Why should'nt the government regulate gasoline prices?
Government ruglation works fine for natural gas, electricity, and water without a problem. president Reagan said that by NOT regulating gasoline, the prices would drop. Was he wrong about that?
2008-05-05T13:02:30Z
History already shows that Government regulated gasoline prices keep prices low. The day after Reagan nixed the gasoline regulation, the price jumped over 100%. Smaller gas refineries went out of business and gasoline competition never became a reality, and never will.
2008-05-05T13:24:20Z
When Saddam Hussein started to give oil away for free in lieu of the so-called "embargo", did it have an effect on American oil profits by keeping the prices low?
jeeper_peeper3212008-05-05T13:22:55Z
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It would be hard for the government to regulate gasoline prices,
Without being able to regulate oil prices.
The government could set the profit margin for refining oil into gasoline.
What you are pointing to is the direction President Nixon took in the early-1970s, before the Arab oil embargo. This drastic step may be back in play, but with an understanding that this oil embargo has never ceased....this is a marketplace where those who produce the product control the price by manipulating the amount which reaches the market.
Government regulation of prices of gasoline, natural gas, electricity, etc. are a fantasy. The price is what it is even if we don't like paying that much. Regulation of prices is basically an extension of credit as full price plus interest will have to be paid at some point. Once it's time to pay full price everyone has a conniption and forgets all the time they were paying "interest only". Kind of sounds like another problem we're dealing with now.
Natural gas, electricity, and water don't require REFINERIES WHICH CAN NO LONGER BE BUILT. Oil companies are limited in their capacity of production for these reasons, and a price ceiling would cause a massive gasoline shortage.
The government takes home way more money (from oil) than the oil companies do ladies and gentlemen. In fact, I propose a federal tax ceiling for the United States government.
When there were regulations there was no problem on the gas prices at the pump, screw the deregulations that the repukes did under GWbushit and the total control of the repukes.