Hello Again My fellow (confused) Citizens!

I am sure you are all wondering what is going on out there in gas land, or maybe your just assuming that the oil companies are just taking advantage of a bunch of sitting ducks. Well the simple answer is yes, they are taking advantage of us again.

There is no reason for what is going on out there; the war in the Middle East has been with us for years and has yet to cause a real interruption, supply is holding steady (actually up), yes there has been a lot of tornados lately but none have greatly affected our supply or refining. So what’s up. Again I have to say, as I have always said, “follow the money”.

The majors have been posting record profits again! Occasionally the locals have been making a little extra also, but they have also been eating a lot of raises other times. For months the so called “experts” claimed that gas would hit $5 to $6 bucks a gallon this summer, then all the sudden a few weeks ago the same experts were predicting $2.50 per gallon for the summer, but now we again have seen the prices increase to more than $4 bucks per gallon.

Here’s the scoop and the proof of what is happening; sure there are lots of excuses and reasons they could give, but these are the results and what is actually happening.

Today’s crude oil price is $100.44 per barrel, just a few weeks ago the crude price hit $112 per barrel, funny thing is, is that the rack price (the price the local distributors pay) is within pennies of what the rack was when the barrel price was $12 higher. Also, just a couple years ago, Pre-Obama, Crude oil went to $150 per barrel, at that time with the barrel price up by $50 per barrel, the rack price was within pennies of what it is now! Just in case you are not following what I am saying; the majors are posting record profits for two simple reasons:

1. The price per barrel is artificially high!

2. The majors are receiving the same price for their gas with the barrel price at $100.44 per barrel as they did just a couple years ago when the price per barrel was $150!

Watch the news, there have been little to no interruptions in supply or in refining, the so called “experts” on Fox, Hannity, Rush, and O’Brien are just passing on whatever propaganda the majors are feeding them! This is the conditioning process, they are conditioning us to accept higher prices. Just the other day I bought fuel at Sam’s Club. I was standing there filling my tank with the “cheap stuff and I caught myself thinking, “Wow only $3.84 per gallon”! This is wrong! We have to keep our heads in the game!

Some of you probably wonder why we had that last dip in prices. But then you just move on without regards to history. You have to think back! What just happened a couple weeks ago? President Obama stated in a news conference that he was considering allowing off shore drilling and drilling in Alaska again! Then all the sudden, nothing more has been said on the subject. Now think back to Pre-Obama again, to the end of the Bush years when the barrel hit $150 per gallon and gas prices were above $4. Bush also said he would open up sensitive areas to drilling, and within days, gas fell by over fifty cents per gallon and within three months the price per barrel dropped by over half.

Those whom do not study history are doomed to repeat it, or, evil can only prevail when good men do nothing, (or words to that affect).

Ya gotta stay in the game!

Thanks for reading!

The Gas Man

Stephen H. Sutherland

They are at it again, no bad news goes to waste! 5/04/2011

$4.299 per gallon today! That is ridiculous, nothing has changed, but yet the gas prices in Traverse City have gone from $3.879 to $4.299. In the last few weeks crude oil went from $112 per barrel down to $103 per barrel, now it has gone back up to $112 per barrel.

Since 4/29 rack prices have gone up less than three cents per gallon, yet local retail prices went up seventeen cents per gallon.

On 4/11/2011 the National Average was $3.791, 4/18/2011 it was $3.844 and today it is only $3.989. So over the past three weeks the national average has only increased by about twenty cents per gallon, yet Traverse City has increased by more than forty-two cents per gallon. In the past Traverse City was typically cheaper than the national average, now we exceed the national average by thirty-one cents per gallon!

Why do we keep hearing that there is nothing President Obama can do to curb the price increases? Think back to the end of the Bush administration; national prices hit about $4.00 per gallon and Bush said that was enough and took action. He declared that he would allow drilling in Alaska and off shore in other areas. Three months later on 12/20/2008 gas prices fell to about $1.67 per gallon while crude oil dropped from $150 per barrel to about $40 per barrel. All it took was for President Bush to say he would again allow drilling. This is not speculation, this is history.

Geez guys, use your heads, think back, read your history and take action, and you my fellow Americans, stop drinking the cool aid. Put pressure on your representatives and on the president. One more comparison to reflect on; when crude oil was at $150 per barrel, Traverse City was only at about $3.879, today crude is at $112.45 per barrel while Traverse City just hit $4.299! It's fairly easy to follow the money for the major oil companies, their profits are published quarterly. The new first quarter profits have now been released: Exxon for the first quarter, 10 billion in profits up 60 percent. Shell and Chevron were about the same at 5.9 billion for the same quarter. Record profits again!

Local and national news only reports what the so called proponents give them; they do not bother to research the historical pricing that is available.

If your looking for someone to blame again, think back to the last election. President Obama frequently stated he wanted gas prices above four to five dollars per gallon! You may ask why he would want that. The reason is "simple economics". Alternative fuels cost more than five dollars per gallon; the average American citizen will not buy alternative fuels when petroleum based fuels are two to three dollars per gallon cheaper. I am not attempting to be political, I am just relating history, just the facts.Stay tuned, stay informed, more columns coming soon.

You can hear my findings periodically on WTCM "the Norm Jones Show", the Traverse City Record Eagle and then posted in my blog at TheGasMan.info.

The Gas Man

I'm Back!

It's April 15th, 2011, and I just cannot sit back any longer. Gas in Traverse City, Michigan was at $3.93 yesterday and $3.99 just days before. As I have said before I am a news junkie, mostly Fox, but some CNN and local news also, just so I can hear the other side. On the news, whether it's from Hannity, Limbaugh, Fox or CNN, the story is the same, and it's the same story that has been repeated for years. The president of Shell Oil today, said that it was the war all over the middle east that was causing the speculators to drive up the price of oil. Today President Obama's face was all over the news, using the same old line, "I feel your pain!" I'm doing all I can to ease that pain, but the war and speculators are driving up the prices. Obama is not accepting any of the blame, he doesn't seem to recall the fact that for years he avocated higher fuel prices. He stated to day that he does not believe that we should release the U.S. emergency reserves, (which I agree with). He is using this upward surge in prices to prop up his agenda for alternative fuels and he seems to be getting away with it. But! You cannot ignore the facts, truth is truth. 1. Alternative energy for onroad purposes is not affordable at this time. 2. Obama's Tax and Trade agenda is and will drive up the cost of all energy. 3. Higher fuel prices and using American Crops is driving up food cost dramitically, while at the same time lowering the amount of food being produced to feed the worlds hungry! Lets take a look at #1 above. Alternative energy in the U.S. for onroad purposes cost between $4 to $5 per gallon to produce, including governmental subsidies. This means that for these fuels to be sold at the pump, petroleum based fuels must be priced higher or no one will buy them. Obama knows and understands this very well. As for point number two above, cutting out coal and petroleum fuels before we have affordable replacements is crazy. America has been attemptimg to do this since the seventies with no success. America is blessed with vast natural resourses, this is one of the major factors that has made America great. Our vast natural resourses has helped make us what we are today, a kinder, gentler nation that believes in the sanctity of life, the goodness and value of each life. God placed these resourses on earth to be used for the benifit of man and it is just not right for Obama to lable them as bad and evil. I agree, we need to use them wisely and carefully, which is something I believe we are striving to accomplish. President Obama claims to care for the poor, the downtrodden and the weak. Yet it is Obama's agenda that is causing more world hunger. Diverting corn, wheat and other crops from feeding the masses to fueling our vehicals is causing higher prices and lower stocks on nearly all foods. Take a look at the prices in the local supermarket. Beef, pork and chicken have more than doubled in price today. Hamburger that was $1.79 a pound is now $3.79 and higher. Pork strips and pork steak which was .99 to $1.39 per pound last summer is now $2.79 and higher today. The corn and soy beans which we used to produce for food and ship over seas is being diverted to fuel rather than feeding the hungry. Is this compationate, heck it is not even economical, so why are we doing it. What is Obama's true purpose in pushing this riduculous agenda? I want to leave you with a couple logical facts to help you to understand and believe what I am telling you is true, that the rise in fuel cost is deliberate and focused. 1. Think back to the end of the Bush presidency. Prices skyrocketed to just about $4 per gallon, some places lower some higher. At that time the price crude oil had hit $150 per barrel! Today crude is at $109 per barrel, yet we are still at approximatly $4 per gallon. Record profits are being made again! 2. Locally, Michigan and Traverse City are traditionally ten to twenty cents per gallon cheaper than the national average, yet this past week we are in the $3.90s per gallon while the national average is only $3.71 per gallon. Why do you not hear this on local and national news. Why are the so called news reporters, the defenders of the people not reporting that we are definately getting ripped off on so many levels. Thanks for reading and please check back for more untold oil logic and facts. The Gas Man