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Message |
    
Ron Siddall
Advanced Member
Username: El_cid
Post Number: 587
Registered: 12-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 23, 2008 - 04:59 pm: | 
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The politicians are now talking about raising the Federal Gas Tax. The reason? Folks are conserving so much gas that the taxes they collect for the Highway Trust Fund has gone down way too much and is headed to a negative balance. To keep this from happening, they are talking about raising gas taxes.
Boy are these people idiots and we are morons for re-electing them. |
Connie
Senior Member
Username: Connie
Post Number: 1241
Registered: 10-2000
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 23, 2008 - 06:28 pm: |
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and here in Georgia they are raising water/sewer rates because we are conserving water to well and the water department isn't making enough money to blow it out their a$$ like ther're used to.  |
Keith M Williams
Member
Username: Grok
Post Number: 225
Registered: 03-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 23, 2008 - 07:53 pm: |
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Let’s see if they are "smart enough" to make it a percentage of the whole sale price? Then, when the price falls, they loose money again.
Now, if they'd open up for more drilling on Fed lands, they would receive 1/2 of the price per barrel pumped.
Still looking for those magic "Egg Corns." Keep sending in those carbon credit dollars. |
Denny Conn
Senior Member
Username: Denny
Post Number: 6850
Registered: 01-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 23, 2008 - 08:15 pm: |
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What about the 42 million acres that oil companies hold leases on but aren't drilling? Shouldn't that be used before we open up new areas? |
Chumley
Senior Member
Username: Chumley
Post Number: 5511
Registered: 02-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 23, 2008 - 09:08 pm: |
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Oil companies spent 5 times more on buying up their own stock rather than on exploration. The whole "we have an energy crisis because we can't drill anywhere" is a crock o' crap. All drilling rigs available are in production, and we can't build new ones fast enough.
Now, what this country needs are new refineries. |
Bob Wall
Senior Member
Username: Brewdudebob
Post Number: 1605
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 23, 2008 - 10:27 pm: |
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Denny you sound just like the government when they told the Apache and Navajo to farm their land. |
Keith M Williams
Member
Username: Grok
Post Number: 226
Registered: 03-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, July 24, 2008 - 03:46 pm: |
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I own all the mineral rights to my land. I guess I should drop an oil well and get rich. I mean, I must have oil, because I own the rights.
I must have gold and silver too. Man, I'm moving to Beverly.
(Message edited by grok on July 24, 2008) |
Denny Conn
Senior Member
Username: Denny
Post Number: 6851
Registered: 01-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, July 24, 2008 - 08:04 pm: |
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Please explain, Bob...it was an honest question that I'd really like to know the answer to. |
Keith M Williams
Member
Username: Grok
Post Number: 227
Registered: 03-2004
| | Posted on Friday, July 25, 2008 - 08:23 pm: |
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Denny, we both explained it.
Just because they have a lease, does not mean there is oil to be had. They received the lease, they explored and found nothing or oil that can not be recovered. |
Denny Conn
Senior Member
Username: Denny
Post Number: 6854
Registered: 01-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, July 26, 2008 - 04:02 pm: |
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Thanks, Keith. I'm going to look into this some more. |
Bob Wall
Senior Member
Username: Brewdudebob
Post Number: 1606
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, July 26, 2008 - 10:13 pm: |
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Denny,
If the oil companies could make a profit from those fields, don't you think they'd be on 'em like a rat on a Cheeto? |
Dan Listermann
Senior Member
Username: Listermann
Post Number: 5719
Registered: 03-2004
| | Posted on Sunday, July 27, 2008 - 05:59 pm: |
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a major variable in the decision as to where to drill is the expected price of oil. The pre- Iraq $28 barrel is one thing, the current $100+ is another. |
Keith M Williams
Member
Username: Grok
Post Number: 228
Registered: 03-2004
| | Posted on Monday, July 28, 2008 - 09:03 pm: |
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Dan is correct. (Did I just say that?)
That's why the oil companies are looking at oil shale, oil sand, and coal to gas. The current price makes those projects profitable. |
Denny Conn
Senior Member
Username: Denny
Post Number: 6857
Registered: 01-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 29, 2008 - 03:50 pm: |
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I've been researching the unused oil leases, but all I can find on either side is completely partisan. I have yet to read an objective assessment of the situation. No wonder this country's so screwed up....people are more concerned about their side "winning" than they are about the truth. |
David Lewinnek
Intermediate Member
Username: Davelew
Post Number: 468
Registered: 02-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 30, 2008 - 12:37 am: |
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"If the oil companies could make a profit from those fields, don't you think they'd be on 'em like a rat on a Cheeto?"
Bob, it depends. If by not developing those fields they get access to even more fields, isn't the rational decision to game the government and make even higher profits in the future?
If there were a carrying tax on oil fields, then there would be incentive for oil companies with low technology to sell non-performing fields to companies with higer technology and the ability to exploit those fields. With no carrying costs for oil rights, there is no incentive to allocate oil fields to the most efficient oil company. |
Bob Wall
Senior Member
Username: Brewdudebob
Post Number: 1609
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 30, 2008 - 01:21 am: |
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David, that is a terrible idea. A carrying tax on oil fields would just drive the cost of oil up even more. The carrying costs would be passed on to the consumer. When will you liberals get it through your heads that when you tax the "evil" "rich" corporations, they don't actually PAY those taxes?
...their CUSTOMERS do, and in this case it would be everyone who buys gas in America.
We need to loosen the stranglehold the environmentalist whackos have placed on our energy independence. They are the ones limiting our options and preventing progress in this area. The NIMBY mentality must also be dealt with head-on. Uncle Teddy is some day going to look out his window and see a wind farm in his precious Nantucket Sound. (assuming he lives that long) |
David Lewinnek
Intermediate Member
Username: Davelew
Post Number: 469
Registered: 02-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 30, 2008 - 12:33 pm: |
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Bob, when will you neocons learn that lower taxes aren't the cure to all the world's ills?
Right now we tax every barrel of oil that is produced. If we lowered taxes on oil that is produced, and added carrying costs on unused oil fields, we could stay revenue-neutral AND encourage the market to do the efficient thing. The idea of a carrying cost tax would only pass taxes onto the consumers if oil companies didn't develop the fields quickly. The faster the oil companies brought the oil to market, the lower their carrying costs would be. I'm suggesting that we remove the perverse incentive that oil companies have to sit on their oil fields.
A well-regulated market is the most efficient resource allocation system ever devised. A poorly regulated market results in Enron and sub-prime mortgage bailouts. I'm just suggesting that we add intelligent regulations to the oil business, move taxes and user fees around to where they do the most good, and encourage the most efficient behavior. |
Denny Conn
Senior Member
Username: Denny
Post Number: 6858
Registered: 01-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 30, 2008 - 04:07 pm: |
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What about the simple solution we used in the 70s...reduce the speed limit? Not only did it save huge amounts of oil, it also lowered highway death numbers. And it's pretty painless. |
Keith M Williams
Member
Username: Grok
Post Number: 230
Registered: 03-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 30, 2008 - 08:13 pm: |
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It only saves gas for large V8 land yachts of the 70's with 3 speed automatic transmissions. Different cars get peak MPG at different speeds based on the cars power train and aerodynamics. My Passat TDI peaks at 60 mph. This has been verified by a scan gauge plugged into the cars diagnostic port. Some cars peak at 70. We need to find a new "sweet spot" to set the speed limit. I'm willing to bet it's 65.
Oh, and in some metro areas, 55 will get you killed. The slow lane is 70 even though the posted speed limit is 55.
(Message edited by grok on July 30, 2008) |
Vance Barnes
Senior Member
Username: Vancebarnes
Post Number: 3318
Registered: 03-2003
| | Posted on Monday, August 04, 2008 - 05:58 pm: |
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"Oh, and in some metro areas, 55 will get you killed. The slow lane is 70 even though the posted speed limit is 55."
We have a new NASCAR track in ATL. It's called I285.
There is a tract adjacent to ANWAR that is open to drilling and has been for years. They have not even explored there yet. They prefer to send all our $ to the middle east and to Chavez because they can make more $ that way with less risk.
So they haven't been on the cheeto they already have even though it's right next door to ANWAR and estimated to have almost as much oil.
Some of the gulf tracts have until recently not been in the profitable range due to depths. As Dan pointed out that's a different story now with the price of crude over $100 a barrel. |
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