Pro-Obama union bashes Big Oil

Obama can change the price of oil like the weather man can change the weather. We ar in a global economy and the price of oil reflects nothing other than supply and demand.

He could lower taxes on oil, and make it a little cheaper, but Obama is as likely to lower taxes as the Arabs are to start giving oil to America for free.

The union members pay into a pension fund. The Pension fund will look to invest in such a way, regardless of the individual investments, that would make money. If taking action to lower gas prices would dent their profits bad enough to reduce their investement value, the managers of the pension fund would merely shift to other investments.

Lower oil prices would allow a number of companies to make better profits, companies that may already be investments of the pension fund. Cheaper gas and oil would benefit many consumers, freeing up that money to be spent on other goods and services. This, too, would have a feedback effect on investments.

Meanwhile, the immediate cost of gas is a heavy burden on working class folks. They have a right to complain. I would add my voice to the chorus, while we're at it.

As for the solution? Not obligating yourself all that heavily to special interests is a start. Because he doesn't accept PAC or lobbyist money, he starts out part of the solution, rather than part of the problem.

But don't let me stop you in your quibbles.

Bashing "big oil"? Perhaps Sen. Obama could offer some commentary on the effect of "speculators" and "traders" on open market prices and exactly how his policies would "control" the retail price at the pump. Or how he would engage India and China in a "dialog" not to use so much petroleum, obtained from areas like Sudan, that are the ultimate drivers behind the increasing price of oil.

Again with the lazy reporting. Why pose the question about SEIU investing in energy companies? Why not take the time to -gasp- research it and tell us the answer?

You could have still had an article if you'd left that part out. Now it looks like a trashy opinion peice instead of journalism.

Big chunk of SEIU pensions are invested in oil companies including Exxon-Mobile.

This is a cheap publicity stunt!

Factually, this is dumb. It's dumb because most of the world's petroleum is produced by state-owned oil companies-- over which the U.S. government has absolutely no control.

Of course, it may be good politics (in a dumb, demagogic sort of way).

"...there are no Obama solutions offered. Seems like a bit of false adverstising there.

-He's throwing out a bunch of issues with no solutions? Go figure, that's all he does.

Wow, Frank asks a legit question: Does the union have pension money in big oil companies?
But, Frank, what about these questions:
1. The millions Obama gets from lawyers representing lobbyists? It's called money laundering, I believe.
2. Didn't just two weeks Rep. John Conyers begin proceedings to increase the federal gas tax by 50 cents a gallon AFTER the general election?
3. Most of our oil comes from Canada and Mexico, not the Arabs. Oil prices worldwide are why we are paying so much.
4. Is Obama and the union in favor of drilling in the Bakken Oil Field in North Dakota? Experts believe at the minimum there is 200 billion barrels of oil there and at best 500 billion barrels of oil.
5. What about ANWR, which has anywhere from 100 billion to 200 billion barrels of oil.

Anyway, if these areas became open for oil exploration, would that possibly lower the ;price of oil -- big time???

Sorry Economist, but the reality is the price of oil has nothing to do with supply and demand. The price is determined by SPECULATORS who guess what supplies or political conditions will look like IN THE FUTURE. Where did you get your degree?

Obama maybe doesn't get his money from the oil companies, but he does get his money from bundled contributions that include oil corporations. So I guess we can call Obama a lier and opportunist. Go ahead people put him in the Whitehouse and see how far you get with promise, hope and change. Read it and weep when in four years everything is status quo or worse. Then you will have a chance at another four years just like the dunder heads that put Bush back in the Whitehouse after four years of failed promises and foul ups. Or if you are smart after four years of Obama you can look back and say I should have seen this coming when he constantly had to weasel his way out of the Wright, Bitter, Ache, Rezko and his constant "let me explain what I meant or, what I meant to say was..." When bush was running for President I said that he would destroy this country, well hopefully Obama can't destroy some that is already destroyed, but he wont make it any better, and in four years it will be even harder for the next President to try to turn things around. I've had my say and even if it doesn't make print, I feel better for getting it said.

I enjoy the BS of the free marketeers as they tout free enterprise on one hand while begging the government for handouts on the other.

It is Supply and Demand as Economist @ 12:58 p.m. stated, ratcheted up to a whole another level by speculators as Glenn @ 1:08 p.m. stated. The point is - what is/can the great Obama to do about it?

Bashing the oil companies that refine crude and get gasoline and diesel to the retailer is a very feel good kind of thing, I surely understand, but without any excess supply or other motor fuel options, here we be, and here we will probably be for a very long painful time.

democrats eyes gloss over whenever you try to present the impact that just the Supply and Demand relationship has. Lines, curves, graphs, price equilibrium points, elastic / inelastic demand, democrats don't bother with this made-up wingnut stuff.

Good luck to anyone energetic enough to try to explain Econ 101 as it relates to energy world.

I wonder if teh SEIU is concerned about the nice high paying union jobs in the oil industry?