gas prices this summer yikes

[ski_resort_observer]

Is there a struggling economy right now??? didnt the dow average just go over a ALL TIME RECORD of 13,000? Doesnt sound like a struggling economy to me.
M

While there is a relationship between the DJIA and our economy there are other factors that play a much bigger role. Remmeber the DJIA is an index that includes only 30 companies.

It's all about growth. Too fast we have inflation, a very bad thing, too slow we have a reccession. The entity that controls this is the Fed(the entity that controls the central banking system) who raise, lower or stay the course on interest rates.

After raising the rates for 17 straight meetings they have stayed the course for the last few months. The goal is to have the economy grow is a slow even pace which has been the case since the Fed paused raising interest rates. There are always pressures from diferent parts of the economy that try to pull it towards inflation or reccession. The housing/subprime problem is pulling things down while gas prices are a worry regarding inflation.

So, at the moment the overall economy is growing at a nice slow steady pace. Opinions about the future economy are as varied as snowflakes on a bunny slope, The DOW is at a record but for many, including myself, that is actually cause for some concern.

As with gas prices there are alot of checks and balances in our economy. If your connected in any way to the housing contruction or American auto industry then chances are you are stuggling right now. Most of the other parts of the economy are doing fine.

 

[ctenidae]

I want $5 gas and $2 diesel.
That way consumers are only hurt for what they consume.

 

[ckofer]

I want $5 gas and $2 diesel.
That way consumers are only hurt for what they consume.

I want an medium-size SUV that gets 40 mpg and glovebox full of free ski passes for next season.

 

[Terry]

That would be a nice find!

 

[Warp Daddy]

Well in AHNULD --_Land gas hit $4.44 today --AARGH !! The END is near :>(

 

[ctenidae]

Well in AHNULD --_Land gas hit $4.44 today --AARGH !! The END is near :>(

Good. Keep it going up. At $5/gallon, all kinds of things become economically feasible. At $80/barell for oil, wind energy almost works out, even.

 

[JimG.]

Good. Keep it going up. At $5/gallon, all kinds of things become economically feasible. At $80/barell for oil, wind energy almost works out, even.

None of you folks who wish for $5 a gallon gas must have much of a commute. Must be nice.

But try to think of the economic realities of the little guys who aren't just businesses but just common Joe's trying to get to work. $5 a gallon for gas doesn't work for me at all.

I got rid of my SUV years ago...I try to conserve as much as possible, used less fuel oil this winter than in years past and just wore sweaters. I guess that's not enough though.

If I had to pay $5 a gallon for gas I'd have to quit my job because I couldn't commute...I can't afford that. It's easy to call for that solution when you don't have to pay for it.

Here's the bottom line...everyone still thinks with their wallet and support anything that doesn't damage them financially. Until everyone realizes we're all going to have to pay something for the energy situation we're in, nothing is going to change.

 

[Grassi21]

None of you folks who wish for $5 a gallon gas must have much of a commute. Must be nice.

But try to think of the economic realities of the little guys who aren't just businesses but just common Joe's trying to get to work. $5 a gallon for gas doesn't work for me at all.

I got rid of my SUV years ago...I try to conserve as much as possible, used less fuel oil this winter than in years past and just wore sweaters. I guess that's not enough though.

If I had to pay $5 a gallon for gas I'd have to quit my job because I couldn't commute...I can't afford that. It's easy to call for that solution when you don't have to pay for it.

Here's the bottom line...everyone still thinks with their wallet and support anything that doesn't damage them financially. Until everyone realizes we're all going to have to pay someting for the energy situation we're in, nothing is going to change.

Yeah, my 50 minute commute each way in my Jeep Wrangler is starting to hurt. I've started taking the train to NYC once a week, drive to Norwalk, CT twice a week, and work from home one day. But then you throw in coaching and playing lacrosse and the whole equation is ruined. We are lucky in that my wife works from home full time.

 

[MRGisevil]

Actually, Grassi, my husband got rid of his Jeep for the same reason... long commute, lots of gas.

It's a 45 minute commute from my area to Hartford. Happily, my husband and I work two minutes down the road from one another so we can carpool; this saves both cost on gas and emissions. I know that if I couldn't carpool with him I certainly wouldn't be able to work this far from home.

'Tis a sad, sad day when you see $2.84/gal and say to yourself, "Wow, what a deal!"

 

[snoseek]

our gas is so cheap when compared to other nations. i don't really love the idea of further taxes on gas as this would seem like very regressive taxing to me. How about the whole idea of further taxing high emission vehicles, and breaks for low emission vehicles? probably not real popular with voters, but at least it gives the paying public a choice to make.


i really don't know the answer, just throwing out a thought.

 

[ctenidae]

Here's the bottom line...everyone still thinks with their wallet and support anything that doesn't damage them financially. Until everyone realizes we're all going to have to pay something for the energy situation we're in, nothing is going to change.

I don't have much of a commute (all subway), but you can be sure I pay for that convenience in rent that's twice what I'd pay in the 'burbs, but it's worth it to me to not have to sit in the car for two hours a day.

In the end, it's short(ish) pain for long term gain. It is our wallets doing the thinking, and until they force us to change what we're doing, we won't. Remember- nations will behave logically when they have exhausted all other options.

 

[loafer89]

I agree that oil prices should be higher to cut down on unnecessary consumption, but this may also lead to increased destruction of the environment as oil companies look for short term easy fixes and use cheaper domestic supplies like sand tar or shale oil.

Right now the cost for these processes is high, but sustained prices above $80 a barrel would make them profitable.

In Pennsylvania the Anthracite coal regions would be prime coal to oil conversion areas and the depressed economy would benefit, but at what cost to the environment?.

Just my $0.2

 

[Grassi21]

Actually, Grassi, my husband got rid of his Jeep for the same reason... long commute, lots of gas.

It's a 45 minute commute from my area to Hartford. Happily, my husband and I work two minutes down the road from one another so we can carpool; this saves both cost on gas and emissions.

This Jeep will be in my family for as long as I can keep it running. I sold-out once and traded in my first Jeep. I won't do it again. Not to mention my wife got really pissed at me when I traded the first one in. Its a shame too. I had lifted it 2", upgraded the tires, shocks, and battery, and bought neoprene seat covers. The new Jeep is stock and has a long way to go until I can afford to modify it or have a second commuter car. Having the top and doors off for over a week now has made the rapidly moving gas gauge palatable.

My wife's office is less than two minutes down the road from me. Good thing for her is she never goes into the office. She works from home 5 days a week. I'm lucky enough to get one or two days from home per week.

 

[deadheadskier]

I think many people are short sighted when they say, yeah, bring on $5 a gallon gasoline.
Do you also wish to pay $30 instead of $25 for your steak at a restaurant? $5 a tube for tooth paste instead of $4?

The US is a big place, and high gas prices hurt people who don't drive as well. The United States definitely needs to reduce its dependence on oil, but only through development of alternative energies and biofuel isn't the answer there either because that also drives up the cost of food in this nation.

People say, well look at the prices in Europe, we should feel lucky to 'only' have to pay $3 a gallon. Europe is a different animal. It's a small densely populated place with ports easily accessing almost every nation to move about goods. That isn't the case here in the states, nor will it ever be.

The moral of the story, even you subway commuters should be concerned with high gas prices.

 

[JimG.]

I think many people are short sighted when they say, yeah, bring on $5 a gallon gasoline.
Do you also wish to pay $30 instead of $25 for your steak at a restaurant? $5 a tube for tooth paste instead of $4?

The US is a big place, and high gas prices hurt people who don't drive as well. The United States definitely needs to reduce its dependence on oil, but only through development of alternative energies and biofuel isn't the answer there either because that also drives up the cost of food in this nation.

People say, well look at the prices in Europe, we should feel lucky to 'only' have to pay $3 a gallon. Europe is a different animal. It's a small densely populated place with ports easily accessing almost every nation to move about goods. That isn't the case here in the states, nor will it ever be.

The moral of the story, even you subway commuters should be concerned with high gas prices.

Thanks dhs...this is really the point I was trying to make. In the end, everyone will have to pay when the gas runs out.

Some folks tell me to get a new job closer to home, or to telecommute. Well, it's tough to find a good job that will pay for a family of 5 and allow my wife to stay home and work raising our 3 sons. Maybe we'll all have to go to work to make ends meet at some point in the future, but I'm not making that concession today nor should I have to. And my boss doesn't allow telecommuting...he's got deep pockets and doesn't care about high gas prices, so he doesn't think his employees should care either.

 

[ctenidae]

I'm well aware of the effect of high gas prices on the broader economy. The renewable energy industry is also well aware of the effect of ethanol production on food prices- one of many reasons corn-based ethanol is barely being persued, except by politicians and the media. Algal biodiesel is where it's at. With Butynol and/or methanol from agri-waste sources, we could be all set, fairly easily.

Ethanol also requires all-new tank fleets and pipelines, or at the very least significant, expensive upgrades to existing equipment. Biodiesel does not.

$80/barrel oil makes a lot of alternatives feasible, but tar sands and oil shale are hardly two of them (more like $100/barrel for any US sources). Coal conversion, at the moment, isn't very good, either- about 2-3 times more carbon per energy unit. Wind becomes viable at $80, but the time factor is a killer there.

The short-sightedness stems from people who won't pay more now to save everything later. Higher prices overall woudl lead to lower consumption overall, and that's not a bad thing. High fuel prices also starts to erode the savings from offshored manufacturing, which is good for the US. Net-net, high fuel prices are a good thing.

 

[ctenidae]

And my boss doesn't allow telecommuting...he's got deep pockets and doesn't care about high gas prices, so he doesn't think his employees should care either.

That's pretty shortsighted.

 

[JimG.]

That's pretty shortsighted.

Tell me about it! That shortsightedness extends to business as well...very frustrating.

But shortsightedness is what got us all into this mess to begin with, so he's hardly alone. I guess my point here is that if we decide $5 a gallon is OK, we need to look long term and consider folks like me who commute. Maybe government sponsored incentives for my boss to allow telecommuting would be an option.

Charging alot for the gas is one thing, but making real inroads in alleviating our need for it is really the issue here.

 

[jack97]

In addition, take a look at the grocery stores, lots of produce from out of state and out of country. In the past, we had low prices due to cheap transportation cost. The prices are starting to creep up.

Basically, I'm been trying to buy local but I'm resign to the fact that food cost will go up before this industry mitigates the high transportation cost.

 

[loafer89]

Canada, specifically Alberta holds well over 175 billion barrels of sand tar petroleum, which is economically viable to extract at oil prices higher than $28 a barrel. The environmental costs are horrible, but extraction and production are in full swing.

The United States holds shale oil reserves of 1.0 - 1.2 billion barrels, or 62% of the worlds supply, but extraction costs are high and it is only profitable if oil remains over $40 a barrel for quite some time before investment would be made in the technology to extract it. The US government also ownes 72% of the area where one could mine shale oil, so I see this as a potential oil supply in the 22nd century.

The best route is conservation, we bought a much smaller energy efficent house and foregoed central airconditioning. I am slowly replacing all of the incandecent lighting in the house with compact flourescent light bulbs, and we try to do as many errands with a single trip in the car as possible.