U.S. subsidy keeps gas price low in Iraq (5¢ a gallon!!!!!)

[Fridays Child]

BAGHDAD, Iraq — While Americans are shelling out near-record prices for fuel, Iraqis pay only about 5 cents a gallon for gasoline — a benefit of hundreds of millions of dollars in subsidies bankrolled by American taxpayers.

Before the war, some forecasters predicted that by invading Iraq and ousting Saddam Hussein, America would benefit from increased exports of oil from Iraq, which has the world's second-largest petroleum reserves. The result, according to those forecasts, would be cheaper gas for American motorists and a boost for the oil-dependent American economy.

More than a year after the invasion, that logic has been flipped on its head. Now the price for gasoline in the United States is averaging $2.05 a gallon — 50 cents more than the pre-invasion price.

The only people getting cheap gas as a result of the invasion are the Iraqis.

More at http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/PrintStory.pl?document_id=2001949017&zsection_id=268448413&slug=cheapgas06&date=20040606

[Fridays Child]

1. Hey, kids, this is about to drop off page one, so I'm kicking it.

Let's get this news out. The "undecideds" need to know that, while they're paying $2+ per gallon, the chimp is charging them $167 million every month to sell gas in Iraq for 5¢ per gallon.

[AntiCoup2K4]

2. That's fucking ridiculous!

I say there should be a nationwide tax protest. Gonna need the money to buy gas anyway :grr:

Anyone post this at Freeperville yet? :evilgrin:

[Fridays Child]

3. For some reason, it doesn't seem to be raising too many hackles...

...here at DU.

Folks, don't let this outrage fly under your radar!

[Fridays Child]

4. Kicking again.

[lanparty]

5. Don't forget ...

Halliburton gets a cut of EVERY gallon of gas sold to the Iraqis. This is a corporate givaway, nothing else.

If we had a plan to put folks back to work, we wouldn't be having all these problems. Peaceful societies are populated with people who have better things to do than fighting.

[Fridays Child]

6. kick...

This should not be falling off page one, every five minutes. I don't get it. Is it Reagan fever? Are we not as outraged about gas prices as I thought?

Many people in this country won't wake up until this whole thing bitchslaps them right in the wallet. Let's get this information out.

[Zinfandel]

7. 5 cents a gal. that's a bit cheaper than we pay for here in N California.

[GreenPartyVoter]

8. It's not cheap to them, though, is it?

[Fridays Child]

11. Agreed. They are paying dearly for an invasion they never wanted.

But I maintain that what will turn most Americans against Bush is the pain they feel in their wallets, and this news adds a huge insult to that injury.

[Zinfandel]

12. Well if you see it as us invading for no reason and stealing their oil

and selling it back to them, then I guess that it's not cheap to them.

in a monetary sense...five cents is extremely cheap to any country in the world, even poor countries in central America pay well over a buck a gallon.

5 cents a gallon is cheap no matter how you look at it.


It's our tax dollars subsidizing it and also using the money to make the Iraqi like us...the BushCo mentality.

[napi21]

9. I think wer're all missing something else.......

I believe prices at the pump are radically inflated totake advantage of the summer driving season, the war, and the media hype. If you believe that, then the oil companies are raking in the gold for as long as it lasts! To add to this, the US is buying about 100,000 barrels a day to add to the reserves which further adds to the inflated profits of the oil companies.

Good way to pay back your buddies, huh?

[Ms. Clio]

10. That's if they can get gas at all

After waiting in 100+ degree heat for hours at the few places where it's available.

[celestia671]

13. I was just about to post this story!

Good thing I looked a the GD thread list first!

This really pisses me off! Not only are we paying high prices for gas, but paying for Iraqi gas too? :nuke::argh:

[Fridays Child]

14. Thank you. This one really pissed me off, too.

:mad:

[Ms. Clio]

16. This is basically a COMPLETELY BOGUS STORY!!!

Ordinary Iraqis have almost no access to this so-called ultra-cheap gas, just like they don't have electricity for much of the day and their hospitals are on the verge of crumbling completely.

This story was prominently displayed on one of my local television news station's website, but oddly enough, they ignored this:

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=540&e=7&u=/ap/iraq_dying_children

[Fridays Child]

20. It's not about availability in Iraq. It's about the $167 mil per month...

...that you and I are shelling out for it. And, I agree with you that dying children should get the greater coverage. They should be the most important concern we have.

Unfortunately, for the average American, while bleeding babies tweak the heartstrings, hemorrhaging bank accounts are a daily threat to our own survival.

[Ms. Clio]

22. I see your point now

I am just really concerned that rightwingers will sieze on this story to bolster their delusional contentions that things are getting better in Iraq--cheap gas! Free medical care! Etc.

[Egnever]

15. So?

meanwhile we have commandeered all the oil production they have had to date in order to fund "the reconstruction"

A country the size of California deserves gas at 5 cents a gallon for all the shit they have been through.

Heres a clue American gas is already priced lower than in many other countries due to government subsidies.

This is a BS issue and if the Dem's try to make it their own they will lose.

[Fridays Child]

17. I disagree.

Most Americans don't care that their gas is cheaper than other countries'. Nor do they care--or really understand--what is happening with Iraqi oil. They DO care that they're now paying over $2 a gallon to fill up their tanks.

[charlie]

18. It's commensurate

to what they were paying before we rocked their world. I'm not averse to subsidizing their gas to ease their hardship.

[TheWebHead]

19. actually of all the money we're spending in Iraq

I don't have much of a problem with this... this cheap fuel is "fuel" to get the Iraqi post-war economy going. If you make them pay $1.50 a gallon, nobody would drive, and commerce would be brought to a near halt... Obviously this pricing will have to be ramped up though soon.

[Ms. Clio]

21. Iraqis battle long lines in gas search

BAGHDAD, Iraq - When Salah Alwiha got to the gas station, the line snaked around the block. Seven hours later, when he finally pushed his car to the front, the news was enough to make him scream: The pumps were empty.

Although Iraq has the world's second-largest proven oil reserves after Saudi Arabia, residents of this chaotic capital are spending long, sweaty hours in the hammering sun every day in a frustrating - and often futile - search for fuel.

"I didn't go to work all day," Alwiha shouted at the back of yet another line, down the road, this one three cars wide. "What kind of life is this?"

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/breaking_news/5815953.htm

Yeah, they are really getting a lot of 5 cent gas.