F... gas prices

[DynamiteRave]

Originally Posted by Buster

Also, here in my part of PA, gas jumped from $3.599 to $3.799 in a week!

Same here in DC. Its actually $3.79 right now. I'd hate to go into the Capital Hill area and see what all the rich people are paying for gas. Has to be damn near $4.00 for regular.

I love going out in the morning to a $3.63 gas price and coming home to a $3.73 price.

How the price increases in a matter of 8 hours still amazes me.

PLUS...

SGG, what type of car are you driving? I'm driving a Honda Accord and it costs ME damn near $50 to fill my tank. I'd probably slit my wrists if I knew what SUV owners were paying. I'd probably kill to be owning a hybrid right about now.

[Sheriff Gonna Getcha]

Originally Posted by DynamiteRave

SGG, what type of car are you driving? I'm driving a Honda Accord and it costs ME damn near $50 to fill my tank. I'd probably slit my wrists if I knew what SUV owners were paying. I'd probably kill to be owning a hybrid right about now.

I'm driving a 99 Ford Explorer. I'm probably going to buy an Accord soon though. Guess why.

[70Chip]

I think the government shoult make it illegal to trade oil on margin. I think you would see the price drop right away if some of these guys were risking their own hard cash. I think the margin is currently like 5% which is ridiculous.

Futures contract - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Speculation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[BDBohnzie]

Originally Posted by DynamiteRave

SGG, what type of car are you driving? I'm driving a Honda Accord and it costs ME damn near $50 to fill my tank. I'd probably slit my wrists if I knew what SUV owners were paying. I'd probably kill to be owning a hybrid right about now.

2003 Mercury Mountaineer - 22 gallon tank, I'm putting in over $70 every time I fill up, which is anywhere from 5 to 10 days per tank, depending on how much driving we're doing. My wife commutes 60+ miles round trip 4 days a week (Telecommutes Fridays), and I'm going to softball 2 nights a week (48 miles round + 67 miles round) in our Civic. So a 12 gallon tank last us roughly a week (the car sits on weekends), so $40/week to keep it full. A good month looks like $370/month for gasoline. Bad month looks like $580/month.

Not looking forward to any summer trips, since we have a baby, the Civic isn't big enough for the 3 of us plus the crap we're hauling...so any time we go more than 300 miles in a weekend, it's another $70+. Twice a month, and we're looking at an extra $150 on top of what we're already paying...

It's funny to think about it now (considering less than 10 years ago, gas was less than $1/gallon), but I think a good median threshold is $2/gallon. Closer to $2.50 in the summer time, while under $2 in the winter time. Especially since salaries are not increasing as fast as the economy is inflating...

[Sheriff Gonna Getcha]

As much as I hate paying $50 to fill up my tank, this whole crisis is probably a good thing. The only thing that is going to force us to kick our oil addiction is rising oil prices.

[Lady Brave]

I'm lovin my Accord right now. I can go almost 2 1/2 weeks on a tank of gas.

We've spent approximately $250 this week putting gas in my husband's bread truck. It sucks.

[Sheriff Gonna Getcha]

Originally Posted by Lady Brave

I'm lovin my Accord right now. I can go almost 2 1/2 weeks on a tank of gas.

We've spent approximately $250 this week putting gas in my husband's bread truck. It sucks.

$250 a week! That's crazy. Presumably he's forced to pass those costs onto consumers?

[Lady Brave]

Originally Posted by Sheriff Gonna Getcha

$250 a week! That's crazy. Presumably he's forced to pass those costs onto consumers?

Nope. We have to eat it basically, but it is a tax write off.

The way it works is he is an independant distributor who buys the bread from the baking company. An any increase in the cost of bread would come from the shipping costs associated with manufacturing the bread and transporting it from the bakeries to the warehouses.

[htownskinfan]

I just bought a motorcycle to go back and forth to work,I drive 80 miles round trip,plus my wife works,our gas budget has increased from 350 a month not that long ago to almost 800 a month now,thats a big strain on the budget,not to mention everything else is higher,just hope i survive the idiot drivers out there while I'm cruising on my bike

[Daseal]

Folks, get used to the rising gas prices. It is a non-renewable resource, and a relatively rare one at that. We were lucky for a bit when we were one of the few countries guzzling gas down -- but that's changing. With both China and India working towards making themselves more developed, they're using gasoline at an alarming rate. It's all supply and demand -- the problem isn't the Gasoline -- the problem is that we haven't invested in R&D for technologies outside gasoline.

I don't consider myself an environmentalist. I think that you should take simple steps to not ruin the earth and cut down on pollution, but gasoline will only go up (for the most part) from here.

PS -- Like Lady Brave's husband, I work for bread guys fairly regularly. Most of the work I do is for Pepperidge Farm bread. The guys make solid money (20% of each loaf sold / bag of stuffing -- most of them it equals out to a bit more than 100K / yr), but there are a bunch of expenses in that (Truck, Gas, Handheld, etc). Their gas bills are absolutely insane right now. They're still begging me to give them vacations, but a lot of them just want to sit at home without waking up at 2am for a week.

[hooskins]

Do hybrids really save that much? I am assuming it takes years for them to payoff. Also isn't maintaining them very expensive?

[Schneed10]

Daseal hit it on the head, the economic growth in China and India is the biggest reason gas prices are going up so much. Many, many more people own cars throughout the world, and many more businesses use fuel throughout the world, than did 10 years ago. That's not going to change, and in fact it's only going to get worse.

You can't fault big oil. Exxon's supply of oil has remained relatively stable, but worldwide demand is driving up price.

Taxing Exxon and others for a "windfall" is quite possibly the dumbest economic idea I've ever heard. Right now, Exxon is stacking up cash, which they're itching to invest. If you tax their windfall profit, you put a damper on their ability to invest. Their investments could really help the US citizens: their first choice would be drilling in protected areas, such as Alaska. Here's where our government needs to face the harsh reality, you can choose between protecting Alaska and forcing your citizens to continue paying escalating gas prices, or you can give relief to your citizens and allow the drilling in Alaska.

Investing in hydrogen and other fuel sources is also wise. But they won't pay off for many years. For the next 5 to 10 years, politicians have a choice to make: our economy (ie our citizens' ability to make ends meet) or the environment.

[dmek25]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

Daseal hit it on the head, the economic growth in China and India is the biggest reason gas prices are going up so much. Many, many more people own cars throughout the world, and many more businesses use fuel throughout the world, than did 10 years ago. That's not going to change, and in fact it's only going to get worse.

You can't fault big oil. Exxon's supply of oil has remained relatively stable, but worldwide demand is driving up price.

Taxing Exxon and others for a "windfall" is quite possibly the dumbest economic idea I've ever heard. Right now, Exxon is stacking up cash, which they're itching to invest. If you tax their windfall profit, you put a damper on their ability to invest. Their investments could really help the US citizens: their first choice would be drilling in protected areas, such as Alaska. Here's where our government needs to face the harsh reality, you can choose between protecting Alaska and forcing your citizens to continue paying escalating gas prices, or you can give relief to your citizens and allow the drilling in Alaska.

Investing in hydrogen and other fuel sources is also wise. But they won't pay off for many years. For the next 5 to 10 years, politicians have a choice to make: our economy (ie our citizens' ability to make ends meet) or the environment.

oh boy. this has to be one of the dumbest things ever posted. we cant fault them? if not, then why, after each quarter, are they declaring record profits? can i blame this administration for not demanding more production from OPEC? who, in your opinion, can i blame? im pissed, and want to vent. as for Exxon wanting to invest their money, i totally disagree. they are in the business to make money. if they wanted to invest, whats the holdup? why wait? and as for drilling in Alaska, the oil companies like it just the way it is. why would they want to find an abundance of oil? that would just cut into their profit margin. your post looks like it came straight out of George Bush's mouth

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by dmek25

oh boy. this has to be one of the dumbest things ever posted. we cant fault them? if not, then why, after each quarter, are they declaring record profits? can i blame this administration for not demanding more production from OPEC? who, in your opinion, can i blame? im pissed, and want to vent. as for Exxon wanting to invest their money, i totally disagree. they are in the business to make money. if they wanted to invest, whats the holdup? why wait? and as for drilling in Alaska, the oil companies like it just the way it is. why would they want to find an abundance of oil? that would just cut into their profit margin. your post looks like it came straight out of George Bush's mouth

That is some backwards logic right there.

Anyway, if you need to vent, blame humanity. Blame the Far East for becoming industrialized. If you have to vent then you have to vent, but Schneed is still 100% right.

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by dmek25

oh boy. this has to be one of the dumbest things ever posted. we cant fault them? if not, then why, after each quarter, are they declaring record profits? can i blame this administration for not demanding more production from OPEC? who, in your opinion, can i blame? im pissed, and want to vent. as for Exxon wanting to invest their money, i totally disagree. they are in the business to make money. if they wanted to invest, whats the holdup? why wait? and as for drilling in Alaska, the oil companies like it just the way it is. why would they want to find an abundance of oil? that would just cut into their profit margin. your post looks like it came straight out of George Bush's mouth

Bolded part 1: Attacking the post, I can't fault you for that. But I've got to attack yours, not only this one, but nearly everything you've ever posted on this site when it comes to business:

You have no idea what you're talking about. Not even a little bit.

Bolded part 2: They're getting record profits because their supply of oil has remained stable, but the global demand for oil has increased (China and India consuming more) and hence the price goes up. Free market system, not hard to understand.

Bolded part 3: How can the US Government demand more production from OPEC? Do you even understand who OPEC is? What negotiating power does the US Government have over OPEC?? This makes no sense. They can do whatever the eff they want, we have no power there.

Bolded part 4: Who can you blame? Why is anyone to blame? It's an economic force at play. It's nobody's fault. If you want to point at somebody, I guess point your finger at China and India for developing like the United States did from 1930 - 1960. God forbid they make progress.

Bolded part 5: Exxon is investing. They're always searching for drilling spots and in new technologies. But they could invest in Alaska if the government let them.

Bolded part 6: This is the most embarrassing part of your post. It screams lack of education. Profit margin is the % of revenues left over after subtracting expenses. Yes, drilling in Alaska will cut the %. But, last I checked, you don't spend %s. You spend $s. If you invest in Alaska and start drilling, your expenses go up cutting into your %. But the oil they capture also increases revenue, causing profits to increase. If you need me to explain how it's mathematically possible for a % margin to decline while profits go up, then I give up.

That post was embarassing, dmek.