why is gas so da** expensive?
461481
It's called capitalism.  Supply and demand.  Those who have it sell it for as high a price as they can get.  Those who need it have to shop around for the lowest price they can.  Eventually, the gas gets so expensive people will have to walk or ride bikes.  Then fewer people buy it, and the price goes down.  In socialist countries, they put a $2 tax on it to encourage people to walk.\n\nBlowing people up starts wars.  People die.  Doesn't work out well in the long run.
1026029
Greed.  Plain and simple.  Most store owners will tell you they make very little money on the gas.  It's all the soda, beer, smokes, and snacks that brings in the buck. But if they can get an extra few cents profit on gas, they will nickle and dime you to death!
634499
A gallon of gas in Brazil is about 4$.  It's Venezuela that's the cheap one because the government heavily subsizdizes gas there.  The price is a mere 15 cents or around there.
993436
This seems to be the general consensus:\nBecause gas companies are trying to make money. By throwing that extra 9/10ths of a cent on the price it sounds 1 cent cheaper yet it is close to being 1 cent more. Say for instance that gas is $1.00 9/10ths per gallon (which is truly 1.009 per gallon) This is very cheap for gas but it will prove my point. Now if you bought 1 gallon, it would cost you $1. Now if you by 2 gallons you would expect it to cost $2. But it cost $2.02 because the 1.009 and the other 1.009 added give you 2.018 which in money rounds to 2.02 So by doing this the gas company is making two cents. This may sound like a small amount but most people buy more than 2 gallons and the .009s added up to make more cents. So if you bought 20 gallons of \ngas at $1 per gallon it would end up costing $20.21 roughly. For the millions of people buying gas this extra money turns into thousands of dollars. You may ask why not just make it $1.01 per gallon instead of $1.00 but this would make it sound like more money than!it is. It is just like stores charging 9.99 instead of 10.00. Nine \nsounds a lot better than ten and the same applies to gas companies. Its just the \ngas companies sneaky way of making more money.\n\n\nNOTE: despite my source, I don't think this was a stupid question.
1019271
Because as fiddlesticks9 said its a way to attract the consumer.  But what he forgot to mention is that in order to actually work you need the mindless consumers, who will see 1.99 as less then 2 and will always go to buy it from the one that has 1.99 price.\n\nPlus the true reason behind it is that when they buy the gas from the supplier, they are charges in the same manner.
207908
oil is scarce.  oil is used to make oil, gasoline, plastic, etc.  If it werent scarce it would be cheaper.
1041619
Yes, but w/good reason.  Gas prices have never been this high w/no relief in sight.  It seems we are limiting our travel b/c we just can't afford to drive in this country.  I know I'm on a gas budget.  Work-home-work-home, maybe a chill spot on the wknd, but that's it.
89264
Very expensive. Almost everything is shipped in, then sent by barge to the other islands, then distributed by truck. Last time I was there (May 2005) Gasoline was $3.25/gal, milk was $4/gallon, cereal was $5 a box, etc.
42686
yes and no\n\nyes because gas is necessity at this point, if you have the money then why not try it.\nBut you have to consider a lot of things; 1st gas stations has high level of competition, you must have a good location for a good profit; 2nd return of investment too slow, maybe it will take you 3 to 5 years to earn good; 3rd oil has unstable supply thats why oil prices gets high; 4th it has high overhead expense, so you will be needing a lot of money to support your expenses.
172511
Fuel prices are set by OPEC (price per barrel.)  They are most reasonable in the US because our government subsidizes what we pay.  OPEC sucks, they won't allow any other petrol-bearing nations to offer a lesser fee.  They are too powerful.
236826
High Supply, Low demand = Lower Price\n\nLow Supply and High demand = High Price\n\nSimple economics.  Our gas prices work this way too.. Very few refineries to refine gas, which causes lower supplies.
775164
it requires money but gas is expensive much more than electricity. i can tell you that gas isnt more cost effective and if converting to propane into a vehicle the milage is 5 to 7 mpg. electricity is generated by coal or fuel oil and very bad for our ozone layer.i wouldnt have an exact figure for conversion to lpg for a home but you would need a 10000 watt generator and a 5000 gallon propane take.natural gas is far more expensive than propane.i can fill a 20 pound tank for ten bucks.the generator will cost about 1500.00 dollars or more if you purchase a kohler.they are made for homes but tthey use gas or diesel fuel.
183877
What makes you so sure there is price gouging going on? You pay less for gas than almost every major industrialized nation in the world, but you complain about the price as you pump gas into your guzzling SUV. Sit back and realize how good you have it, because just about every European out there would love the opportunity to buy gas at 2.50 or even 3.00 a gallon ... they would consider it a bargin, not a price gouge.
295493
yes it is very costly
442887
GOODS and service tax\ntaxes are not unnecessary!\nif you don't like the price of gas stop driving everywhere, use the bus, bike,&/or walk\nI hope the price goes up even higher so people will stop wasting this resource!
131248
Consumer economy. Gas has historically been much cheaper than any other source of fuel. When it's price rose in those countries, only THEN did they move to alternative fuels. Same goes for what will happen here. Gas has priced itself out of our market now.
586157
Fill your tanks only half full uneless you need to make a long trip.You do not need to stock Bush's & Cheeny's gas on your shelf.This will cost the oil company's $3000,000,000.00 a day and will leave only half the room in the supply tanks To but in new gas.The tankers will be stacked off the coast trying to unload.I remember coffee going to $5.00 a pound in the seventys.People stopped buying and in two weeks the price was down to $1.50 a pound.Lets go Amercians the power is in your purse's and wallets "Let's Roll"