What should upset you the most about high gas prices

by free2beme 47 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  Jaakob

  Ok, so you're paying.. what? $4 per gallon?
  
  Sorry, but we're paying around 1.55€ per litre, that's about $9.3 per gallon. I'd say that you still have it cheap over there... :)
• 

  Simon

  Why is it always someone elses fault? The governments fault etc...

  People should take personal responsibility.

  The big truck you don't need, the driving holiday, cheap air fares, the pointless trips that could have been combined, the lack of demand for proper public transport infastructure, the lifestyle.

  Everything combines and everyone contributes to the problem that means you find it harder to cope with rising prices.

  Short term - drill everywhere (before the Chinese and Cubans take it from us) AND
  Long term - have a "manhattan project" in developing alternative fuels to get us off of ALL foreign oil.

  How about ... JUST USE LESS - really, it's much simpler and easier.

  It's this "we must burn through it as fast as we can or else someone else will get our share" mentality that has you in this mess.

  Learn that 'conservation' and 'efficiency' are not dirty words and not a sign of weakness - rather they show maturity, common sense and the recognition that every individual can do something about it.
• 

  Simon

  Most companies overstate their reserves - some figures magically leap without any explanation, new data or exploration.

  IMO we are well past peak oil and with demand rising the 'other half' is not going to last anywhere near as long as the first half.

  They should cancel NASCAR ... it's a waste of fuel and boring as hell anyway.
• 

  jaguarbass

  I have to tell you in my opionion, the government is doing everything about giving us these high gas prices.

  The person they call the president is an oil man, a carpetbagger, a Conneticut Yankee residing in Texas with a fake Texas accent.

  He is not as stupid as he appears. He and his friends are screwing Amerika. Watch the smirk on his face everytime hes on TV.

  The second explination to your observation may be.

  Al Gore told us what time it was and what we would have to do 8 years ago and he didnt win the election.

  Oh, wait a minute. Al Gore won the election, and Bush, his friends in Florida, Katherine Harris, and his fathers friends on the supreme court stole it from Amerika.

  Sounds like a plan to me.

  Here is another explanation.

  If our government was looking out for us. They could charge Arabia and the rest of the world as much for food and agriculture products as we have to pay them for oil.

  Then we'd have gas for 32cents a gallon and the depression would be over. Plus everyone wold be eating.

  But Bush and his cronies would not have the billions, in their bank accounts.

  The Dubs were right about some things, other bible believers also.

  Most of mans pain and suffering is due to greed and stupidity.

  I agree with you about firing the government, its full of career politicians they just move from one postion to another. I got my florida republican primary home ballot in the mail today and I'm voting the incumbents out and the newbies in.

  I think I will be a lone voice in the forest, based on past performance.

  I'm not a republican, I am and independent.

  But if you register as an independent you loose your voice in the primaries and here in Florida, I see the Republicans being much wickeder than the democrats today, So I am policing them with my registraton and primary votes.
• 

  Robdar

  Your paying so much in gas right now that it has brought out national economy to its knees, and yet the thing that should upset you this most is this ...

  THE GOVERMENT IS DOING "NOTHING!"

  Sorry, I do not agree that the gas prices are what have brought this country to it's knees. There are other things going on in the economy including the housing subprime mortgages that are wrecking havoc. I think the greed of wall street is a bigger factor.

  Not one bill has been passed, plan implemented or action taken. All talk and no action, which is why our government needs to be fired and replaced or this country is done.

  Passing bills and firing the government over the high prices of gasoline will not improve the situation. Learning to conserve energy and having a nice savings account will go a lot further.

  I am sorry that the country is hurting but, truthfully, we are reaping what we sowed.
• 

  jaguarbass

  Why should the government 'do' anything? This has been a well known issue for 30 years, and yet Americans took the easy way and didn't bother to actually change their habits. You have control over how much oil / petroleum type products you use. There are no 'quick and easy' solutions. Any action taken today will take 5 to 15 years to implement. Why didn't America and the Bush administration do anything post 9/11? I'm glad to see gas where it is and hope to see it go up yet more. $5 a gallon gasoline seems to be a good price to me. Finally, it is making a dent in the consumption side of the equation.

  It didn't have to be painful, but the majority of people stuck their head in the sand while singing Happy Days Are Here Again and buying full sized trucks/vans/SUVs and moving 40 miles away from their jobs. Don't like it? Move closer to your job. Get a new job. Buy a Toyota Prius or Honda Civic. Take mass transit.

  A better question is what are you doing? Have you

  InDoDude, since you ask, I'll tell you what I did.

  For the past 23 years I lived 3.7 miles from work. Half the time I ran to work and ran home. The other half I rode my bicycle.

  I lost that job when we go Bushwacked, but I saved enough to pay my house off by the time I was 40 and have since been completely debt free. Everything I buy is with cash. Since I have been 40. I cant even think of what to buy anymore.

  I have a room full of guitars and musical equipment, and a wall full of food, and books.

  I have found something to shop for a pantry, When I want to spend some money I go out and buy 10 cans of Sardines, 10 cans of stew. 10 bags of rice. 10 bags of beans.

  Then I mark the date on them. I try to use them in my diet but if I cant eat them all or feed them to the dogs, I have and will give them to charity after a year.

  I have always kept a pantry but in these Bushwacked times, I see the need much more, especially since 9/11.

  Also when during the days I ran and rode my bike to work, I had a ford f-100 pick up truck that I probably drove 20 - 30 miles a week, when gas was 1$ a gallon under Clinton.

  When the oil man stole the presiencey I got rid of my 14 mpg Ford pick up and bought a Dodge Omni which got 30 mpg, a drunk hit me one night so I have since bought a Toyota tercel which gets 30mpg.

  Nowadays I work about 10 miles from home and feel I have to drive. So its costing me 20$ a week today @ 4.$ per gallon to go to work and the gym. Thats 4 times more than I had to pay under Clinton and its cutting into how many lottery tickets I can buy. But I think I'll survive.

  I do miss my Ford pick up, I wanted to keep it forever it was a 1980 I had 200,000 miles on it. It was easy to work on. I could do all the repairs myself. U joints, new carberator. It didnt have a computer, just a little igntion box that I had to replace once. But it had dual gas tanks. It would cost me 40$ to fill it up when Clinton was president and gas was 1$. Now it would cost 160$.

  I'd rather have that money jingling in my pocket.
• 

  Mincan

  Is that its the most precious resource we'll ever have found, that has too much of a temptation to exploit and raise the average standard of living well beyond what humans can expect on this planet... like many fools with drawls driving machines in circles over and over again while these things can send craft into space that have a recording of a Bach Prelude as performed by Glenn Gould.... with various other messages to let something else know of an "intelligent" species living on a planet called earth...

  look, I can step on a pedal! vrrm vrrm, Im a real man... oh yea? lets have a bicycle race sir ,see who is stronger. I can push down on a pedal with my foot too. Assclown.

  what upsets me most is peopel complain about 4 dollars a gallon gasoline but pay 50 dollars a gallon for starbucks coffee - a renewable resource of much less value.

  20 cents will take you and 5 of your friends and all their shit in the luggage compartment a few miles down the road... ask a guy with a rickshaw or a horse carriage if he'd do the same for 20 cents and he'll just laugh at you.

  Gain some perspective.

  1 barrel of oil that can be extracted from the ground in Iraq for 1 dollar has the equivalent energy of 12 people working manual labour for you for an entire year. That energy source is so dense its essentially free energy.

  Get used to renewables resources based on a per capita input from the sun (as it has been until 1859 at Drake's well) provided a tiny fraction of the energy density we've been used to.

  Get out of the mindset that since the filling station has always been there it will always be thusly. No wonder Neurotypicals make such great fodder for the New World Order, and why I have to be drugged to shut the ^&&( up.
• 

  Layla33

  But am I the only one that doesn't think the high gas prices are JUST about oil? I think we are being manipulated by this government and they have known for years exactly where this was going. There are places with huge amounts of oil but yes we do need to look at alternative fuel.

  I think a lot of this has to do with going billions in debt over a fake war. I think it has to do with Americans being lulled to live above their means and borrow on everything instead of buying things they can afford. We have been gluttons in this country for years. I even think about this housing crisis and so much of it has to do with people buying homes they truly couldn't afford...

  I don't know who I am most upset it, but the blame can definitely be shared...
• 

  Robdar

  But am I the only one that doesn't think the high gas prices are JUST about oil? I think we are being manipulated by this government and they have known for years exactly where this was going. There are places with huge amounts of oil but yes we do need to look at alternative fuel.

  I think a lot of this has to do with going billions in debt over a fake war. I think it has to do with Americans being lulled to live above their means and borrow on everything instead of buying things they can afford. We have been gluttons in this country for years. I even think about this housing crisis and so much of it has to do with people buying homes they truly couldn't afford...

  I don't know who I am most upset it, but the blame can definitely be shared...

  Layla, as always, you make valid points.

  Of course the government is manipulating us. It's encouraged us to become complacent, fat, and lazy. It's hard to fight with a full belly.

  I guess we've become victims of our mammalian desires: a warm nest, a full belly, and a fine patch of sun to laze about in.
• 

  sammielee24

  tsk..tsk..shame on you! What do you mean the government is doing nothing???

  Didn't they just take over the IndyMac bank on Friday? Didn't they bail out Bear Sterns? Aren't they about to bail out or take over Freddie Mac and Fannie May? LOL...didn't they sign a good FISA bill? Oil? What problem with oil? The oil companies have thousands upon thousands of leases they don't even use and pay virtually nothing to the American people for - here's a novel idea. If they aren't going to use those land leases for all the oil they say isn't there = then give them up or tax them heavily. Force them to either open the wells up that are there or force them to hand back the land and let the taxpaying owner of the land decide what to do with them. Peak oil is only easy oil. I'm not upset about it at all - I don't like it, I think its all manipulation and I think it's pushing the world into a global depression which will only subsequently result in death or tragedy for those who can least afford to resist it.

  Oil is just one part of all the mess, the financial industry is another. There are 92 banks on the watch list but nobody has the government watch list because they don't want another run on the banks.

  I'm going out to enjoy the day - driving down to get some groceries and take in a movie - fill up the car while I'm out - think about planning a road trip. Why not? As quick as I replace those energy saving lights, more coal fired plants are being run in China so whilel they work on a plan to reduce their emissions over the next 30 years to catch up to the rest of the world, I think I'll live the best I can.

  sammieswife.