Quick Questions, Short Answers - No Debate

Can anyone recommend a good Christian oriented debate forum where they don't use banning people as their primary response?

People's experiences vary, but I've always liked The Evolution Fairytale .My own interpretation of the heavy handed way many Christian sites are moderated is that many of them view themselves as a ministry, and so what gets posted on the discussion board is considered part of the message.--Percy

Thanks Percy. I tried that one but was banned for being a time waster. At least I think it was that but they didn't exactly say.

Gas station operators try to make sure that they always bring in enough revenue to buy the next shipment of gas, but also have to be wary of charging even a tiny bit more than their competitor across the street. They have to speculate on a daily basis as to how much they are going to be charged for the next shipment. I'm not sure where they all get their info on what is happening to the price of gas, but they have to be very reactive to that information.

Perhaps this is all hooey, but there was a news story on TV a long while ago which claimed that only a few cents of each gallon actually goes to the gas station.I have no idea how this number was calculated, and it sounds pretty suspect to me. But perhaps it has some merit... and some meaning!Jon

And if you look at the tax statement on the pump, many times that figure goes to the various governments.

Well.Contending with nearby competitors is definitely a factor, but the larger driving force, I think, is the speculative nature of the global oil futures market which shifts with the slightest change in political and economic winds. Speculation in oil markets has increased dramatically in recent years as investors turned away from unstable bond and equity markets to energy markets driven by an apparently insatiable demand.My understanding is that most gas stations are franchise operations, and the operator does not technically "own" the gas until the actual moment of retail sale--the cost to the operator for gas currently in his station tanks changes after delivery, a truly frightening way to have to operate a business.So we don't have the dynamics of a perfect market, where the retailer sells at a margin above a cost fixed at the time of wholesale purchase.Incidentally, oil markets are perhaps the most manipulated of all commodities: oil producing nations seek to keep prices high by reducing supply at the source; refiners do the same thing by shuttering refineries when demand drops and their returns are "suboptimal". I'm sure you've noticed how high prices in recent years have at times lowered demand, leading to lower prices--until the producers and/or the refiners restrict supply, and prices rise again despite the continuing low demand.At present there is a near glut of oil, globally. But because the market is a speculative commodity market, Iran's threats to block the Straits, however empty, have caused a price per barrel to refiners spike; prior to that, American refiners had shuttered many refineries for "scheduled maintenance", so now prices already manipulated upward by refiners have moved higher on fairly thin fears of reduced supply.It's a mug's game, like most energy markets. You may recall that part of the Enron scandal included strong evidence that "routine maintenance" of electrical plants was being scheduled in a conspiratorial manner to boost profits by orchestrating supply shortages, especially in California markets.The only countries with cheap gas these days are places like Bahrain, Venezuela, etc., who have production in excess of domestic need and keep prices low to buy political stability at home.Compared to most industrialized nations, our gas is cheap, even at nearly $5/gallon. Most of Europe pays close to $10/gallon, largely due to taxes, though in part due to our greater access to domestic production. A good argument can be made that European prices better reflect the actual cost to society of burning carbon fuels (pollution and consequent health costs, the economic impact of huge import payments, etc.). Many American economists have urged higher gas taxes for decades--to discourage profligate American consumption, to encourage conservation, to improve our import-export balance, etc.If I had to give a "short answer to quick questions" I'd say that gas prices change daily, mostly upward, because energy corporations own the entire GOP and a fair slice of the Democratic Party.

Not quite enough though... at least according to the potholes down the street.Jon

From Wiki:

quote:

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In January 2011, motor gasoline taxes averaged 48.1 cents per gallon (12.71 /L) and diesel fuel taxes averaged 53.1 cents per gallon (14.03 /L).[9] For the first quarter of 2009, the mean state gasoline tax is 27.2 cents per US gallon, plus 18.4 cents per US gallon federal tax making the total 45.6 cents per US gallon (12.0/L).

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So not much of that $5 per gallon goes for taxes--which at the federal level are earmarked to maintain the interstate system built by that fascist Eisenhower to promote national security and prosperity. Most of that money is returned to the states for maintenance, promoting their economies through both employment and infrastructure. A few states and localities add sales taxes, but most don't.The federal gas tax was last raised in 1993, so the purchasing power of its yield has declined significantly. You don't have to drive far to see the results.The conservative position is generally that this taxation should be levied entirely at the state level, if at all. I presume they long for the day when, if you want a road to your home, you build it yourself: the rich and the poor will be equally free to do so.Some states--generally GOP governed ones--have sold off their revenues from toll roads for decades in order to garner enough revenue to avoid tax increases and preserve their ideological purity. Those deals have generally looked like bad ones to me: if companies are willing to buy your toll revenues with billions up front, you probably aren't making out all that well in the long run, though you may be buying enough sucker votes to stay in office.The same lack of vision that leads corporations to eliminate jobs to plump up quarterly reports--ignoring the dismal long-term prospect of doing business is an employment-deficient nation--prompts tax warriors to oppose the revenues that maintain our transportation system. We have cut taxes for the wealthy while our foundations crumble.I don't know if there is a neronian fiddle playing somewhere, but there ought to be.

I don't doubt that gas station operators don't make a lot of profit on each gallon of gasoline. But they still have to keep buying and pumping gas in order to sell over priced chips, flashlights, milk, hot dogs, beer, phony stay awake juice, etc. When the cost of buying new gasoline starts cutting into the snack profits, then the station can be in trouble.

Maybe someone could start a thread about gasoline prices?

I thought the snacks were expensive because of low volume sales on snacks and to make up for low profits on the gas.

Yes, but how is that at odds with anything I said?If the operator does not have gas to sell, the snacks don't get bought in any appreciable volume.Topic moved here Edited by AdminPhat, : topic link

how about debatingchristianity.com They do have a thing about being civil...

Why do most people only want to buy the ipad?