08-06-2007, 03:34 PM

1. Gas got down to $2.50
2. people are actually happy about it!

I guess you can be happy it's no longer at $3+, but long ago I said that the prices will be run up and down so much it will distort people's minds to the point where it will still be expensive, but people think it's actually cheap.

That happened today when I was at the pump and a guy willing up his F350 next to me said he's glad gas is "cheap" again so he can drive his truck around. I was speechless.

08-06-2007, 03:38 PM

Did you remind him about the price of a gallon about four to five years ago?

08-06-2007, 03:49 PM

We have very short memories.

You punch a guy in the face 3 times a day for a month, then start punching him in the face "just" once a day, and he'll smile all day long.

08-06-2007, 04:45 PM

It's 95p a Liter here (minimum; it can go up to £1 or more). For the mathematically impaired, that's $7 a gallon.

Still, it's 70p for half a liter of bottled water.... It's a sad state of affairs when water is more expensive than processed oil... and it ain't like we don't get enough rain over here!

08-06-2007, 04:53 PM

Originally Posted by Levi

It's 95p a Liter here (minimum; it can go up to £1 or more). For the mathematically impaired, that's $7 a gallon.

Still, it's 70p for half a liter of bottled water.... It's a sad state of affairs when water is more expensive than processed oil... and it ain't like we don't get enough rain over here!

The difference is you have a choice when it comes to water. If you are thirsty, you can drink Tap-Water, may not taste as well, but it will do the same thing in quenching your thirst.

Gasoline is a different story... my car will not run on anything other than Gasoline, I am a hostage.

Some may say "well you could walk"... but it's not realistic. Our society has become very spread out with modern travel, making most commutes to work much too far to simply walk.

08-06-2007, 05:08 PM

I'm driving a 14 mile a gallon SUV. Most I've ever payed at one time to fill my tank: $72.

08-06-2007, 05:36 PM

To me 2.5 a gallon is cheap, since I could not drive at a time when it was less.

08-06-2007, 05:57 PM

lol yesterday gas here was 2.57 today it went up all the way to 2.75.
This is just a game for the oil companies.

08-06-2007, 05:59 PM

Originally Posted by RIDE

The difference is you have a choice when it comes to water. If you are thirsty, you can drink Tap-Water, may not taste as well, but it will do the same thing in quenching your thirst.

Gasoline is a different story... my car will not run on anything other than Gasoline, I am a hostage.

Some may say "well you could walk"... but it's not realistic. Our society has become very spread out with modern travel, making most commutes to work much too far to simply walk.

Still, it put's the price of "gas" into perspective.

08-06-2007, 06:03 PM

The cheapest price for gas here is $3.05 at Exxon. There's this cheap no name gas at these little marts that sell gas at $2.97.

I just stick to the ExxonMobil.

08-06-2007, 06:28 PM

But we still need to keep some historical perspective. I recall paying $1.34/gallon for regular gas in 1982 when I was a poor college student. Feel free to list some things that have NOT more than doubled in price in the past 25 years.

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08-06-2007, 07:08 PM

True Papercut, but wasn't that around the time when our economy was in a crazy death-spiral and a lot of prices were out of wack?

Originally Posted by walmartconnect

Did you remind him about the price of a gallon about four to five years ago?

I come from a red state and a rural community. I can't help but notice that many people around me and that I've known tend to be a little racially-biased against people of the middle east. I've also noticed that these same people drive the biggest gas hogs ever made. Sometimes I like to remind them that every time they hit the pump they're putting more money in the pockets of these people they don't seem to like.

I like seeing the little lightbulb go off the their heads when I mention that. I figure if they're going to harbor ignorant racial views, might as well get something positive out of it by getting them to drive those gas hogs a little less.

A little tidbit I like to mention is something I saw on TV where an oil-based multi-billionaire from somewhere in the middle east gave his daughter the most expensive wedding in history at a cost of $60 million!! Many people would kill for $1 million and this guy spent $60 million in a week like it was no big deal.

08-06-2007, 07:23 PM

I was doing research for a college paper today (about supply and demand) and it quoted gas as being $1.27 in 1997. Quite coincidental that I can buy gas here at work -- less state sales tax -- for $2.54 today (exactly double). I do think oil companies are gouging us and making extremely high profits. What do you expect from a capitalistic, free society??

So, since this is America and they can sell their product for whatever they want, I try not to get upset. I know we in America have some of the lowest oil prices in the world. If people don't like it, they shouldn't buy it.

I just do what I can to limit what I use.

08-06-2007, 07:40 PM

ArmyChief,

Here's something to consider as well. The Dow Jones industrials have averaged a 6.94% return in the past 10 years. http://www.djindexes.com/mdsidx/inde...t=showAvgStats

For a financial investment to double in 10 years, by using the "rule of 72", you'd need about a 7.2% return. So, given the market's return, I'm not surprised that investments and prices are still somewhat in line with the 1997 levels. I don't quite see the gouging effect that everyone is talking about.

If you really want to see capitalism and free market forces work to bring prices down, the supply needs to be increased. The problem with the supply of gasoline is that no new refineries have been built in 30 years due to restrictive environmental laws. Yes, I want the earth to be clean but I'd think that new refineries could be built in ways that minimize pollutants.

Come to think of it, it seems that the market is working nicely even though the regulations make things more expensive for the consumer.

BTW, taxing the oil companies more isn't the solution. Corporations don't really pay taxes. They just pass them through to the consumers who buy their products. Taxing a corporation is just a hidden way of making the citizens pay higher taxes.
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08-06-2007, 08:01 PM

Gas reached $0.75/Gal during the gas crisis of '73 or '74 (forget which year now). Twenty-three years later it still hadn't doubled, but has risen by a varying amount of between 100-133%. Have to believe we're being gouged. If not by the major oil companies here, for sure by the countries that are pumping it out of the ground.

However, on the good side, at least our cars don't run on ink.
Using Amazon's price for an HP cartridge - $19.99 for 19ml. We'll just round that down to $1 per ml.
That makes ink as sold in our typical printer cartridges $3,785.14 per Gal.

This ink can be purchased in bulk at $40 per quart or less. Now, this is gouging the public.