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Running on Empty(Gas stations stop selling fuel)
milwaukee journal sentinel ^ | May 23, 2007 | THOMAS CONTENT

Posted on 05/24/2007 5:48:44 AM PDT by kellynla

click here to read article


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To: cinives

Are you telling me to do something or are you just adding to the general conversation of this thread?

Regarding the restrictive power of oligopolies and govt laws, how does any entrepreneur build a new refinery in the US, even an oligopolic oil company which has “obscene” profits, because money is sitting in their “bank account” that could and should be used to build more refineries?

The government is the problem, first, last and in the meantime.


61 posted on 05/24/2007 8:17:42 AM PDT by maica (America will be a hyperpower that's all hype and no power -- if we do not prevail in Iraq)
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To: maica

oh FGS - “obscene” profits ??? money that “could and should” ??? then you say “gov’t is the problem” ?

You need to go look in the mirror and ask yourself - am I in favor of a free market or do I just parrot Dim talking points ?

Why would anyone even try to build a new refinery in this country - oil company or entrepreneur - when the permit and environmental impact studies, regulatory restrictions and moonbat envirowhackos will take you decades of time and oceans of money long before the first bulldozer hits the site. And that’s long before you get to make a fairly measly 9% profit on your investment...

only to have that small profit called obscene by ignoramuses in economics and math.

See yourself in that mirror yet ?


62 posted on 05/24/2007 8:50:11 AM PDT by cinives (On some planets what I do is considered normal.)
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To: freeforall
Consumers can also adjust demand accordingly.

Aye, therein lies the rub.

63 posted on 05/24/2007 8:51:20 AM PDT by Bloody Sam Roberts (Don't question faith. Don't answer lies.)
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To: kellynla

My local service station owner says he makes nothing on the gasoline, which I believe. The gasoline is a convenience for his regular customers, who get their car service from him and he can do most car repairs. I continue to buy my six gallons a month from him rather than go down the street to the 7-Eleven because he is a local businessman and provides full car service. The price difference of 25 cents is not worth dropping my support.


64 posted on 05/24/2007 8:57:09 AM PDT by RightWhale (Repeal the Treaty)
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To: RightWhale

with all the oil you guys are sitting on up there;
you all should be getting free gas! LOL


65 posted on 05/24/2007 9:01:32 AM PDT by kellynla (Freedom of speech makes it easier to spot the idiots! Semper Fi!)
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To: kellynla

No joke. After construction of the TransAlaska oil pipeline I figured those who worked on the project (including myself) should get their gasoline free for the rest of their lives.


66 posted on 05/24/2007 9:04:39 AM PDT by RightWhale (Repeal the Treaty)
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To: Bloody Sam Roberts

We can also allow an increase in supply by allowing more refineries and oil exploration.


67 posted on 05/24/2007 9:07:01 AM PDT by freeforall (Answers are a burden for oneself, questions are a burden for others.)
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To: RightWhale

Well the natives are still getting their biannual royalty checks aren’t they?
Last I heard it was about $1,400?


68 posted on 05/24/2007 9:08:37 AM PDT by kellynla (Freedom of speech makes it easier to spot the idiots! Semper Fi!)
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To: kellynla

The Alaska Natives get $30,000 a year. That was ANCSA. The PFD dividend would be about $1100 this year for those who apply, which I don’t. In about four years Alaska will be in a financial bind and the status of the PFD might be in doubt and there could be an income tax instead.


69 posted on 05/24/2007 9:12:02 AM PDT by RightWhale (Repeal the Treaty)
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To: Oberon
It sure looks like the government has regulated "gas stations" right out of existence. There are hardly any "mom and pop" gas stations left, not surprisingly. The convenience stores do not "make money" on fuel, it's often more or less a wash. Where their profits come from (that is, making enough money to remain a going concern, a concept lost on a great many) are of course snacks and other overpriced doo-dads at the cash register. Now - couple that fact with another modern "feature" of gasoline purchases - in the good old days, we pumped our fuel and then paid for it. That will never do in the age of petty thieves, so it's "prepay" - and a credit card is perfect for this purpose. I don't need to stand in line behind the lady who decides to clean her purse out at the register, drag her checkbook out and ask "what's the date today" etc. Gas and go, baby. Except, that's not gonna work for very long. Can't make up a loss on volume!
70 posted on 05/24/2007 9:15:45 AM PDT by Freedom4US
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To: RC30

It’s not a discount for cash, it’s a surcharge for using a credit card, which is perfectly reasonable in my view.


71 posted on 05/24/2007 9:16:54 AM PDT by Freedom4US
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To: ShadowAce
MC is a non-profit company.

R U sure about that?

" MasterCard Inc., owner of the nation's second-largest credit card brand, said yesterday third-quarter profit climbed 82 percent, reflecting increased revenue and a higher number of purchases worldwide. Its shares climbed nearly 15 percent."
72 posted on 05/24/2007 9:22:05 AM PDT by gcruse
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To: kellynla

And he was working for a silent partner, the partner who tells him what to do and makes more work for him, but doesn’t lift a finger to help out with the work. The partner who doesn’t change the oil, put air in the tires or sweep the floor. The blooming GOVERNMENT which has its hand out and takes its cut right from the top, and doesn’t care if you make money or lose money.


73 posted on 05/24/2007 9:29:05 AM PDT by Leftism is Mentally Deranged
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To: gcruse

They were a 503(c) when I worked there as a contractor in 1999.


74 posted on 05/24/2007 9:29:21 AM PDT by ShadowAce (Linux -- The Ultimate Windows Service Pack)
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To: ShadowAce

From the November, 2006, article I linked to above...

:It was its first full quarter as a publicly traded company. MasterCard sold stock to the public for the first time in May.:

Looks like they stopped being nonprofit last year.


75 posted on 05/24/2007 9:39:56 AM PDT by gcruse
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To: freeforall

This presumes that those who buy from the refineries are interested in increasing reserves of fuel. It seems they have a good handle on the system and would be hesitant to upset the status quo.


76 posted on 05/24/2007 10:02:03 AM PDT by Bloody Sam Roberts (Don't question faith. Don't answer lies.)
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To: VRWCmember; Huck
Most stores make about 25 cents on a pack of cigarettes according to my local deli owner.
77 posted on 05/24/2007 10:16:00 AM PDT by dmartin (Who Dares Wins)
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To: kellynla

Sad fact is the distributors are trying to charge $3.44 a gallon while the spot price is $2.2288 per gallon (NY Harbor, 5/22/07). Federal gas tax is $.184 and Wisconsin is what, $.329? That adds up to $2.74. Even at the worst spot prices this past month, you’re looking at about $3.06.

So even if the spot price dropped to $.3003 per gallon as it was on Dec 24, 1998, they would be looking to charge the stations $1.63 a gallon.

On 12/24/98, average prices were about $1.01 a gallon.

In other words, someone (and not the station) is making a LOT more than they used to after the actual refining of gas.


78 posted on 05/24/2007 2:20:02 PM PDT by eraser2005
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To: KoRn

I know an Mobil station only selling 93 gas....


79 posted on 05/24/2007 2:24:00 PM PDT by X-Ecutioner
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To: sr4402

Question: will this new price gouging bill send America into oil crisis?


80 posted on 05/24/2007 2:27:31 PM PDT by X-Ecutioner
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