How come we as consumers cannot control gas prices?
375773
As the prices go up , so do the taxes. Another way of raising money for Gov.
406369
The 2 topics aren't related.  Take a class on Economics sometime to understand why gas prices are the way they are.
1149237
Government does not raise the price of gas.  A thing called supply and demand controls the gas prices and the price of everything else in our society.
285676
The U.S Government has nothing to do with the price of oil.  Oil prices are controled by OPEC. (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) is an International Organization made up of eleven oil producing nations.\n\nOPEC’s mission is to coordinate & unify the petroleum policies of Member Countries & ensure the stabilization of oil prices in order to secure an efficient, economic & regular supply of petroleum to consumers, a steady income to producers & a fair return on capital to those investing in the petroleum industry.\n\nVariations in gasoline prices are not due to differences in crude prices, but to widely varying levels of taxation in the major consuming nations... an example of this would be in Canada where on every litre of gas sold, almost 40% of that goes to the government.
1121329
The price goes up when demand outpaces the supply of gasoline.  and that would mean if we as Americans drove smaller cars than suvs we would have less demand.  Also we need a new fuel source other than petroleum.
1026029
Greed.  Plain and simple.  Most store owners will tell you they make very little money on the gas.  It's all the soda, beer, smokes, and snacks that brings in the buck. But if they can get an extra few cents profit on gas, they will nickle and dime you to death!
658930
I live in Honolulu and commute.  The gas cap was a total political move for publicity reasons.  It had no place being passed and shows that economics was far from the minds of our politicians who passed it.  \nOur Gas Cap law based our gas prices on the market prices in LA, the Gulf Coast and NYC.  Unfortunately, we don't receive our petroleum supply from the same sources as the mainland.  We get the majority of our fuel from Asia, not Canada and the middle east like the mainland US.\nThe Gas Cap Law controlled the wholesale price suppliers could sell to station, which then added on their charge to cover their operating expenses.  We were seeing gas prices in March and April raising $0.10 - $0.15 per week.  So, no the prices didn't reach a cap per se, because the cap was essentially limitless.  \nYes, communist pricing models have no place in a free market society.  Government interference just doesn't have the best interest of the people as it's goal.
404058
Government cannot control prices or inflation by regulation.  Well they can, but that's called communism, I believe.  They can control inflation, however, by swiching back to the gold or silver standard - but they won't because that would mean they couldn't run up debt like they do now.
122255
The gas companies practice what is known as zone pricing. They look at how much money people in a certain area make and then set the price from there. It allows them to charge people who will pay more a top dollar price while still selling to the poor at a price they can afford. That is why some independent gas stations will have prices that are much lower then the big corporations, they don't have zone pricing.
1162915
People are more focused on pleasing their stomachs. So spending a fortune on coffy is a pleasure where as gas for their car is a necessity so is a pain to have to pay. So they grumble. \nStrange priority's we have isn't it.
677691
problem is that most people do not listen to automated recordings. Just call them to confirm- worse that can happen. They will cancel, but you have not driven out there. Gas prices are too high for driving around.
526788
Hrm... sounds like your mom is picking a whipping boy.  Oil companies are responsible for the price of oil.  Punishing charities for high gas prices is like beating your kids because your neighbors kids stole your mailbox.  \n\nOnly two ways I can think of for consumers to affect to price of oil:\n\n1)  Quit using so much.  When the demand goes down, so will the price.  Oil conservation and alternative fuel sources can do a lot to lessen the price at the pump.\n\n2)  Selective boycotting.  Boycotting is the consumer's most effective method of getting what they want out of the corporations that serve them.  Unfortunately, few boycots accomplish anything.  Much like a labor strike, a boycot must be well organized, direct, and limited.  For instance, a consumer protection union could organize its members to boycot one particular gasoline provider in a local area.  If they made it clear to the gasoline company exactly how much money they would lose, the company could be induced to offer a discount to union members.  This works out for both parties.  The union members get cheaper gas from a particular company, which gives them a reason to ALWAYS buy their gas from that company.  In this way, the company reduces it's margin but increases it's sales (including sales of drinks, beef jerky, cheap sunglasses, cigarettes, and all the other crap that gas stations make money on).  \n\nSlightly off topic, a few points to consider for those adherents of Marketpressurism who maintain that the federal government has no control over the price of oil:\n\nThe US federal government is the world's largest consumer of petroleum products.  Simply by increasing their consumption (such as by sending thousands of tons of people, vehicles, military and construction equipment, etc. halfway across the world) they can have a significant effect on global demand.\n\nThe US Strategic Petroleum Reserve is the largest government-owned emergency oil stockpile on earth.  By varying the rate at which we fill the Reserve or by okaying the release of some Reserve stock into the circulating supply, the executive branch of government can have a very direct effect on oil prices.\n\nSince the majority of oil consumed in America is produced abroad, the price of oil is very dependant on how much oil foreign countries are willing to sell to the US.  By pressuring or working out deals with foreign governments that supply oil, the federal government can have a large influence on the available supply, thus lowering prices.\n\nIf a government heavily funds and supports alternative fuel development and conservation measures, they can actively reduce oil consumption throughout the country.  This reduces the price of oil, albeit slowly.
628324
Gas prices will never go down. You might see a small reduction after a massive increase, but $3 a pop is now the price. I bet you will see $3.50 a gallon by the end of summer.\n\nWith your suggestions I believe you think American corporate price gouging is the cause for high prices. Most people point to supply and demand. But if price gouging is a factor, I fear there is no solution.  That is what Capitalism is all about.\n\nMost of middle America hates the prices, but loves the profits they are accruing with stocks in their 401K. ExxonMobile made $10 million in one month, made $1 billion last quarter. ConnocoPhilips made about 1/3 that in profits as well.\n\nThere just aren't enough people in the country that don't profit from selling gas to go beyond complaining about the price.  A boycott will not work.\n\nThe only thing we can hope for is the Feds suspend their gas tax for awhile.\n\nEDIT:\nOn another note, we Americans are too damn hypocritical.  We want the world to be democratic & capitolistic, but when oil prices rise, we want our people and government to act more with socialism values.  People chanted in the streets "No blood for oil!" when protesting in the 1990's, but now Americans want their oil.  What the hell is wrong with us?
316100
From basic economics, a price ceiling would just cause massive shortages and gas lines just as you saw in the 1970s.  It's trading one problem for another problem.  Whether this is desirable is debatable.  There are price ceilings for various things out there, such as rent.  There's some info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Price_ceiling\n\nYour other solution about boycotting just one company is just another urban legend floating around.\n\nBoycotting Exxon isn't going to work to bring down prices.  If everyone stopped buying from Exxon and used the other providers, then the other providers would run out of gas pretty quickly due to supply and demand chain effects.  What would happen is that they would buy their gas from Exxon and overall all prices would go up, not down.\n\nFull mythbuster at Snopes.\n\nhttp://www.snopes.com/politics/gasoline/gasout.asp\n\nTo lower gas prices, you have to lower demand, which includes things like carpooling, public transportation, alternative sources of energy, and better milage vehicles.
475568
I think that most Americans have stopped buying "unnecessary" fuel, but they are making more than enough money back off of just the necessary fuel (fuel that is needed for daily life, not all of us can walk to work/carpool)... if you have to have it, you have to have it... cuting consumption further isn't an option for most...\n\nSo what happens when capitiolism fails... seems like we are reaching that point with oil... increasing costs could have a crippling effect on our economy through inflation (especially if costs continue to go up)... is it worth it?\n\nThe reserves should have been released a while back... that's just silly, but that's also a Bush...
497334
The guy that owns the pump.\n\nHe can't set it just any way he wants, though.  Too high and nobody will buy from him.  Too low and he will lose money and soon go out of business.\n\nThe cost of gasoline is largely determined by four components: cost of crude oil (about 45%), taxes (about 25%), refining costs (about 18%), and distribution and marketing costs (about 12%).  So, when the price of oil goes up, so does the price of gasoline.  When refining costs go up, so does gasoline.
397625
In general gas prices are high due to the federal and state taxes piled on each gallon (24% last check).  We would be led to believe the technology does not exist to make other sources viable.  This is probably untrue, but the gas companies may have it all tied up.  The answer is we must push aside the environmental wackos and drill for our OWN oil.  There are thousands of years worth of supply in many parts to the US.  Canada does not buy foreign oil, in fact we buy some of ours from them.  All we need to do is start DRILLING.