On Sat, 5 Feb 2011 11:32:03 -0800, "William Sommerwerck"
wrote:
Uh, huh. The free-market forces you praise -- which work very
well in the short term -- will almost always produce long-term
results that benefit only business.
Uh, William, that's how it's SUPPOSED to work.
Where does that leave the consumer?
I'm not in this world to make someone else rich.
Invest in business. Why remain a victim when you can join the
exploiters?
I got the clue in 73-74 when the Arabs turned off the oil and we had
an energy crisis. The press was full of conspiracy theories
suggesting that the evil oil companies were conspiring to raise prices
and soak the public. So, I investigated the owners of the major oil
companies and found (for example) that the largest stockholder in
Standard Oil was the Chicago school teachers retirement fund. Somehow,
I had a difficult time believing that they would force Standard Oil
management to precipitate an energy crisis in order to increase their
profits.
The problem was that the very consumers that were complaining about
the availability, and later the price, of gasoline would not allow
Standard Oil to sell gas for less than its cost. They were
stockholders and they needed to make a profit on the stock. So,
Standard Oil was effectively forced by its stockholders to soak the
public and make obscene profits. It doesn't matter as long as someone
else pays. The various oil companies had so much cash on hand after
the energy crisis that they went on a major buying spree of energy
related and mineral companies. Only threat of a government monopoly
investigation slowed them down.
No, you're not in this world to make someone else rich. But, in a
capitalist economy, some transactions are simply not going to be
equally beneficial to all concerned. Sometimes, radically unequal. In
the case of oil, the supply and demand price curve is extremely steep.
Very small changes in supply produce huge changes in price. This is
something that commodity market investors simply cannot resist. You
can make or lose a fortune overnight. If you think you have a handle
on the energy market, then try your luck. (I did and lost most of my
investment). It's like riding a bucking horse. One mistake and you
get trampled. Good luck.
--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060
http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558