Energy suppliers across the country are preparing customers for heating bill increases that beginning in October will be as much as 71% higher than costs this time last year. Blame it on the hurricanes?
Oil refineries that were hit by Katrina and Rita experienced only brief interruptions in service. So it’s not surprising to read in The New Standard that “The Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights (FTCR), a California-based consumer watchdog, published corporate memos” proving “three major companies each discussed strategies for manipulating pump prices and profit margins long before the current “crisis,” adding fuel to the fire raging over suspicion of present-day maneuvering and gouging.”
Adding further fuel to the charge the American people are being taken over a barrel by these bandits is the information that oil companies have enjoyed record profitts in the last year and a half. Have they used it to build new refineries? No. They’ve used these windfalls to purchase their own stock.
Nieman Watchdog says journalists aren’t asking the right questions:
Q. Are oil companies making part of their record profits off price gouging?
Q. Who exactly determines oil prices? And how can we make sure they’re not pulling an Enron?
Q. Can anything be done to tamp down speculation in the short term?