CubsFan7724 wrote:Here's a hint: if you are going to be worried about gas prices, DONT BUY A FREAKING SUV.
It's not the SUV owners that are complaining. It's the normal people. Think of it this way, most economy cars have around a 13 gallon tank, so when they fill up, it takes 12 gallons.
Ok, 12 gallons X $2.75 per gallon (average of the prices I've seen) equals $33 to fill up. Now note that someone working for minimum wage would have to work 7 hours to clear enough to fill up their car. 7 hours is about 17% of their weekly pay.
That's a good chunk just to get a tank of gas every week. Those are the people who should be complaining, and I'd venture to say that quite a few complaints are from our younger members who don't pull down huge salaries and/or drive SUV's.
Mad.......What minimum wage earner takes home $5/hour?? I agree with pretty much everything you wrote, though.
As for Art saying why don't I get a bike, my job won't allow it. I do direct sales for Comcast and I can't work on a bike. I also don't want to be sweaty so I need to run my A/C quite often. Just a price to pay. I'm not complaining about that, though. I chose that line of work.
I skimmed over this thread quickly but, without getting political, I am surprised that more mention wasn't made to the fact that we have our own stuff but we don't use it.
Art Vandelay wrote:The high gas prices do suck, but it's got to get worse before it gets better. I would really like to see gas hit $4 or $5 per gallon.
Nice to see you again Art .
Question though, why would you want to see gas hit $5 per gallon?
If gas gets that high, I can guarantee the crime rate will go through the roof. The vast majority of Americans cannot afford that price. Business will suffer from losing workers (who can't afford to drive to work---ironic, huh?), product in stores will cost more due to the additional costs of trucking it to it's destination, along with less workers producing the product, and it just keeps rolling downhill. $5 per gallon for gas would kill this country. I don't see any way that it wouldn't.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on the matter though.
Since gas has gone over $2.00/gallon here the number of drive-offs at the pump have quadrupled. More and more stations are requiring drivers to pre-pay before they turn your pump on. And I'd say we're in an area where gas is probably cheaper. You can still find it in the $2.40 range right now. At least I'm only a 5 minute commute from work, and I drive a Mazda Protege.
Lofunzo wrote:Mad.......What minimum wage earner takes home $5/hour?? I agree with pretty much everything you wrote, though.
Isn't minimum wage still $5 something and hour? I know it used to be $5.25 and I don't remember hearing about it going up, so I did 7 hours X $5.25 equals $36.75. Minimum wage checks don't lose much in taxes (I waited tables for a couple of years at $2.13 an hour and the amount they took in taxes was around 7%), so $3.75 in taxes (leaves $33 for gas) out of $36.75 is just over 10% and about right for that income level.
Unless of course, minimum wage went up, in which case they would be making more and taking home more, which means my example would need to be cut down to 6 hours or so.
Lofunzo wrote:I skimmed over this thread quickly but, without getting political, I am surprised that more mention wasn't made to the fact that we have our own stuff but we don't use it.
I too am surprised no one has mentioned our reserves. Probably since the "war" is going on, they know the government won't open the reserves.
Ironman wrote:Since gas has gone over $2.00/gallon here the number of drive-offs at the pump have quadrupled.
You've had no choice but to prepay down here (Ft. Worth/Dallas metroplex) for the last few years. Drive offs are a thing of the past for us.
Ironman wrote:I drive a Mazda Protege.
I had one of those a few years ago.
Yes doctor, I am sick. Sick of those who are spineless. Sick of those who feel self-entitled. Sick of those who are hypocrites. Yes doctor, an army is forming. Yes doctor, there will be a war. Yes doctor, there will be blood.....
Mookie4ever wrote:I'm not positive but I don't think that the increase in price has much to do with drilling and OPEC at all - it's the refineries. They cannot refine fast enough to keep up with demand.
With the Chinese economy ramping up it will only get worse. The price is not going to go down again. It may dip a little here or there but we have to get used to these prices.
On the bright side maybe the Hummer jerks will disappear or start getting their vehicles egged. Governments will put in more and stiffer gas hog taxes. Public transportation will likely get more attention. Fuel efficient cars will become more popular - the little diesel cars in Europe are a zillion times more efficient than what we drive over here and they go like spit. These little alfa romeo diesels can go forever on a single tank and for normal driving they have to fill up once a month.
But people do a lot less driving in Europe, mainly because the areas are much smaller, so public transportation is more feasible, and so is walking. Thats the drawback to living in a large country like the US or Canada. If you really want to get a medium distance, you need a car. Flights are not efficient for medium distances, and trains are nearly dead. You could ride a Greyhound....
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I agree with pretty much everything you wrote, though. 
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is going on, they know the government won't open the reserves.
