Alert! US Crude hits $100, Gold reaches new record

Originally posted by marg6043
This brings me memories also my husband and I also use to look for pennies to pay for gas back in the seventies

Those where the days of 25 cents for gas.

Ahhh Yes !!!!
If gas was 25 cents a gallon now
then I could afford to pay off my credit cards

also on another note, does anybody know what the
minimum wage was during the 70's compared to
the 25 cents a gallon gas ??

All I need right now is a way to make my vehicle
run on salt water and I'd have it made

reply to post by SimonSays


Well when I was 14 I got a job for 3.35 an hour back in the seventies so if we compare to the price of gas now and the minimum wage now our gas has increased more than our minimum wage in comparison to the high cost of living

Marge, you just dated yourself!



I was looking up a few things, trying to get some current data on the price of oil, adjusted for inflation. I went to the US EIAand had myself a laugh....Nothing like a branch of de gub'ment tasked with being an info clearinghouse on energy only to learn that the most current analysis brief is from Nov. 2005. Good grief, more than 2 years old now. Way to go, gub'ment!

Think they're not interested in sharing a few truths with the world?

Oil hit over $100 a barrel.

biz.yahoo.com...

I don't think it will stay, but the pricing seems to be doing a Spring effect goes up high, goes down, then goes up higher, rinse, repeat.

I have a bad feeling about where this is going. I have had bad feelings like this before. I am also quite good at analyzing and correlating information.

When I was in highschool, I wrote an essay for my JROTC class after the African embassy bombings in the 1990s. This essay described a War on Terror. I later expanded the essay into a fictional story about a major attack on NYC, a US lead global war on terrorism, and the creation of a Department of Security. I never was able to write an ending for it. You can imagine the Deja Vu I had on Sep 11, 2001.

When I finished this recent semester of college, I wrote another essay dealing with oil prices, Pakistan, and the War on Terror. This was when oil was in the upper $80s a barrel, by the time I turned it in, oil was over $90 a barrel.

Hopefully I am wrong, but I recommend people stock up, save up, and plan ahead.

Oil prices have set a fresh record high of $100.05 a barrel in New York.

BBC


Over $100 again by the looks of it with a bit further to go no doubt, will soon be passed onto the consumer as well, here in the UK one of the bigger Gas suppliers is supposedly announceing a 10%+ increase in household gas prices tommorow and now road fuels will no doubt go up even more as well (diesel is already over £1.07 per litre)

reply to post by solidshot


100 was a mark, it doesn't mean that it will stop there is going to just get higher and higher, eventually we will be hit with the crunch.

So for those of you who are much more educated on this subject than I...
My husband and I (with kids) are considering giving up the "American Dream" for a while and falling off the grid, running for the hills (or mountains). We dont mess with the stock market's but we watch them and quite honestly we would rather rent, buy running used cars with cash and have a nice garden in the back, is this advisable? What is the middle class "American Dreamers" looking at? What is reality here and for how long?
The information is confusing to the common citizen, CNN/Fox is commenting on the $100 oil but not telling us what it means, they are tap dancing. It's either doom and gloom or everythings fine?
I respect ATS opinions and would be grateful for some straight answers on the future of the Married with childrens, the middle class and any and all insights into the best ways to ride the storm out for those of us who are not prepared, which is more than likely the majority of America, including myself.
Of course up until March of last year (my join date) I had not a clue as to what was going on in this world, at times I wish I could go back to sleep it would be easier.

reply to post by SEEWHATUDO


This is an article from a great site that keeps anybody that wants information up today with the realities of our economy.

They just posted this article today,

SELF-SERVING LIES DESTROYED THE AMERICAN DREAM

www.economyincrisis.org...

They have great articles.

1. Do you think the U.S. economy will fall into recession this year?
Yes 58%
No 30%
Not sure 12%

cnn

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The labor market is expected to end 2007 with a whimper, but even that modest forecast could be seen as "the good old days," since monthly job losses may become common in the year ahead, according to economists.

Don't sound to promising if thats true. My job is relatively secure to market fluctuations, but not enough to make me comfortable because it is still in the financial market.

The December employment report due at 8:30 a.m. ET Friday should see a net gain of 70,000 jobs in the month, according to economists surveyed by Briefing.com, down from the 94,000 gain reported in November.
That gain is roughly half of what is seen as necessary to keep pace with the growth in the nation's labor force, and economists are expecting the unemployment rate to edge up to 4.8 percent, a 22-month high for that key measure.,

Stock market is up for the day though, or actually, probably best described as no change. Looks like Kenya situation has exploded out of control though, which is what drove up oil prices so high. Well, thats what they say.

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Originally posted by infinite
I am working on a theory, the basics is this;

This economic problem is being allowed to grow in order for the economy to dominate the 2008 Presidential elections and not Iraq.

Think about, as US voters, would you be more worried about the economy or Iraq?

I'd have to agree with your logic here. Especially if oil is not really in short supply, but rather being manipulated. You then have to start asking why? Your answer is the most cogent and points to a viable investment plan.
If the Presidential elections are the target (get in a Democrat) then after the election all hell should break loose. It would not be unreasonable to expect the total collaspe of the US Dollar (will be blamed on the markets and other distracting factors, but oil will be the catalyst) and wonderful democratic ideas of going to another form of currency similar to the Euro. Something like an "Amero".

So gold would be one viable way to preserve your assets during the switch.

To do this without a civil war, we will need some very powerful distraction which will inflame patriotism like during 9/11, only larger. The first step would be an incursion into Iran, something big.

Originally posted by SEEWHATUDO
So for those of you who are much more educated on this subject than I...
My husband and I (with kids) are considering giving up the "American Dream" for a while and falling off the grid, running for the hills (or mountains).

This would fall into the survivalist camp, and you can google many good exit plans, locations and style of home. It can even be done without looking like a complete fruit-loop, as you can hug a tree and claim you going "green" and reducing your carbon footprint.

I would look for high ground, more internal to the US. Someplace you can carve out a nice cavern, make sure you have good solar access and enough property to grow food and collect water.

There are many, many underground facilities that the Government has in Colorado and New Mexico, so they must know something we don't.

reply to post by GriffinRD


How about Tennessee?

Originally posted by SEEWHATUDO
So for those of you who are much more educated on this subject than I...
My husband and I (with kids) are considering giving up the "American Dream" for a while and falling off the grid, running for the hills (or mountains). We dont mess with the stock market's but we watch them and quite honestly we would rather rent, buy running used cars with cash and have a nice garden in the back, is this advisable? What is the middle class "American Dreamers" looking at? What is reality here and for how long?
... I respect ATS opinions and would be grateful for some straight answers on the future of the Married with childrens, the middle class and any and all insights into the best ways to ride the storm out for those of us who are not prepared, which is more than likely the majority of America, including myself.
Of course up until March of last year (my join date) I had not a clue as to what was going on in this world, at times I wish I could go back to sleep it would be easier.

Seeing the problems in America doesn't take much of an education to figure out that the "American Dream" has grown is less and less attainable. You are observant and you're questioning the "logic" behind the marching-orders that We The People have been told for decades.

More and more people are realizing that the marching-orders are little more than a "game" -- a game that is completely rigged for a select few. The majority of middle class has been conned into thinking that if they work hard and keep their collective noses clean, they will succeed and they'll get their "American Dream". In the name of American progress (read: Corporate Greed), that "American Dream" was killed off when the US allowed outsourcing and the insane trade deficit. Instead of Americans working in manufacturing, it all goes out of the US to people who work very cheaply 7 days a week. The "American Dream" is only realized by the CEOs, the other Black Suits, Hollywierdies, and the trust-funders.

If you do your own taxes (or pay close attention to how it all breaks down), one of the main reasons that people buy homes is because the Feds' marching-orders tell us, at tax-time, that you can deduct the interest off of your mortgage. Of course, the interest deduction boils down to the TAX off of that interest. It's all a numbers game and part of the "game" is whether or not you have figured out if you want to play that "game" or live without the added responsibilities of owning a home. Face it, if you are the average home-buyer, the home you buy at the purchase price is not the final cash-outlay at the end of your 15 to 30+ mortgage -- gotta remember all of those interest payments. That's the "game". Owning versus renting is something you will have to determine based on the rules of the "game" and whether or not you want to play.

Being debt-free is one of the biggest liberators in America. If you have debt, my #1 piece of advice would be to get debt free ASAP. I am speaking of credit card debt or car debt, etc. Pay these debts down until you pay it off. Stop giving your hard-earned money to the big-banking industry -- they're not worth it! My mortgage was paid off in 13 years....we kept making principle payments out of schedule. We have no car payments. We are debt free and living on 1 salary by choice (plus investment income that keeps being re-invested). We have a BIG garden, a greenhouse, and solar.

I believe in the philosophy of living low and keeping things simple. If you can live without plugging into America's commercialized-consumerism, you are not only wiser but much better off financially.

reply to post by Zoltan


Thank you Zoltan
We plugged into the American dream now we want to unplug. We have a mortgage, we have car payments but we have cut out all unsecured debt. Quite honestly we woke up too late, can we still walk away? I dont know but it is heavily weighing on our minds. The way the market is now, we owe about 50,000 bucks if not more than what we could sell our house for, constant worry and struggle does not for a good life make.

reply to post by SEEWHATUDO


I just sent you a private message so we wouldn't divert this thread too badly.

Well, one thing is for sure about the upcoming economic crisis: There won't be a shortage of jobs for economists. So hey, if the recession gets to your job, and you get layed off, just pick up a PhD in econmics and grab a spot on the comfy chair to watch the end of the world.

Hello all. This is a related thread that was started four days before the announcment of oil price rise.

Gold skyrockets; platinum hits record

I will go on the record with my prediction. Oil will continue to rise until summer then unexpectadly decline just in time for the ...you guessed it...election!

Originally posted by marg6043
reply to post by Stormdancer777

 

This brings me memories also my husband and I also use to look for pennies to pay for gas back in the seventies

Those where the days of 25 cents for gas.

HI Marg, yea and rent was 50 a month, and we were still broke,

I was an idealist hippie, I have never owned a home, I own my own car , I have no credit cards, we still live by our wits in many ways, my husband works, I stay home and design jewelry, we do flea markets and barter.

We live simple, yet comfortable,I recycle everything, most my belongings come from second hand stores and garage sales, I redesign the old into the new but that's another topic

The hippies were right,

Sadly they are the ones that strayed from their first love and became the most materlistic of generations.

Don't you think?



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WE should start a list on why the prices of eveything is out of control.

1.