When gas hits $5 a gallon THEN come talk to me..

..as an ex-pat Brit I have to chuckle as people lose their marbles as the price of gas inches above $2/gallon. In my homeland they are paying 150% higher than that and guess what? THEY STILL DRIVE CARS!!! Amazing eh? $5 a gallon and the fabric of space and time is still intact...Folks there are far more important things to get worried and agitated about than the oil companies screwing us over....

Now, before I get flamed to pieces about being non-pc and that I should pity the po' folk, I have yet to see anyone forced to make the choice between gas and food...

Gas prices go up every year as summer approaches, you have a Texan failed oilman in the WH who is good buddies with the Saudis and you are surprised?? Come on.....

Keep your eyes on the ball folks....it's a media-driven distraction....

Flame on...

but I drive 45 miles each way for work. There is no other work where I live, so either we pack it all up and move to the city, yuk, or just drive the most fuel efficient vehicles possible. No mass transit available here either.

I made the choice to live within a mile of my job so I don't hardly ever buy gas. bike bus feet etc.
Hey, I would love to go live out in the country myself but I won't do it until I don't have to commute. Even if gas was free you couldn't get me to commute like that.

Some people have to work in an area that they can't afford to live in, and the areas they CAN afford to live in don't have any jobs.

"poor people are just poor because they're lazy." :eyes:

although I have found them hard to get, if I had your commute I would find one for sure! My parents' neighbor Ed Begley Jr. said he drove from here (L.A.) to Arizona for $12.

beater on a bran' spankin' new hybrid with a hefty monthly payment. What could I be thinking? *smacks forehead* Just one more stupid person not in the upper quintiles....

http://www.adn.com/front/story/5088659p-5016082c.html

Gasoline has edged over $2 a gallon in Anchorage, but the residents of Arctic Village don't want to hear any complaints.

They're paying $5.

And that's before the latest round of price hikes takes effect. When the next airplane load of fuel reaches the tiny village in far northeastern Alaska, the price could break $6.

"We don't even want to talk about that," said Joyce John, a clerk at Midnight Sun Native Store. "Might as well raise a dog team."

OK, OK, it's just one remote village that can't even be reached by highway, so they have to fly the fuel in, but even there, it hadn't hit $5 until Bush* came along.

Much is made of this. I actually don't think it's bad to have gas prices somewhat high. Sort of reminds us that fossil fuel is a finite source and we had better be getting the new hybrid vehicle soon.

I do feel sorry for people who are highly impacted - such as small independent truckers and other businesses highly dependent on transportation.

Isn't that ALL of us with increased costs passed along for shipping & heating, etc, of all businesses?

Because of the increase in the cost of diesel.

If gas prices were high to remind us that fossil fuel is infinite. Put a sin tax on it like cigarettes and alcohol and tax it out of use.

But the fact is, it is that HIGH and going into the pockets of already wealthy men who are not going to trickle that black gold profit back to us.

I wouldn't mind paying my $2.25/gallon at the pump if I new the taxes were going to get high speed rail into my area, or fix the public transit.

But Chevron/Texaco just posted major profits last quarter--and I thought they had to raise gas prices just to stay afloat?

http://www.chevrontexaco.com/news/press/2004/2004-04-30.asp

6 weeks vacation time. I think I'd take the $5 a gallon if we had those kind of options here.

come talk to me.

That is just the sad story for millions in America. If you haven't noticed, we live in a big country that has been designed over the last 60 years solely around the automobile.

If our gas prices were as high as Europe's, maybe we'd have efficient mass transit, too! And maybe people would actually ride it for a change.

Take a look at the long distances in Europe. From France to Spain isn't such a short little hop, but you can do it all by train, so we Americans can't blame our long commutes for our oil consumption.

After having traveled extensively in Europe, I have to tell you that rail travel is easy, efficient, and in many ways, a real time saver. And the Paris metro is fabulous. We almost never needed a car in our two months in France.

We'd all have a merry christmas.

Mass transit is a wonderful thing. But unless we can lay the track for a rail system in a week or two, it's not a solution to the problem at hand.

CityZen-X Bicycle Shop

fuel efficient cars.

I drive 50 miles (one-way) to work and haven't found a job closer to home yet. My car gets 34 mpg.

My boss is watching the oil prices daily. She knows that soon I can't afford to drive to work anymore.

I'll just have to add my name to the list of unemployed and screw up Bush's "jobless" recovery statistics

When Brits have to commute 30 miles (48 km for you metric folks) each way to work without a mass transit system, then you can try to pretend that your bogus comparison is valid.

Now, before I get flamed to pieces about being non-pc and that I should pity the po' folk, I have yet to see anyone forced to make the choice between gas and food

So what? Is that what we're aiming for? Is that the measuring stick of when something ought to be done? Gas prices are already as high as they've ever been and they're only going up.

The self-righteousness, I mean. The cluelessness, too.

We cannot continue our current consumption rates of oil. What does it get us? Continued war in the Middle East. Continued kowtowing to Saudi Arabia. Continuing reliance on friendships with dictators. And ... eventual drilling in, and despoiling of, Arctic parks.

It seems to be an inescapable conclusion that the ONLY thing that will make Americans conserve is pressure on their pocket books. The ONLY thing that will push our rail system forward is when we NEED the alternative mode of transportation.

Have you seen how little support we as a nation give to Amtrak? We ignore railway development because we have cheap oil. Meantime, our rail system deteriorates.

in a country where gas is taxed in order to provide social services and mass transit to gas prices in a country where Big Oil Inc. is gouging the hell out of people because they own the government and can get by with it.

As another person here has noted, I would be quite happy to pay $5 a gallon if I had national health insurance and good public transportation. Sounds like a great deal. But reducing consumption by allowing Bush's cronies to rape consumers only puts the burden on the poorest among us while letting the Escalade crowd off the hook.

They provide it for free? Right? Pull the other one...

The mass transit system is better than the one in the US mainly because the US doesn't have one...It is overpriced and notoriously unreliable.

The govt in the UK acts JUST like the oil companies...they know they have Johnny Consumer over a barrel and they keep on squeezing...

But feel free to keep on attacking me because I'm a pompous EURO asshole...:eyes:

But hey, I guess when one is attacking everyone in sight, it's easy to get confused.

And surely you're not trying to deny that taxpayers in Britain get more for their taxes than we do here. We are pretty heavily taxed here and get almost nothing for it other than good roads, which--you guessed it--encourage auto travel. No subsidized health care, lots of crummy schools, unemployment comp that pays very little and runs out in six months, etc. I would be very happy to pay $5 a gallon for gas if it would fix those things. But the only people benefiting from the current rise in prices are the oil companies and their friends in government.

....Did someone steal your login? 'Cuz it sure looks like YOU that said I was a "pompous ASS"... I added the EURO bit to combine the two whinges from you and Sandpiper....

Cluelessness? Nope.

BTW do you know what "Ex-Pat" means? It means ex-patriate...ie NO LONGER LIVING THERE....Talk about "clueless".....:eyes:

Do you know what "pompous ass" means? :eyes:

Wassamatta? Why do you have your knickers in a twist?

What a devastating comeback! I bet the other kids on the short bus really fear your rapier wit!

Get over yourself....


Jeez, I'M the pompous one???? That's a larf...What a gripper...

See how silly that kind of thing sounds?

Now if you're finished throwing tantrums, like a child who dropped his lolly in the dirt, could you please try to address the point that a number of us have argued, namely that there is a difference between taxing gas in order to encourage conservation and fund alternative transportation, and simply turning the oil companies loose to rape and pillage?

Or would you rather just keep attacking those who have called you on the false comparison in your thread header?

..it taxes petrol because it has figured out along with the oil companies, that no matter HOW high the price goes people will STILL PAY FOR IT....Most mass transit has been privatised (Fuck you very much Maggie) and so the second part of your attack/argument/hissy fit falls apart...

Again, my point is that there are far more important things to get pissed off about than $2 gas...

Where does the money go?

n/t

and a pompous asshole to boot!

:-)

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

for pointing out your fallacious comparison in your self righteous pronouncements.

Here's a pound sterling, buy yourself a clue.

..did you google that word, or do you bore your dates with big words like that??

"Self-righteous pronouncements"....I merely pointed out that folks here in the States need to keep their eye on the ball and not get distracted with this "Gas went up a nickel last week" bullshit...

So it costs you an extra $5 to fill the tank...here's an idea, stop super-sizing your BigMacs and you'll be able to fit it in the budget with no worries...

Americans whining about high gas prices? Well duh, people, just give up your damn SUV's! You have no one to blame but yourselves for choosing humongous cars you don't really need.

I think it's a GOOD thing that gas prices are going up. It will force Americans to conserve. The Democrats in Congress are wrong to demand we dip into our oil reserve -- that reserve is for true national emergencies like natural disasters or major wars. It shouldn't be tapped into just because the spoiled brats want to keep driving their hummers.

Drives an SUV! :eyes:

commute 60-90 miles a day for work. They all bitch about the price of petrol (gas) but the big difference is they all drive what Americans would call small to mid-size fuel efficient cars.

I have no pity for people that go out and buy Lincoln Navigators, Ford Expeditions, Toyota Land Cruisers, Hummers,et al. To me these type of vehicles are nothing but status symbols. I figure if they can afford these vehicles, they shouldn't be worrying about the price of gasoline.

I myself personally drive a 1998 Nissan Sentra that gets about 18 mpg in the city and about 24-25 mpg on the highway. My family doesn't need a huge gas guzzling monster, we get along quite well with the Sentra.

Aren't the ones that are worried most about the cost of gasoline.
If you've got that much to spend on a vehicle, $2.00/gal gas isn't going to hurt you.

It's the people driving $13,000 4 cylinders that are getting hurt by this.

are not hurt at all by rising gas prices. I mean, if you can drop $60k for a car, then what's an extra dime or quarter a gallon?

No, the pain is being felt by people who are barely managing to get by as it is, the ones who have to drive long distances to crappy jobs because those crappy jobs are the only ones available and don't pay enough to allow them to live closer to work. The ones who can barely keep the rent paid and food on the table to begin with. They're the ones who will feel the pain. And the extra money that they are paying out is not going to decent social services or public transport (which makes the whole comparison to what people in Britain pay such utter, absolute bullshit), but into the pockets of Bush's cronies.

That's why I find it so infuriating for smug urbanites to congratulate themselves for their virtuous use of mass transit and cheer on the rise in gas prices. They're not sacrificing a damn thing--it's the people who are already suffering who are called upon to suffer more.

Reducing consumption is a good thing, but gouging by the oil companies is not the way to do it.

Reducing consumption is a good thing, but gouging by the oil companies is not the way to do it.

It would be very different if gas prices increased because of a fuel tax that went toward better mass transit systems and improved social services. But that's not the case at all. These spiraling gas prices are nothing but pure profit for the oil giants.

At work we calculated a few days ago that the price of petrol in the USA was around 30p a litre. Here in the UK it's about 80p a litre. It costs me 30UKP to fill up my car, which has a 1.4 litre engine (by your standards miniscule). It does get around 45mpg though.

Gas prices have been reported as hitting up to 4.08 a gallon.

You're right, we Ameican's whine a lot abot gas prices, what's worse is that there are very few solutions being offered, I know, I'm trying to get going in the recycling industry and hitting plenty of brick walls.

"I know, I'm trying to get going in the recycling industry and hitting plenty of brick walls."

When the oil wars realy get cookin' an the world ecomomy tanks....you will be wealthy

In the UK it's upwards of 90% in duties and taxes on the gasoline, I believe, and they've got oil!

Also, the duty is levied at a flat rate per litre, so changes in the price of oil don't make the price of petrol at the pump change wildly.

The best bit is, the VAT on duel includes the duty we have paid! They're taxing us on tax that we have paid! Is that cute or what?

http://www.theaa.com/allaboutcars/fuel/

April prices (note, they are now about 3p/litre more):
78.6p/litre (74.8% tax) = $5.30 (£1=$1.78; 1 us gallon = 3.79 litres)

So, the pre-tax price in April was about $1.33. One month ago, Texas regular was $1.687 (http://www.fuelgaugereport.com/TXavg.asp), and 2 years ago Texas paid 38.4 cents tax per gallon (http://www.energy.ca.gov/gasoline/statistics/gas_taxes_by_state_2002.html). So, pre-tax price in the UK is equivalent to Texas; both are markets close to refineries and wells.

My habit (cheap gas).
My politician's stupidity (cheap gas will last forever).

My government got me hooked on cheap gas back when the U.S. had so much we exported it. When that changed, we didn't.

Oh, for a while during the 70s Arab oil embargoes we started buying more fuel efficient (foreign) cars, but that soon blew over.

To mix a whole bunch of metaphors, we have fouled our own nests, crapped in our mess kits, and now the chickens are coming home to roost.

Peak Oil is the bubonic plague and Vesuvius (Pompeii) of our age.

Yeah....we're screwed as of now.....but NOTHING is going to improve with OILHEADS runnin' the show.

Right now its cost is "priceless" but people are driving anyway.

How much spent for this war? How much for developing the weapons used in this war? How much for Israel to act as our weapons dump? How much spent on our military?

Add all of that to the sale price advertised at the gas pump... and when you're done, don't forget to add these victims and the many like them, dead and alive...

We're paying way above $5 gallon already.








We've waged an immoral non-stop 12 year war against Iraq. Add that to the price of gas.

I won't be able to AFFORD to come talk to you.