Wednesday, March 16, 2011
General Inquiry
Gas prices semm to continue to increase with no sign of ever slowing down. The cost of crude oil makes up about 71% of the cost of what we pay at the pump according to US Energy Information (EIA). Taxes, distribution, refining costs, and marketing all account for the remaining 29%. Crude oil is so expensive because for exmaple if the U.S were to buy from an overseas country then they must first transfer their money into the currency of that country that they are buying the crude oil from. So the global economy plays an important role.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
See if you can find any different imnformation about he statistical breakdown of the cost fo gasoline from different organizations.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I'm curious how much of the cost is created by taxes--and is that the tax you pay at the pump or taxes that businesses like Exxon/Mobil pay? I'm also curious about the incentives given to petroleum producers and how that impacts profits.
ReplyDeleteHow about the simple impact of supply and demand? If 71% of the cost is simply getting the oil out of the ground and selling it, I think we are looking at basic economics. How much am I willing to pay for something you have? How high does it have to go for me to look for an alternative? How low will you keep the price in order to keep me as a buyer? Yes,there are other forces at work in this market, and the oil companies know how to control every aspect of that market--a topic worth investigating, for sure--but let's face it, we keep demanding the oil, we keep tolerating higher and higher prices, we keep ignoring the possible alternatives. Aren't we a major part of the problem?
ReplyDeleteI think this is a very interessting topic to talk about. There is so much information out there that you could use. Can you try to find out why it is so expensive in different seasons? Like this summer gas prices are supposed to get up to 5 dollars a gallon.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to know if they are ever going to slow down? I mean if they are saying it may get up to 5 dollars a gallon this summer, then what is going to happen in 5-10 years? It could be up to like 10 dollars a gallon if it keeps going the way it's going. What can we do to slow this down? People aren't going to be able to afford to drive at one point.
ReplyDelete