Record High Gas Prices?

[Arragonis]

The BBC is reporting that people have asked for an investigation into prices now that the oil price has eased.

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by Arragonis

The BBC is reporting that people have asked for an investigation into prices now that the oil price has eased.

Apologies if this gets back into politics - I think it's more about human nature myself - but I can't help but note that that article says

The FIA said the way petrol prices are currently set was "far from transparent".

Gee, you don't suppose the prices are set by people who are trying to make as much profit as possible?

Also love their way of illustrating the price increase. Is a simple X percent or Y pence/liter good enough? No, it has to be "A full tank of fuel for an average European car now costs around £10 more...", so the reader's left wondering how big the average European car's fuel tank is, and how they determined the average. I mean, did someone keep records of tank size for every car model ever sold, then compared car registrations across the whole of Europe to discover which ones were still being driven...

Oh, and can we now start the investigation into coffee price increases? The can that was about $6-7 last time I bought one was $11.99 this weekend.

[Arragonis]

I don't think its politics, just sloppy reporting - trying to dumb down the figures to something people understand - and I agree with you

I have kept a record and its more than £10 on my small hatchback

Ironically the investigation has been called for by people who charge more for fuel than others. It won't make any difference though - the supermarkets will outprice anyone because they hand out discount vouchers with shopping - spend more than £50 get 5p a litre off.

We take whichever car is the emptiest.

EDIT - Yorkshire tea is also getting more expensive too.

[JunkBonds]

The government is more at fault for high gas prices than any oil company.

[Christ]

Originally Posted by JunkBonds

The government is more at fault for high gas prices than any oil company.

In america, at least, much of this is due to highway use and road taxes. The tax on diesel fuel levels the price by something like 30%, iirc.

There is a process by which off road fuel can be "cleaned" of the dye that identifies it, but the distillation process is expensive, and from what I hear, is really only profitable in a moral sense to those who don't agree with fuel use taxing.

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by JunkBonds

The government is more at fault for high gas prices than any oil company.

I just KNEW we'd get back to the politics :-)

Now about those coffee prices? You know, there is a common thread here. I COULD go to the local Starbucks or whatever (if we overlook the fact that for me 'local' is close to 10 miles) and pay $3 or whatever a cup, and 4 cups per day would cost me the same as that 2 lb can that makes me 4 cups/day for a month or two. And I COULD buy a gas-guzzler, so each mile I drive would cost at least 4X what it does now.

But I don't, and thereby save a lot of aggravation :-)

[UFO]

Originally Posted by Arragonis

The BBC is reporting that people have asked for an investigation into prices now that the oil price has eased.

That has happened many times in the past in the US and nothing has ever changed. The prices jump instantaneously with the commodity speculation, and when people start screaming enough, the prices ease off slowly, and then calls for investigation rise. But the windfall profits have already been made by the time investigations start, the prices have receded enough and then there is no public support to hold the oil companies responsible.

This pricing has gone on here in the US for decades. Nothing has EVER been done about it. It is not a "free" market in any sense, fuel should be treated as utilities have in the past, and the way profits are made is, IMHO, criminal.

And, BTW, I am doing something about it. BIODIESEL!!

[Piwoslaw]

Originally Posted by Arragonis

EDIT - Yorkshire tea is also getting more expensive too.

Could that be a delayed aftermath of the Boston Tea Party? I guess tea was the "oil of the pre-oil era" - its price depending on global and local conflicts.

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by Arragonis

Yorkshire tea is also getting more expensive too.

Not sure I want to ask this, but is there a difference between Yorkshire tea and the regular British stuff?

(Not that I'd drink either, you understand. Japanese/Chinese tea, yes, but what the Brits do to a poor defenseless leaf is beyond description. And then to cover up the crime, they'll put MILK in it!)

[Arragonis]

Originally Posted by jamesqf

Not sure I want to ask this, but is there a difference between Yorkshire tea and the regular British stuff?

Yorkshire Tea. Its a manufacturer of a blend. You can buy a decent one like Yorkshire or the sweepings from the tea blender's floor with PG Tips or Typhoo or own brand supermarket dross. English Breakfast and Scottish Blend are also generic blends of tea for different tastes and water types - hard vs soft.

We have been known to bring tea bags with us when we visit the colonies.

Originally Posted by jamesqf

(Not that I'd drink either, you understand. Japanese/Chinese tea, yes, but what the Brits do to a poor defenseless leaf is beyond description.

In simple terms, there is a British Standard (like IEEE) standard on how to make proper tea, we put it into boiling water, let it brew and then filter out the bits. I'm confused as to how this is more cruel than making chinese or japanese tea, or how indeed the coffee bean celebrates being ground up and also scolded.

Originally Posted by jamesqf

And then to cover up the crime, they'll put MILK in it!)

Its a personal preference, some people do, some don't - just like some take coffee with milk or cream and some don't.

The big debate if you do is whether the milk goes in before the tea or after. Get this wrong in front of your fiance's parents and the wedding will be off...

Anyway, at least we have proper cheeses, not just a generic nationwide brand...