What's the fucking deal with gas prices?

Kel Varnsen

Flannel Shirt wrote:

We pay for our own health insurance. If our govt provided free health insurance, that would be about $800 per month that we would have available to pay the fucking gas/oil prices with.

I am aware that our gas taxes pay for things that other countries don't have the luxery of having. But at the same time Canada is a net oil exporter producing more oil than we can use.

I dont see why you dont complain. WTF? Apparently you have no problem touching your toes while big oil sneaks up behind you.

Its way to fucking expensive. This shit is ridiculous. Come December / Januray, filling my home oil tank will cost almost as much as my mortgage. Filling my car with gas will cost almost as much as my insurance premium. It may actually cost more than my monthly insurance premium.

So if your house is too expensive, buy a smaller, cheaper to heat house. I am pretty sure exxon didn't tell you what house to buy. If it is too expensive to drive to work, move closer. You can take some of the reponsibility for the amount of fuel you use. To act like you can't is like buying a private jet and then complain about the price of jet fuel.

RolandTD20Kdrummer

Solat13 wrote:

The average price per barrel of oil for 2002 was about $23 bucks and I paid a about about $1.45 per gallon of gas.

In 2008, the price is $135 a barrel of oil and I'm paying $3.75 for a gallon of gas.

So even though the price of oil has increased 6 fold, gas had only increase a little less than 3 fold. So we should be lucky we're not paying 6 bucks a gallon already.

The problem is as long as speculators keep driving the price up per barrel, the price of gas at the pump is not going to fall anytime soon.

Lots (thousands) of other use for oil to rip people off on. Gas keeps people moving back and forth slaving away. You can't upset that balance too much, in the sense you can only squeeze the life out of people so hard before it kills them.

A dead slave makes no money, and plows no field.

Flannel Shirt

Kel Varnsen wrote:

I am aware that our gas taxes pay for things that other countries don't have the luxery of having. But at the same time Canada is a net oil exporter producing more oil than we can use.



So if your house is too expensive, buy a smaller, cheaper to heat house. I am pretty sure exxon didn't tell you what house to buy. If it is too expensive to drive to work, move closer. You can take some of the reponsibility for the amount of fuel you use. To act like you can't is like buying a private jet and then complain about the price of jet fuel.

Why so angry, smug and obnoxiouis towards someone and their situation you know nothing about?

If you dont agree that gas/oil is very expensive, good to be you. I would bet that 90% of Americans will have a difficult time heating their homes this coming winter, and some people will have to make very diffucult dicisions about how to pay for daily necessities. There really is nothing that most can do other than grin and bear it.

You say if my house is too expesive, buy smaller? You have no idea what size house I have so dont make assumptions. I live a very, very modest lifestyle. Thats all you need to know about that. I dont give a fuck if I lived in a shed, the price of oil is still insane.

If my drive to work is too expensive, move closer? Oh ok. Thanks for the heads up. Thats what I will do then. I havent thought about this before, weighed all my options, and came to a decision. Ill just sell my house, buy a new one, and move closer. Are you 10 years old?

I do take responsibility for the amount of fuel I use. I bought thermostats with timers, I keep the house cool, wear sweaters and shit in the winter, only drive when necessary, etc. So, basically, buzz off without knowing the facts.

That was heavily edited so I dont get banned from here.

Man I dislike smug people.

InHiding19

With these absurd prices I find it difficult to believe this country is going to find its way out of the recesion in the near future. I mean if they were lower more people would be traveling and spending money.

Flannel Shirt

Oxxys wrote:

With these absurd prices I find it difficult to believe this country is going to find its way out of the recesion in the near future. I mean if they were lower more people would be traveling and spending money.

Very true. Things will get MUCH worse before they get better.

Just think about this for one minute.

Oil/Gas is now 4 bucks a gallon. A year ago is was around 2.

The average family is now spending an additional $350 every month or two in the winter to heat their house. If you fill your car once a month, you are now probably spending an additional $120 per month. I consider these numbers conservative, and only considering one car. Average that out over the year, and its an approx $3000 bucks per year spent on fuel that you didnt spend before. Not sure how many families in America, but if I were to assume using 303 million americans and dividing by 3, 100 million families, thats 300 BILLION dollars sucked out of the economy, and its going to get worse.

That combined with incomes are not rising equals shit hitting the fan real soon.

ledvedderman

I drive 103 miles round trip everyday to work. I live in a small town in central Illinois and drive to Springfield, IL, so there's no mass transit or public transportation to take advantage of really. I however, have decided to change my work hours a bit so that I could take a $10 round trip Amtrak ride up to work and back. $50 in train tickets is so much better than $100+ a week in fuel cost and wear and tear on my car.

Granted, it is about a mile walk from the train station to my office twice a day---but I really don't think I can afford to keep spending this much money on fuel.

Gremmie95

At the other end of the spectrum, we buy fuel on "futures". Discuss.

lukin2006

Kel Varnsen wrote:

If you want some of that cash, why not just buy some shares of Exxon Mobile? To a degree I can't really fault the oil companies for making a bunch of money. I mean they never told people to live an hour away from from their job so that they can have the 5 bedroom house. They are not the ones who told millions of people to buy giant gas guzzlers that they don't really need. Maybe people should take a bit more responsibility for the amount of money they are spending on fuel.

I agree to a point, like we probably don't need the big gas guzzling SUV, but some of because of affordable housing have to drive 30 minutes to work.

lukin2006

Flannel Shirt wrote:

We pay for our own health insurance. If our govt provided free health insurance, that would be about $800 per month that we would have available to pay the fucking gas/oil prices with.

I dont see why you dont complain. WTF? Apparently you have no problem touching your toes while big oil sneaks up behind you.

Its way to fucking expensive. This shit is ridiculous. Come December / Januray, filling my home oil tank will cost almost as much as my mortgage. Filling my car with gas will cost almost as much as my insurance premium. It may actually cost more than my monthly insurance premium.

Drill in Alaska. Fuck it.

I'm in Canada and I fucking complain, I travel 30 minutes to work by car, these prices are crazy.

Flannel Shirt

lukin2006 wrote:

I'm in Canada and I fucking complain, I travel 30 minutes to work by car, these prices are crazy.

Move closer to work then you idiot! WTF? Are you stupid or something. Stop driving your Hummer to work 60 miles round trip with the AC on and windows down with flat tires. Go buy a small house in the area you work and get a fucking bike. Its really that easy. Are you stupid or something.



I hear ya man. it just sucks. and, the worst part it that it will cost money to save money in this situation (switching heating type, buying hybrid car, residing and insulating your house, etc) and if you dont have the money to make these changes today, you're fucked.

Kel Varnsen

lukin2006 wrote:

I agree to a point, like we probably don't need the big gas guzzling SUV, but some of because of affordable housing have to drive 30 minutes to work.

But why should people expect to have it all for cheap? Life is all about choices and sacrifices. Either you make sacrifices in the form of housing (higher costs, less space) or you make sacrifices in the fact that you pay more for gas. I am not sure why people thing they some how deserve to have both.

bootlegger10

Kel Varnsen wrote:

But why should people expect to have it all for cheap? Life is all about choices and sacrifices. Either you make sacrifices in the form of housing (higher costs, less space) or you make sacrifices in the fact that you pay more for gas. I am not sure why people thing they some how deserve to have both.

There are many valid problems for the consumer to complain about.

1. The high prices are based off out of the out of control futures market.

2. There is plenty of oil off-shore and in Alaska, but Democrats block it. The environment would be just fine in Alaska.

3. The government supports a bullshit ethanol initiative, and just raises costs of food products instead.

4. No new refineries have been built in decades in the US.

5. We haven't nuked China to stop their energy consumption needs.

Okay, maybe one isn't valid.

Europe can handle it. The US doesn't have the infrastructure for high gas prices.

DriftingByTheStorm

An energy analyst on CNBC today said "the people who know about energy right now are talking about gas in the TWELVE to FIFTEEN dollar range [per gallon] in the short term."

I shit you not.
Nearly a direct quote.

:eek: :eek: :eek:

BTW. Futures speculation is not NEARLY as big a part of the problem as is monetary inflation in the US, global demand, and artificial scarcity by the fuel producers.

lukin2006

Kel Varnsen wrote:

But why should people expect to have it all for cheap? Life is all about choices and sacrifices. Either you make sacrifices in the form of housing (higher costs, less space) or you make sacrifices in the fact that you pay more for gas. I am not sure why people thing they some how deserve to have both.

I don't expect to have both, but these prices are crazy, and the oil companies are making record profits.

NOCODE#1

my2hands wrote:

Doesnt it make you want to bitch slap the CEO of Exxon everytime you fill up? I mean for fucks sake!

What the fuck is up with people?!! i mean for fucks sake 20 extra dollars? seriously. I'm sorry if you made bad choices in your life and therefore cant afford gas. Im sorry if you chose not to educate yourself and get a high paying job. i wish people would blame themselves before passing the blame onto someone else!!!!!!! Going through life expecting gas to be a certain price is laughable.

electronblue

NOCODE#1 wrote:

What the fuck is up with people?!! i mean for fucks sake 20 extra dollars? seriously. I'm sorry if you made bad choices in your life and therefore cant afford gas. Im sorry if you chose not to educate yourself and get a high paying job. i wish people would blame themselves before passing the blame onto someone else!!!!!!! Going through life expecting gas to be a certain price is laughable.

the road is long...with a many winding turn...that leads us to who..knows where...who knows where...~


-the hollies

NOCODE#1

point taken

AiCPearlJamWeen

I've heard $6+ by July because of hurricane season. If the US gets hit with one or two good hurricanes we will most likely fall into a HUGE recession/depression. Plus spending billions a week on a war we can't win doesn't help either. It's sad that we are sending American soldiers over there just for corrupt government and companies to fuck us in the ass with high gas prices.

Also NOCODE, sure you might have a great job and can afford going places but me, I can't. I am in a community college and have been killed by grocery prices this past semester. I would spend $80 a week just on essentials (milk, eggs, lunch meat, cereal, bread and other small processed shitty small meals). Thats on top of the $4000 a semester college charge and $3000 a semester dorm charge. So even though you say "it's not the oil companies fault your so dumb and couldn't go through college..." just think of how much your kids are going to have to pay for college. Once the get out I bet they will spend A LOT of time of their life paying off their college loans and what not.

There will be no middle class in the future, just really poor or really rich, and the saddest part is I'm beginning to believe that is what the government and corrupt companies want. I saw on CNN the other day congress "asking the tough questions against oil companies" and the reporter got on and actually said "can you believe it's more of love fest in the room, no tough questions asked...". Yea I wonder why....<_<

Sludge Factory

Kel Varnsen wrote:

But why should people expect to have it all for cheap? Life is all about choices and sacrifices. Either you make sacrifices in the form of housing (higher costs, less space) or you make sacrifices in the fact that you pay more for gas. I am not sure why people thing they some how deserve to have both.

It's not that people should expect it for cheap. It's that the price inflation is a completely fabricated ploy by certain speculators who know how to work things.

http://www.star-telegram.com/ed_wallace/story/651928.html

Part 2:
http://www.star-telegram.com/ed_wallace/story/659081.html

zircona1

bootlegger10 wrote:

2. There is plenty of oil off-shore and in Alaska, but Democrats block it. The environment would be just fine in Alaska.

4. No new refineries have been built in decades in the US.

I have a family member - very Republican, listens to Rush every day - who says it's the environmentalists' fault that no refineries have been built. How valid is that?

Also, would drilling in Alaska and off-shore really solve the problem? I mean, some of this current gas price increase is based on the weakness of the dollar, correct?

Just curious.