So, if gasoline companies are so rich from gouging us, then why is Exxon/Mobile getting out of the gas station business?

It turns out, it's not profitable. Gas is the lowest profit item at gas stations. They make more money off the 20 gallon drinks than the gas we all need. And as soon as one station down the street has a lower price by just a few pennies, people are going there. The market is actually working, people.

"We are in a very, very challenging market. Margins are reduced," Exxon Mobil spokeswoman Prem Nair told Reuters. "We feel the best way for us to grow and compete is through our distributor network."

Remember, it's not the gas stations' fault. It's your Democratic party sitting in Congress that isn't listening to people right now. It's President Clinton that turned down an offer to start more drilling here in the U.S. (where we would have been pumping over 1 million barrels a day by now) and the Politically Correct environmental groups that have Congress afraid to allow drilling.

-T

Sources: Exxon to exit retail gas business: reports, Exxon Mobil to sell U.S. gas stations

I heard about this first hand from a very reliable source although I didn't hear about it much in the news today (thanks, Nadine):

90,000 Spanish truckers strike over soaring fuel prices
cbcnews.ca

This is really bad. It basically shuts down parts of Spain. The truckers blocked roads and made a big mess. They're apparently having to try to eat the cost of rising fuel costs since nobody's willing to pay for their services.

Think about it - no trucking.

Nadine said that grocery stores were insane with people buying everything off the shelves!

Other gas stations in the area are running out of fuel (source: oilweek.com). The price for diesel there is about $7.32 per gallon in US Dollars.

This is also happening in France and Portugal.

But there's actually something we can do here in the U.S. There's a petition here in Wisconsin that's going to go to our Representative to tell them that we want them to start exploration and drilling. Forget exploration - we know where the oil is. We just need to get past the environmentalists to get things going. It seems like the American people are finally willing to say what they really think - that environmentalism is costing us too much - it will take care of itself as it has for thousands of years.

It's about time we said something.

Go to: FightBackWisconsin.com. You can sign the petition online or else download one and pass it around at church or softball games. Let's do it! Let everyone know!

-T

Update: Republicans Blame Democrats for 'A Nation of $4 Gasoline'

A few excerpts:

"As a result of this dubious milestone, motorists will pay on average $1.67 more per gallon than they were when the 110th Congress began. This represents a 71 percent increase during Nancy Pelosi's speakership," said Rep. Adam Putnam (R-Fla.), chairman of the House Republican Conference.

Putnam said on the Democrats' watch, "America has become a nation of $4 gasoline..."

and

Putnam accused Democrat leaders of making "empty promises."

The American people, he added, want "real solutions that will invest in American resources, create American jobs, and lower prices for American consumers." That means tapping U.S. oil reserves.

You go! :-)

Another Update:

Sign this petition (nationwide): American Solutions

So I was just in India and saw that 1 liter of "petrol" (as they say) was about 50 rupees. Since 1 gallon is 3.79 liters, that makes their gas 189.5 rupees. If that was converted at 40 rupees per dollar (about the current rate), then that makes their gas $4.73 per gallon. In Madison, we're at $3.95 per gallon now.

In Wisconsin, we're taxed around $0.44 per gallon, remember. I think there's a good amount of tax in India, too, from what I heard. It subsidizes kerosene for the poor there - so that could be one reason it's higher there.

In Oslo, Norway gas is $9.71 per gallon - wow! Then you've got Turkmenistan at $0.29 per gallon - not sure how that works out and if I'd want to live there. I don't know much about that country but maybe there's like 5 cars there or something. :-)

Again, gas is a commodity (world commodity). We, as Americans, don't have it so bad, really. I wish we'd open up our reserves a little for summer but as I think about it, this is just the market working and also correcting itself. Prices on things will go up and people will cut back on other things. Eventually, it'll all work out. We won't be where we started but somehow it'll stabilize - we'll see.

Check out my source: Wikipedia: "Gasoline usage and pricing"

Check out Dave Ramsey's thoughts on gas prices.

Check out: "What's in a Barrel of Oil?" It's more than just gasoline. So you can see how the price of other things also goes up.
 

So I went to a Speedway the other day (I normally go to BP) and saw a sticker on the pump that said how much tax is on the price of gas. It said 44.8 cents ($0.448). Wow. That's per gallon. So I looked up online how much gas tax really is. Here's what I found:

• The federal gas tax is 18.4 CPG (cents per gallon).
• The Wisconsin gas tax is 32.1 CGP - the highest of all 50 states.

So that Wisconsin money (and some Federal) goes toward fixing our roads, right? Didn't I hear something recently about that fund being raided by the governor to help bail out schools? It's not wonder it's that high! What were they thinking that the roads are doing just great after a record snow season with all the plowing? My car registration fee went up like $20 this year, too.