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Mercnbeth -> RE: I've had enough... (11/13/2007 12:59:40 PM)
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Below you can see your gas dollars at work; good "trickle down" economics; at least for Boeing.
However, before boycotting oil, in this instance at least; add to the boycott list Pepsi, Disney, Time, and Apple products, among others.
Another thing to ponder regarding switching to an alternative fuel source such as ethanol. A simple economic exercise if you will. Let's just say that at the price of oil is set at $100/barrel and that translates into a $4.00/gallon retail cost. The next administration comes in and announces a "comprehensive energy program". The private sector is given incentives to offset the start up cost and to create the infrastructure; domestic auto manufacturers are given similar incentives to covert their production to ethanol engines. In case it requires translation "incentives" means tax incentives with the difference made up from personal income tax sources (you and me).
The expected retail cost, anticipating a renewable as well as home grown source will be $4.25/gallon. Close enough and it makes the US self sufficient. Were I running OPEC, if this were close to becoming reality, I'd lower the cost per barrel to $50 until the idea blows over.
You see, there is no real cost for OPEC. It's whatever they feel like. There is no overhead. They charge whatever they want to Corporations like EXXON, or MOBIL who pump it, transport it, and pass the cost to the consumer - plus profit.
Any "comprehensive energy program" must include a fixed price floor for oil. I have no idea if the numbers I used are fiscally accurate, but in the example used, the fixed price for oil would be $100/barrel. Anything less than that would be paid as a tax by the oil company. That would keep the private sector invested in the conversion process and not abandon it as they did back in the 80's when President Carter's program was submarined by OPEC reducing the price during President Reagan's administration. However, I doubt any new Administration or Congress would consider that historical example.
Meanwhile...
quote:
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) - In the annals of excess, it could be a new high: a more than $300 million dollar, super-sized luxury airplane, bought and outfitted solely for the private comfort of a Saudi Arabian billionaire.
Once done, the Airbus A380, the world's biggest passenger plane, will be a "flying palace" for Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, the manufacturer announced Monday. Airbus SAS would not give a specific price tag for the VIP double- decker jet, with its football field-length wings, saying only that it would cost more than the aircraft's list price of $320 million. That doesn't even include the money the prince will spend to custom fit the nearly 6,000-square foot plane to include whatever he wants. The options include private bedrooms, a movie theater or even a gym with a jacuzzi. He'll also need a flight crew of about 15 to operate the luxury liner. "Prince Alwaleed is the first, and so far the only customer of this aircraft," said David Velupillai, the spokesman of the Airbus, which announced the luxury order at the Dubai International Airshow. It's all just spending cash for bin Talal—Citigroup Inc.'s biggest individual shareholder and the world's 13th richest person with assets around $20 billion. As a member of the Saudi royal family, he benefits from the country's vast oil wealth. But much of bin Talal's huge fortune comes from his investment firm, the $25-billion Kingdom Holding Co., which has stakes in Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., Fairmont Raffles Hotels International Inc., Time Warner Inc., Apple Inc., PepsiCo Inc., Walt Disney Co. to name a few major corporations.
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