Eric Shafer @edgeiseric

@MarioNawfal It's called price gouging, and during a national emergency (like a war), it's illegal. x.com/edgeiseric/sta…

Eric Shafer @edgeiseric

4 weeks ago

The simplest way for the @realDonaldTrump administration to get oil, gas and diesel prices down is not an export ban. It's to use have @ToddBlanchvv at DoJ to send letters to oil & gas companies ordering them to disgorge excess profits derived from price gouging during a

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@EricLDaugh Tell Trump to invoke national emergency powers to force oil refiners to stop price gouging. x.com/edgeiseric/sta…

Eric Shafer @edgeiseric

4 weeks ago

The simplest way for the @realDonaldTrump administration to get oil, gas and diesel prices down is not an export ban. It's to use have @ToddBlanchvv at DoJ to send letters to oil & gas companies ordering them to disgorge excess profits derived from price gouging during a

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@ShaneMa01033790 @ZaStocks I posted about this exact issue, it's because Valero is price gouging during a national emergency, and how the administration is letting it happen: x.com/edgeiseric/sta…

Eric Shafer @edgeiseric

4 weeks ago

The simplest way for the @realDonaldTrump administration to get oil, gas and diesel prices down is not an export ban. It's to use have @ToddBlanchvv at DoJ to send letters to oil & gas companies ordering them to disgorge excess profits derived from price gouging during a

1 4 15 21K 2

Guys, don't be too harsh on @Benioff - everyone in Silicon Valley and corporate America knows that you have to blindly follow along with nonsense from the government, or your money flow dries up. The irony is that Marc exposes the fact that almost everyone knows at this point - corporate America is largely an illusion of circular contracts originating from government spending, and a large portion Silicon Valley is technology-laundering from the government.

Marc Benioff @Benioff

2 weeks ago

The era of Super Intelligence is here. AIForce is officially SIForce.

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@vxunderground If I call it "virtual intelligence" instead of "artificial intelligence" or "super intelligence", does that make me a double enemy? Or less of an enemy? Either way, hello fellow enemy!

And that gap is from the input costs (to the refiners) and the output sale price (finished fuel from the refiners), correct? So, oil went up X, but cost of finished fuel is now up Y, and Y > X. The gap between Y and X is the excess profit. That's what I'm specifically talking about.

I said, "Correct. Supply & demand do." regarding pricing in the market. Supply is down, due to the Iran war, which was argued by this administration as being an emergency. Demand at the same (or arguably higher) levels, with diminished supply, results in prices rising. Oil refiners have raised prices higher than their input costs, which is why they have record profits. Which, under normal economic circumstances, is fine. Under an emergency situation, it's not. It's price gouging, and it's illegal under federal law.

No, the fact that it's happening during an emergency is what makes it gouging. Same as if a hurricane was going on. During a hurricane, demand for gas increases. Therefore, price would normally increase. Emergency declaration means stations can't raise prices. Trump invoked emergency regarding Iran to obtain the funding and authorization to transfer weapons. Somehow, you managed to miss that premise which is the most important part.

If it was supply chain only, why are the refiners reporting record profits? It gets very tiring dealing with disingenuous arguments. Yes, everyone is aware there’s a war and supply chain disruptions. That’s why the administration has floated an export ban. Which would specifically address the supply chain by increasing domestic supply and removing foreign demand. But none of that explains increased refiner profits, as constrained supply leading to higher costs would lead to lower profitability if refiners didn’t raise prices to market. But they not only raised prices, they raised prices more than the input supply increase which is why profits went up. I welcome any explanation as to the record profits other than this.

@GasBuddyGuy That's correct, supply & demand do. But Valero, Exxon Mobil, Conoco Phillips, etc. are reporting record profits. That's the evidence that they're price gouging. If they were maintaining profitability, that would be evidence of stable pricing.

If you think we have free market capitalism in the USA oil industry, you're dumber than your username (which is saying something). If you'd read my other response, you'd have seen that I favor deregulation and free market capitalism. But we don't have that, and aren't getting it, so in the meantime, allowing an unchecked cartel to price gouge is the wrong move.

No, because in communism, the means of production are owned by the state. In this instance, the means of production are owned by a regulatory-capture monopoly of a handful of refiners, which enables them to engage in anticompetitve cartel behavior. "In a true free market, economic cartels can temporarily form, but they are notoriously unstable and tend to collapse without government enforcement. Individual members can undercut the cartel price to steal market share. High cartel prices attract new competitors into the open market. Contracts fixing prices are legally unenforceable without state backing." So, big government enabling regulatory capture = anticompetitive cartel. Big government invokes emergency measures to engage in military operation that drives oil and gas prices higher. Cartel sees opportunity to derive record profits (see recent earnings reports). I'd prefer true free market capitalism, but there is zero chance at that, so this measure at least would rectify the immediate harm of the cartel. Great question though, important to remind X users that communism and corporate cronyism are much more similar to each other than free market capitalism.

@ekwufinance Stop. Letting. Oil & Gas Companies. Price. Gouge. During. Emergencies. x.com/edgeiseric/sta…

Eric Shafer @edgeiseric

4 weeks ago

The simplest way for the @realDonaldTrump administration to get oil, gas and diesel prices down is not an export ban. It's to use have @ToddBlanchvv at DoJ to send letters to oil & gas companies ordering them to disgorge excess profits derived from price gouging during a

1 4 15 21K 2

@Kalshi Meanwhile, Conoco Phillips and Valero are making record profits... x.com/edgeiseric/sta…

Eric Shafer @edgeiseric

4 weeks ago

The simplest way for the @realDonaldTrump administration to get oil, gas and diesel prices down is not an export ban. It's to use have @ToddBlanchvv at DoJ to send letters to oil & gas companies ordering them to disgorge excess profits derived from price gouging during a

1 4 15 21K 2

@realMAG1775 @WhiteHouse And yet, Conoco Phillips and Valero are making record profits... x.com/edgeiseric/sta…

Eric Shafer @edgeiseric

4 weeks ago

The simplest way for the @realDonaldTrump administration to get oil, gas and diesel prices down is not an export ban. It's to use have @ToddBlanchvv at DoJ to send letters to oil & gas companies ordering them to disgorge excess profits derived from price gouging during a

1 4 15 21K 2

@lawyer4laws @SteveGuest @ScottJenningsKY And yet, Conoco Phillips and Valero are making record profits... x.com/edgeiseric/sta…

Eric Shafer @edgeiseric

4 weeks ago

The simplest way for the @realDonaldTrump administration to get oil, gas and diesel prices down is not an export ban. It's to use have @ToddBlanchvv at DoJ to send letters to oil & gas companies ordering them to disgorge excess profits derived from price gouging during a

1 4 15 21K 2

@haditaheri Make them disgorge the windfall: x.com/edgeiseric/sta…

Eric Shafer @edgeiseric

4 weeks ago

The simplest way for the @realDonaldTrump administration to get oil, gas and diesel prices down is not an export ban. It's to use have @ToddBlanchvv at DoJ to send letters to oil & gas companies ordering them to disgorge excess profits derived from price gouging during a

1 4 15 21K 2

@spikeballchris Messaged you - badged META business partner + performance marketing agency owner, would be a great fit to discuss.

Alternately, the US government could get out in front of the problem and announce DoJ investigations into all the fraud, misrepresentations, astroturfed PR campaigns and circular Enron-style financing. The AI trade is part of the reason that US government bond yields are surging, and the AI trade is based on a lot of fraud, so it might be a wise decision to get that fraud under control and also help Treasury bonds in the process.

Polymarket @Polymarket

3 weeks ago

JUST IN: Trump reveals the U.S. government may take financial stakes in OpenAI & Anthropic, similar to its deal with Intel.

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