Math Time!

Originally posted by Crakeur

Originally posted by MadMachinisttry living in the north east US , upstate vermont for instance like me

cost of living is cheaper there than where I am (NYC) and I'm guessing the gas is too. Station closest to my apartment was selling it for $4.50 until the papers put them on the front page. Of course I don't drive to work every day but I think it is safe to assume that the increase in everything else more than bridges the gap.


As I said, the $100, which I doubt will get approval, is a gift. People should stop complaining about it. You don't see thge brits being offered a rebate, or the french or the germans or the ....nope just us.

i agree with you on the cost of living being cheaper here then NYC however the government doesnt include the cost of fuel when they figure their annual cost of living figures the same figures that about 90% of american employers go by when they give annual raises. gas/fuel isnt included in them figures at all.

there is another way to look at it also how much money does one make in NYC at mcdonalds down there i am sure it is more then they make here so in the end it somewhat equals out, im sure someone there would make more then i do here doing what i do, i know in ohio someone making the same specialty tools i do makes $25 an hour.

[edit on 28-4-2006 by MadMachinist]

The $100 rebate is also attached to the same papers that are trying to ok drilling in Alaska, so it's probably not going to go through anyway.

As for Exxon's profits... it's a business, it's allowed to make money. There is no sign of price gouging by any oil company. Either build your own oil company, develop an alternative fuel, or stop complaining .

All this whining has forced me to sell all my oil-related stocks lol. I actually say "YAY!" when the price of gas goes up.

Now that I think about it.... why doesn't everyone just invest in gas? When the market goes down, you get gas for cheaper. When price of gas goes up, you make enough money to compensate.

Ironically the up in the price of gas is nowhere near as much as people waste on cigarettes every week.

If you think about it, we should be paying $3 per gallon, but not the way we are.

The oil compainies (i.e. Exxon) are making more money off oil than they deserve. While they make more money, we deplete our resources and pollute the enviornment. Americans use way too much gas and we believe that we "need" to, but we're so wrong! What we need to do, is look to the rest of the countries in the world and learn how to commute less, carpool more, use enviornmentally friendly methods of transportation (i.e. bycycling, hybrid vehicles, _NOT_ SUVs), and increase our public transit to a point where it's actually usable.

We should be taxing gas so that it's $3/gal, so that the oil companies can not line their pockets with extra proffit, but so we can use the money to try to fix the problems we've caused by driving too much and to prevent so much driving in the future. We shouldn't be given $100 each; the government should be using that money to fund one of our much-needed enviornmentally friendly projects that will prepare us for the future. Why do we have to be so selfish and demand our "right" to cheap, polluting gas? Because we're Americans. Well, we've used that excuse for far too long and for far too many situations, and it's time we shape up and start being responsible for the earth's future well being.

madmachinitst, I'm guessing the cost per gallon at the pump is more here than by you as well. I know I'll be filling up in Jersey tomorrow when I am forced to enter that state for a day with the outlaws.


Yarcofin, companies are allowed to make profits. It's the purpose of being in business but there is something to be said when the competition is minimal. Also, remember that without the customer, the company goes under. If the oil companies keep paying themselves these massive bonuses, rather than pass along a little thank you note to the consumers, you could very well wind up with a protest of sorts. Imagine what would happen to Exxon et al if the nation decided to protest the high prices by not using their cars unless they absolutely had to. Demand goes down, supply goes up, prices drop, Big CEO sees his profits and, therefore, his piggishly large bonus diminish. I work with a lot of really wealthy people. They all say the same thing about money. When you have 50 to 100 million dollars sitting in t bills, you really can't spend the annual income fast enough. To quote one of my clients "it becomes monopoly money after a hundred million. I bought a rolls, didn't like the way it drove and donated it to a school to tear apart. I gave a hundred million to charity last year and another 50 million in stock and my bank accounts still went up. It's a joke."

I should add the following quote, which he made a year and a half later, after his the tech company his wife headed up went broke and he lost over 2 billion dollars in stock and options

"I'm looking at under a hundred million in the bank. It's not a joke anymore."

giving everyone 100 dollars adds up to roughly 20 billion. That money should be used and invested in alternative fuel sources and what we are going to be addicted to after oil. Not giving everyone a quick fix.

Good post skippy

What bothers me the most about this, is this feels like syphoning OUR hard earned tax dollars INTO the oil companies.

I mean think about it, the feds give us each $100, for the expressed reason to help us out with gas prices. Now, ignoring those who may not spend this money on gas, if you spend that $100 on gas, it's just more profit for the oil companies.

So they get their hefty tax breaks, as well as *our* tax break.

it just doesn't feel right to me.

If anything, shouldn't that $100 come from the oil companies somehow? I mean if we were to roll back some of those tax breaks on the oil companies and then use THAT money that they'll pay to the feds and redistributed it back to us, the tax payers, i think i'd feel better about this.

And on top of all that... $100? It usually costs me about $40 a week for gas (60miles round trip to and from work each weekday). So 2 and a half weeks worth of gas... and then it's back to $2.80-$3 gas.

It's an ultra short-term bandaid ment to placate the masses imo....

[edit on 28-4-2006 by negativenihil]

[edit on 28-4-2006 by negativenihil]

you can't come up with an added tax just because the oil companies are raking in the dollars.

Bush did say he was going to take back some of the tax breaks. Will that happen? same as the rebate, probably not.

When "real wages" aren't rising on the same level as commodities everyone is going to complain their freaking asses off, cause they are getting poorer and progressing to ever lower standards of living as in marching to the slave labor class.

Energy inflation just doesn't effect the per gallon price of gas, it seeps into every facet of the global economy that was built to rely on cheap energy to continue in growth. When companies can no longer pass on the cost to the consumers, the global economy begins to collapse. You best all start complaining more or your going to have a taste of economic collapse and famine.

The whole price of gas comes down to the futures market. Crude oil wasn't always on the futures market, but when it was put on it the prices began their drastic price hikes. The companies that produce gasoline have the right to make money. But why does some guy that trades on the futures market have the right to set the price of gas?

futures are contracts to buy or sell a commodity at a later date. you are betting that the price of the product will go up or down from where it is today. the price of that product today is determined not by the futures market but by supply and demand economics.

supply and demand.

en.wikipedia.org...

if demand for a product increases and supply does not increase proportionately, the price goes up. If supply drops and demand does not drop proportionately, the price goes up. (the converse is true as well).

the reason gas prices are high is based on the supply and demand.





futures:

en.wikipedia.org...



[edit on 28-4-2006 by Crakeur]

The reason other countries pay more for gas has many contributing factors.

Two important factors:

1) The USA consumes more cruse than any other nation.
2) The USA states and federal government charge less tax on gasoline than other governments.

Also keep in mind that the cars in the USA get less gas milage than the cars in other nations (due to stricter emission standards) so I use more gas in, for example, a VW Jetta here in the USA than one in the UK uses.

topic starter, would you rather they NOT give you $100

don't look a gift horse in the mouth.

First off the $100 is the worst idea I have ever heard of, and it is not a gift. The $100 came from the tax payers in the first place. If the government feels that they have enough money to give everyone $100, we are being over taxed in. The government has too much to spend.

Secondly, the government has already spent the tax money they collected from us, so where is the money coming from to pay all of us. Knowing my government and how it works, in the long run it will cost us tax payers at least twice as much to pay back. Probablly the government will borrow the money from some where or create it out of thin air, and either we will owe interest on the money or it will help lower the value of the dollar.

Everyone in every country should be complaining loudly about the price of gas. If someone doesn't start, then it will continue to get worse and worse for everyone. Being complacient about it just because someone has it worse off then everyone deserves to have gas prices go so high that no one can afford them except the super rich. It is usually the ones who complain the most that get things changed, and hopefully a change for every one and not just for the US. If it is just for the US, then the other countries will know it can be done. If we can't get the prices lowered, or if we become complacient "good" little citizens, then there is no hope for anyone. Then the oil barons, companies, and governments know full well they have their citizens under control lock, stock, and barrel with hardly an uprising. The OPEC and oil companies will continue to keep milking us and the governments will allow it until we put pressure on them in one form or another.

At the same time we put pressure for the gas prices to be reduced, we also need to put pressure on them to allow and actually put some serious money into exploring some serious fuel alternatives, and actually develop those alternataives. Oil companies and anyone invested heavily in oil does not want alternatives to appear, since that will take money away from them especially if it is a cheap renewable source almost anyone can get their hands on. I'm highly suprised research in solar power has seemed to have hardly moved. I suspect the reason is that there is not enough money in it.

Also, you are not realizing the full effect of the higher gas prices. It is not just how much you pay to get from point A to point B, or even how much your heating bill went up. I have noticed it as plain as day since the gas prices have risen in the US. The prices of most if not all other products and food items has also risen. Gas prices are to blame. Why? Because the trucking industry that ships all of our products have to pay more in gas. I won't get into all the details, but the companies have to make a profit and be able to pay all of their drivers. They have to pay the drivers enough to keep them, and if they want the good drivers (I know we want them on the road), then they have to pay the better drivers who are also usually more experienced even more money. That means they have to defer the expenses somehow, which usually means they have to increase their prices. The companies that pay to ship the product doesn't want to loose money either, so they raise the product prices. Then the end customer, us, has to pay for the rise in gas prices.

To tell you the truth, I don't see desel prices going up as much as regular gas. The US government can't afford the economy to be shut down, because trucking companies and/or truckers refuse to drive because it would actually cost them too much money to operate. I admit it would take alot for something like that, but I do remember there was some serious grumblings within the trucking industry the last time prices spiked. I know of some owner/operators who quit driving because of the gas prices. When we loose owner/operators especially ones who have been doing it for a long time, we loose some very good and safe truck drivers on the road. Think about it, a truck driver is much more likely to be careful with a truck they own than one they are just driving for someone else.



[edit on 28-4-2006 by Mystery_Lady]

Guys, why rant and fume?

It's you ordinary Americans who are impotent to take any action.
You are the guys who've voted the present lame duck administration to power.

Why blame Exxon Mobil or the oil cartel? They're in the business of making profits by hook or by crook. They're having a ball at your expense, laughing all the way to the bank because they know that no one would bother touching them with a barge pole.

What have you Americans done about it?

So guys, CHEERS! Have a beer whilst seeing yourselves being screwed and taken for a ride by an impotent administration and the oily cartel!





[edit on 29-4-2006 by mikesingh]

Originally posted by mikesingh
What have you Americans done about it?[edit on 29-4-2006 by mikesingh]

What CAN we do about it? Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated, because I will try anything. What did you do in your country to keep gas prices down? (How much are gas prices in your country and what country are you from?)