Sloved the energy shortage problem

[geneP]

Re: Solved the energy shortage problem

GlueGuy, thanks for the info, but I don't think I can afford alternative energy just yet at those rates. Here in the south the local utility hasn't raised rates to the extent you are talking about, and we use more power to run the air conditioning.

 

[jimmoore]

Re: Solved the energy shortage problem

GLUguy, how does the wind factor in on solar panels??

jim

 

[s1120]

Re: Solved the energy shortage problem

Glueguy,
Maybe you should ad a windmill into your engery plan. Sounds like you may get a little more power on the days the panels are not working well. I would think you could use most of the power system, just tap in a few fans.

 

[EdDekker]

Cowboydoc,

Which nuclear power plants were taken off-line by Congress and are in ready to run condition? I am curious about this. I can't find any references to the congressional action on the web or in any handy reference.

The link http:// [url]http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/DAILY/psr.htm [/url] shows the NRC daily status of the nuclear plants and I only see one plant down for an extended period (Browns Ferry 1).
Some reactors have reached the end of their design life and are being decommissioned (e.g. Milstone-1, Yankee Rowe ...). Some were never completed (e.g. Seabrook 2). These don’t show up on the list so the 4 plants you are referring to must also have been omitted.


As for Oil company profit margins they are not far from the average for all industry.

In 1999 The fuel sector profit margin (net income divided by sales) was 4.0% and in 2000 was 6.7% while the all industry numbers were 6.7% and 6.4%. A quick web search for last quarter earnings reports for individual companies in the fuel sector shows that last quarter the result for Unocal was 7%, Texaco was 5.2% and Exxon was 7.6%



Ed

 

[cowboydoc]

Ed,
By online I do not mean that they were up and running. What I mean by online is the allocation of funds and restrictive policies that are placed on them. I don't have the time to go back and find exactly when all of this happened. It was in the late 80's and the early 90's. At that time there numerous plans in place to go to nuclear energy, especially in the west. Congress effectively killed all of those plans with the restrictions that were put on them to essentially take all further consideration of nuclear power offline because of the cost prohibitive nature of it. You forget to mention the WPPS energy plants that were killed by restrictions. The plants still sit, having never been fired up. Hundreds of thousands of people had invested in this. Through a loophole made by the federal govt. the states were allowed not to pay back guaranteed bonds by the state of WA. I don't know enough about nuclear power to say how it should be handled. Maybe they were right and maybe they were wrong. I'm not sure how comfortable I'd feel with one in my backyard. My only point was that if they want to Congress can act in a heartbeat. They don't have to wait months and years to enact policies.

Now as to your figures. What was gasoline in 1999? Most places less than $1 a gallon. Now in 2000, up to $2 a gallon, we're up 2.7% or about 70% increase in profit percent from the previous year. I think that's right. Now Exxon is at 7.6% for this year in the first quarter, fuel up to $2.75 in Chicage, another 20% increase from the previous year. So in a year and a half Exxon went from 4.0% to 7.6%. That's almost a 100% gain. How can you say that is not criminal? The oil companies maintain they are not making anymore money but they are. If they were still operating at the same profit margin but were just passing the higher prices on to us they wouldn't have jumped almost a 100% in profit margin and would still be at 4.0%. Most companies would absolutely die for those kind of increases in profit margin.

 

[M. Sullivan]

Re: Solved the energy shortage problem

The $3000 rebate from the state is $3000 out of tax payers pockets! This distorts the true payback period, and is nothing more than a subsidy of an underperforming option. Would be hesitant to make the investment, as the same people that created the rebate can take it away. Same as the federal ones years ago; they were popping-up everywhere then zap, no more new ones. If the motive is self sufficiency, personal philosophy or insurance against highly variable power rates then it makes since individually. Big picture I truly feel it is an energy supply and capacity problem. More supply infrastructure is the only true fix. Our tax $$ are already subsidizing half the population's existance and every other imagineable hair-brain idea....enough.

Re. big oil: Definately collusion. Why are none of them buildding new refineries to capture higher profit. They say the regulatory requirements make it prohibitive. BS. Look at the auto industry.....new reg's all the time, re. huge investment, yet you do not see companies saying they can't justify the cost. Actually, they view the challenge as a potential competitive advantage if they find the solution cheaper/faster, then simply pass the cost to the consumer. Big oil does not want change. Worse, when other industries see how successful their manipulation of the market is, guess what.

 

[cowboydoc]

Dekker,
The nuclear power you are mostly right on. However, there were specific laws that congress inacted in a matter of four days that essentially killed nuclear power, especially WPPS. Stock and bond prices went from being the #1 rated in both interest and safety to the bottom of the heap in a matter of four days, due to restrictive regulation by Congress. This essentially killed the WPPS power plan. This was the most safest and state of the art facility ever built anywhere in the world. The new regulations were put up specifically to halt it's process. Though not in a bill that outlawed nuclear power but made it's use all but impossible. I agree with you on most of what you have said but it was congress that supplied the lawyers and the courts with the laws to shut nuclear power down.

As far as the oil companies I don't follow your math but that is fine. All I figured was profit margin percent of increase. A company would not go out of business if it has a positive profit margin. A positive profit margin means that after every single little expense that can be paid is paid then you have a profit. Now what you fail to factor into this are the bonuses of the upper management, which are at staggering levels. The lower management and blue collar workers are not seeing a dime it is all going to the upper management, ceo's, etc. That is right from the wall street journal from about two or three months ago. I never mentioned anything about buying stock or prices. The reason that they are not soaring on stocks is because a good percentage is going to management and not to stockholders. Everyone knows that there is illegal price fixing and phony markets being created with all gas, power, and such. There is no denying that one bit. That's criminal. That's profiteering, collusion, etc. I don't really care what the price is as long as it's fair. I don't know what the answers are but what is happening is wrong. There is not a shortage of fuel. This whole thing is a perfect example of the need for not having deregulation in the fuel and power industry. There is no altruistic behavior in corporate america. If there is a profit to be made they will do it with little regard for the general public. That is the theme of nearly all major corporations. There is no regard for people, it's all about the bottom dollar. Anyway I respect your opinions and not much more I can say on the subject.

 

[Wingnut]

Re: Solved the energy shortage problem

Cowboydoc,
normally I have to dig really hard to find a topic that I disagree with you on ... but I certainly do disagree with your outlook on the energy "crisis" and what we need to do to solve it. Blaming Bush for any of this seems, to me at least, completely ubsurd. I believe he was either the governor or Texas (or not yet elected) when our socialist friend in the Republik of Kalifornia started with all their "not in my back yard" voting. Don't blame anyone except pandering California politicos for pushing deregulation and then capping prices .... that policy doomed the populace to an unsustainable free ride.
That "not in my back yard" crap always puzzled me ... citizens vote to not allow incinerators and then puzzle about why toxic waste is trucked to other states to be incinerated.
If 5% to 10% profits are obscene (which, as was pointed out are much less than most other industries) ... the what is this 28% tax rate I'm paying? Or the 50% profit that Microsoft makes?
I also suffered some heartburn over your comments about what the population would say if farmers and ranchers got together and started charging higher prices for their goods. Go for it!! But ... let's please stop all the marketing plans, price supports, handouts, tax breaks and other things that small business doesn't get. I can't believe how much extra everything wioth sugar content costs in this country because of price "supports" .... not that's obscene.
I don't wok for oil/petroleum, by the way ... but I did some 20+ years ago .... worked for a pioneering oil sand plant in Northern Alberta ... and that gave me quite some insight into where the money goes. Besides the huge amount of taxes that the government sneaks out of your pocket in the form of "royalties" (as they're called in Canada), oil/gas has to be one of the most capital intensive operations in the world. The plant has a "break-even" cost of $15 a barrel ... much worse than Arabian oil ... but all the money stays in North American pockets ... heavy equipment, pipelines, etc. You know ... that trickle down theory that Reagan got castigated for.
There's a better way of bringing the price of gasoline back down .... quit using so much of it (not you ... everyone) and the law of supply and demand will automatically drop the prices. But ... what are we doing in this country? Well ... we're making (and buying in record numbers) monster SUV's like the Excursion. Heck ... it's onviosu how little people worry about gas prices ... Toyota now has FIVE different SUV's! Motorhomes are competing with buses for greatest length and width ... you can buy (and people obvioiusly are ...) horse trailers with 20 feet of high-end living quarters at the front ... I'm sure dragging that around boosts your gas mileage.
And we keep letting the eco-freaks make all the rules ... "don't burn coal to make energy ... it's dirty". "Don't build nuclear plants, they're dangerous and dirty." "Don't put that wind machine up there ... it spoils the view." etc etc.
Yeah ... I'm not the slightest bit happy about the price I paid for propane last winter ... had 2 months with $500 bills ... compared to $200 the previous winter .... but I certainly don't blame it on Bush ... I blame it on that lamebrain Clinton, his eco-buddy Gore ... and their motley crew on nutcases who set the energy policies we're living with today. This situation didn't occur overnight ... it has been escalating ever since 1992 .. when the energy department became subsumed by the environment department. Now we have half the planet set aside for dung beetles, no roads allowed into any of these "monuments" ... and a pee-poor relationship with those that are selling us oil. Let's put the blame where it belongs ..
Oh ... one last thing ... I don;t remwember whether it was you or one of the other "blame Bush" crew that said they'd have to vote for the Bore in '94 .... but think back to last year when we had the first boost in the gas rate and the eco-freak himself ... who wrote in his book that fantasically high gas prices would be good for the environment ... took credit for relaesing some of our "reserve" ... which benefited some oil companies ... but not the consumer. Wonder if Bush put him up to it, huh?
Hope it doesn't sound like I'm peeved at you ... I'm not .... just want to present the case that there's many caises and you seemingly ignored most of them and blamed obne poor schmuck that was dumb enough to care and try to do some LASTING good.

too bad that common sense ain't

 

[Rick572]

Re: Solved the energy shortage problem

Well said Wingnut...I agree.

Rick

 

[Bird]

Re: Solved the energy shortage problem

Wingnut, I think you've got a pretty good handle on it.

Bird

 

[cowboydoc]

Re: Solved the energy shortage problem

Wingnut,
First of all what I blame Bush for is not having a policy or doing anything to cap prices right now. In my mind we have an energy crisis, period. Now you can say all you want about suv's, etc. etc. but even without that, it's a small percentage, there is price gouging going on. I just finished watching report on the news about who's making the money. Here was the breakdown. .63 for cost of oil, .38 for cost of taxes, .22 to to retailer, and .52 for the refinery! They said the average price for refineries for the last twenty years has been .20 or less. It has risen to all time highs and above even .40 for the first time ever. You're going to see it again this winter with outrageous propane prices. I don't blame this on Bush but he is certainly not doing anything to fix the problem. His answer is conservation and build for the future. Which is true to a point, but it does nothing for the next ten years. Now I could care less about the mess CA has itself in. They did that to themselves. I feel sorry for the average Cal. though that did nothing to cause this. It was politics and env. wackos and mainstream public is paying the price as usual. I don't blame Bush for that nor should it be his responsibility. They have to take care of that in their own state. But what is wrong is states that do have plenty of energy and used to sell it for a reasonable price are holding CA hostage over the prices now. Yes I'm mad at Bush and he should be doing something. Yes Clinton and everyone else in that era created a damn mess. But regardless it's Bush's ballgame now and he has to fix it no matter who created the problem.
Lastly when you talk profit you're talking about only what goes to the shareholders. The profit margin is after every single pretax penny has been squeezed out of the company and every executive is given a nice fat check, which is fine as long as it's legal. How would you like to be Dick Cheney and as his retirement from an oil company he made $30 some million dollars for a few years of work. Hmmm you don't think that's a little outrageous?
Lastly you say for the farmers to go for it. Ok now you're paying double your income for energy, double your income for food, etc. How long do you think you'll be able to afford all of this nonsense? You know you say you can't believe me being upset over all of this. I can't believe that you would even question what is going on. I have no problem with anyone making a profit that's fine, but collusion and price gouging are wrong.
Lastly myself and every other farmer in the country would vote with you on removing every damn government program that there is. All it has done is keep the farmer down. But the government has it so screwed up now that there are only two choices in Iowa to sell your corn to. They come out and give you a price and say if you don't like it tough. Doesn't matter that the price they give you is a $1 under break even. Yet they sure don't sell it for less to Quaker. Government has got to police big business that is all there is to it. Again I don't blame Bush for this and never said that I blamed him for it. What I fault him for is not working on a plan to start fixing the problem.

 

[skent]

Re: Solved the energy shortage problem

Way-to-go Wingnut!!!/w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Steve

 

[Bird]

Re: Solved the energy shortage problem

<font color=blue>what I blame Bush for is not having a policy or doing anything to cap prices right now</font color=blue>

Richard, I guess we all have our pet peeves, look for simplified answers, someone to blame, etc. I'm not at all happy about the energy situation, but you know a lot of us feel it would be much more important for him to put a cap on what doctors, hospitals, and pharmaceutical companies are doing to us. If you want to see price fixing, gouging, padded bills, overpaid executives, etc., that's one that easy to find./w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif We can blame insurance companies (and they deserve a lot of blame), but of course much of what they've done was because of gross overcharges in the past, so now they've gone too far in many cases. In other words, most of us know the solution to problems in professions we're not personally involved in, but can't seem to correct the ones in our own professions. Discouraging sometimes, ain't it?/w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Bird

 

[cowboydoc]

Re: Solved the energy shortage problem

Bird,
I'm the first one to admit that healthcare is ridiculous as well. I most certainly do do my part to help out as much as possible there. My fees are about a third of what I could charge. The only reason I'm that high is because I get cut 30% off the top by managed care. If I don't keep my fees somewhat high then I get cut 30% off of reasonable fees. My cash patients get the most reasonable rate that I can give them. If you don't have insurance my office visit is $36, hardly overcharging. As an example one of my colleagues charge to set a broken arm and cast non-surgical is $690, my charge is $250, if you don't have insurance it's $125. If you can't afford to pay I work something out with you. My office manager is always on me because I write so much off. I'm a member of the Iowa insurance for children where I make little of nothing, but I do it to help out kids that wouldn't otherwise get help. I volunteer my time to be the team doctor for the local high school and the college. I speak up at professional conventions and political functions about the outrageous prices of healthcare. I do everything I can to bring down prices so yes in my own profession I am doing all that I can to keep healthcare reasonable. I just expect other people to do the same in their profession.

 

[WVBill]

Re: Solved the energy shortage problem

Richard:

I've been trying to understand the economics of health care for a while now. When my wife had carpal tunnel surgery a year ago, we got the Insurance statement that listed the hospital charge they paid (Anesthesiologist, hospital room, all the way down to the band-aid to cover the spot where they drew blood) as a total of $5,000. Shortly afterward, I got a statement from the hospital for the same services at a total of $8,000. I called them and they said: "Oh, you shouldn't have gotten that, we made a mistake in sending it to you - ignore it."

So I was wondering how it works. It seemed that, for the same service, the hospital would charge Joe No-insurance $8,000 and United Healthcare (UHC) $5,000. My guess is that UHC "cuts a deal" with the hospital and says "I'll send you all my carpal tunnel surgeries if you give me a good price, say - $5,000" So to get the "guaranteed business", the hospital takes the $5K price and makes maybe 5% profit on each one. Now their target profit is 10% so to make it up they charge our friend Joe No-insurance $8,000 - an extra $3,000.

I can see from your e-mail that you do just the opposite. You charge Joe N-I a lower rate than you charge me (through my insurance company). I realize that some portion of that is what the insurance company "charges" you (30%) and if you net out the same on both then I can understand. But if you make more profit on me (my insurance deal) than you do on Joe in order that your average profit is decent then isn't my insurance company (me, through my premiums) "paying" part of Joe's fair bill.

Really, I'm not pointing fingers here or laying blame, I'm just honestly trying to understand the micro-economics of "doctoring" a little bit.

Thanks for considering answering - and thanks for being in the profession you are.

 

[skent]

Re: Solved the energy shortage problem

Again, the blame can be spread across many places, but the allowable lawsuites that arise (some justified, most not) that not only tie up our court system, cause innocent people LARGE defense fees, allow lawyers to take 1/5 to 1/3 of the judgement (and I'm NOT kicking all lawyers, but many fit), all funnels back to increasing malpractice premiems and increased cost of liability insurance (building in a safety zone). Theres no short term fix, and there may be no fix at all (our system (political-that is) is better than most if not all) but when you have a system with checks and balances, two party system this will happen.

Furthermore I fully believe the situation in CA is GOING to move east, and there will come a time, sooner or later when we all have energy crunches. You can only keep putting so many controls on generating electricity before it gets too expensive to afford (supply and demand). Those who can afford to run outdoor dawn to dusk lights, all sorts of bells and whistles will be paying, and those of us who can't will use what we need at a minimum and then hit the switch.

Steve

 

[cowboydoc]

Re: Solved the energy shortage problem

Bill,
Yes you're right on all accounts except for one and that is that I do not make anything up on insurance. In fact on most plans I lose more by charging insurance than if the patient payed cash. First of all I have to pay two full time people just to do insurance and billing. My postage alone every month just for sending insurance and billing is over a thousand dollars. Next I have to wait two to six months before I even see that money. They I spend an average of one to two hours a day just doing insurance paperwork, that's not even counting my regular notes. Then I have to have a computer and billing network with electronic billing capability just to be able to bill insurance. Then I have to go to cont. ed. seminars to see how to keep in compliance with everyone and how to bill. Then I have to keep up with medicare and medicaid compliances as well. That's not even all of it. If I could just charge each person $36 and get paid that day I'd be in seventh heaven. I'd cut my overhead by probably half and the frustration. I could concentrate on seeing patients and not worrying about every little detail I have to do to make sure that I get paid and job satisfaction would go way up. Don't get me wrong I love what I do but insurance is a royal pain in the rear and believe me it's not worth charging 10 times what my cash rate is.

 

[M. Sullivan]

Re: Solved the energy shortage problem

Here's an interesting perspective from the 'conspiracy theory crowd' on what's going on, as well as a reference to some new technology to allow the US to become self-sufficient. Seems too good to be true, and that it isn't explained in detail rasies questions. At any rate.....

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=22911

Also, re. Bore in '04. Wouldn't vote for him for dog cathcer, just concerned Bush will get tagged with the whole mess. And if this admin. doesn't do a bigtime collusion investigation there's no way I'll vote for him, either.

 

[Bird]

Re: Solved the energy shortage problem

Richard, I wish you lived and practiced in my area. The prices are considerably higher around here, and to make matters worse, the service frequently leaves a great deal to be desired, too, and I have my prejudices, too, partly because of encountering some truly imcompetent doctors in the last few years with my parents. I won't go into detail, but my brother & I did do our share to run one incompetent orthopedic surgeon out of town (with some help from an attorney, but without actually filing a lawsuit and without making any money). We found he'd been run out of other towns, and he may be practicing in your area now for all we know.

And WVBill, when I had my carpal tunnel surgery - one hand at a time and day surgery each time, no overnight stay (got there at 7:30 a.m. and gone by noon), the total bill was in excess of $19,000.

Bird