Should oil company's and gas company's lower their prices to get this economy going?

Sure, if they want to.

Bad poll, simply because we disagree doesn't mean a lack of caring. Fact is, if you want lower prices, you vote for people that will allow for Americans to become the energy producer of the world, more supply will lower prices. As it's done with natural gas in the NE, prices have dropped 50%.

Oil companies run at a 3% profit margin. There are not many businesses that work on that slim of a margin. Federal, State, County, and City taxes on gasoline makes up a huge portion of the cost, and the Federal and State fingers in the pie are actually making MORE than the Oil Companies themselves.

Crippling government over-regulation has stifled the oil industry in this country...and there has not been a new refinery built since 1976, although the demand continues to rise and the consumer complains the prices are too high...(with 43 of the 148 operable plants having shut down during that same time period).

"Industry officials estimate the cost of building a new refinery at between $ 2 bn and $ 4 bn -- at a time the industry must devote close to $ 20 bn over the next decade to reducing the sulphur content in gasoline and other fuels -- and approval could mean having to collect up to 800 different permits. As if those hurdles weren't enough, the industry's long-term rate of return on capital is just 5 % -- less than could be realized by simply buying US Treasury bonds."

"I'm sure that at some point in the last 20 years someone has considered building a new refinery," says James Halloran, an energy analyst with National City Corp. "But they quickly came to their senses," he adds.

Source: Investor's Business Daily

I would be in favor of that

Yes I do. They are gouging us at the pumps purely out of greed.

Speculation drives prices, not the company that pulls oil from the ground. Oil is an international commodity.

Big oil and gas companies could lower their prices any time they want to. They sure do raise them when they want to. I can leave my home when the price is one number and come back in 15 minutes and it's raised. And every weekend the price is raised, so don't you tell me that they have no control over their prices. Because we all know they do.

Well those are local sellers of gas, and their distributors might add a penny here and there, but the real market is international. Supply and Demand control the price, if speculators don't see a lot of supply, or a threat to supply, they drive prices up.

If we really want lower gasoline prices, then get Obama to say on TV "I'm opening up ALL US federal lands to oil and gas leases", the price would plummet instantly, and it would stay low if that supply was developed. The oil and gas companies run on a 3-6% profit depending on how you look at it, so no, they can't dramatically lower prices.

Not local, it's our entire country. They are gouging us. And I'm sure you've heard how much profits they make each year.

I knew the "blame Obama" was coming. Enough said, have a good day.

Fine, get ANY president to say that. What I mean about "local" is retail merchant, and as I said, the oil companies may make billions, but they run on a very small profit margin, again, it's an international commodity. And I didn't "blame" anyone, to say I did would be dishonest.

They already operate on a slim profit margin. The problem is the government, its over spending and it's 10,000 taxes - that still are not enough.....

it would help but why would they...

Might just help...

Maybe we should just put them out of business altogether, and nationalize the oil industry, that would bring prices down, right!?!

**shrugs** dunno

It would help out alot.