I got a stupid question?

[jmac00]

Why can private companies build Ethanol plants like there is no tomorrow, at seemingly any costs........Ethanol plants are popping up as fast as corn grows

but the BILLION DOLLAR oil companies can not build one new refinery, at any cost in the last 40 years:mad:


I'm just asking?

[Senior Tech]

If you can keep squeezing golden eggs from an old goose...why get a new goose?

Thieves make good business men too...

[glennac]

Why can private companies build Ethanol plants like there is no tomorrow, at seemingly any costs........Ethanol plants are popping up as fast as corn grows

but the BILLION DOLLAR oil companies can not build one new refinery, at any cost in the last 40 years:mad:


I'm just asking?

Why don't you ask your friendly environmentalists and the EPA? They know the answer.

[jmac00]

Why don't you ask your friendly environmentalists and the EPA? They know the answer.

well :o mainly because I'm not on very good terms with the Environmentalists or the EPA or the Humane Society, or the Eco-terrorists.........or PETA for that matter :eek::D

Thats why :D:p

[skwsproul]

Why can private companies build Ethanol plants like there is no tomorrow, at seemingly any costs........Ethanol plants are popping up as fast as corn grows

but the BILLION DOLLAR oil companies can not build one new refinery, at any cost in the last 40 years:mad:


I'm just asking?
Remember the electric vehicles that got 100 miles on one charge. That was with lead acid batteries imagine how far they could go on lithium and the solar cells, coasting generators, and more efficient electric motors that are available today. Thanks again big oil companies you are doing a great job of holding the WORLD back while you get rich.:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

[The Doctor]

quasi-government meddling in the form of the Fed. It causes market distortions by providing tax incentives for products that the free market hasn't yet requested, or not in the volume which would be naturally requested.
Same with the housing bubble. It artificially lowers interest rates beyond what the free market should do, and we get bad investments, and the subsequent overadjustment, and then some good old fashioned overcorrection.

My dear guests, I am Mr. Bernanke...your host. Welcome to Fantasy Island.

[Space Racer]

Why don't you ask your friendly environmentalists and the EPA? They know the answer.

Yup.
What he said.
The EPA is not what it used to be.
It has turned into a festering bureaucratic
tool for politicians. It is implemented
at every political turn of congressional
dealings, rather than turns of environmental
concern.

If I had a choice between investing in the EPA
and investing in the Nature Conservancy, which
buys land so that it will be secured from
environmental harm, I would choose the
Nature Conservancy.

I can't choose, because the government says
I have to pay taxes, and it can spend my
money however it sees fit.

Don't get me wrong; I'm not real crazy about
the Sierra Club and other similar orgs.

The Nature Conservancy is a horse of a different color.

Of course, I do choose. But I can only choose
with what I have left.

[rango]

Cuz your tax dollars subsidize the ethanols just like they subsidize the exxons.

[tunnel_rat]

Because oil is EVIL. :mad: Haven't you heard? Corn gas is like mother nature intended. All is good. No polar bears hurt, no owls evicted, no moles displaced, nature is in perfect harmony. :D Maybe the moonshiners were ahead of their time......:D

[The Doctor]

Look at this! It is shameless http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aT7i1zS2tRN0&refer=home

It proves that people more and more/by and large are signing onto having someone else take care of the problems. How about get a grip on your own future??!!

The dollar needs to be respected in the world, and the government needs to realize that. (In the German language...)
Was tum teufel? What the devil has come over people that they think the government has to "realize" something?

The administration is steadfastly against any kind of intervention.' If only that were true...:rolleyes: Tax breaks as incentives generate lobbyists to keep the gravy train rolling. Or, in this case, the grain train...

[jmac00]

yep, Get the Government to bail everyone out :mad:

First thing, get rid of the Fed, second, don't let government anywhere near business.

It's a open market for a reason, the market will take care of itself:cool:

[wallynut]

Just a fact, Exxon (Big Oil) is a public
owned Co. like all the other oil co. and is owned by US.
People who have IRA's,retirement plans and mutual funds.

[mark beiser]

Because the only thing that has more legal hurdles, red tape, and environmental activists standing in the way of its construction than a nuclear power plant is an oil refinery.

Ethanol plants get tax incentives, subsidies, and permits and licenses get fast tracked.

[jmac00]

Just a fact, Exxon (Big Oil) is a public
owned Co. like all the other oil co. and is owned by US.
People who have IRA's,retirement plans and mutual funds.

yes, thats true, but what has that got to do with the fact that XOM made 11 BILLION DOLLARS in 3 months, but they don't want/ or can not build a refinery.

XOM complains they don't have enough refining capacity and thats ONE REASON why the price of gas is so high.

Yet, every ding-dong with a bank account is starting up an Ethanol plant???

Whats up with that:confused::confused::confused::confused:

ooh ya, you know how much money the LAST CEO of XOM makes~~~~per year~~~for life................$400 million/year/for life::mad:

[jmac00]

Because the only thing that has more legal hurdles, red tape, and environmental activists standing in the way of its construction than a nuclear power plant is an oil refinery.

Ethanol plants get tax incentives, subsidies, and permits and licenses get fast tracked.


that makes sense???? freaking idiots :mad:

heres a thought? Build a refinery in my back yard, and I get all the gas I want for free............

or put up a wind farm in my back yard, and run a electric line into my house, I get free electric, for life.

[whec720]

that makes sense???? freaking idiots :mad:

heres a thought? Build a refinery in my back yard, and I get all the gas I want for free............

or put up a wind farm in my back yard, and run a electric line into my house, I get free electric, for life.

According to the refining industry, they are losing their shirts. Unbelievable.

http://www.kiplinger.com/columns/picks/archive/2008/pick0509.htm

[jmac00]

ya? give me enough time and I bet I can show XOM didn't make a dime last quarter:rolleyes:

[whec720]

ya? give me enough time and I bet I can show XOM didn't make a dime last quarter:rolleyes:

Yep....they're losing money and yet, are staying in business..:rolleyes:

Oh....whoa is them..:D

[jmac00]

That must be what they call "creative accounting" :D

[whec720]

That must be what they call "creative accounting" :D

We know as bull$h!t.

[Space Racer]

I have no desire to defend oil companies,
but:

I think one of the reasons we complain about them
so much (compared to other companies) is that we
see a direct effect on our wallet. We go to the
pump on a regular basis, and we see a jump in
price every time.

Then we hear from the press that their profits
are "record breaking."

But these record breaking profits are quoted in
dollars, not percents. Percentage-wise, they
are about the same as they always were: 8-10%.

It's an appeal to our sense of outrage.

When we hear about drug companies and banks
making 25%, we look the other way.

WHY IS THAT?

I think it's because they are more "sneaky,"
and because you don't see the direct effect
on your wallet.

The banks hide their increases in
obscure language, they time their increases to
match your increasing debt, and they sell credit
as a way to solve problems.

The drug companies sell you something you don't
need, get your doctor to promote it, and charge
you way too much more than the product is worth.

We don't see the effects of brand name drug prices
because the costs are handed off to the insurance
companies, and the doctors get benefits from
the drug companies. As a result, the doctors
struggle to meet the demands of the insurance
companies so that the drug companies keep
providing for them.

I don't blame the doctors so much; I think they are
at the mercy of the insurance companies and the
drug companies.

Why don't we go crazy when we see what the banks
and drug companies are doing to us? Because it is
vague.

[Space Racer]

We scream about 8-10% profit, but that 25%, and
the billions of dollars banks and drug companies make,
all slip right on by.

Who cares?
Nobody.

Not my problem.

What if you had an insurance card for gasoline?
Every time you went to the pump, you could charge
it to your insurance company.

Then how much would you scream?
Then how much would gas cost?

Gas could shoot up to $10 a gallon, and nobody
would give a crap.

It would go a lot higher before anybody started
to take notice.

Then everybody would say, "I think the government
needs to look into this. I think the government
needs to come up with a solution. I think the
government needs to pay for my gasoline! I think
the government needs to come up with a program
so that I don't have to suffer so much!"

Then how much would you pay for gas?

Then what kinds of shortages and delays would you
see at the pump?

Gas could cost $50 a gallon, and everybody
would just throw up their hands and complain.

"No big deal, the insurance company will pay
for it. But what is the government doing about
it? I sure am getting tired of these high insurance
prices."

[jmac00]

an interesting thesis. However, People do complain about banks fees and drug/prescription costs. it's in the news all the time, but bank and drug fees have not sky rocketed 110% in 12 months.

Dramatic increases in costs is what people are complaining about, along with record profits.

I find it interesting that a week ago XOM reported record profits of 11 billion dollars, yet there stock DROPPED $3/share? How could that be???

The stock dropped because wall street was EXPECTING even higher profits of 14 billion and when the announced they missed WS expectations, the stocked dropped, even though they did make record profits.


************************************************** ****
************************************************** ****

Now, let me restate the question: How come every idiot with a bank account can put up a Ethanol plant, seemingly everywhere and anywhere. Yet the oil companies have not built a refinery in 40 years.

[mark beiser]

Now, let me restate the question: How come every idiot with a bank account can put up a Ethanol plant, seemingly everywhere and anywhere. Yet the oil companies have not built a refinery in 40 years.

You already got the answer. :p

[midhvac]

It's all about controlling supply vs. demand with the refineries. An oil company chose to close and demolish a KS refinery, refusing an offer to sell it for millions of dollars.

These tactics shouldn't surprise us. Refrigerant companies have been pulling this game for decades in an even MORE profitable fashion. I took a 30# can of recovered R22 in to be recycled and paid them $200. Why so much? They explained that there was a supply and demand scenario with the refrigerant, BECAUSE there was a GLUT of recovered R22. So they were BURNING it rather than recycling it. Wull, if that's true, then why is there such a SHORTAGE of R22?

Oh, let me GUESS.

Is it possible that there is a RECLAIMING process shortage?

I didn't mind it so much when they shoved the umbrella up my ___.

But did they really have to OPEN the umbrella when they pulled it back out? :eek:

[mark beiser]

Hey, we may actually get an all new refinery in the USA!
http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/articles/2008/06/04/news/top/4e608d46402d5adb8625745e00110beb.txt


Then again, maybe not, at least not very soon...:rolleyes:


While conceding defeat, opponents vowed to keep fighting the controversial project on every imaginable front, pressing on with a lawsuit it filed against the county over the zoning procedures and opposing Hyperion as it applies for a bevy of state and federal permits.

"We have strategies in place to slow or delay all the permit processes," Ed Cable, chairman of the anti-Hyperion group Save Union County, said after the vote.

[sysint]

Natural Gas has been rising more than oil in the last two years. Just wait until this winter....

Any guess as to where the "Saudi Arabia" of Natural Gas is located?

[wolfstrike]

nothing that happens in our country is by accident, every problem we have is because someone is profiting off of it

[jmac00]

nothing that happens in our country is by accident, every problem we have is because someone is profiting off of it


yep, it's called CAPITALISM, and competition. Not every problem in this country is because someone is profiting off of something. A LOT of things are solved by profits, like un-employment. Profits are what makes this country go.

[evildberg]

If oil companies make such huge profits then why don't people invest in them? Sure some people may hold stock in them as a portion of their portfolio but certainly don't rely on them. Typical profit percentages are far less than the rate of return you could get from many other investments.

Point being oil companies don't make the huge profit percentages that some people may think. They do make profits based on volume and demand for fuel, thus the recent increase in profit dollars reported.

The reason we don't have any new refineries is the same reason our fuel costs so much. Government interference plain and simple. If government would allow oil companies to procure oil from our own shores and land we wouldn't have to rely on someone else to buy the large amounts of oil that we do. If government would allow the production of new refineries without all the red tape and complication oil companies would be more than happy to in order to make more profit. Not to mention the organizations that lobby against any new refineries or power plants.

If you want to play the finger pointing game, point it at the government. Taxes on the federal, state and local level combined for gas depending on what state you live in could be up to 60 cents a gallon.........for what?

Oil companies don't make anywhere near those kinds of profits and yet actually provide a service. They explore, drill, collect, and ship a product. Then pay huge taxes. What does the government do?

They supposedly fix your roads, and highways with it. What do they do with your vehicle taxes, tab fees and other transportation related taxes as well as taxes on vehicle sale transactions?

Bottom line, we are taxed too much and its just another example of how government interference only makes matters worse.

Still don't believe me?

read this article and look at the dollars government has collected in taxes on oil companies and you and I

http://www.taxfoundation.org/news/show/1168.html

[bootlen]

Why can private companies build Ethanol plants like there is no tomorrow, at seemingly any costs........Ethanol plants are popping up as fast as corn grows

but the BILLION DOLLAR oil companies can not build one new refinery, at any cost in the last 40 years:mad:


I'm just asking?

Gummint subsidies. It's the biggest boondoggle since that tunnel in Boston.

[Boswell]

I am seeing the price of fuel going down just a little bit. Anybody else seeing the same? I live in the panhandle of Florida