"Ten Ways Obama Could Reduce Gas Prices Now"

[LonghornDave]

@NotreDame05

They are successfully manipulating WTI (West Texas Intermediate Crude) and U.S. Light Crude Futures below the global market price, below the Brent and Dubai crudes price, but they are not manipulating global market prices. The East coast of the United States imports their oil from Europe, Africa, and the ME at world market price. The West coast imports its oil from Alaska at world market price. The gas prices in these two markets are higher than in the Midwest because of price manipulation through paper crude oil derivatives at the NYMEX, the market reference crude and price escalator, and because of a surplus of oil in the Midwest and importing Canadian oil into the Midwest, in which the imported Canadian oil into the Midwest is $15/20 lower than the market price.

However, manipulation is likely not the culprit for rising global prices, or if it has any impact, it is de minimis. The following link has some good information as to the cause of the rise in global prices for oil. http://www.businessinsider.com/heres-the-real-reason-gasoline-prices-have-been-surging-in-the-us-2012-2

Do you think perhaps that WTI prices are lower because of the increased production from Canada and the Williston basin has resulted in a glut at the land locked Cushing Hub and the only alternatives are moving the crude out by rail or truck. If your theory is correct, then explain why WCS pricing is at a big deduct to WTI when there isn’t a huge futures market for it.

[LonghornDave]

@Hentor_the_Barbarian

Well, since the US became a net exporter of oil last year, Obama could step in to curtail that, increasing the domestic supply available. Conservatives wouldn’t object to that, right?

What has worked in the past to reduce gas prices at the pump has been to hold congressional hearings on the elimination of government subsidies to the industry. Conservatives would be in favor of that, right?

The U.S. is no where close to a net exporter of oil. You do not understand the headlines. We are a net exporter of petroleum products, which is a good thing. The Department of Commerce already has in place export controls on U.S. produced crude oil. Exporting crude oil would also require a waiver from the President. Also, it would be subject to the Jones Act, and there are practically no vessels in existence that are available to export crude oil from the U.S. Please explain exactly how Obama could step in to curtail it further.

[LonghornDave]

@Chronos

Absolutely. And the only way we can possibly do this is by replacing oil products (which we don’t have much of, and the people who do have much of tend to not like us very much) with something else.

I’d like to see the mental gymnastics it would take to explain how the U.S. does not have much oil products.

@Chronos

2) Ditch the anti-industry, anti-capitalist rhetoric.
Opposition to cap-and-trade is nothing but anti-capitalist rhetoric. It’s simple free-market economics: You want to use the air, you pay for the air.

The only parties that would benefit from the cap and trade proposed by the Democrats was the coal industry and the investment banking industry.

@Chronos

3) Stop targeting the oil industry for punitive tax treatment.
There’s no specific targeting going on. The closest thing that’s happening to this is the Republicans trying to target low rates on the companies, to punish the rest of us.

[QUOTE=Obama on 3/1/12]
I am asking Congress to eliminate this oil industry giveaway right away
[/QUOTE]

@Chronos

8) Declare hydraulic fracturing & well design to be the regulatory domain of the states, not the EPA.
OK, another bad idea, and probably unconstitutional: Gas beds cross state lines, and therefore state regulation of them is impossible.

>100 years of precendent tells me it is probably not unconstitutional for states to be the dominant regulator of the industry.