"Cheaper gas is a tricky political calculus; Politicians avoid credit and blame" by Katie Johnston and Dan Adams | Globe Staff | Globe Correspondent, June 27, 2012
Gas prices have fallen 50 cents since mid-April to an average of $3.44 a gallon nationwide and could hit $3 a gallon by the end of the summer, a boon to consumers and businesses feeling squeezed in a difficult economy.
We've been told recovery for three yea... oh, yeah, that was only the top during what the history books will record as the Grand Depression and end of AmeriKan empire. Already happening in slow-motion right before our eyes every day.
But.... the cost to fill up your tank climbed over the winter as tensions mounted with Iran, sparking fears that the country’s nuclear program could lead to military action that would disrupt oil supplies.
Related: Obama Steps on the Gas For Israel
Yeah, thanks, buddy.
Those tensions are back, btw -- if they ever really went away. Only in the alternative universe of the AmeriKan media, a vast wasteland devoid from reality.
Then tensions eased just as parts of Europe went into a recession, prompting a global slowdown in demand for oil as consumers and businesses pulled back on spending.
Yeah, yeah, the problem is always anything but the central banking system.
Gas prices may continue to fall amid weak US growth and concerns about whether Europe will drag the rest of the world into another recession.
What?
(Blog editor lets out long sigh)
After five years and trillions wasted covering the Wall Street frauds we are right back where we were five years ago? And Wall Street not only hasn't changed, it's continued its reckless ways as evidenced by the recent troubles with LIBOR and JPMorgan.
Related: JPMorgan trade losses could reach up to $9b
HANH?
A rise in domestic oil production, which made the United States a net exporter of refined oil products this year for the first time since the 1940s, is also keeping gas cheap this summer....
As for politicians, they have little control over the price of gas, and as it continues to drop, Democratic and Republican strategists agree: Their candidates should avoid talking about it....
Yeah, what good is drawing attention to one of their money masters when they can divert us all with personal wealth squabbles, fake money fooleys, and the social issue du jour.
Over the winter, Obama made a point of saying global markets were responsible for high gas prices, so he can’t turn around and take credit for the drop, analysts say. Conversely, Republicans who held Obama accountable for the increase don’t want it to seem as if the president has anything to do with falling prices.
And trying to explain to consumers that lower gas prices are a function of a slower economy could backfire....
You don't t'ink wees already know?
Obama spokesman Michael Czin declined to comment on why the president isn’t trumpeting falling gas prices; instead he pointed to Obama’s energy strategy focusing on domestic oil, wind, solar, and biofuels, while encouraging green energy.
All I $ee there is tax loot gone to failing $olar and $uch, $orry.
Related: Solar Stimuloot Went to Goldman Sachs
Yeah, I knew someone made a buck out of it. So that's where the loan payments are going, huh?
A spokeswoman for presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, Andrea Saul, also danced around the question of why Romney isn’t talking about bargains at the pump, saying his goal is to make energy more affordable.
Overall, lower gas prices are better for Obama than for Romney, analysts say, because it keeps more money in voters’ wallets and makes them think of the current administration more favorably.
I had to laugh at that.
We have no spare money, and are lucky to have a job out here. This is a big we-don't-give-a-f*** because neither party takes on the oil companies. Oh, we get hearings in Congress every few years when some blatant and profligate price-gouging occurs, but never any real action on regulation or anything.
“It operates somewhat like a tax cut,” said Brian Bethune, chief economist at Alpha Economic Foresights LLC in Boston.
(Blog editor must be high on fumes because he just chuckled again).
If Obama highlights today’s cheaper gas, though, it may provide an opening for Republicans to remind voters that prices were much lower before he took office in 2009.
“He’s worried that talking up lower gas prices will invite a comparison to the end of the Bush administration, when gas prices had fallen below $2,” said Rob Gray, a Republican political strategist in Boston.
Really?
We may get the f***ers back due to a stolen election; however, does he think the American people now wax nostalgic for that band of war-gaming, false-flagging, hands-on-the-controls, war-criminals?
Despite the plummeting price, drivers who are still paying $50 or more to fill up their tanks want more relief at the pump. At the Prestige MiniMart Express in Brockton, customer Arthur Silevicz said gas was still too expensive. “It ain’t low enough,” he said. “But what can you do? You’re going to pay whether it goes up or not.”
Ah, yes, you know the drill well enough by now, 'murkn:
1. Pull up to pump
2. Get out of car
3. Drop pants
4. Insert gas pump into ass
5. Pump gasYou did pre-pay, right?
--more--"
UPDATE: Mass. gas prices rise for the first time in nearly three months
I gotta keep this tank full for you folks.
Oh, you have an Exxon-Mobil card:
"Exxon investors OK $25.2m pay" By DAVID KOENIG | AP Business Writer, May 31, 2012
DALLAS — Exxon Mobil Corp.’s chief executive had a good year in 2011 — he got compensation valued at $25.2 million. Shareholders had a good year, too, and on Wednesday gave their approval to the oil giant’s executive pay program....
Chairman and CEO Rex W. Tillerson’s combination of salary, stock awards, and other compensation made him the 16th-highest-paid executive at publicly traded US companies last year. Rising oil prices helped boost Exxon’s net income by 35 percent to $41 billion in 2011....
That's about $10 BILLION per QUARTER!
Couldn't lower prices a bit and make, oh, maybe $5 billion like the banks?
Shareholders also voted against resolutions that were critical of a natural gas drilling technique critics call fracking and of the company’s efforts on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
--more--"
Also see: Globe $chilling For Shale
Hey, it's a money paper.
Btw, Exxon not doing as good this year: "Exxon Mobil earned $9.45 billion....
In the FIRST THREE MONTHS of this year!
Royal Dutch Shell PLC delivered forecast-busting first-quarter earnings as it benefited from higher oil prices. The company’s earnings were $7.30 billion....
--more--"
Oh, my tank runneth over!
Btw, what is the carbon footprint on all those damn bus trips?
