Fuel Prices

[Dark_5.0]

It will get over 4 bux in Cali and on the East coast but it wont break $3.20 here where I am at.

I paid $7.85 a gallon for race gas a few weeks ago so i guess I cant complain.

[82 GT]

The price of gas is out of control. I bet it will break $5/gallon on the East coast within the next 3 weeks.
The oil companys and politicians are loving every minute of it too.
As the price of oil increases, they get richer which is the same reason why the federal goverment willNEVER step in an regulate oil prices. Why would they slit their own throats.....
Drive offs at the pumps are going to increase dramatically, people will resort to siphoning fuel out of vehicals, crime will increase....
It's going to get worse before it gets better...much worse!
Ever see the movie MAD MAX?? Well, that's what it will eventually come to if something isn't done.

[Mr 5 0]

Originally Posted by 82 GT

The price of gas is out of control. I bet it will break $5/gallon on the East coast within the next 3 weeks. The oil companys and politicians are loving every minute of it too. As the price of oil increases, they get richer which is the same reason why the federal goverment willNEVER step in an regulate oil prices. Why would they slit their own throats....

The government tried regulating prices for gas...it was called the 1973 gas shortage crisis. Price-setting by government doesn't work. The government could call for a moratorium on gas taxes but they never seem to think of doing so. Federal and state gas taxes in my state add close to 60 cents to every gallon of gas you pump into your tank. Eliminating at least some of them would be a boon for drivers but that will never happen. The oil companies certainly could do more but frankly, shortages will always drive up prices, no matter what the reason. Most gas shortages are 'spotty'...not everywhere, as only 10% of the gasoline supply has been seriously affected by Katrina. The politicians are not 'loving it' as, first, the less gas people buy, whether by choice or due to a shortage...the less taxes the state and federal government collects. Second; they are being pressured to 'do something' by statist-minded citizens and, unfortunately, they sometimes do. Then everyone suffers, as happened in 1973.

Drive offs at the pumps are going to increase dramatically, people will resort to siphoning fuel out of vehicals, crime will increase....It's going to get worse before it gets better...much worse! Ever see the movie MAD MAX?? Well, that's what it will eventually come to if something isn't done.

Yes, some jerks will panic and steal gas (some don't need an excuse) but let's remember that the U.S. still has 90% of it's oil/gas supply available. While distribution is a problem, which could cause 'spot' shortages, it will hardly be the apocalyptic scenario you portray. 'Something'; will be done...the piplines will be repaired, opened and gas will be in full supply again...and the price will drop. Not as much as it should, but it will come down. Mad Max remains a fictional character, as does the post-apocalypse world he lived in. For now, anyway.

[82 GT]

Originally Posted by Mr 5 0

Yes, some jerks will panic and steal gas (some don't need an excuse) but let's remember that the U.S. still has 90% of it's oil/gas supply available. While distribution is a problem, which could cause 'spot' shortages, it will hardly be the apocalyptic scenario you portray. 'Something'; will be done...the piplines will be repaired, opened and gas will be in full supply again...and the price will drop. Not as much as it should, but it will come down. Mad Max remains a fictional character, as does the post-apocalypse world he lived in. For now, anyway.

The price won't come down much because the goverment will think "Gee...if they can buy gas at $3/gallon then certainly we can keep it there". Gas will never go below $2/gallon again and the "Mad Max" scene won't be too far in the distant future.

[Mr 5 0]

Originally Posted by 82 GT

The price won't come down much because the goverment will think "Gee...if they can buy gas at $3/gallon then certainly we can keep it there". Gas will never go below $2/gallon again and the "Mad Max" scene won't be too far in the distant future.

I think you meant to say that the oil companies will keep the price of gasoline high...not the government. The government taxes gas at the pump but does not 'set' the pump price. Not yet, anyway.

The Mad Max scenario you insist will occur any day now is based on your assumption that with gasoline at over $2.00 per gallon, drivers will riot. I think not. Gas is a necessity for most of us and while a $5.00 per gallon price might start riots...$2.50 per gallon won't. Factored for inflation, at $2.00 + a gallon, we are paying the same or very close to what drivers paid per-gallon 30 years ago - and the average car today...even a V-8 Mustang...gets far better gas mileage than a 1975 or earlier car.

The fact that...as you said...gasoline is a economic necessity for the people and our economy, the government will not allow it to become so expensive that no one can buy it or if they do, it negatively impacts the economy. This whole problem could be alleviated if the government would drop some of the insane regulations that make building an oil refinery impossible and would allow more off-shore and Artic drilling. The U.S. has plenty of oil reserves underground but environmental-whacko regulations make drilling for it either illegal or financially impractical. That must change.

Oil drilling is very sophisticated these days and can easily be done in a way that does not harm the surrounding environment. To have to depend on almost 60% of our oil coming from unstable, foreign countries is ridiculous. More U.S. oil wells and local gas refineries would cut the cost and the ultimate price of gas to U.S. consumers, not to mention the risk of our supplies being held hostage by terrorists or other crazies.

One of the problems with how we view the price of gas is in our perceptions. We grew up with gasoline being relatively cheap and so, a 50 cent-per-gallon rise in price over a week is a shock. That's to be expected. However, even at $3.50 per gallon, that price isn't so terribly high and the vast majority of Americans can and will pay it. However, once the distribution problems subside, gas prices will come down, albeit probably never below $2.00 per gallon, as you said. Then again, a cup of coffee - which cost about 50 cents in 1975 - costs $1.50 or more at most diners and coffee shops, today. Few people complain because the price is reasonable when you also compare what people made in salary 30 years ago. It's all relative.

While a true gas shortage will certainly make tempers flair and people will get a little crazy, the idea of gasoline someday becoming some kind of super-precious commodity that people will kill for is a giantic stretch of the imagination. Of course, if you still wish to believe that scenario will happen, you are welcome to do so. We all have our fantasies. I simply find it naive and based more on emotional responses and a lack of understanding than reality.

[82 GT]

Your're forgetting that high gas prices affect everything else.
No, just the fact that gas is $3.50/gallon won't cause riots but factor in the the higher cost to heat homes, prices for goods bought in stores because companys charge more to to ship it there so the store raises their prices to offset the difference.
You're not seeing the whole picture.
Higher gas prices cause a domino effect on the economy which will cause the stealing, siphoning and crime that I talked about earlier.
Just remember, $3+/gallon might still be affordable to most upper class and middle class people but the people who really suffer are the lower class and poor.
Maybe the Mad Max syndrome might be a little far fetched but a more realistic prediction would be that someday there won't be a "middle class". You will either be rich or poor. No more "in the middle". The rich continue to get richer and the poor get poorer.
I consider myself middle class and I'll be the first to admit that I'm "feeling" these high gas prices.
I guess if you're wealthy, judging from your attitude and "matter of fact" responses, you have nothing to worry about.
So I guess the people that complain about the current fuel prices are just peons in your eyes...huh?
You're probably one of those guys that owns a Hummer and spends $75-$100 a week on fuel and thinks nothing of it.
When you pump $25 worth of fuel and only get 7 gallons of gas, that's bullcrap and you know it!

[Mr 5 0]

Originally Posted by 82 GT

Your're forgetting that high gas prices affect everything else.
No, just the fact that gas is $3.50/gallon won't cause riots but factor in the the higher cost to heat homes, prices for goods bought in stores because companys charge more to to ship it there so the store raises their prices to offset the difference.
You're not seeing the whole picture.

Oh, I see the 'Big Picture' quite clearly. That's why I said that the government will not allow gas prices to rise to obscene levels. You are not the only one to realize that would have a very negative impact on our entire economy. Even now, the feds are dicusssing a moratorium on the federal gas tax and my state's governor is talking about suspending the state gas tax. Together, those taxes add about 55 cents to every gallon of gas. Dropping htem will make a big difference.

Higher gas prices cause a domino effect on the economy which will cause the stealing, siphoning and crime that I talked about earlier. Just remember, $3+/gallon might still be affordable to most upper class and middle class people but the people who really suffer are the lower class and poor.

Yes, just as higher food or clothing prices and an increase in cable rates will always affect the poor a lot more than the middle and upper economic classes. This is a fact of economic life. If you are 'poor' (a relative term, in America) and especially on a 'fixed income', any rise in retail prices will be noticed and you may 'suffer', another relative term in America, where 'poor' means having a car, two color TV sets and air conditioning. Not quite the same as being 'poor' in, say, the Sudan or even Afghanistan. But I digress.

Maybe the Mad Max syndrome might be a little far fetched but a more realistic prediction would be that someday there won't be a "middle class". You will either be rich or poor. No more "in the middle". The rich continue to get richer and the poor get poorer.

Not quite so. Generally, household incomes have been rising steadily for many years in the U.S.A. Most of America falls into the 'middle class' of the economic strata. There is 'lower'-middle class, 'midddle'-middle-class and 'upper'-middle class but the general 'class' comprises probably well over 2/3rds of the nations population - and drives the economy. Rich people - by themselves - don't make the economy run, the 'middle class' - average Americans - do. We are not about to disappear just because gas prices go up, I assure you.

[QUOTE]I consider myself middle class and I'll be the first to admit that I'm "feeling" these high gas prices.[/QUOTE}

Everyone does. You are not unique.

I guess if you're wealthy, judging from your attitude and "matter of fact" responses, you have nothing to worry about.

I wish. I simply am not about to get hysterical because gas prices took a big jump in a week due to situations that will eventually change.

So I guess the people that complain about the current fuel prices are just peons in your eyes...huh?
You're probably one of those guys that owns a Hummer and spends $75-$100 a week on fuel and thinks nothing of it.
When you pump $25 worth of fuel and only get 7 gallons of gas, that's bullcrap and you know it!

You're personal attacks here are unwarranted - and wrong.

I am not rich and I don't own a Hummer', either. I simply do not share your fears and frustrations because I can figuratively see past the next 24 hours and realize that gas prices are important but that they will not remain where they are and that we are not all going to end up as beggers on the street because gas went up in price.

Complaining about the price of gas is a national pasttime and hardly qualifies as something significent that will change America and destroy our way of life, as you seem to think. That is irrational and if you wish to state such things here, expect to be contradicted.

[silver_pilate]

I understand why prices rise for the cost of gas, but what I cannot comprehend is how suddenly, the very day after Katrina hit, all the gasoline dealers immediately had a 50 cent price increase. I know that they are raising prices in preparation for their own raised costs, but until they actually see those costs from their suppliers, they are raking in the profits. And we all know that there will be significant lag between the time that their costs drop and their prices drop. It's a racket, plain and simple.

More of a racket, though, is the cost of oil from OPEC. It costs them something like $4 to make a barrel of oil, and they turn around and sell for $70. That's a 1,750% mark up!! Imagine going to a bookstore and buying a textbook for $1312, and you might get a better picture of the markup. Of course, why Katrina should effect the price of crude is another quesiton, as it's not the supply of crude that's a problem, but the refining of the crude into usable forms that's been affected.

Oh well, bottom line is we all know we'll pay whatever they ask us to for gasoline. Sure, some of us my ride the bus a few more times, but when it comes down to it, we'll all keep driving.

--nathan

[Phillyfanfrombirth]

Originally Posted by silver_pilate

I understand why prices rise for the cost of gas, but what I cannot comprehend is how suddenly, the very day after Katrina hit, all the gasoline dealers immediately had a 50 cent price increase. I know that they are raising prices in preparation for their own raised costs, but until they actually see those costs from their suppliers, they are raking in the profits. And we all know that there will be significant lag between the time that their costs drop and their prices drop. It's a racket, plain and simple.

More of a racket, though, is the cost of oil from OPEC. It costs them something like $4 to make a barrel of oil, and they turn around and sell for $70. That's a 1,750% mark up!! Imagine going to a bookstore and buying a textbook for $1312, and you might get a better picture of the markup. Of course, why Katrina should effect the price of crude is another quesiton, as it's not the supply of crude that's a problem, but the refining of the crude into usable forms that's been affected.

Oh well, bottom line is we all know we'll pay whatever they ask us to for gasoline. Sure, some of us my ride the bus a few more times, but when it comes down to it, we'll all keep driving.

--nathan

Cash markets shot up just as fast... it was the markets leading the retailer, not the retailer leading the markets.