Gas in the U.S.

[HandyAndy]

I thought the chart here was pretty interesting. Its a good read too

http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/104996/Why-Gas-in-the-U.S.-Is-So-Cheap

 

[Capt.Jack Sparrow]

DAMN IT! Damn them venezulens! 12 cents a gallon..

 

[comic_relief]

DAMN IT! Damn them venezulens! 12 cents a gallon..

Take a look at Bosnia ($10.86). Makes you feel a bit better.

I think that they should raise the gas tax much higher ($2 a gallon increase) since it has inelastic demand. Then fund a major reconstruction of public transit on a mass scale with railroads and buses. The amount of jobs that would be created by this would be enormous.

Secondly, while they are rebuilding it car companies should rebuild their engines to get 50 mpg.

Thirdly, stop making cars/suvs/trucks that get under 35 mpg.

Fourthly, innovate to make more efficient practices for everything.

comic_relief

 

[iqqi]

Take a look at Bosnia ($10.86). Makes you feel a bit better.

I think that they should raise the gas tax much higher ($2 a gallon increase) since it has inelastic demand. Then fund a major reconstruction of public transit on a mass scale with railroads and buses. The amount of jobs that would be created by this would be enormous.

Secondly, while they are rebuilding it car companies should rebuild their engines to get 50 mpg.

Thirdly, stop making cars/suvs/trucks that get under 35 mpg.

Fourthly, innovate to make more efficient practices for everything.

comic_relief

comic relief for president!

 

[Rhoto]

Take a look at Bosnia ($10.86). Makes you feel a bit better.

I think that they should raise the gas tax much higher ($2 a gallon increase) since it has inelastic demand. Then fund a major reconstruction of public transit on a mass scale with railroads and buses. The amount of jobs that would be created by this would be enormous.

Secondly, while they are rebuilding it car companies should rebuild their engines to get 50 mpg.

Thirdly, stop making cars/suvs/trucks that get under 35 mpg.

Fourthly, innovate to make more efficient practices for everything.

comic_relief

And stop oil speculation and trading on borrowed money.

And I'm curious, how is mass transit going to help farmers in the Midwest filling up their tractors? I can appreciate the benefit to those of us who live in densely populated areas and the job boom, but that will still be a temporary work force, that will probably be Mexican.

And are you willing to have a massive increase to anything that requires gas to arrive at your local store? Cause a $2 tax cannot be absorbed by the economy. Even if 50% of people switch to public trans, bicycle, etc, that still won't help the shipping industries and every thing that requires gasoline to be brought to market.

The internal combustion engine gives most of it's energy off as heat. So lets stop using fossil fuels all together, and invest in electric cars. They're more powerful, quieter, more durable and have no foreseeable power cap. Tesla baby.

But at least you're thinking in the right direction.

 

[reset]

I heard that out here the environmentalists made it so we have summer gas and winter gas. Summer gas is thinner, so even though you're filling up, you're filling up with weaker gas. Good stuff.

 

[Rhoto]

Thinner? Weaker? Please be a bit more specific. If you're talking about the switch to a summer blend, yes, you can blame CARB (California Air Resources Board).

But you're not getting "weaker" gas.

 

[cordoncordon]

What many of you are failing to realize is that in many of those countries that have higher gas costs, their currency is also valued much much higher. For example the Euro is worth almost double the US dollar, so it makes sense that gas would cost double as well.

In REAL monetary terms US citizens pay more than almost anyone in the world compared to 40 years ago.

 

[Effington]

Chicago is one step ahead of you, with an $800 million renovation to the busiest "El" line, which thankfully runs right next door to my place.

I just wish it ran further into the suburbs, a lot of people work out there. Rush hour is a bioytch.

 

[reset]

But you're not getting "weaker" gas.

You get lower gas mileage.

 

[Rhoto]

You get lower gas mileage.

I haven't seen a major difference in the two. Mind you many things also impact MPG. But if you are driving a demanding motor, I guess. Either way, I don't see any real reason to switch, other than more money.

 

[SmoothTalker]

cordoncordon, care to back that up? It's so annoying to listen to people talk about currency rates without having a clue how they work.

What many of you are failing to realize is that in many of those countries that have higher gas costs, their currency is also valued much much higher. For example the Euro is worth almost double the US dollar, so it makes sense that gas would cost double as well.

Really? So when a Yen is worth less than 1/100th of a US dollar, does that mean it would make sense for their gas to cost 1%? I don't know exactly what people in Japan pay for gas, but I would bet a lot of money that it's not one percent of what Americans pay.

I have said this before but nobody seemed to listen. In simple terms, a currency's exchange rate alone is meaningless. A Yen is 1/100th of a dollar but their buying power is not 100 times less, they just make more yen then we make dollars.

The fact that British pounds are worth twice as much as a dollar does not mean anything either. Prices and wages adjust. For example things that cost 1 dollar in the States cost 50-60p in the UK, for example. But someone earning 100k in the US would probably only earn 60k pounds in the UK, so it balances out. Of course for other reasons prices of certain things will vary.

But the value of a currency relative to others alone is meaningless. THE VALUE OF A CURRENCY ALONE IS MEANINGLESS.

In REAL monetary terms US citizens pay more than almost anyone in the world compared to 40 years ago.

Prove it, I truly do not believe this one bit. Those people in Bosnia not only pay $10 per gallon, they also only earn a small fraction of what Americans earn. So sure, they spend less money in total on gas, but that's just because they can't afford it. You guys have it good and should stop complaining.

 

[ketostix]

I think that they should raise the gas tax much higher ($2 a gallon increase) since it has inelastic demand. Then fund a major reconstruction of public transit on a mass scale with railroads and buses. The amount of jobs that would be created by this would be enormous.

And the amount of jobs this tax would destroy would be enormous as well.

Secondly, while they are rebuilding it car companies should rebuild their engines to get 50 mpg.

dude there's nothing more they can do to the internal combustion engine to make it significantly more efficient than it already is. All they can really do is cut down on the number of cylinders and engine size. And when you start to go below 4 cylinders you have a rougher power deliver and less engine life.

Thirdly, stop making cars/suvs/trucks that get under 35 mpg.

Yes everyone should drive econoboxes.

Fourthly, innovate to make more efficient practices for everything.

comic_relief

It costs money to make things more efficient. that's just a band-aid. The oil industry is ripping us off and they don't care about supply and demand.

 

[cordoncordon]

cordoncordon, care to back that up? It's so annoying to listen to people talk about currency rates without having a clue how they work.



Really? So when a Yen is worth less than 1/100th of a US dollar, does that mean it would make sense for their gas to cost 1%? I don't know exactly what people in Japan pay for gas, but I would bet a lot of money that it's not "one percent of what Americans pay.

I have said this before but nobody seemed to listen. In simple terms, a currency's exchange rate alone is meaningless. A Yen is 1/100th of a dollar but their buying power is not 100 times less, they just make more yen then we make dollars.

The fact that British pounds are worth twice as much as a dollar does not mean anything either. Prices and wages adjust. For example things that cost 1 dollar in the States cost 50-60p in the UK, for example. But someone earning 100k in the US would probably only earn 60k pounds in the UK, so it balances out. Of course for other reasons prices of certain things will vary.

But the value of a currency relative to others alone is meaningless. THE VALUE OF A CURRENCY ALONE IS MEANINGLESS.



Prove it, I truly do not believe this one bit. Those people in Bosnia not only pay $10 per gallon, they also only earn a small fraction of what Americans earn. So sure, they spend less money in total on gas, but that's just because they can't afford it. You guys have it good and should stop complaining.

Well I think I have some clue since I'm an econ major, I have my MBA, and I daytrade stocks and follow the economy EVERY day and have since I was a kid.

Here go argue with him...

But those relatively low gas taxes make it hard now for Americans to deal with gas prices that have risen from around $1 to over $3 a gallon in the last seven years.

"Everybody pays more, but the U.S. pays more in absolute terms," said Lee Shipper, a visiting scholar at the University of California Berkeley's Transportation Center. If you're already paying $4 in taxes, said Schipper, then an extra $2 a gallon isn't that big of a deal."

Or....

"Price comparisons are not all created equal. Comparing gas prices across nations is always difficult. For starters, the AIRINC numbers don't take into account different salaries in different countries, or the different exchange rates. The dollar has lost considerable ground to the euro recently. Because oil is priced in dollars, rising oil prices aren't as hard on people paying with currencies which are stronger than the dollar, as they can essentially buy more oil with their money as the dollar falls in value."

Not to mention, we in the US drive more than often, and more miles, than any other country BY a MILE.

 

[ketostix]

You guys have it good and should stop complaining.

Just because some other country can't refine oil into gas inexpensively doesn't mean oil companies driving their prices up is right. Gas prices in the U.S. have tripled over the last few years for no good reason. I don't think people are complaining enough.

 

[Rhoto]

You guys have it good and should stop complaining.

I bought 91 Octane at 76 for $1.85 in the winter of 2004.
I just bought it at $4.14 from the EXACT same place.

If all other prices were frozen or not on the rise, I wouldn't complain. But considering we are worth 11+ Trillion a year, I think we're allowed to control the flow of things in the world.

Stop complaining? We should be in the streets.

 

[comic_relief]

Just because some other country can't refine oil into gas inexpensively doesn't mean oil companies driving their prices up is right. Gas prices in the U.S. have tripled over the last few years for no good reason. I don't think people are complaining enough.

complain all you want ketostix, that does sh!t because you do not offer solutions. You only b!tch about the problems. Please brainstorm to figure out a solution that is feasible.

comic_relief

 

[comic_relief]

And stop oil speculation and trading on borrowed money.

That too. That is a big problem.

And I'm curious, how is mass transit going to help farmers in the Midwest filling up their tractors? I can appreciate the benefit to those of us who live in densely populated areas and the job boom, but that will still be a temporary work force, that will probably be Mexican.

How won't it help the farmers? Getting tractors that are better mileage and can run better and longer. Plus when the shipping costs of the farmers goes down, then so will the gas prices.

Do not think that this is to get gas prices to go down. I am advocating an entire shift in the nature of the United States political system and its people. If we continue to rely on outside sources for energy then we will be damned.

And are you willing to have a massive increase to anything that requires gas to arrive at your local store?

If there was an effective program coming into use for public transportation, then I would be one of the first people to help get it going.

if we would redo the public transit system, then we would actually be creating growth in this country and demand would go down as well. More people using public transit would theoretically equal less gas consumption. Less gasoline consumption would equal lower prices as well at the pump.

And if you would really like to think about it, if we could rework the coal industry of Montana. Montana has enough coal that it has been dubbed "the Saudia Arabia of the United States"

Cause a $2 tax cannot be absorbed by the economy. Even if 50% of people switch to public trans, bicycle, etc, that still won't help the shipping industries and every thing that requires gasoline to be brought to market.

true all at once, it cannot be absorbed. If we would continually add a quarter in each couple months, then the country would be able to absorb it.

Actually less demand will help the country more and more. Supply and Demand is what is happening. Gasoline is an inelastic demand unless we change the backbone of the country.

The internal combustion engine gives most of it's energy off as heat. So lets stop using fossil fuels all together, and invest in electric cars. They're more powerful, quieter, more durable and have no foreseeable power cap. Tesla baby.

True, it would be a good idea to go to electric cars. Unfortunately, it is a short term solution to a long term problem.

We have the technology and the know-how to redesign the engine to get well over 50 miles per gallon or higher. Hell, I read an article at Yahoo about a car that can get over 3,000 miles to the gallon (three wheeled car with a much different design) from a French team. This is one example of a car that can get massive amounts of energy. If one group can do this, then why can we not get this into the everyday cars?

I also heard that combustion engines only use 31% of the energy that it could be using. I'm not sure the validity of the statement and I would love to learn more about it.

I offer this solution that will help the market and get rid of the gas guzzling vehicles.

Offer better tax and insurance breaks to the owners of cars and the companies that get all of there vehicles over 50 mpg. This will offer money back to the owners of such cars and send over tax breaks to the companies that get rid of ALL cars in their lines that get below 50 mpg. With higher gas mileage, theoretically demand will go down. I have a general gist of the supply/demand.

comic_relief

P.S. we must diversify our energy needs. I know that oil is the most powerful product out there at the moment, but putting all of our eggs in one basket is a disaster

 

[ketostix]

complain all you want ketostix, that does sh!t because you do not offer solutions. You only b!tch about the problems. Please brainstorm to figure out a solution that is feasible.

comic_relief

Dang dude, I've made my offer of a solution before. I think what the oil industry is doing is unethical trading practices and probably anti-trust type issues. They are obviously falsifying supply issues. There probably should be more regulations and fines in this oil trading. The problem is the Bush administration is in bed with big oil and our government gave that indiustry the green light to do whatever it wants.

 

[comic_relief]

Dang dude, I've made my offer of a solution before. I think what the oil industry is doing is unethical trading practices and probably anti-trust type issues. They are obviously falsifying supply issues. There probably should be more regulations and fines in this oil trading. The problem is the Bush administration is in bed with big oil and our government gave that indiustry the green light to do whatever it wants.

ok, I was a little harsh ketostix and I apologize.

Do you not agree with me that the primary objective of a firm is to make as much money for the stockholders?

I'm asking for solutions though. Just change the party in charge is not enough. We need to cut through the party lines that are in Washington and get something that actually works.

I disagree that the fines should be given to the oil companies (that is equivilent to a windfall profits tax which to my knowledge did not work either). I think that oil companies are monopolies and should be broken up though to encourage free markets to work correctly.

I will not disagree with you that there should probably be fines. The government also should fine companies that do not get their cars up to the 50 mpg before a certain date. This money would also go towards the public transit system. If you look at Europe, then you would notice that there is an amazing public transit system (from what I hear).

comic_relief