The Dis-United States of Gas Prices

We're not supposed to undertand. And when we do they change the rules ! Just keep buying fuel.

 

The law of supply & demand only normally exists in textbooks. There's this thing called speculation that changes the price of goods while both the supply and the demand remain unchanged.

I.e. Iran says they are going to disrupt international oil shipping in the middle east. They don't actually do anything, they just talk about the idea of doing something. So the price of gas goes up 15 cents a gallon, based purely on the thought that the supply might change in the future.


Then you have this thing called globalism. If the prices trend high long enough, the people who can't afford it will have no choice but to decrease their consumption. Rising prices has driven US demand so far down that its right now at a 15 year low. People ARE buying smaller cars & driving less. Normally this will decrease the price. But with globalism what happens is the industry takes the gas that would normally be used here in the US, and ships it to places like China, Mexico, various places in South America and sells it there. By diverting part of the supply away they can keep the US price high as demand goes down. starting last year: Fuel is our biggest export. It beats out everything else we make in this country.

You can fight out of control speculation by changing the commodities market's regulations. An easy way of doing this would be to require the people who buy gas futures actually recieve shipment of the fuel they're buying. If they want to use it, store it, or sell it after that it would be up to them. The left won't consider speculation reform because they want to push us into tiny clown cars & mass transit. The right won't do it because its bad for big corporations and somehow be the start of "evil socialism" even though gas wasn't even on the commodities market until after half way into the cold war [the theory was that if we put it on the commodities market it would stabilize the supply in event of World War 3]. 10-25% of what you pay in gas goes straight to wallstreet. That's more than what the gas station that sells you the gas makes off the deal. Depending on where you live that might be more than what you pay in local gas taxes to pave the streets you drive on.

Globalism can be stopped with export & import regulations. If we banned the export of fuel then these corporations would not be able to send what we don't use abroad while inflating the prices we pay at the pump. The left won't do this for the same reasons why they won't take on speculation. The right won't do it because they think it clashes with their pro-business stance. However, protectionist policies are precisely what the founding fathers hoped we would use. Up until around WW1 our federal government was funded almost exclusively by protectionist policies like tariffs. Not by taxing your income away!

If we refuse to do anything about globalism, and we open up Alaska to drilling; that's not going to decrease what we pay at the pump! All it will do is make more oil & gas that they can then re-route to places like China who'll buy up as much as we offer them. And whose paying for sending it to places like China? Everyone here who buys gas at artificially inflated prices.

What globalism does is put all our natural resources on auction for the highest bidder. If the average American can't outbid China or India? They're SOL. There's a lake in Alaska which has fresh water so pure that you don't need to do anything to it to drink it. No filtration or purification needed. We have decided to let a big corporation suck it up & send it to India. What does the average American get out of the deal? Nothing. Yet we have homes here in PA that no longer have clean well water because fracking has contaminated their water supplies. Rather than protect the average joe, the homeowners who had the bad luck of living in this area: the state of PA, the government here, has helped cover up when big corporations like Rex accidentally leak chemicals into the region's water supply. You know how these home owners learned of the problem? Their drinking water started looking & smelling funny. The government would not tell them why. Eventually some reporters did some digging and found the truth in Rex's financial statements. That's right, the government kept insisting no contamination had occurred & not to worry but the company's own financial reports show that not only did it happen, but the state government knew about it and refused to do a thing about it [no fine was levied, no area homeowners were told about it]. Rex was then forced to truck water into these homes until yesterday, now they don't have to. I guess these homeowners will be bidding on Alaska's water against India, assuming they're not brave enough to drink the water the state insisted hadn't been contaminated [until they were caught in the lie and had to change their tune].

This is my favorite political cartoon.


It's talking about "fair trade." It was run in Currier & Ives [a magazine like Harper's, basically the 19th century version of Life Magazine]. It ran in the late 1880s. The only thing that makes UNfair trade a "new idea" is the fact that our politicians haven't been able to get away with pushing it onto us until recently. It's not like they haven't tried in the past.

 

I have three comments and then I'll leave peacefully. This is a HOT HOT HOT area of contention within my mind and my friends/family.

1) Reagan deregulated big oil, but Clinton made the futures tradeable. It is one of the few things about both presidents that I don't like. Like both of those guys, like a lot of what they accomplished because they are two recent presidents that accomplished a LOT. So they fixed up our relations with China and Russia, that's great, but they ruined big oil.

2) Cars got better mileage back in the day with old hat technology because they were lightweight and had no safety features compared to anything made in the last 20 years. An example:

1965 Ford Mustang fastback, six cylinder, 3-speed, weighs about 2700lbs, low 20s mpg
2003 Ford Focus hatchback, four cylinder, 5-speed, weighs about 2650lbs, low 30s mpg

Kicker: You can mate the Zetec engine from the Focus to a T5 with a $600 adapter kit and throw it in the Mustang and with matching tire sizes, gearing (Focus is 3.84:1 final drive ratio), and the Mustang will get the low 30s and if you do it right (3.73 gears would match but 3.55 or 3.27 might be better for mileage) and leave out the AC and PS, you could probably get more like 40mpg!

3) Gas prices are high in some parts of the country because those people make more money. If you don't make more money and choose to live in Chicago, SF, NYC, LA, or Miami, you can either move or get a better job. Otherwise, guess what? Time to go pay a visit to the loan officer at the bank...

 

I mentioned earlier that I was hesitant to start this thread and more so to voice my opinions related to it. Also pointing out that I tend to be of strong opinion... But truthfully this is one of the ways I learn... Making/voicing a point.opinion and llistening.reading what others have to state... More later.

 

Its gonna do nothing but cripple the economy in the end.

They want us to buy more expensive gas, so they make more profit.

BUT... in the long run....

We will drive less

Shop less

Spend less

and cripple the economy.

If reality, drop the price of fuel, so we drive more and can afford to spend more and they inturn, generate more taxes in a faster rate. If we have more money to spend, we will buy more stupid things that we do not really need, but want, while at the same time collect more taxes in money, because people will be more free to drive more and fill their tanks more often!

If gas was $2.00 a gallon, I would be going on vacations to places like the Grand Canyon, Yellow Stone(generating Tax Money) Buying lots of gas along the way(generating tax money), spend money on food at restaurants(generating tax money), Buying souvenirs and shopping(generating tax money) etc....

But with gas at $4.00 a gallon and higher, I will take my tent and drive 8 miles(1 gallon of gas for the entire week, wow big Tax money there) to my cousins camp and spend a week there, with NO electricity(NO TAX), NO need for gas(NO TAX), NO air con(NO TAX), NO fuel for heat(NO TAX), just a camp fire(FREE), fish we catch from the large overstocked pond(FREE). Fresh sweet corn from the farmer 1 mile away(NO TAX), Hot Dogs(NO FOOD TAX), Burgers(NO FOOD TAX), Venison for the bambi's my cousin smoked during deer season(FREE), home raised Beef from my dad(FREE).

So tell me, where is their heads? What F**KING IDIOTS do they have calling these shots? Some college educated idiot, with more book smarts then common sense! The same type of guy that will design a car that requires the front tire to be removed to get at the oil filter. The type of people with a $500K education, $300k salary and could not change their own damn flat tire or understand how all the internal parts to a combustion engine can work in harmony.

To be honest, I would rather go camping and roughing it, then driving across the country. But I would also rather be driving a V8 pickup them be forced to drive a 4 banger pickup. But that's the just the way it goes, when we have a Tax Happy Tyrant King in rule aka, the G'Man!

 

I agree...

Don't forget the disposable cars they are trying o force down our throats! Even my KIA, as great of a car as it is, is still a throw-away. The only reason my car is still on the road is because of all the work we have put into it... Just adding this to the details...

 

They have something HUGE planned for us, its plainly visible in everything they have been doing in the last 30 years.

Just bend over and take it like a man!

 

In most cases, driving a 9 MPG vintage wagon with basic insurance is cheaper per month than payments and full insurance on a new car getting 40 MPG.
Where is the incentive to buy a new fuel efficient car?

 

Hollo USA ,fuel prices here are between $1.45 to $1.87 per litre 4.25 litres per GAL ,all your comments are valid . The way we see it is oil/conglomerates how big should that return be share holders require something for there investment & thats anybodies GESS . We all need employment/ income of some description what polution do we cerate by building cheap new small cars , are most hospitls not full of car park injurys . Balance in life is a wonderfull thing but where do we find it just keep on lookin . your site is great thank you for your efforts DOC

 

Thanks for your comments, Dennis. Now...kindly send me your car!

 

Isn't that the truth Steve. My 92 Roadie, I bought for $1300 in March of 09 with 141k on it. I replaced outer tierods and when under there, I said piss on it and did the inner's, sleeves and sway bar bolts. 2 sets of cheap brake pads for the front, 1 pair of tires on the front, alignment, full exhaust from the Cat back, new starter and alternator. I had the car until June 29th 2011 and she had 184k on it and it did not burn any oil, just a slight drip from the rear main, not even enough to be down 1pt between oil changes.

I got 17mpg around town and up and down the country hill roads and as much as 24.3mpg on the highway, but 95% of my driving was the 17mpg stuff. If I really think about it, I spent MAYBE $630 (rounded up from best of my memory) in parts.

Thats $630(parts) divided by 27 months(ownership). For a whopping $23.33 a months car payments. AND I got better mileage then any full sized V8 truck that could do the same towing and hauling she could. I sold it to my cousin for $500, who ended up scrapping it for over $800 after he pulled off all the new parts I replaced for his sons 96 2wd Chevy truck. Tell me, did I go wrong?

That POS 98 Saturn SL2 the wife wanted so bad, I gave $725 for it, drove it 4 months to work and back, each day I would run it with the radio off and just listen for any signs of trouble(I didn't trust the damn thing at all). The tranny was soft and it had 198k on it, so I just eased it along. A guy from work just got his license back after a 2 years DUI stint and asked if I would sell it. I let him drive it and he liked it. He asked if I would take $900 for it right there on the spot, I said You want it, its yours! I took him to the notary and did the paperwork with him, he took me home and dropped me off. He knew the tranny was weak, but he said its a nice and straight it was a "Rust Free" car, HAHAHA, everything is plastic except the roof, hood and trunk, plastic does not rust and dent! So I drove it for 4 months and got paid to drive it. She was a 32mpg car. Tell me, did I wrong with that one? It would be like the bank making $43.75 a month in payments TO ME!

I did the car payment thing once, NEVER AGAIN! I will only buy a cheap beater with cash and save up for a nicer one down the road. If I get 3 months out of a $700 car, i am still farther ahead then any new car payments. I don't carry full coverage insurance on my cars, just limited liability. I am a body man and will fix my own junk(or junk it and buy another) unless another car is involved and their ins company is footing the bill.

 

I only once was making car payments, although I'm pretty sure it doesn't count because I was buying it from my parents. I even payed for a new steering column to be put in it. Due to a short paycheck I only owed $20 on it. The day I got the the last $20 I got a phone call from my uncle letting me know that my parents were broadsided and that my parents were okay butt the car was totaled. My parents were nice enough to pay back all the money I payed and put into the car that I never got to drive. Even though I never wanted to make car payments I really loved that little car. A 1985(?) Buick LeSabre sedan. I have never made car payments since and only bought outright. When it comes to a car and not having the money I want it to be a situation where it just needs gas or a part and all I have to do is wait until I get paid again, and not for it to be repoed.

Did I go wrong with the KIA... Yes and no. Yes because I payed $3500 for a car that needed a new windshield, spindles, AC fixed (and needs to be fixed again), tires, fuses, complete fluids change and corresponding filters, battery, thermostat, starter, headlight bulbs, tune-up, high pressure line for the power steering, it has tricky locks (still unfixed), and it has a vibration that no one on the planet seems to be able to diagnose, as well as a thing or few more that I can't remember at this time... No because I found this Forum because of this car, because I have learned an amazing amount about car care, repair, and maintenance because of this car... Now, take into consideration the amount of $$$ spent on this car's restoration (for this car being as new as it is and having 135,000+ miles on it already, I consider all this work a restoration)... Did I go wrong... I blame my ignorance that I had at the time...

 

Have you checked your CV joints on that vibration Xav? If the boots are torn or it has lost the balancer that might be the problem.

 

That's why they created the cash for clunkers program: to take as many drivable 10-25 year old cars out of circulation as possible.

If you crush enough older cars in the used car market people will only be able to choose between late model used cars [say: under 10 years of age] or antique cars [25+ years of age].

The types of people who would normally be buying 10-25 year old drivable cars as daily drivers tend not to have big budgets. Which means if they go the antique car route chances are they'll be looking for cars that can be a reliable daily driver right away w/out needing a partial restoration first. This is an increasingly small supply to choose from as time goes on. In places that use a lot of road salt this supply will grow smaller the more people use antique cars as all-year daily drivers. They'll literally rust away to nothing.

It used to be that around here you could find used car dealers that specialize in the 10-25 year old used car market. They're all gone now. Out of business. The used car dealerships left focus primarily on late models. If you're looking for a particular model older than that you have to devote weeks to drive all over the place just to find one. When the stickman was looking for two pre850 series volvo wagons it didn't seem like it would be a hard task to pull off. Do you know how many hundreds of dollars I spent just in gas driving around trying to find two that were already good enough to be used as a daily driver? It took us something like three months of searching in 3 states! I can't imagine how much harder it would have been if he was looking for something even older.

If they could get the people who buy new cars to always crush their current car as a trade-in, it would only be a matter of time before only the rich could afford cars. The antique market will get small enough that you'd need $$$ to get one, and the only other choice would be to buy new. The used market would be gone.

 

This is true here in NW Florida. There are no used cars much older than ten years old here on the dealer lots. The small private car lots tend to have very much abused used cars at high prices.
If I trade my low mileage truck that gets 15 MPG for a small new car that may get 30 MPG if lucky I will have payments that I don't wish to make. All to get a better fuel mileage. But making payments costs more than the amount of fuel I would save.
Still living 10 miles from a small town with no bus or taxi service means we may have to start walking to shop. I was born loving old vehicles and driving them. The American dream is now a nightmare.
I'd like to get political here, but it is not the place.