Gas prices almost UNDER $2.00 per gallon! Huh???

Look at Dragon's response (No. 9). There's my theory... well, it's close. I honestly believe it's because of the presidential elections.

You're very wise! Hold on to your money! In my response to response number 9 below, I've written my theory. Dragon has the same idea about why but differ slightly about who. It's because of the upcoming presidential election and the Republican's last ditch effort to stay in the game. I'm sure of it. It's all but over now... Obama will be our next president. The Republicans want to stay in control so they're lowering gas prices to make everyone so happy they'll want to vote for McCain. It's all just a political game and gas prices will rise again once the election is over. That's why I'd love to be able to buy it now and store it away for later. If gas prices don't start going up on the day after the election, I will personally write a letter of apology to every Republican in office for even thinking it is their doing.

The political parties have no way of controlling the gas prices. If they did, then it would be high because don't you know Obama's team would be fighting tooth and nail to keep it up high! "When supply outpaces demand, service stations will lower prices to compete with each other for business. When demand outstrips supply, service stations raise prices to prevent run-outs. Higher prices encourage station owners and suppliers to seek additional supplies. In free markets, competition generally rebalances supply and demand quickly with minimal disruption to consumers." The above is what is happening in our area. There are 4 service stations - 2 on each side of the road. One is Fuel Z which will keep their prices 1 to 5 cents lower than the other 3. One will eventually lowers theirs into 1 cent above the cheapest station and then the other two will eventually follow within a day or so. Once in awhile, a couple of them will inflate their prices for a few days, but the others will not follow suit. This has nothing to do with republicans or democrats. It's left to the discretion of the owners who want to make money regardless of how it affects you and me, the consumer. Some of the larger stations in the larger cities near us have been as much as 10 to 20 cents higher than our stations. But yesterday, one of them was actually 10 cents lower! Then those high stations at my exit lowered theirs 7 cents, within 3 cents of the city station.

I don't think Obama will. Or can. It's too much for one person to control I think.

Hi Pam. I wish it would last awhile, but I don't think it will. I wrote my theory out in response to response number 9 above. I think we're going to see gas prices going up after this Tuesday, once we have a new president elected. In my opinion, it's all just a big political game they're playing and we're the pawns. It seems to me that the price of gas started dropping dramatically just about the same time that it was realized that we were going to have a new Democratic president after the election. I honestly believe that the Republicans have something to do with gas prices shooting downwards so fast, just so we'd be so happy with them that we'll all vote for McCain. I think it's pretty much sewn up already... Obama will be our next president. I just wonder if HE will be able to keep gas prices down. I certainly hope so!

That is looking very convincingly the case. The food suppliers keeping the prices high in order to recoup the hefty profits they are suppose to earn. Well, I sure hope the prices will drop in tandem to reflect the price drop in gas as well. Like I mentioned, I am sick and tired of them citing oil price increases as the cause of their increased overheads. Cos when prices drop, the price of their goods or products did not follow in tandem. But when gas prices increases, the prices of their goods and products follow suit!

You know, I love the old-fashioned way of doing business... barter! Of course, government hates that because they don't know how to tax us on it. Hahaha! I would love to see everyone doing something, anything, then bartering with their neighbors who are doing something else. I am growing fruits, nuts, berries and vegetables. My neighbor across the road has a cattle farm with chickens and goats. WE could barter quite nicely and I've actually thought about asking him about this, once my fruit and nut trees are old enough to produce nicely. (I just planted most of them this past year.) That would definitely put a "hurting" on big business! Well, not if it were just the two of us doing it, but if a lot of people (who had the room to do so, naturally) started doing this I bet we'd see food prices drop! That would benefit those who could not grow anything to barter with. Of course, there are other things these people could do besides growing food... making furniture, sewing clothing, bed covers, drapery, etc. Anything to barter with. Ah, the good old days, huh? There was no need for Prozac 100 years ago!

It is down to $1.49 per gallon here now. I remember it being $1.10 per gallon back in the year 2000. I read somewhere else that the prices of other commodities, such as food, are still high because a lot of the food we are eating now was raised or grown when gasoline prices were still so high, so their current prices are reflecting that. BUT, with gasoline prices coming down SO dramatically, you'd think that the price of food, etc. would drop at least a little since the cost of shipping this food has also dropping dramatically! I think the manufacturers of these products are attempting to recoup their losses when gas prices were so high by keeping the prices so high. Everyone will benefit except us, the consumers, since salaries haven't gone up in relation to everything else. At least, as you said, this is a bit of a consolation!

Let's enjoy it while we can! I wish there was a way we could all buy it now and store it away for when the prices go back up. In my response to response number 9 below, I've given my theory. Dragon came really close to my theory. It's because of the presidential election coming up. You watch... prices will begin to climb again on Wednesday. I hope they don't but I have a really bad feeling that they will. It's just a political game. I hate politics!

Hey bunny! Have you heard from your cousin yet? I'll bet there is an Executive Order from the president somewhere saying "Lower those prices!!!" I wrote my theory in my response to response number 9 below. The Republicans want to stay in control and right now it looks like they'll be losing control after the election is over on Tuesday. It looks very bad for them now so they needed to come up with something really major to sway people over to their side to vote for McCain and not Obama. I just know that gas prices will start to rise again after Tuesday. You watch! They do something like this right before every presidential election, no matter which side has control.

Your cousin works for Exxon in Texas? Where does he work? We had a friend who transferred to Houston, living in Spring and retired in Dec of 1997. My husband also worked for Exxon for 30 years and took early retirement in the spring of 1997.

yes i explained it all in my discussion earlier. what he had to say. yes he still works for Exxon/chevron. he does live in Houston. maybe he knows your friend. in fact he does live in spring and works in huoston. im not much on posting here lately. been moving and also, everyone else makes the digest. i just cant seem to do it. i post, someone else posts almost the same thing and they get all the responses

Unfortunately, Rob, I believe the prices will start climbing again after Tuesday and the presidential election is over. I wrote my theory in my response to response number 9 below. Maybe on Monday we should all fill up whatever gas cans we have sitting around... fill up our cars, boats, rider mowers, tractors, whatever we can, because prices are going to be going up again, and probably just as fast as they went down. If I'm correct, and all this is just a political game, it will only reinforce my hatred of politics and politicians.

Isn't THAT the truth! I think we should all stick to the ways we learned to economize and save money instead of spending more now that gas prices have gone down so far! Like you said, we don't know what's around the corner. I think gas prices will at least stay low through the end of the year but I have doubts about it staying low after January 1st. It's best to keep saving wherever we can.

No, unfortunately, it's not that, even though that is bad enough! I'm afraid it's a case of too little too late. If you read my response to response number 9, you'll see what my theory is. It's the Republicans final ditch effort to win Tuesday's election. I'm almost positive of it. Of course, it IS just a theory. I won't know for certain until after Tuesday. Unfortunately, I see gas prices rising again just as fast as they dropped and not long after the election, either. They might not get as high but then again they just might go even higher. I don't really feel anything about that, but I do feel that they will be rising again right after the election. I hope I'm wrong and prices will remain low, but I really don't see that happening.

Well, I have yet to hear our government say anything at all about how the cost of crude oil has so dramatically affected our own petroleum products. But, it is very obvious that producers of other commodities such as food and clothing are attempting to continue making huge profits by keeping their prices high (which went up in direct correlation to the cost of oil) instead of lowering their prices now that oil prices have dropped so dramatically. I am sure that they lost their established profit margin when oil prices rose so high so they are currently making up for those losses by keeping their prices high.

I believe that this has everything to do with the government, but I doubt strongly that they are doing anything for our benefit! I think that, since we were spiraling down toward a certain depression, it was putting a bite on the government... people were losing jobs (therefore paying less taxes), more people were applying for Social Services... welfare, unemployment benefits, etc.), people were spending much less (again, less in tax revenue), and having an embittered attitude toward the government for allowing this to happen, generally speaking. I believe that it IS the government's doing, this lowering of gas prices, but that they've been controlling it from day one. I watched a documentary on TV about salt, of all things, and learned about massive underground caves created from the extraction of huge salt pockets where our government is storing tanks filled to the brim with crude oil! I can understand why they'd be storing (hoarding) oil but, if it's ever needed, I bet us "common folk", i.e., those not in high places in the government or without massive amounts of money, will not benefit from it! Maybe I've just gotten too cynical in my old age, huh?

Bingo! That's my theory! I've noticed that something major always happens right before a presidential election... something very GOOD. Then, once the election is over, sadly, things go back to the way they were. I'm certainly not getting too excited about the low gas prices because I just KNOW they're going to be going up again... really soon. The election is... when? This Tuesday? Yep, watch those gas prices start rising again on Wednesday! I believe sometime soon (before election day) we'll be hearing what the Republicans did to decrease gas prices. If we currently had a Democratic president, we'd be hearing that the Democrats were responsible for it. It's just their way of attempting to keep their own in office. The Republicans are hurting right now. This election is all but over... only the actual voting needs to take place. We're going to see a Democrat as president soon. We all know that Obama will be our next president. (I just hope he's not lying to us about universal health care and we actually GET it this time!) The Republicans are running scared and trying to come up with something to sway people over to their side. Well, let's just see if this theory is correct and once the election is over, gas prices will begin to rise again.

Wow, this is crazy, because I was thinking the same thing. After the presidential elections, the prices will go back up. I was talking to some friends about this and told them what I thought and they thought I was being ridiculous. Well, here it is...they can mark my words...and yours too.

You know, I thought that same thing, that gas prices would begin to rise immediately following the election. I was quite pleasantly surprised to see that I was wrong! Right now, I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. Maybe they're waiting for us to become complacent again and start spending our money like we were before all this happened, before slamming us with another massive increase. Call me cynical, but I've lived long enough to never have a lot of faith in our government and I'm convinced our government has a foot in this issue... somewhere! I totally agree with your reason for not buying at Citgo! I wouldn't pay a lower price if the service was rude, either! There is absolutely no reason for rudeness. When you deal with the public, you should always be pleasant.

Hahahaha! I hear ya!!! I got all upset yesterday when I realized that I had just paid $.15 more per gallon THE DAY BEFORE to fill up my tank! If the gas prices start rising again after Tuesday's election, don't blame me for jinxing it! I fully believe this is the doing of Bush and his Republican colleagues trying to save the administration from going Democratic. I mean, it makes sense, right? About a month ago it began to look as if Obama will be our next president. About that same time gas prices began to plummet drastically! I've NEVER seen prices move so fast in EITHER direction!!! I could be wrong and I'll admit it loudly if I am. I'm even HOPING I'm wrong and that gas prices will remain low for a long time! We'll see, huh?

I hope you're not right! I wrote my theory in my response to response number 9 below. I believe it is because of an Executive Order given by the president to lower gas prices. The Republicans need to do something extremely MAJOR if they can even HOPE to win this election. What could be more major than gas prices? Everyone is talking about them these days... they are on everyone's minds and they affect everyone in a big way. And, well, look at it: it was only about a month ago or so that gas was over $4.00 a gallon! I've NEVER seen prices move so fast, in either direction! I believe we'll see the price begin to rise again as early as Wednesday, the day after the election. Maybe even worse... they might begin to rise the night of the election once all the ballots have been counted and the new president announced. I wonder how fast I could have a storage tank installed so I can fill it up with gas now when it's so low and store it for when gas prices soar again. Hmmm...