Things I Thought I Would Never Say #3
"Wow, look at that," I exclaimed while driving through Burleson, TX on my way to the NASCAR race at Texas Motor Speedway early Sunday morning, "$2.06 gas. That's the cheapest I've seen in awhile, let's stop."
Considering that oil is in the $51.00 a barrel range right now, and that a barrel is approximately 42 gallons. That means that the price for unrefined oil by the gallon is approximately $1.21.
Right now in Texas, according to the Houston Chronicle, there is a $0.20 tax on each gallon of gas which goes into vehicles that will use public streets, highways and byways. The current Speaker of the Texas House, Mr. Tom Craddick, wants to change the tax so that it rises in lock step with inflation. I say that bastard needs to be voted out of office. To even consider such a thing, in an environment where gas prices have risen like they have in the last 20 months or so is insane. And of course, Rick Perry, the former male cheerleader from Texas A&M who we ended up saddled with as governor when GWB moved on up to Washington DC, is open to the idea of increased gasoline taxes. I'm very hopeful that Kay Bailey Hutchinson will come home and run for governor. I'm a Democrat for the most part, but, right now, today, I would put a Kay Bailey placard in my front yard and would go volunteer at a campaign office. Rick Perry is bad for Texas. Same with Craddick.
Okay, back to my point. So the approximate cost per gallon of unrefined oil is $1.21 and Texas takes there cut at $0.20 per gallon. This brings us to $1.41 per gallon of unrefined oil.
According to the American Road and Transportation Builders Association, the Federal gasoline tax stands at $0.18 per gallon which takes us to $1.59.
The average cost of refining is approximately 14% of the price at the pump according to WorldNetDaily. Using my windfall price of $2.06 as a marker, this gives us $0.29. The problem is the gas companies have decided that their "refinery margin" is the measure, not the "real" measure that WorldNetDaily quoted. Therefore, the Exxons, Shells, et al, put the cost of refining gasoline at $0.51 a gallon. We add that to our running total per gallon and we move from unrefined oil to gasoline with a price now of $2.10.
I understand supply and demand. I took economics in college. I get it...really. But the cost of refining a gallon of oil into gasoline didn't go up $0.14 per gallon in one year. Yet, the companies that own the refineries, the same companies that made the purchases at the oil fields, the same companies that sell you the go-go juice at the pump are the ones who set the "refinery margin" price which impacts final cost to you at the pump.
Using the 14% method, the cost of a gallon of gas right now should be approximately $1.88.
The cost of transshipment of oil, port to port, pipeline to refinery to pipeline to truck to gas station works out to about $0.015 per gallon because of the sheer volume of oil/gas being moved. This moves our "refinery method" price to $2.12 and our 14% method price to $1.90.
So, somebody is getting an extra $0.22 per gallon there. Hmmm, I wonder who that could be.
Oh and did you know that the great myth of European gasoline being so much more expensive is largely just that, a myth. Yes, they do pay more than we do. It is largely all taxes, which are denoted to build public transportation systems that the United States isn't likely to see the likes of for another 25, 50, or 100 years. Exxon Mobil didn't record their biggest profits ever last year because of their superior business model. They did it by screwing the little guy[Note: No lube was used in the aforementioned screwing of the little guy.]
puff
Considering that oil is in the $51.00 a barrel range right now, and that a barrel is approximately 42 gallons. That means that the price for unrefined oil by the gallon is approximately $1.21.
Right now in Texas, according to the Houston Chronicle, there is a $0.20 tax on each gallon of gas which goes into vehicles that will use public streets, highways and byways. The current Speaker of the Texas House, Mr. Tom Craddick, wants to change the tax so that it rises in lock step with inflation. I say that bastard needs to be voted out of office. To even consider such a thing, in an environment where gas prices have risen like they have in the last 20 months or so is insane. And of course, Rick Perry, the former male cheerleader from Texas A&M who we ended up saddled with as governor when GWB moved on up to Washington DC, is open to the idea of increased gasoline taxes. I'm very hopeful that Kay Bailey Hutchinson will come home and run for governor. I'm a Democrat for the most part, but, right now, today, I would put a Kay Bailey placard in my front yard and would go volunteer at a campaign office. Rick Perry is bad for Texas. Same with Craddick.
Okay, back to my point. So the approximate cost per gallon of unrefined oil is $1.21 and Texas takes there cut at $0.20 per gallon. This brings us to $1.41 per gallon of unrefined oil.
According to the American Road and Transportation Builders Association, the Federal gasoline tax stands at $0.18 per gallon which takes us to $1.59.
The average cost of refining is approximately 14% of the price at the pump according to WorldNetDaily. Using my windfall price of $2.06 as a marker, this gives us $0.29. The problem is the gas companies have decided that their "refinery margin" is the measure, not the "real" measure that WorldNetDaily quoted. Therefore, the Exxons, Shells, et al, put the cost of refining gasoline at $0.51 a gallon. We add that to our running total per gallon and we move from unrefined oil to gasoline with a price now of $2.10.
I understand supply and demand. I took economics in college. I get it...really. But the cost of refining a gallon of oil into gasoline didn't go up $0.14 per gallon in one year. Yet, the companies that own the refineries, the same companies that made the purchases at the oil fields, the same companies that sell you the go-go juice at the pump are the ones who set the "refinery margin" price which impacts final cost to you at the pump.
Using the 14% method, the cost of a gallon of gas right now should be approximately $1.88.
The cost of transshipment of oil, port to port, pipeline to refinery to pipeline to truck to gas station works out to about $0.015 per gallon because of the sheer volume of oil/gas being moved. This moves our "refinery method" price to $2.12 and our 14% method price to $1.90.
So, somebody is getting an extra $0.22 per gallon there. Hmmm, I wonder who that could be.
Oh and did you know that the great myth of European gasoline being so much more expensive is largely just that, a myth. Yes, they do pay more than we do. It is largely all taxes, which are denoted to build public transportation systems that the United States isn't likely to see the likes of for another 25, 50, or 100 years. Exxon Mobil didn't record their biggest profits ever last year because of their superior business model. They did it by screwing the little guy[Note: No lube was used in the aforementioned screwing of the little guy.]
puff
posted by Mark "Puff" Anderson | 1:39 PM
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