Gas just hit 4.00 a gallon in Orlando..

[zillayen]

It wasn't that long ago. I think we had some sub-$1 gas when we drove to Florida in 1999.

I was approached by a reporter at a gas station when I was driving home from college in the late 1990s. Gas had been something like $0.79 a gallon in NC for months, but had recently increased to over a dollar. They wanted to interview me about the "high" gas prices but then decided not to after I said I thought gas should probably cost even more.

 

[mom2rtk]

My opinion (meaning you get what you're paying for it)... the oil companies aren't making their decisions on how much crude to pump/move based on the current cost of gas. They're determining how much SUPPLY they need to keep the demand satisfied enough.

My business education here on the DIS says companies are obligated to milk every penny possible out of their customers (like Disney does in the parks). So I'm shocked to hear that might not be happening with these oil producers.

 

[BrianL]

I just paid $3.99 at a Kroger - $3.96 with my Kroger card disocunt. That's about as good as it gets around here where most signs seem to be at about $4.19.

 

[a1tinkfans]

Well sw Fla is $4.29 MID grade and it will likely get worse.

 

[MillauFr]

Those who run the corporate world control everything.

They're looking out for their best interests (wealth) and not the common folk who are struggling to get by.

Exactly correct. Shocking that some people don't realize this is how it works in the US.

 

[RamblingMad]

The next shock will be airline prices.

 

[sam_gordon]

My business education here on the DIS says companies are obligated to milk every penny possible out of their customers (like Disney does in the parks). So I'm shocked to hear that might not be happening with these oil producers.

I didn't say they weren't doing that. But it's a fine line. When supply > demand, prices go down. When supply < demand, prices can go up. So they don't want to make too much supply (no business really does). This comes from my message board business degree, so you know it's got to be accurate.

 

[kdonnel]

Exactly correct. Shocking that some people don't realize this is how it works in the US.

Should it work another way?

They are businesses not charities.

Businesses should be looking out for their investors/owners.

 

[GiaR]

Should it work another way?

They are businesses not charities.

Businesses should be looking out for their investors/owners.

Yay, everyone is price gouging & inflation is just getting started!

 

[RamblingMad]

Should it work another way?

They are businesses not charities.

Businesses should be looking out for their investors/owners.

This is changing. ESG is the new big thing. Investors are more picky about how they invest these days. I have to answer questioners for it these days at my level.

 

[MillauFr]

Should it work another way?

Maybe. For entertainment companies like Disney. No way. For healthcare companies and utilities. Yes. You could make an argument that the oil and gas companies should operate more like regulated utilities. Not that I would make that argument but I could understand the reasoning.

They are businesses not charities.

Businesses should be looking out for their investors/owners.

Absolutely agree.

 

[Memorymakerfor4]

There's also a hiring problem in the oil industry, same as everywhere else. A good friend of mine frequently works until 9 pm or later. He's a manager and all the new hires want to work from home. That doesn't work in an industry that frequently requires people to go out on site. A lot of people used to commute in for the week then go home for a few days. They lived in rentals, RVs, man camps, or hotels. No one wants to do that anymore and it's going to take time for the industry to adjust, aka pay more. Boom time pay is coming.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

 

[RamblingMad]

On the radio today, I heard that most folks expect oil prices to go to $180 a barrel. WTI is currently at $106, so we're talking about oil prices going up another 70%. That means $8/gal gas is in the cards. That's nuts.

 

[mrodgers]

Never use my phone for anything when I'm driving. I must plead innocent.

Same. I don't ever listen to the radio and I have GPS in the car itself so my phone never leaves my front pocket where it is inaccessible while I am seated in my car behind the wheel. I would have to unbuckle, move the steering wheel out of the way, lift my rear out of the seat and twist around onto my left hip in order to get to my phone in my right front pocket and I am not going to do that while operating my vehicle.

I'd say 50% of the people around me I see coming up to a stop do it with their head down and focused in their lap and 90% I see around me sit for a moment after the light turns green before they look up from their lap to realize it.

 

[mrodgers]

Should it work another way?

They are businesses not charities.

Businesses should be looking out for their investors/owners.

With most businesses, they have a vested interest in looking out for their customers for without the customers, they have no business.

This circles back to the customer in that if you don't like what said business requests to provide their product/service to you, you are free to go elsewhere or not purchase said product/service. Because of how society acts, entitlement of every want being a need no matter the cost, businesses are giving their customers exactly what they want, a product/service the customer "needs" for a price they are willing to pay. The customer holds the power not the business. The business needs to sell their FruFru doll to the parents at Christmas time to continue to be in business. The parents do not need to purchase said FruFru doll but will for the right price in which the price is set by the willingness of the customer to pay. As I always said, Apple wouldn't be selling $1500 iPhones that the customers seem to love to complain about the cost of if said customers weren't standing in line for 3 days with their credit card out while complaining about the cost of the iPhone.

Products such as fuel is a bit of a different animal however because fuel is a resource, an energy, and a need, and in my opinion doesn't fit with how a business of a mere wanted product should be running (aka, taking care of their customer.)

 

[Moliphino]

Should it work another way?

They are businesses not charities.

Businesses should be looking out for their investors/owners.

They should also look out for their employees, because if they aren't happy they'll be gone.

 

[piglet1979]

Gas here has been steady at $4.09 for a few days now.

 

[kdonnel]

They should also look out for their employees, because if they aren't happy they'll be gone.

Businesses are certainly feeling a bit of pain in the labor market right now but that pendulum is always swinging. I predict it won't be long before it swings back in the favor of business.

 

[easyas123]

Maryland has just announced a 1 month break from state taxes on gas - it's either $.37 or $.39 cents I think.