$3.25 gas/gallon now, where is the outrage?

If you want to live in a "global" economy, be prepared to pay out-of-this-world prices on everything.

Gasoline is a cheap commodity. The price is manipulated so a few can engage in theft. Hardly a free market.

A tax on your income is the root of all evil.

Originally posted by backinblack
reply to post by saltheart foamfollower

 

By the way, how do you folks like paying a tax on a tax? That is one of those that really angers me when I buy my cigarettes.

On a pack of cigarettes we are paying like $5/pack and they go for about $7. When you buy them, you pay a sales tax of 5% here. That means I am paying a sales tax on a tax.

Same here in Australia though petrol and fags cost a lot more than in the US..

BTW, it's not a tax on a tax..
It's a tax on a tax on a tax...
You missed one biggy..They tax our salary first....

Exactly what I was going to say mate!

And here is the kicker. My gf's dad works for Wills and Rothman, British American Tobacco here in Sydney, and he was telling me just recently that it costs them $1 to produce 1000 cigarette's. That's right - 0.001 cents per smoke. So 4 cartons of smokes for 1 dollar!

And the consumer is then paying between $115-$135 per carton. Such a disgrace. And if I remember correctly, the factory produces about 1,000,000 cigarettes per hour. So working with basic maths, 4000 cartons per hour a produced. So essentially, $460,000 per hour is being produced in that factory, working on $115 per carton. And it is running 24 hours a day!

And people wonder why the government will never ban smoking outright. They make WAY too much money from the taxes paid by smokers...........

Edit to add - Sorry for moving away from the original point OP, but I thought I would add this just to show how much we are being ripped off for ALOT of things, not just petrol!

My theory is that "they" inflated our gas prices to see where our threshold was.
When it hit 4 bucks/gallon most people got angry.

Now they can play with us and raise the prices to a near point that is below our threshold.

We do not own a car, and are entering Year 5 without one. Monthly public transit costs compared to car ownership and monthly gas costs are positively minuscule. That said, I do take notice of the local gas prices. The last time I looked up walking past the neighborhood gas station, it was $3.09. That really isn't too shabby compared to elsewhere on the planet. Higher than it used to be, but enviable for foreigners.

America is the planet's equivalent to a spoiled brat. It really makes me simultaneously amused and saddened. Few have trouble justifying dropping a month's worth of income on an electronic toy, or several years' salary on a vehicle, both of which will be obsolete and undesirable after 6 months when the search for the next New Toy begins. That "Status Symbol Cycle", if you will. But their consumables must be cheaper than everyone else first and foremost, yessiree. Because that is where the price outrage is to be had.

^^The above is not railing on the habits of ATSers, but rather of Americans in general. 'Tis how I see my country.

Originally posted by beezzer
My theory is that "they" inflated our gas prices to see where our threshold was.
When it hit 4 bucks/gallon most people got angry.

Now they can play with us and raise the prices to a near point that is below our threshold.

it is also a psychological game - you noticed the market NEVER normalized after the gouging of 08...
That set up an interesting threshold for pain, we were HAPPY when prices went down from their peak,
we were so happy we all forgot to question why the entire floor pricing rested at a previously hyper inflated
point. We were in a sense conditioned to except an entire market price shift by using high prices, we are treated
like dumb animals, I think they are right in many cases.

The price of gas is a very complex yet finite price which is based off solid factors. Many analysts spend entire days studying supply and demand etc. It's not some scam to trick you because if they tried to play trickery with prices the financials wouldn't make sense and you would have thousands of whistle blowers.

I currently pay 3.60 for regular in Connecticut. I don't think that's really all that expensive. I can't even buy a gallon of water for less then that.. A typical gallon of water comes out to $10 per gallon.

www.amazon.com...
www.amazon.com...

I don't think it's a lot to pay to run a vehicle. Food is too high, gas is NOT.


So I guess my point is that it's ignorant to focus on how high gas prices are when they are actually really low compared to food. People keep crying foul on gas but food is skyrocketing and nobody is paying attention.

I hope you enjoy a future where everyone can afford gas but nobody can afford a loaf of bread.

in new zealand we are at

$1.96 litre for 91 octane or $2.03 litre for 95 octane & $1.33 for Diesel

$120 to fill my tank, every time it goes up they just blame your (US) dollar

reply to post by Namaste1001


You cant compare European gas prices to the US. It simply doesnt work. Most places people work and live are cities and you have mass transit all over. The sheer size of the US and the fact that some people drive and hour plus to their jobs alone makes it not able to compare. For most Americans its a drive for everything. I spend a week in Boston every year and once I get there my car sits for the week, its subway all the way. So obviously when mass transit is there gas can be hirer and no one cares, but the majority of the US is rural and we are the ones that suffer. Look at it this way in the 1930's the average MPG for cars was 18, today its 22. There are so many patents sitting in oil companies hands that we could be getting amazing MPG right now but that is not profitable for them since they are to used to making multi-billions of dollars profit each quarter.

reply to post by havenvideo


The only problem is that it does not work. Americans as a whole reduced their driving habits and some other excuse is used to inflate gas prices. As long as the US tries to compete on the world market the fuel prices will never drop. Oil companies will continue to use some excuse (oil spills, hurricanes, China's usage...). It goes on and on. There are bigger problems that need to be addressed in order to fix the combined little problems. For example...Go back to the constitution...Federal tax on citizens greater than 1% is illegal. It was increased to help pay for WWII and never repealed. Put the tax burdons back on coporations that are and should be treated as what they are...tax ID numbers. Put penalties on companies incorporated in the US for outsourcing over seas. Put penalties on elected officials that doe not vote the way their citizens want. Start putting politicians on trial for treason when then vote for banks and big business instead of for The People. Once these things are addressed...things like the cost of fuel can be fixed. Face it...It is no longer the People's government, but rather a corporation controlled by the banks, special interest groups, and coporations. It is the East India Trading company all over...

reply to post by Janky Red

You might be right.
Maybe we are sheep.
(typing while munching on grass)

Originally posted by Janky Red

Originally posted by beezzer
My theory is that "they" inflated our gas prices to see where our threshold was.
When it hit 4 bucks/gallon most people got angry.

Now they can play with us and raise the prices to a near point that is below our threshold.

it is also a psychological game - you noticed the market NEVER normalized after the gouging of 08...
That set up an interesting threshold for pain, we were HAPPY when prices went down from their peak,
we were so happy we all forgot to question why the entire floor pricing rested at a previously hyper inflated
point. We were in a sense conditioned to except an entire market price shift by using high prices, we are treated
like dumb animals, I think they are right in many cases.

edit on 15-1-2011 by Janky Red because: (no reason given)

edit on 15-1-2011 by Janky Red because: (no reason given)

This is why I like to read every post in a thread,
I agree 100%.
This sums it up right here, , great insight, truth in your post.

I can remember my father getting upset when it went from .28 cents to .32 cents when I was little,
It's one of those "why remember moments of no significance" ,
but I do remember him sort of complaining and raising his voice at the pumps that morning and the gas jockey offering an apology.
.28 cent? bizzaro world.

Who needs outrage when you have oil investments!

Btw there was a huge thing I saw on youtube I think on alex jones show with Lindsey Williams as a guest saying the 'elite' were going to push oil prices as far as the american people would let them, looks like we are letting them, he predicted between $150 -$200 within 8 months, and that was about 3 weeks before the gas prices started skyrocketing!

Here in the U.K around 5 years ago truck drivers and farmers protested about fuel increases and blocked all fuel depots from letting their tankers out it caused mayhem but it was to no avail the fuel still continued to go up it's pretty disgusting fuel at the minute in my area is £1.29 a Litre I am quite lucky because I dont have to use my car that much.
Check this out this is one of my fav songs and it sums the Tax man up.......
www.youtube.com...

reply to post by saltheart foamfollower


Suck it up. You get the cheapest gasoline in the world because of your government's and your corporations' evil, exploitation, corruption and murderous actions over last fifty plus years.

You also can purchase almost any product in the US cheaper than elsewhere thanks to your government using your military to do your corporations bidding. Pay a fair price for everything and don't raise the cost your products sold abroad and you'd be amazed how quickly the rest of the world would forgive the US for all the evil it has been responsible for.

Try paying $9 a gallon (US not UK gallon) as I now have to.

It was predicted year's ago that there would be huge Oil crisis that would change the world.
Look's like its coming into play now as i only see things getting worse.

the worst part about it is we ARE NOT running out of oil. The problem is we've been forced by radical environmentalists to stop drilling and refrain from producing more oil under the guise of environmental disaster..

So it's natural if we can't drill for more oil, we're going to run out of the oil in the few holes in the ground we have, but to say the world is running out of oil is as big a scam as Al Gores climate change model.

Originally posted by havenvideo
Best way to express your outrage is to WALK, or cycle. We need everyone to though. If they wanna screw with us, let's screw with them by taking away their business.

Too bad it'll never happen.

Lazy no good...

*walks away in disappointment*

Ever get the feeling that getting people to walk and ride bikes id part of their plan? It will make whomever is in office look like THEY have cleaned up the atmosphere and the world. The government will then get credit for the whole "go green" scam. They will then say that cap and trade works....make more money, and the larger companies will be able to buy credits from smaller companies and continue to fill the air, while the people cut back on emissions. They don't care if you walk to work or drive as long as you get there. It does beg the question....why are they raising the price so high and keeping the pay so low making it where people can no longer afford gas. It seems like they are up to something.

Originally posted by libertytoall
The price of gas is a very complex yet finite price which is based off solid factors. Many analysts spend entire days studying supply and demand etc. It's not some scam to trick you because if they tried to play trickery with prices the financials wouldn't make sense and you would have thousands of whistle blowers.

I currently pay 3.60 for regular in Connecticut. I don't think that's really all that expensive. I can't even buy a gallon of water for less then that.. A typical gallon of water comes out to $10 per gallon.

www.amazon.com...
www.amazon.com...

I don't think it's a lot to pay to run a vehicle. Food is too high, gas is NOT.


So I guess my point is that it's ignorant to focus on how high gas prices are when they are actually really low compared to food. People keep crying foul on gas but food is skyrocketing and nobody is paying attention.

I hope you enjoy a future where everyone can afford gas but nobody can afford a loaf of bread.

edit on 15-1-2011 by libertytoall because: (no reason given)

Whatever GASMAN.
/second line