Holy Gas!!

Well said, JJ. Slop Bass, do you really believe that it’s your employer’s obligation to keep up with YOUR cost of living increase? You realize this will drive up the cost of just about everything in the economy, don’t you? Wages go up so businesses raise their prices to compensate so inflation increases. You said we keep taking it up the…..Don’t you mean that now we’re all just a little less wealthier because gas prices are higher? America is a Disneyland. We have so much more than anybody else in the world and we cry like babies or blame the Prez when somebody dips a little into our sacred stash. We should have more people complaining to our government about unnecessary taxes rather than high gas prices because gas prices are a part of our free market that the government shouldn’t be involved with. It’s scary when I hear all this pleading to the Feds to control the market. Is that what we really want? I know I have tons of things that I don’t need to spend money on (and that doesn’t even include a cell phone or home computer) and could easily reduce my cost of living to adjust for the increase at the pump. Maybe I’m an exception but I don’t think so.

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you would think that we could make-up that 25% pretty easy from the places that we get the majorty from

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The reality is ALL of the US refineries are already operating at 100% capacity. When the gulf coats refineries cut production, the other refineries can’t just produce more. A 100% output is a 100%.

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Slop Bass, do you really believe that it’s your employer’s obligation to keep up with YOUR cost of living increase

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It’s not MY cost of living that keeps going up…it’s THE cost of living that keeps going up…..

And no I don’t think my employer is obligated, I’m just stating that they keep telling me they can’t afford to give better raises, yet they keep having record earnings each quarter and the stock price keeps rising, and the company is making all this money, blah blah….I just don’t buy it.

I’ve been doing everything I can to cut back….like blue Said, it just isn’t enough.

I will admit, I am a typical cash poor, asset rich American. I keep up with my bills by supplimenting my income by playing poker.

Gas prices hurt.

HOWEVER, American debt continues to grow and retail sales have been strong for 10-20 years. It sure hurts spending $50-70 to fill a tank of gas, but a $1100 computer every 2 years or a 300″ plasma TV for $3k doesnt hurt as much-because last year they were $1700 and $6k respectively.

It is like I tell my wife, we make enough money, we just dont need to spend 110% of it.

Everytime I hear about how bad the economy is, I see a $40k SUV pulling a $35k boat down the road.

Gas prices suck. You know what else sucks? If I want non chlorine tasting water at work, I have to go down and pay 1.10 for 20 ounces of it in the vending machine. I bet the profit per 20 ounces of water is more than the profit on 20 ounces of gasoline. I realize this has nothing to do with anything, just something I thought about looking at the water bottle on my desk.

I continue to use gas. I use gas in my truck to get to work, to pull my boat, which uses gas. I could use my boat less, and save gas on the truck and the boat. But, I don’t want to. Guess I have to cut back elsewhere. The grim realities of life I guess.

Is gas and oil something essential for society? YOu could maybe argue yes and no. I don’t know. Electric companies are regulated are they not? Should oil companies be regulated also? Are they making huge profits while American society suffers? I don’t know.

Either way, my point is that it’s our own responsibility to play the cards we’re dealt. Our economic system is built on free enterprise, which puts the power in the hands of the entrepenuer. Profits keep going up, in part, because business is profit driven. That’s why they exist, to make a profit, not to ensure a certain “quality of life” to their workers. This is a perfect example of “the more we have, the more we spend.” We’re still the richest people in the world and it isn’t good enough. “As goods increase, so do those who consume them. And what benefit are they to the owner except to feast his eyes on them? The sleep of a laborer is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of a rich man permits him no sleep.” Ecclesiastes 5:11-12.

Are remaining gas comes from #1 Canada, and then Argentina and Mexico, albeit I may have the latter two in reverse order. The majority of Middle East fuel goes to China, Japan and Russia.

My god slop is a democrat. I think since we are spending so much to protect the middle east and their monopoly on oil we should rate a couple million barrels for every American killed by their citizens on Sept 11.

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My god slop is a democrat

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don’t think so

My sister-in-law owns a service station. Her cost for a gallon of gas has went up over 50 cents a gallon in the last 3 days. She has been on a waiting list for the last two days to get more fuel. Later on today she will probaly be out.

I find it hard to believe that after only one day this country is already short of gas. It almost seems the big oil companies are inflating the price to get the most dollars for their gallon. I have a feeling that when the retail price is well over $3.00 there will be plenty of gas then. From what I’ve heard the terminals are holding up the distribution of gas. I hope Congress looks into this!

I just got this forwarded to me in an email…thought it was kind of funny and thought I would share:

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So many different theories and ideas on how to stick it to the gas companies. How about this one……driving smaller vehicles, using less gas, caring about something more than our pocket books and thinking on a larger scale, like what we do to the enviornment when we fill up our Dodge Durangos. It is a very very sad time in our history, not because of the cost of the gallon in my opinion…

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Okay…there is a logical solution, let’s stop production of trucks and SUV’s.

I don’t know what should be done James. Its not my job. Maybe your right, do nothing. Let em’ go wild with it.
Maybe when it trickles down to you and others, you will feel a bit more concerned. I get the direct impact right away in my line of work. Its hard to pull 7 tons with a ford metro. You’ll all say, “Just pass it on”. Much easier said than done folks. Its hard for contractors to price fix unlike gas stations.
Is it all a huge deal to me? No, not hardly, I do just fine. Let her go to $6 a gallon. What the heck, its just the way it is right. I just see it as gouging and it bothers me.

It has trickled down to me, trust me on that. I don’t drive a big truck ANYWHERE any longer… unless there’s a boat behind me. I bought a little car earlier this summer to deal with the higher prices. Guide business is slower than normal so I’ve felt the affect there as well. I will almost certainly raise my prices as a result. I’ve felt it. I’m feeling it. I just don’t think there is any one person or group that is responsible for the rise in fuel prices. I’m not happy about the rise in prices, don’t get me wrong… I just can’t seem to get all worked up about paying what the rest of the world is paying for fuel.

Everything we have/want is going to get more expensive as a result of these prices.

I am most worried for the family farmer who has to suffer these increases just before the harvest. If the market price isn’t good for them, many could end up loosing their

I just got another round of culture shock, went to the bank, and saw another 25 cent hike since this morning. Fortunately I didn’t notice this until I was on the way back, wouldn’t wanted to do anything rash

dave

After my last post I got to wondering… “what is the rest of the world actually paying for fuel.”

Prices adjusted for the US $$.

Netherlands Amsterdam $6.48

Norway Oslo $6.27

Italy Milan $5.96

Denmark Copenhagen $5.93

Belgium Brussels $5.91

Sweden Stockholm $5.80

United Kingdom London $5.79

Germany Frankfurt $5.57

France Paris $5.54

Portugal Lisbon $5.35

Hungary Budapest $4.94

Luxembourg $4.82

Croatia Zagreb $4.81

Ireland Dublin $4.78

Switzerland Geneva $4.74

Spain Madrid $4.55

Japan Tokyo $4.24

Czech Republic Prague $4.19

Romania Bucharest $4.09

Andorra $4.08

Some oil producing countries keep the prices low as a perk for their citizens.

Saudi Arabia Riyadh $0.91

Kuwait Kuwait City $0.78

Egypt Cairo $0.65

Nigeria Lagos $0.38

Venezuela Caracas $0.12

Aren’t we an oil producing country? Let’s lower it to .12 per gallon!!!

My bad for not clarifying… should have been “countries that export more oil than they consume.”

well if that’s what it takes, let’s get exporting

dave

The United States consumes 25 percent of the world’s oil, yet we hold less than 3 percent of the known reserves.

So… not gonna’ happen, unfortunately.

My parents are in Wales. I’m sure they will be unpleasantly surprised by the rise in gas prices.

I think gas prices were just over $2.50 when they left, and when they get back this weekend the price will be $3.00.

James, that pricing structure you posted. Is that per gallon or per liter? I believe the European countries sell their fuel per liter.

Per gallon… and adjusted to the US Dollar.

Good question Blue.
and thank goodness

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Per gallon… and adjusted to the US Dollar.

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us old farts tickers can’t take the kind of stress that mental picture created

dave

James,

Thanks for posting the other countries prices. Did Kuwait ever give us anything for returning their country to them? How in the world have we ever kept our prices relatively low compared to the other consumers? It is because we do not allow our politicians to stay in office when the base consumers are pissed. We should make Kuwait the 51st state. Why we allow OPEC to fix prices is another mystery.

We have very little leverage to stop doing OPEC from whatever the heck they want to be honest. Its their oil.

If it was my oil, I’d be getting every last penny I could for it too, wouldn’t you? Afterall, once their oil is gone won’t most of these oil producing countries in the middle east just be holes in the desert with few opportunities to replace the lost income from oil? Oil reserves are projected (by some) to run out in 60 – 75 years. That’s inside the life expectancy of the children of those selling us the oil. Don’t you think they’re aware that they’re selling off a dwindling reserve and likely to try and get what they can now knowing that keeping the US in cheap oil is basically like selling their children’s future?

Just trying to play from the other side of the fence, from a different perspective.

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Did Kuwait ever give us anything for returning their country to them?

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Serious question here… did we ever ask them for anything for returning their country?

Now that $3.00 is a reality, can anyone explain to me why diesel fule in this country seems to cost more than premium gasoline? I alwsys thought it required less refining/processing. I’m fairly certain other countries diesel pricing is not this way, but I may be wrong.

dave

So when other countries run out, and we are sitting on the pile that we are “HOARDING” we will get gas for 25 cents a gallon?? Yeah right, we will be paying right along with them, or more for our own oil. Too bad oil won’t be worth squat by then because the countries with oil are getting rid of it now and will have alternatives by then, and there we’ll sit with all this oil and won’t be able to give it away, so they’ll rape us with it here in the US!

We could NEVER become an oil exporter. We simply consume too much. I do know what you’re saying though… we seem to be buying up everyone else’s oil and keeping what reserves we do have, in reserve. Not a bad strategy if you were intent on continuing to dominate the world economically and militarily. Buy what we can now when the price is still reasonable and be one of the last guys standing with any significant reserves.