Quote:
Originally Posted by kahljorn
so basically the American relationship with Saudi Arabia/other countries made it possible for us to get low oil prices?
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Basically, Ok yes. It's not as simple as they are our buddies, so we get better prices, though. When you say "relationship," think trade. We give them stuff and they give us stuff. We have many, many things to give where they have basically oil, sand and crazy. So, when we give more in trade than we need in oil, we can drive the price down on the oil we need.
When I talk about what we give, I'm not just talking about money or stuff. Our government offers security, protection and political influence, and that has a value. When our government offers these services to some rathole that cannot provide these things for itself sufficiently, all it has to give in return is more oil or a lower price on oil or a guarantee of supply... or also if the terms are sweet enough, an embargo against some other rathole we don't like.
Other trade scenarios with countries that also buy oil can include similar embargos against those ratholes we don't like, so not only could we buy loyalty from, say, Iran in our cold war with the USSR, we could also make an agreement with France that in exchange for a sweet package from us, France would refuse to buy oil from the Soviets. We could work those kind of deals with any commodity marketed by any of our enemies to weaken them. That's what cold war means. It's basically economic warfare.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kahljorn
...and then other countries that we didn't like were basically paying for 2/3s of our gas -- that, and inflation?
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Essentially yes. They weren't directly paying money to us as much as they were losing it in trade deals we shut them out of or otherwise influenced to our ends. They made financial alliances with other enemies of ours or with countries that didn't want to enter into trade alliances with us and thus became our enemies.
Let's leave inflation out of it for now, Ok? That's a financial constant that can also be manipulated similarly, but we're talking about variables, not constants right now.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kahljorn
taxes on gas that I've seen are only 36.5 cents. Maybe there is hidden trade taxes or something that isn't seen by the consumer...
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There are "hidden" corporate taxes, compliance costs, witholding taxes, SS and Medicare contributions, mandated expenses related to employee benefits, and countless other federal intrusions... not to mention state taxes and other strongarm, leeching tactics.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kahljorn
i suspect gas prices will be at 4 dollars a gallon by the end of summer, especially if "Supply and Demand" is now in effect...
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Could be.
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