[Mr 5 0]

Originally Posted by 82 GT

Don't hold your breathe for the suspension of gas taxes. I'll be an old man before that happens.
You're the first person who seem to be ok with the current fuel prices and believes that the prices will fall a significant amount after production picks up again.

Not exactly.

I would love to be paying under $2.00 per gallon, just like you or anyone else. I would also love to be able to buy a new Mustang for the same price I paid for my '90 LX when I bought it new (about $14,000.) Neither one is going to happen. While I hate paying $40. for a fill-up that used to cost $25. a few short months ago I do not believe the price will remain at that high level and I see no point in getting all frenzied over it because that won't change anything...and I still have to have gas, just like anyone else.

Like I said, it's just not the price of gas, it's everything else that continues to go up while our paychecks stay the same.
That is what frustrates most Americans.

The inflation rate in the U.S. averages from 2 to almost 4%, annually. 2.5% is about average. Right now, the inflation rate stands at a bit over 3%. Most employers are aware of this and offer pay raises close to that amount, sometimes a little more. 2 to 3% is a very reasonable rate of inflation and part of the reason why our economy is doing so well. If your paycheck is staying the same on a yearly basis, you need to find a better job or aquire the skills and/or education that will allow you to find one.

I understand that having the cost of a necessary expense like gas suddenly go up 40 to 50% in a week or two is shocking and the first response tends to be anger born of frustration because you don't understand it and can't change it. That's natural. However, even at our generally low inflation rate, certain things will jump in price at various times for various reasons. Gas, being something most people use and need, is simply a more obvious manifestation of the natural cycle of supply and demand.

The economy has been a wreck for years now, regardless of what they tell you on TV, and probably will be for years to come.

I'm sorry but that is absolute rubbish and obviously stems from a gross lack of information and knowledge of our current economic status.

Over 4 million new jobs have been created in the past two years, 2.2 million in the past 12 months.

The U.S. unemployment rate is down to a record low (5%).

Overall, the U.S. economy is growing at well over 3%, annually, a very robust rate of growth.

New home sales are way up as are sales of durable goods and retail, so the myth that thely created jobs are simply 'burger-flipper' or Wal-Mart jobs is nonsense. You don't buy a new home at today's prices on a Wal-Mart or McDonald's paycheck.

That's what they don't 'tell you on TV'..because most of the news organizations, except Fox, are anti-Bush and don't want him to receive any credit for the economy...unless it's bad. THEN, they trumpet that bad news for days on end and are sure to link it directly to President Bush, as if he could single-handedly 'make' the economy be either good or bad. The media bias against Republicans and President Bush, specifically, is as contemptable as it is transparent.

The U.S. is one of the most prosperous nations in the world today and our economy is in very good shape, the best in some years. Even our ''poor' live far better than most people in countries that are realistically poor. If you are hurting economically I am sorry but foolishly blaming 'the government' and the president is simply ridiculous and demonstrates a severe misunderstanding of economic reality.

Do you think Bush really cares about the economy especially after he will be out of office in two years?

Yes, he cares very much. If for no other reason than the crass political fact that if the U.S. economy is doing poorly in 2006 and/or 2008, the chances of a socialist Democrat like Senator Hillary Rodham (Clinton) being elected president becomes a real possibility, along with the Republicans losing their power in congress. Most people vote on their pocketbooks and if they feel - as you do - that the economy is doing poorly and they are being hurt, even if that is more apparent than real, a socialist Democrat using that perception to bash the Republicans while promising that they'll 'fix it' could fool enough people to be elected. It's happened before.

You're very optimistic. I'll grant you that much.

Thanks, but my optimism is based on the knowledge that gas prices are a focal point in any modern, industrialized economy and they cannot remain higher than can be justified without a lot of trouble for the gas companies and the politicians who are expected to 'fix it'. I'm sure some congressman or senator or two are already calling for hearings to 'investigate' the jump in gas prices. Half the political pundits are either blaming the gas companies for 'gouging' or blaming Bush...or both. That kind of national, laser-like attention on gas prices tends to have a limiting effect on how high they can go without any real, long-term justification that is both honest and believable.

I'm not freaking out about the gas prices. I'm just slowly learning how the goverment really works.

Really? It doesn't look that way from here. I would pay more attention to how the economy really works, if I were you. It will be of more benefit to your peace of mind.