Quick Questions, Short Answers - No Debate

Perpetual Cocktail Hour.

Accommodation.

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.

From Wiki:

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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.