Quote: (04-18-2011 04:15 PM)Fisto Wrote:
A free market has certain defining characteristics, among those are relative ease to, enter or exit a market, well informed buyers and sellers, many competitors. Does that sound like a "cartel". No it doesn't.
Yes it does. Think about the world market - it is a true free market in its perfect form. You have independent competitors (nations) who are selling and buying, there are no restrictions to enter or exit the world market, the buyers and sellers are well informed, and there are many competitors. Now look what you've got as the result of this free market? You've got OPEC, which is a cartel!
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Keep in mind there are vast oil reserves in N. America, one of them being shale oil which is estimated on the conservative side to be larger than the entire Saudi reserve. Can't be touched because there isn't a free market.
I wonder if you ever though about who actually owns this oil.
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Where did you get 18.4 cents per gallon? It's more like 18 cents per dollar and can avg as high as 27.4 cents per dollar.
You're conveniently mixing together all the taxes - federal, state, local. This is not reasonable comparison, federal government cannot be held responsible if your state or municipality charges a large sales tax. Federal excise tax on gasoline, as of February 2011, is 18.4¢/gal. The rest is charged by your state, complain to them.