Here are two great recent reports detailing EXACTLY how oil companies rip us all off, from Consumers Union. Although its been woefully under-reported in both the traditional and alternative media, the conclusions of CU’s May report (“Debunking Oil Industry Myths and Deception: The $100 Billion Consumer Rip-Off”) are strong and clear, and the research is rock solid. Consumers Union finds that the major oil companies have:
? achieved more than $100 billion in excess profits from 2000 to 2005 as a result of anti-competitive practices;
? strategically underinvested in refinery capacity to tighten supplies and gain market power over gasoline prices;
? carried out a deceptive and misleading PR campaign telling a huge profit story to Wall Street and a small profit story on Main Street;
? sought to blame factors other than their own behavior for higher consumer gasoline prices.
Download a copy of the 31 page report here.
On August 8th, CU released a follow-up report, with updated analyses and recommendations. Get it here.