Jones,
I'll be sure and check that out.
You know, of recent there has been a lot of talk about the rapid reduction in gas prices and the allegation that the Bush organization is behind the scenes manipulating gas prices in exchange for a positive vote effect in Nov. Personally I thought this was BS because of several factors:
1) Storm damaged oil rigs/ refineries all back on line a year later giving us the capacity we need.
2) Summer driving season over thus much lower demand
3) Vast new oil field find in the Gulf of Mexico
4) Fears of super hurricanes this season never materialized, in fact only 1 storm hit the US proper and for Florida it was a walk in the park kinda storm
5) Going into the cooler months allowed a change to lower cost un-formulated gas that is needed in the summer months to combat smog
6) When the gas prices zoomed up and held leaving many people to think this was a permanent deal, the consuming public that were buying cars bought very fuel efficent models thus rotating poor mileage vehicles out and even UPS has done so with one figure I heard that nearly 5000 vehicles will see rotation in exchange for more fuel efficent package cars.
Just these 6 reasons among others that I failed to mention in my mind was the reason and I'm still with that but I am scratching my chin and thinking over some allegations I've heard concerning Goldman Sachs. Even the NY Times did a piece a couple of weeks ago on this very thing so at the least this line of thought does have folks thinking and looking.
Here's a piece I found discussing this subject matter and thought I'd throw it out for everyone and to also see what others are thinking on this. I'm not convinced yet that market manipulation is the case but gov't does plan our economics (like any good business you plan and work for highest market and production efficency and so does our gov't) so what we think is voter manipulation may in fact be gov't mechanisms that kick into play no matter what (automatic when certain factors come on line) and the upcoming election was mere coincidence rather than conspiratorial. That's my take anyhow but I also don't trust gov't in any form or fashion so I will keep a guarded eye on the conspiratorial too!
Keller Komments: Gasoline Price Manipulation?
Also, for those who doubt the gov't "manages the markets and business atmosphere" in what is best called as a "planned economy", I could take you into a law library and spend weeks going over the Statues-At- Large and now the Federal Register showing you documentation after documentation of just such daily activity by our gov't either via legislation or executive orders and authorizations. The post WW2 Bretton-Woods agreement for example that set the table for global economic planning and direction alone itself would take weeks. It even forced the US gov't to completely reorganized it's economic machinery from top to bottom in the early 1950's with a numer of reorganization plans especially across the Treasury Department. If the Mid-East can be transformed as Europe and parts of Asia was in the late 1940's, look for a modern day version of Bretton-Woods to come about in light of such events.
After the October surprise in 1987' Reagan issue Executive Order 12631 to authorize certain individuals to form a "work group" that would in effect steer gov't and private concerns in a direction of achieving a goal of market controls for a certain outcome that in their minds were beneficial to both public and private sectors. Here's the link to the Ex. Order:
NARA - Federal Register - Executive Orders
The majority of people in light of that October 1987' market event would likely see this Ex. Order as a proper role but I happen to believe a free and open market should in effect be self regulating and in light of the Oct. surprise I do believe the real truth was to the overall public that the market is a dangerous place with many wolves. Gov't stepped in because the huge loss of confidence threatened the economic policies of that day and one component of the Reagan economic policy was that by lowering cost, in this case gov't cost in the form of taxation, you end up with with higher returns thus many, many more customers (and you did as 401k and individual stock portfolios exploded and thus the reduction in the Cap Gain tax was more than offset by more persons paying the tax) are in the game and thus paying revenues to the gov't which was the center piece of their economic plan.
In other words, the order was a means to protect the plan and have you take part in an economic process they in effect picked for you and not one that you judged as the very best in a completely free and open competive market. But you don't complain being manipulated as your 401k and stocks went up but then again maybe you weren't someone left holding Enron, or Global Crossing or Lucent or even some other high flying internet stock that went bust over the last several years either. Clinton gets blamed a lot for the Dot Com market bust at the end of his Presidency but was the bust set in place back in March of 1988' or did it even go back to FDR after the events of 1929' and then the economic impact of the 1930's? Clinton did nothing to reverse the "planned society" but he didn't create it either.
Hmmmm! I really wonder. Like other investment vehicles such as stock and commodities, whether for covert gain or overt stewardship of society, the President in the past has in fact manipulated certain aspects of the various markets out there from price supports to the aforementioned Ex. Order. We've even had wage and price controls before too. I guess it is in fact possible and probable that the current President has manipulated gas prices. He has even released strategic reserves back last fall after Katrina to stablize gas prices so just how far would he go or for that fact any President in this day and time go?
They need your tax dollars in order to maintain their power. Now see the connection? They only keep you economically viable in order for you to pay the taxes that keep them in power. Why does a master feed his slave? I know you hate my ass with a passion when I draw these parallels and it is distasteful but we gotta start thinking outside the box before we walk into that voting booth folks.
JMO
. PBS is one of the last bastions of quality programming, the networks are pretty much of a joke.
