Sdude. I don’t necessarily agree with you on the dismissal of the oligopoly issue. Price sensitivity can only carry you so far. Folks need heating oil to survive in the NE. Yes, they can try not to heat their homes, but I don’t think that’s the argument you want to make. As for alternative transportation, there’s a certain flexibility to move to public transportation, but I, for example, am not going to move back to DC so I can use the Metro and I can’t move to LaJolla from 4S Ranch so that I can bike to work–I’d like to, but I can’t afford it (and for safety purposes, I wouldn’t want to make that bike ride at night on weekdays).
Disgruntled Patriot. You had a reasonable post till that “corrupt” tangent. Are you suggesting that my friends at the SEC and EPA not enforce the laws or that we not get upset if “corrupt” folks take advantage of others? I’m sure the ex-employees at Enron would disagree. However, IF, as this President states, we’re in a time of war, it is certainly unseemly that certain corporations profit off of it (War is supposedly about national sacrifice while our troops are dying-not about generating record profits)
As for “true pricing”
I’ve driven enough in Europe to understand that gas is underpriced. I’d rather have high pricing just to force some of the gas-guzzlers off the road.
My question is whether any economists here can resolve the issue of “record profits” with government subsidies (and the side issue of whether the tax increase is appropriate on these entities).
If this is a bubble, are the speculative costs being passed proportionately down to the consumers? It obviously doesn’t feel that way if Exxon is pulling in a few straight quarters of record profits.
