No Paradigms

 Perspective

Oil Prices and People's desire to blame those they hate.

TO ALL YOU GAS WHINERS OUT THERE...

> The price of gas is NOT Democrat or Republican.

> The State and Federal government only affect the taxes on it

> Like most commodities, the fundamental driver of oil's price is supply and demand in the market.

> Oil markets are composed of speculators who are betting on price moves, and hedgers who are limiting risk in the production or consumption of oil.

> Oil supply is controlled somewhat by a cartel of oil-producing nations called OPEC.

> Oil demand is driven by everything from gasoline for cars and airline travel to electrical generation.

For all of you who didn't study - that is Capitalism. I for one favor Capitalism so unless you want some other form of commerce - quiet down.

I am retired and on a fixed income, so I am not happy about it either.

But compare your soft cushy lives to those in Ukraine who:

--- are fighting for real FREEDOM from tyranny versus pansy

complaints on masks

--- Where women and children flee theirs homes and leave their

husbands behind, maybe to never see them again.

I love that I have FREEDOM OF SPEECH to rant about this because I find all you WHINERS pathetic. I hope all you whiners appreciate you have the FREEDOM to not listen to it or block me.

I'd rather pay more for gas and have a tyrant defeated than pay less and one day have them as my leader.

Whew!!! Now I can go to my nice comfy bed - like the rest of you - in my expensively heated home, with electricity and running water. And for those of you too dense to realize it... that was sarcasm... You Whining dolts.

Later related article by me

I have been surprised how much involvement this has generated. It really started as a rant by me about those who complain about gas increases while the world. threatens to burn as one country actually does while fighting for REAL FREEDOM.

That said...

What I have seen are those people who just dislike a party or person so much that they cannot accept that this isn't a person or party issue. That we NEED to assign blame to someone, so it must be someone we hate. Yes Putin does come to mind but he is the catalyst not the root cause.

Gas prices were already rising before Ukraine... They rise because the price per barrel rises (barring any federal or state tax increases). Who controls the price per barrel?

The answer...

> Traders heavily influence oil prices through bids on futures

contracts. Anyone know who these obscure people are?

NOPE - and they like it that way.

> Bids are based on perceptions of current and future global supply

and demand

> Man-made (Ukraine) and natural crises (Pandemic / supply chain)

make huge impacts on oil prices

This is Capitalism pure and simple... Supply and Demand. Now most of us love Capitalism - I most certainly do - but it gets a bad rap because of greed and avarice of individuals who just need more and more money that they will likely ever need. But - while it bothers me - still no complaint because that is my system of choice.

Now - how can we fix it?

First lets see what states make the most Oil for the US:

The top five crude oil-producing states and their percentage shares of total U.S. crude oil production in 2019 were

Texas 41.4%

North Dakota 11.6%

New Mexico 7.4%

Oklahoma 4.7%

All Republican governed states... But AGAIN it isn't about party. Who owns the refineries etc.

There are a LOT of variables here but the takeaway I was after is two-fold...

1] Focus your complaints on those responsible

2] And quit blaming those you would like to be responsible because of you bias, dislike, hate, fear whatever.