# Gas prices - FMTT! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 4, 2012, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-prices-fmtt/636751 "2012-10-04T23:02:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-prices-fmtt/636751/1 "2012-10-04T23:02:06Z")
I know that there have been pipeline problems and refinery fires, but fuck me to tears. I just saw the price of regular go up $.30/gal in 9 hours. It was $4.23/gal when I drove to school, and $4.53/gal when I drove home! It’s all a Republican plot, I’m sure of it. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Yeticus\_Rex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a698b9/32.png) [@Yeticus\_Rex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeticus_Rex)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-prices-fmtt/636751/2 "2012-10-04T23:26:47Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > I know that there have been pipeline problems and refinery fires, _ **but fuck me to tears** _. I just saw the price of regular go up $.30/gal in 9 hours. It was $4.23/gal when I drove to school, and $4.53/gal when I drove home! > > It’s all a Republican plot, I’m sure of it. 😛 Californiacation…plain and simple. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2012, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-prices-fmtt/636751/3 "2012-10-05T00:45:39Z")
And the usual right-wing hate-radio types (San Diego’s Roger Hedgecock, for one) are blaming it on Obama. Gasoline prices go up: Obama’s evil! Gasoline prices go down: (silence) Gasoline prices go up: Look at what Obama has done! Gasoline prices go down: (total silence) Suppose Obama did have control over gas prices: why would he _want_ them to go up? It hurts the economy and delays recovery. This will prevent people from getting hired (as drivers, just for one example.) Suppose Obama trucks millions of gallons of oil from the strategic military reserves, to help bring prices down: would the right-wing hate-mongers applaud him for doing the right thing? Ya think? The hypocrisy reeketh in the nostrils of mankind. ---
**Author:** ![chizzuk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@chizzuk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chizzuk)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2012, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-prices-fmtt/636751/4 "2012-10-05T02:29:16Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > I know that there have been pipeline problems and refinery fires, but fuck me to tears. I just saw the price of regular go up $.30/gal in 9 hours. It was $4.23/gal when I drove to school, and $4.53/gal when I drove home! > > It’s all a Republican plot, I’m sure of it. 😛 I accidentally got lucky. I filled my tank on Tuesday morning at a station on Burbank for $4.17. Wednesday that same station was $4.43. Today, it was $4.67. My eyes almost bugged out of my head when I saw the sign. ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2012, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-prices-fmtt/636751/5 "2012-10-05T10:59:50Z")
Meanwhile, gas prices in Germany have reached $8.37/gallon… ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2012, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-prices-fmtt/636751/6 "2012-10-05T11:32:10Z")
Turkey and Syria had a border clash: > [@](#): > > in a dramatic escalation on Thursday, Turkey fired back for the first time after an errant Syrian mortar shell killed five people in a Turkish border town Wednesday. Turkey shelled Syrian military targets, and Turkey’s parliament approved future retaliation under such circumstances. [http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/TurkeySyria+clashes+show+quickly+civil+spill+over+wider+regional/7347328/story.html](http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/TurkeySyria+clashes+show+quickly+civil+spill+over+wider+regional/7347328/story.html) That drove up oil prices (there were also some refinery issues): > [@](#): > > Tensions between Syria and Turkey gave oil prices their biggest jump in two months Thursday, while refinery outages boosted wholesale gasoline prices. [http://www.tulsaworld.com/business/article.aspx?subjectid=49&articleid=20121005\_49\_E1\_Tensio152856](http://www.tulsaworld.com/business/article.aspx?subjectid=49&articleid=20121005_49_E1_Tensio152856) Oil prices are always driven up by rises in middle eastern conflict levels, as it increases the probability of a supply disruption. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2012, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-prices-fmtt/636751/7 "2012-10-05T12:11:03Z")
Weird. Gas prices here in Cincinnati have been steadily dropping. This morning we are at $3.51/gal. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2012, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-prices-fmtt/636751/8 "2012-10-05T13:39:56Z")
> [@Darth\_Panda](#): > > Oil prices are always driven up by rises in middle eastern conflict levels, as it increases the probability of a supply disruption. So I was right! It is all a Republican plot! Well, Turkey’s a republic, isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2012, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-prices-fmtt/636751/9 "2012-10-05T14:45:32Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > Suppose Obama trucks millions of gallons of oil from the strategic military reserves, to help bring prices down: Unless California cars can run on straight crude, this wouldn’t help much. The gas prices are up in California relative to the rest of the country because of refinery outages and shortage of gasoline within the state. There’s plenty of refinery capacity in the rest of the country, but to get it to California, it has to be shipped there and that’s not free. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2012, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-prices-fmtt/636751/10 "2012-10-05T14:56:34Z")
> [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#): > > Meanwhile, gas prices in Germany have reached $8.37/gallon… ☹ Yes, but that’s not a Republican plot. Clearly it is a Nazi plot. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2012, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-prices-fmtt/636751/11 "2012-10-05T15:04:33Z")
The regular attendants that put the prices up with a pole are on strike. They’re using [replacements](http://www.google.com/imgres?q=obama+holding+pole&um=1&hl=en&biw=1280&bih=785&tbm=isch&tbnid=E2nsW6mU_gWpoM:&imgrefurl=http://news.investors.com/politics-andrew-malcolm/120511-593692-how-about-fundraisers-for-the-country-instead-of-obama-.htm%3Fp%3Dfull&docid=Rz9sXMto7g8PBM&imgurl=http://www.investors.com/image/PoleDancingRaulArboledaAFPGty8-11_345.jpg.cms&w=345&h=542&ei=ufVuUOuHBoaE8ATOkIDYBQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=177&vpy=2&dur=19032&hovh=282&hovw=179&tx=105&ty=114&sig=106606476633292062808&page=2&tbnh=144&tbnw=97&start=26&ndsp=30&ved=1t:429,r:18,s:26,i:216) and apparently they’ve not quite got the correct process down pat yet. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2012, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-prices-fmtt/636751/12 "2012-10-05T18:15:23Z")
A week and a half ago I filled my tank at $4.17. This morning it was $4.59. Clearly this is a plot by Obama to make us shift our focus from his shitty debate performance onto something else. I blame Bush. ---
**Author:** ![Hbns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hbns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hbns)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2012, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-prices-fmtt/636751/13 "2012-10-05T18:29:58Z")
I’ve pretty much given up hope on seeing prices drop significantly. Between global demand and economic desirability of domestic production jobs I just don’t see congress putting much pressure on the oil companies to reduce their profits. ---
**Author:** ![Jumpbass](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jumpbass/32/147_2.png) [@Jumpbass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jumpbass)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2012, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-prices-fmtt/636751/14 "2012-10-05T19:30:10Z")
Thirty cents? I wish. My local station went up from $4.21 to $4.71. (North San Francisco Bay Area) I’m going to have to start refusing jobs because they don’t pay enough to drive to them. ---
**Author:** ![curlcoat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea5d25/32.png) [@curlcoat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curlcoat)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2012, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-prices-fmtt/636751/15 "2012-10-06T03:53:02Z")
Ah, that explains what I’ve been looking at. Filled up on Wednesday at $3.99 and am driving to N Cal. Had to buy $4.39 - used to be cheaper up here, guess it still is. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2012, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-prices-fmtt/636751/16 "2012-10-06T04:01:15Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > It’s all a Republican plot, I’m sure of it. 😛 Probably, because gas is $3.35 here in Dallas, and has been falling slowly for a few weeks now. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2012, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-prices-fmtt/636751/17 "2012-10-06T04:24:31Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > Unless California cars can run on straight crude, this wouldn’t help much. The gas prices are up in California relative to the rest of the country because of refinery outages and shortage of gasoline within the state. There’s plenty of refinery capacity in the rest of the country, but to get it to California, it has to be shipped there and that’s not free. It’d be refined elsewhere, then shipped here…and yeah, not for free, but the difference would still be less than what we’re being gouged for now. (There’s some talk of relaxing environmental standards to allow us to refine more, more quickly. Wow… That’s a dilemma from hell. Our air standards still are about as bad as anywhere in the U.S. But our prices are also the worst in the U.S. Ugh. Headaches just thinking about it…) ---
**Author:** ![gamerunknown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6bbea6/32.png) [@gamerunknown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gamerunknown)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2012, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-prices-fmtt/636751/18 "2012-10-06T16:29:55Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > Yes, but that’s not a Republican plot. Clearly it is a Nazi plot. Surely if it were a Nazi plot prices would reach $9.99? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2012, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-prices-fmtt/636751/19 "2012-10-06T16:52:26Z")
> [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#): > > Meanwhile, gas prices in Germany have reached $8.37/gallon… ☹ What were they last week? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2012, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-prices-fmtt/636751/20 "2012-10-06T17:04:48Z")
I sometimes think the oil companies are just looking for excuses to raise oil prices. A border dispute between Turkey and Syria? So what? Neither is a major oil producer. Thailand produces more oil than Syria. And _Japan_ produces more than twice as much oil as Turkey. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gas-prices-fmtt/636751.md?page=2)