When I last wrote about gas prices, the price for a barrel of oil was just under $100 and gas prices were fluctuating all over the place.
Today the price has plummeted to $69 a barrel yet gas prices for the most part in Canada have remained stable and high. In the GTA we on average pay about $1.13 per litre, while in Detroit USA, they only pay .87 cents per litre!? Once again Canadians are getting gouged at the pumps.
We (the world) are currently over producing 1 Billion barrels of oil a day. Yes, that's right, a day. Oil producing countries are all fighting for market share, which has led to an abundance of oil and hence gasoline. So the consumer markets in most parts of the world are adjusting to the supply and demand equation, except Canada.
Why can't Canadians get passionate about being ripped off the way we get about a hockey game. When our team loses two in a row, we boo, throw our team sweaters on the ice and beer at the team bench. We get timid though when companies or the government continue to rip us off. The government for sure is asking for the prices to stay high as they collect the 5% GST tax from every fill up. If prices fall as they should, they are out million of dollars of revenue. This is especially true of the federal government who has promised to balance the books next year, which just happens to be an election year here in Canada. The finance minister must be shacking in his boots as I know they projected revenue on Oil staying above $80 a barrel. Now he must tell the Prime Minister not to make to many tax credit promises as they don't have the money!
Yes even in the every day pricing of gas, it gets political. The provinces too are worried as they collect hefty taxes on our gas for their revenue as well.
Politics be dammed! We need the price break at the pumps. Just think how much of those saving could go to buying more Christmas gifts this year. Such spending would be real help to our economy. Or of course we could use it more wisely and pay down any personal debt.
Show us the money!!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment