analysis, but I think he's nailed it square on the head when he says

This cabal of entitlement frat-buddies has hijacked the GOP, and this country desperately needs its real conservatives back. Please, please, find some...beg them to come back. There’s little elsewhere to turn.

What the hell is it gonna take for our President to a) veto a spending bill or b) fire one of his entitlement frat-buddies for screwing the figurative pooch?

The oil companies are in it for the money, like every other business, and right now they're going to be putting out big bucks for facility repairs, reconstruction of destroyed equipment, worker relocation (I'll betcha we see "company camps" in the destruction zone for oil and port workers at the very least), and new and less efficient distribution methods, all on top of what oil costs per barrel.

Bottom line: the consumer *always* pays for it.

Hey, Ross - good to "see" you, and thanks for the kind (and accurate, I hope) description of my political affectations.

In no particular order, some responses: I believe Brown said he was unaware that people were in the convention center. The Superdome, everyone knew about. Visiting with some friends this morning, there was universal agreement that, no, none of us knew there were people in the convention center either, which implies that the news teams either didn't know it or didn't report it.

That said, neither I nor any of my foursome this morning nor the news teams is the director of FEMA, and so we're rightly held to a lower standard. Michael Brown could well be a complete ass-nugget; I don't know him, know much about him, or carry any torch for him. Cuddling up to Pat Robertson is a trait that gives me the willies, however, and is indicative of any number of character flaws on Brown's part.

As for gas prices, a couple things occur to me. It would be nice if everything in the markets, oil or otherwise, operated on simple linear arithmetic pivoted on one variable, the price of a barrel of oil. But it doesn't, and we both know it - supply disruptions in the upstream delivery market play a huge role. For instance, my $3.05/gallon gas yesterday might have been $0.20 cheaper per gallon if they'd actually had anything other than premium and diesel available, but they didn't. (Separately, I was in Columbus last week and filled up my rental car at a place that had basically said "fuck it" and was charging $2.69/gallon for all three grades of gas. WTF?)

While you and I disagree about the inherent evilness of the oil companies, I'd tell you that I don't trust them so much that I think they should just stop taking complaints at the FTC about gouging. Quite the opposite. Any company caught gouging in times like these would be committing brand suicide, but for those that didn't succeed at the suicide, I'd happily see them get stomped right out of business by mobs with pitchforks.

Now, seriously - you think price controls are not the answer, but that nationalization is? And what, pray tell, would these newly nationalized organizations due, except exempt themselves from the rigors of the market? Putting assets for pretty much anything other than national defense and civil institutions into the hands of the government hardly seems likely to solve any problems, let alone this one, and if the retort is that we'd be able to trust them more than Big Oil not to bone us up the squeakhole, I've got two words for you: "Michael." "Brown." Among the most feared phrases I can think of is "We're from the government, and we're here to help", a sentiment likely shared by a chunk of folks in the Gulf Coast right about now.

Competence isn't guaranteed in gubmint, which is why, when offered the option, I prefer to rely on someone(s) who can be fired or put out of business or in the dock for incompetence and thievery.

Local thievery, by independent station operators, can be handled in other ways, such as suggested">http://www.velociworld.com/Velociblog/Oldvelocity/002389.html]suggested herein by the eloquent Mr. Crawford of Velociworld. Markets at work give me comfort. That's one of my endearing consistencies, even when those markets are squeezing me by the walnuts.

Uh, Johno? I didn't quibble with his analysis. For the part of his analysis that was wrong, I pointed out that it was wrong, and explained why I thought so.

As for the rest, if I'd even had an opinion (or a realization, to be honest) of Michael Brown, I'd have happily bailed on it like Sean Penn or a $2 whore, whichever's cheaper. Which I did, in my way.

And normally, for those parts of any collective set of assertions that I don't respond to, it's safe to assume that I agree pretty much completely. And such is the case on the cabal of entitlement frat buddies. As we've discussed previously, I too am looking forward to that first veto.

There's a strange thing about the highest levels of government - getting there requires political skills, of which Bush has plenty. Doing a really good job requires a backbone, specifically in lieu of the consummate political skills, and so far, Bush has found it easier to play master politician on appropriations matters than to use the Nancy Reagan defense.

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Speaking as someone who has actual experience setting the price of gas, I think you guys are nuts.

Margin the DC area is about 10% because the government reimburses a lot of it in fleet vehicles, business travel, etc. Margin everywhere else is about 3-5%.

Trilby Lundberg of the Lundberg Report on NPR is an excellent gas/oil analyst. Please listen to her regularly for a better understanding of everything related to the actual economics and selling of gas at the retail level.

It is almost impossible to gouge anyone at the retail level. The per bbl price of Brent Crude is generally what people mean when they talk about the spot and futures market. What most people consider gouging is what the retail dealer charges directly to the consumer. However people are so price sensitive to gas that it is almost impossible to gouge at the retail pump. All retail dealers are close to losing money at the pump which is why they have fancy coffee and convenience stores to lure you in to higher margin spending.

Wholesalers charge to their dealers (branded and non-branded) what they think the market will bear, what they think will last them through a shortage, etc. If you think that's gouging at the wholesale level, fine. But that's pretty tough to prove if you aren't pricing out oil contracts by 90-120 days. Very few people have accurate crystal balls for the weather beyond 3 days, and weather plays a role here.

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What I wonder is what kind of scenarios oil companies are working from that they are jacking up prices so high. Is there a forecast for a really cold winter? WTF on home heating oil or LNG? This winter could get really effing scary for paying out the heating bills. I plan to knit more socks and hats to stay warm. Mylar space blanket thermals anyone?

Patton,

I hate to say this but I was thoroughly disturbed by your suggestion that folks might read The eloquent Mr. Crawford of Velociworld and follow his example.

I was going to keep on ranting at you, but I think this is finally the last straw that stops me from reading Perfidy.

-mapgirl

Maps:

Please don't misread me - match up Velociman's statement with what I actually said to the nice ladies at the Diamond Shamrock.

And from what I know of Mr. Crawford, he didn't mean it either, as a cursory reading of his other postings would make clear.

Honest.