Gas prices.

[junior3382]

OUCH.... that sorta stinks..... although I am sure we will see those numbers by summer this year! Is the service truck at least paid for by your employer?

[gmctrucks]

I feel for the workers making minimum wages and have to drive a long distant to get to work how could one ever buy a house with those wages I bet it's hard. I have been seeing this show on Sunday nights called Mad Men it's a show from back in the 60's it sure was different back then.

[Jessie]

3.25.9 gal 87 octane and 3.59.9 gal deisel in Musella, Ga 3-28-08. I understand that the truckers are shutting down for the month of April due to the fuel cost and trying to force the govt. to act. Supposed to be nation wide. Truck driver friend of mine says he was spending 2 grand a week, no help from the trucking companies, and might as well stop driving because all he made went into the tank literally. A trucker strike could have some affect if it's nation wide. Combine that with everybody else getting together and calling in sick for 3 days in a row. Something would have to give.

[75K30]

Lets see, truckers no longer transport groceries to your local supermarket. Demand remains the same since we are not eating any less, so what do you think is going to happen to the cost of the other products that we consume?
Folks "call in sick" for three days, is not going to have an impact on gas prices, it is going to have an impact on the employer, because now the employer can t either meet production or meet the demand required from his/her company.
Oil companies are not going to be as heavily impacted by the short term suggestion of not using fuel for a few days. The demand is too high, and the consumption by our little cars and trucks is not high enough to create enough of an impact.

Maybe some of us need to get away from the US for a little while, and see what other countries are paying for fuel.
We as a nation have become lazy, and take many things for granted. Break down the cost required to drill for oil, transport it to a refinery, process it to make a consumable fuel, provide additives for EPA, store it, and then transport it back out to a distribution area for consumption, and do all of that for less than $4.00 oer gallon.
If you can, then you have nothing to complain about, you just need to get to work, if you cant, and none of us can, then we once again have nothing to complain about.

Prices of everything will go up, that is normal, and in many ways how we make money.
The price of housing goes up, as does the price of autos. Who would have thought 20 years ago that a box stock 4x4 3/4 ton truck would run over 40 thousand dollars?
With the drastic increase in everything latley (last 10 years) the price of gas has not increased as drastically. It is just the most convenient thing to complain about, the way I see it.
Heak, most of us pay for drinking water. Has anyone noticed an increase in thier water bills? This is water that comes from the ground. Dig deep enough and you will find some, but we accept the fact that we can pay a nominal amount to have the convenience of having it on tap when we want it. We as consumers have the option of learning how to conserve water to keep the bill under control, and the same should be true for other consumables. This includes fuel.

[stelmadl]

The problem with oil is that it fluctuates everyday. Who knows what the price will be in the next hour. Other commodities don't run this way. It comes down to regulation....there is no competition in this industry to fight the prices. Regulation has made this industry a monopoly. They can do what ever they feel. Storm approaching.....raise the price. Turmoil in middle east (where a small portion of our oil comes from)....raise prices. Freezing temps....raise prices.
Also, what is the motivation for producing/ refining more oil? There isn't any. The oil companies can raise prices if they slow production to make up the losses. The profits can be fixed. Sell more oil at lower prices or sell less at higher prices. That is not right. The other problem with this subject.....not everyone is affected the same. Someone working on minimum wage is going to hurt alot more than someone making 100g's. It not like you can change the type of fuel you use in your car.....like you would for everything else (e.g. designer clothes, organic foods, eating out at certain restaurants, coffee, drinks, etc.).

If prices would stabilize, I don't think we would complain as much....JMO.

[75K30]

The largest arguement that I see is that "change" makes people grummpy, and most do not take well to change.
As I mentioned earlier we look at the price as going up, when we could look at it from a different point of view. If pricing was set at $4.00 per gallon, and once in a while they lowered it to $3.79 per gallon, we would be extatic over the price decrese, wne in reality it could be sold all along for less. People have to make money, and we as consumers can either deal with it, or stop using it.
Try carpoolng, or even public transportation. I have some nice rides, and my office (new buy the way) is on the beach in Sab Juan Capistrano. This is over 50 miles one way by vehicle. Traffic is as much of an issue as fuel consumption, and my favorite truck to drive only gets around 6 mpg. That being said, I can afford to drive it, but instead I take the train to the office. This alternative is the reason why I can afford to drive a vehicle that gets such poor mileage. I enjoy my vehicles,and have the ability to look at alternative modes of transportation to not be as effected by the increasing cost of usage.
For a Few bucks per trip, I can ride in style on the train, and work at the same time. I am productive, and realxed when I arrive. All while keeping money in the bank, and not at the pump.
Now I do feel for the fixed income person, or even the youg folks making minimum wage. This is where this gets a little tough, but I do see many minimum wage earners driving F150 trucks, and gas guzzling 4x4's, when they should be in a VW, or some small import car, but hey maybe thats not cool. As far as I see it, having a cool gas guzzling vehicle in the driveway is not so cool at all.
This is where the ability to budget money comes into play. Even the smaller wage earner can be effected less by the increase in gas prices.
Most of these lower income earners have some pretty expensive X-box's, play stations and the newest cell phones. Combined, the cost of these luxury items far ouotweighs the increase in fuel.
ALl boils down to money management. Those that can budget money, and can do it well, do not complain,or complain less, and those that do not have a proper budget.

[stelmadl]

I have to ask the question what should someone budget for gas? If it jumped to 10 bucks per gallon, how many would complain? I agree with you that there are too many people who live outside their means.....using credit cards when they do not use cash....driving vehicles that they can't put gas in. Maybe they could have at 2.50/ gallon....but who's to say how much they should be saving for that rainy day? what if someone is using the public transportation system already.....their prices are going up, too....then what? everybody uses gas and hurts the lower income earners more.
personally, i hate seeing someone driving the big expensive cars (not only SUV's)and living in huge homes and then complain about gas. they need to grow a few brain cells...i'm just saying some aren't living like this. i can afford gas if it hits 5, 10, 15 dollars/ gallon....i just don't like the idea that i get tricked, played with or gambled with and losing. i don't think anyone likes paying $3.50/ gal (35 gallons worth or more) and if you would have waited another hour you could have saved 5-10 bucks.

[stumpuller454]

Originally Posted by junior3382

OUCH.... that sorta stinks..... although I am sure we will see those numbers by summer this year! Is the service truck at least paid for by your employer?

Yeah i don`t pay anything, all the companies expense! i just got some of my tools and stuff in it, and work for them!

[junior3382]

In all reality there is some good points here. Everything is going to go up, and it is somtehing we have to deal with. And those who spend thousands a year on toys like video games, sprts hobbies or driving a luxury SUV that cots more then the house I own... True these people have no room to argue. However, one of the big problems I see with our economy is that everything is dependant on transportation. Therefore when the cost of transportation goes up, so does the cost of everything else. Delivery charges and surcharges and things that need to be done to compensate those companies who are still prviding the service. And those cpsts have to go somehwere, so they are passed down to the consumer. If the cost of a gallon of gasoline fluctuates between 3.25 and 3.29 in a day, that is not my concern, my concern is when the oil companies raise the cost of oil from 65 bucks a barrell to 125 a barrell in less then a year, this is a huge increase! And those depending on this cannot keep up with the increase as fast as it comes. We all know the cost is going to climb, and the demand will simply increase, but why so fast and so drastically? And 75K30, you mentioned that groceries are no longer delivered by trucks.... I am not sure I understand this comment. We quite literally just got home from Wal-Mart, getting food, and as we were leaving, so was the delivery truck..... I mean how else does it get there? If someone has invented the transporter like what all remember from Star Trek, I think we should know about it! LOL..... Anyways, using public transportation can work in the bigger cities like Los Angelos, New York, Philly, Boston, Chicago, Dallas... ETC... but what about the rest of us who chose not to live in the city? I would have to drive almost all the way to work, just to hop on a bus and spend two bucks for the rest of the trip, and when I am done, the busses do not run.... Good idea for the larger areas, but not so good for the majority of the country. Budgeting for gasoline consumption can be managed, even for those kids who prefer to spend money on hobbies and toys, but for homeowners on a lower middle class income who simply try to stay afloat, having the cost of oil affect everything else does take its tool. If the increase was slower and manageable, then it would be easier to adjust, but folks, the cost of oil has all but doubled in two years, when before it took the better part of thirty years to double! There is a huge difference in the time scale! The rate of inflation is too fast, and the rate of growing wages cannot keep up. Ultimately, this entire situation is out of our hands, and allowed to continue with some sort of time spent on stabilization, and we will see a depression. And one more thing, on the subject of cost to drill, pump, store, refine and deliver fuel..... there is not way it costs what you think it does, other wise how in the world could the companies brag about a quartly PROFIT of MILLIONS of dollars?!?!?!? I mean, do they not calculate profit as money made AFTER expenses?!?!? Just how I see it.

[Jessie]

What most people can't stand is getting fleeced trying to pay for fuel so that they can make a living. What happens overseas doesn't concern me nor what they agree as you say to pay for gas. Truckers go on strike etc something will hapen for the better I assure you.............