Gas Prices

Well Libya controls all of the world's oil so I guess the rest of the world just has to suck it up and go broke at the hands of Gaddafi :(

It's funny how fears of the economy crashing brought gas back to a decent price. When you have people pull out from investing in an industry that makes record profits and produces something that the majority of the world considers a necessity, you just know that no one at the top has even the slightest freakin' clue.
 
Too bad my trail bike I bought last year that gets 90mpg is a bit too small to take to work for the 25 mile commute each way. I am however not going to wait in line to save .20 cents a gallon on 12-14 gallons... some of my co workers did that yesterday... spend over an hour waiting to save $6 for a radio station promotion at 3.58 a gallon. What a joke. Time is more valuable than even $6 for over an hour of my time.
 
[quote name='VipFREAK']It's sunny... ?:whee: RAISE PRICES!

There's dust on the ground?! :whee: RAISE PRICES!

I've run out of excuses... :whee: RAISE PRICES![/QUOTE]
:rofl: So true. Of course, these high gas prices can be solved with just two words: BOMB OPEC .
 
You and my father seem to share a brain, neither of you care to understand why gas prices rise and fall. Easier just to bitch about it.
 
blame the investors and speculators. but at the same time, its understandable why they would gravitate towards commodities right now.
 
$3.85 to $3.95 around me. It's annoying but it didn't kill my budget back in 2008 when I was still in grad school and making less than half of what I make now, so it won't really affect me much this time either.

I also drive a lot less now as I live 3 miles from work where I lived 8 miles or so for work back then, so that off sets it a lot as well. I gas up maybe once a month now.
 
Here in Scotland(UK) 1 litre = £1.35 (roughly, I have seen prices from £1.33 to £1.39 today)

1 Gallon = 4.546 litres

so 1 gallon = £6.1371

convert that to USA dollar and we get

$10.11 per gallon, fucking sweet.:bouncy:
 
I don't even look at the screen anymore. Not much i can do I need it to get to work. Now the family and I use our little sedan to go everywhere isntead of our van. And we don't go out for one reason. If we drive into town we make sure we have at least 4-5 things to do.
 
[quote name='Moop']Here in Scotland(UK) 1 litre = £1.35 (roughly, I have seen prices from £1.33 to £1.39 today)

1 Gallon = 4.546 litres

so 1 gallon = £6.1371

convert that to USA dollar and we get

$10.11 per gallon, fucking sweet.:bouncy:[/QUOTE]

I know thats sucks, but what do other things cost around you? gallon of Milk, eggs, insurance, housing? What is the average wage?

I know these reports are out there, its always interesting to see.
 
The thing that's particularly nasty in all this is the gas station owners LOVE the news that prices are rising because they can raise the price on the cheap gas they already have on hand. Then when they run out and it costs slightly more to resupply, they raise the price again! I have a friend that owns a couple of stations and he just licks his chops when the news brings us reports on high gas prices.
 
The closer to the actual price post subsidies/externalities the better. I wont be satisfied until we hit $15+ a gallon. I'm all about that market, you know. Gotta have the price accurately reflect its actual value so people can make informed decisions, being the consistent rational actors that they are.
 
[quote name='Clak']You and my father seem to share a brain, neither of you care to understand why gas prices rise and fall. Easier just to bitch about it.[/QUOTE]

Care to enlighten us?
 
http://www.startribune.com/opinion/120662414.html

Michele Bachmann's press team wrote an editorial for her!

Yet ANWR and now Rocky Mountain Shale seem to be the answer? It's rather frightening that we'll likely end up going after these resources in the next 10-15 years which will result in further destruction of the planet while chasing a few more dollars. One thing for sure though, next time we have a (R) president, the first thing you should do is invest in pipeline companies. They tend to have a nice dividend (taxed at only 15% no less) and they'll go gangbusters once we have to start moving 10x the oil we do now per day from Alaska.
 
Saw a propagnda piece on tv today where some old lady was complaining that energy taxes on oil companies are a bad idea. Exxon profits rose 53% last year and gas prices are as high as they can push them - why are we subsidizing these corporate fatcats??
 
[quote name='RAMSTORIA']blame the investors and speculators. but at the same time, its understandable why they would gravitate towards commodities right now.[/QUOTE]
This is the correct answer for why. The bigger problem down the line is when they start commoditizing financial aid en masse like the housing market. That's when the shit will really hit the fan. :(
 
[quote name='camoor']Saw a propagnda piece on tv today where some old lady was complaining that energy taxes on oil companies are a bad idea. Exxon profits rose 53% last year and gas prices are as high as they can push them - why are we subsidizing these corporate fatcats??[/QUOTE]

Because there was a 30% off sale on politicians about 6 months ago.
 
[quote name='davo1224']Care to enlighten us?[/QUOTE]
There are any numbers of reasons why the price of oil, and thus the price of gasoline fluctuate. Yet so many people, like ChepeastGamer (and as I said, my father) just throw their hands up in the air as if it's magic that controls it, and they don't understand any of it. Like I said, it's easier to just bitch about it than to try and understand any of it. And I'm no expert by and stretch, but I do understand at least some of the things which effect oil prices.
 
It unfortunately kinda does become a for-any-reason game with gas though. Neither the supply nor demand decreased when the prices hit record lows at the end of 2008. How is it that the BP oil spill happened *last* year but the prices were still cheaper than *this* year? It's one of the only industries I've ever seen where people think it's some giant mystery that is beyond our grasp and it's not just speculators/oil companies driving the prices. It's not at all similar to something like crops where price increases/decreases have physical manifestations.
 
I don't know how much of the oil supply that well contributed, but from what I've seen it seems that events themselves impact prices more than any increase/decrase in actual oil supply. Something happens in the middle east and prices go up, not because oil production was cut, but because fighting in that area is close to major oil supplies and it scares investors when anything happens there. I'd say the BP spill honestly didn't scare people that much, at least as far as investing in oil goes.
 
Speculators have a lot to do with it. You are paying for what they say might happen in the future. Kind of sucks, huricane season comes oil prices go up because a hurricane could cause a supply interuption. Same thing applies to the Middle East. Civil wars and riots could cause supply flow problems. Oil companies make you pay before it happens and if there is no disruption of supply more profits for them.

My suggestion, invest in oil commodities when prices are low and sell high. At least then when oil prices go up you'll make a little extra cash.
 
I was thinking the other day, should we really even allow oil to be traded as a commodity? I mean think about it, the modern world depends on oil, it literally greases the wheels of modern society. Yet despite how much we rely on it, the price is subject to the whims of people trying to predict what will happen with it. These people hold a lot of power. If it was simple supply and demand effecting prices that's one thing, but it isn't.
 
So the right wants to increase supply and the left wants to decrease demand. Can't we do something in the middle? Can't we increase supply without the balls to the wall drill everywhere mantra while we start putting a light rail system and expanding hybrid bus lines in every major city in America?
 
[quote name='Clak']I was thinking the other day, should we really even allow oil to be traded as a commodity? I mean think about it, the modern world depends on oil, it literally greases the wheels of modern society. Yet despite how much we rely on it, the price is subject to the whims of people trying to predict what will happen with it. These people hold a lot of power. If it was simple supply and demand effecting prices that's one thing, but it isn't.[/QUOTE]
Can't stop people from investing. Pretty much everything can be bought and sold as a commodity from gold and platinum to pork bellies and crops. It's the nature of the free economy. It's like flipping games or baseball cards just on a larger scale.
 
Originally Posted by Snake2715Quote:
Originally Posted by Moop
Here in Scotland(UK) 1 litre = £1.35 (roughly, I have seen prices from £1.33 to £1.39 today)

1 Gallon = 4.546 litres

so 1 gallon = £6.1371

convert that to USA dollar and we get

$10.11 per gallon, fucking sweet.:bouncy:
Click to expand...
I know thats sucks, but what do other things cost around you? gallon of Milk, eggs, insurance, housing? What is the average wage?

I know these reports are out there, its always interesting to see.
Click to expand...
Yeah, Im not entirely sure how much the difference is, but I do think lots of things are generally more expensive and the average wage is more than over your side. I shall investigate a little.


Minimum wage over here is £5.95 (I think), My rent is £52 a week (2 bedroom flat), which is at the low end for my area.
I think you could say milk averages out at £1 per litre so £4.55 per gallon.

Eggs are all over the place, cause you can get cheap ass caged hen eggs at maybe £1 for 12, or 6 Organic run free where-ever they like, hen eggs for £3.
From what I remember of my time in the USA, food in stores was generally more expensive than over here, but mcDonalds and stuff like that was cheaper as well as house prices and other stuff.
Then I suppose you'd need to take into account the NHS over here (free health care) and stuff like that (free prescriptions).
I think we might get quite a lot of free/cheap stuff compared to the USA but I don't know that much about the US equivalent services.

However as far as I can find out, the average salary is around £28,000 in Scotland(2008 so may be a bit lower now) so that's about $46,200 which as far as I know is maybe around $4,000 higher than the apparent average in the USA.

If I was making the average wage however, I wouldn't be in the competition and free stuff area on this forum every 30 minutes like I am now. :bouncy:....actually I probably would.


but anyway that way of subject now, just thought I'd whack that down, as I am quite interested in the difference between here and where you are. (or anyone else for that matter)
 
No big deal. Like any bubble, it will burst eventually. Oil hit $130/barrel in 2008 and people were saying the same gloom and doom.
 
[quote name='Moop']Yeah, Im not entirely sure how much the difference is, but I do think lots of things are generally more expensive and the average wage is more than over your side. I shall investigate a little.


Minimum wage over here is £5.95 (I think), My rent is £52 a week (2 bedroom flat), which is at the low end for my area.
I think you could say milk averages out at £1 per litre so £4.55 per gallon.

Eggs are all over the place, cause you can get cheap ass caged hen eggs at maybe £1 for 12, or 6 Organic run free where-ever they like, hen eggs for £3.
From what I remember of my time in the USA, food in stores was generally more expensive than over here, but mcDonalds and stuff like that was cheaper as well as house prices and other stuff.
Then I suppose you'd need to take into account the NHS over here (free health care) and stuff like that (free prescriptions).
I think we might get quite a lot of free/cheap stuff compared to the USA but I don't know that much about the US equivalent services.

However as far as I can find out, the average salary is around £28,000 in Scotland(2008 so may be a bit lower now) so that's about $46,200 which as far as I know is maybe around $4,000 higher than the apparent average in the USA.

If I was making the average wage however, I wouldn't be in the competition and free stuff area on this forum every 30 minutes like I am now. :bouncy:....actually I probably would.


but anyway that way of subject now, just thought I'd whack that down, as I am quite interested in the difference between here and where you are. (or anyone else for that matter)[/QUOTE]
I'd kill for rent that low.
 
Properly inflate your tires. It's one thing a lot of people don't realize will make a difference. Not a HUGE difference, but a difference nonetheless.
 
[quote name='RAMSTORIA']blame the investors and speculators.[/QUOTE]

winner winner chicken dinner. let's not engage in any armchair economics here. The price is due to oil futures, and not in the slightest due to oil supplies.

we suffer because of investors, and those who serve in government who do nothing to stop them.

our society is up in arms about teacher pay and benefits, as if they should be earning a sub-median income to prepare our children to be the next generation of excellence. at the same time, we do not take to task the extremely wealthy and investors who invest in commodities and derivatives - those persons whose actions have a direct impact on our lives economically.

those who invest in oil futures, and the allowance of government for investment - and thus toying with - the price of a commodity that influences the cost of goddamn near everything else in society - they are the ones who cause us harm. this is not an issue of "lol obama" or anything else. Government is indeed liable to the degree they permit such investment to occur (let's not even get into the wholly unaccountable and unsupervised derivatives trading, where government refused to force oversight, even after the collapse of the market due to CDO/CDS).

But this is first and foremost a story of the power elite toying with, and profiting from, the very items we need to function as a first world society. They cause the price to fluctuate, and they alone.

Class war? You bet. I'll happily acknowledge that I'm not interested in allowing myself to passively be harmed by the economic whims of the wealthiest in society.

[quote name='nasum']Because there was a 30% off sale on politicians about 6 months ago.[/QUOTE]

:rofl:
 
Yes I am evil because I invest. I also invested in a company that is working on turning switch grass to ethenol. I honestly like the idea of hydrogen except the fact that auto makers and government are leaning towards having hydrogen fueling stations instead of vehicles that produce their own hho. 2nd I'm not rich nor have I ever been. I'm a working college student and was raised by a single mom. I learned long ago to make my money work for me. If not wanting to be broke makes me evil so be it, but at the same time I think the person who says I should limit my income to be fair to others is evil. Investing is open to anyone. I'm suprised more people don't do it.
 
While it is the case that you are evil, its a relatively small amount of evil compared to the institutional investors which are large enough to actually move markets significantly.
 
investing is much broader than commodities and derivatives - the former harming society due to the volatility inherent in it, the latter being a manufactured industry that is built to create and explode bubbles, leaving banks profitable on both ends.

but you and your little e-trade account are fine, dude.
 
I am curious, if we're to only blame investors and speculators for the high price of gas, how does the global value of the dollar effect things?

[quote name='mykevermin']Also, if you really want to make it political, it's time to drop the anti-liberal pretense, righties:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press...gressional-leadership-regarding-oil-subsidies[/QUOTE]

I am writing to urge you to take immediate action to eliminate unwarranted tax breaks for the oil and gas industry, and to use those dollars to invest in clean energy to reduce our dependence on foreign oil shrink our budget and lower our deficit.
Click to expand...

If only. :(
 
Every time I speak to someone about investing I get treated like I'm some stuck up snob. It is one of the few things that aggravates me. I worked for everything I have. I work 40+ hours a week now and go to school full time. I'm in my mid 20s own my own condo and two others that I rent. Guess what two of those were foreclosed when I bought them so I got very very good deals on them. Guess what when I can double or triple my money I may sell them. I have investments in a bunch of different places. I usually buy oil commodities mid fall when they are cheaper and sell mid summer when they are high. It's free money. I pay plenty of taxes on it but it's free. And no I don't use e-trade I use scottrade. Similar to e-trade though, I like online trading much easier to keep track of things.

Also if you want to save money over all get rid of corn based ethanol. Corn based ethanol has caused the price of corn to skyrocket and as a result groceries are rising in price too.
 
stuck up snob? where? who?

or are you just artifically propping up your investment in straw men?

[quote name='UncleBob']I am curious, if we're to only blame investors and speculators for the high price of gas, how does the global value of the dollar effect things?[/QUOTE]

PPB hit $30 something in late 2008, around 15-16 months after the start of the recession, and well into the global devaluation of the USD. The current upward trend of crude oil PPB started around 8/2010.

The global value of the USD seems unrelated to that, then - unless continuing devaluation is supposed to explain both upward and downward trends.
 
Blaming investors is like blaming Smith & Wesson because someone was shot. If that's your argument you're either Michael Moore or in love with him either way you can't be taken serious.
 
if only someone were to sit you down and explain that "investors" is not the same thing as specifically targeting oil futures and derivatives traders (and commodities traders generally), with oil futures bearing the brunt of responsibility for causing the gains in PPB and pains at the pump.

Oh, what's that?

http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showpost.php?p=8415056&postcount=38

Shh! It's a secret to everybody!
 
Investing in light crude futures is no different than investing in pork belly futures. If it were not for speculators it would not be worth investing in. What I'm doing is no different people buying and selling gold. More money to be made there than in oil if you got in at the right time. Just how it goes.

Also when did being rich become inherently evil? It's something that has changed in society since I was a child. When I was younger it was hey that guy is rich what did he do to become rich? Now it's that guy is rich who did he take advantage of to be rich? I bet he'd sell his children for a buck etc etc.
 
What have you contributed to society by investing in oil futures? You've just become another middleman who sloughed up to the table to take a piece before the end consumer has.

You are, in other words, not John Galt.
 
Oh ok so when I invest I should buy high and sell low at a loss so society will gain .0000000001% back? Should I give my tenants free rent too? I mean obviously I purchased the condos they live in under market value because someone else couldn't pay their bills. Does that make me to blame for the housing market too? Clearly you are delusional.

FYI I volunteer with special needs kids every Saturday and donate plenty of money to charities.

I invest so obviously I'm the most evil man in the world. Don't worry if I have grandkids some day I'll be sure to tell them the reason the world is sooooo horrible is because their grandfather bought and sold oil futures.

You claimed to be a teacher in a different thread. So I assume you have a 401k I can almost guarantee your 401k administrator at sometime has put money into oil futures.
 
[quote name='mykevermin']Also, if you really want to make it political, it's time to drop the anti-liberal pretense, righties:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press...gressional-leadership-regarding-oil-subsidies[/QUOTE]

"report outsized profits this quarter"
see, bad choice of words there since that completely fuels (no pun intendid) the "profits are evil" mantra that the right puts into the mouth of the left.

The whole "speculators be the devil" thing is only a partial truth, there was a time when the commodoties portion of the price of oil was regulated for lack of a better term and only made up something like 5% of PPB, now it's more like 25-30%.

It's less of a concern to worry about oil being gasoline for cars. The real thing that should be worked on is using biofuels for our plastics and such. Basically use "ethanol" not to fuel cars but as the petroleum base for the petro based products we create that aren't very recyclable and have too long a shelf life.
 
[quote name='silentevil']Every time I speak to someone about investing I get treated like I'm some stuck up snob. It is one of the few things that aggravates me. I worked for everything I have. I work 40+ hours a week now and go to school full time. I'm in my mid 20s own my own condo and two others that I rent. Guess what two of those were foreclosed when I bought them so I got very very good deals on them. Guess what when I can double or triple my money I may sell them. I have investments in a bunch of different places. I usually buy oil commodities mid fall when they are cheaper and sell mid summer when they are high. It's free money. I pay plenty of taxes on it but it's free. And no I don't use e-trade I use scottrade. Similar to e-trade though, I like online trading much easier to keep track of things.

Also if you want to save money over all get rid of corn based ethanol. Corn based ethanol has caused the price of corn to skyrocket and as a result groceries are rising in price too.[/QUOTE]
Cool your jets, bro. We aren't talking about you, get off the soap box.
 
[quote name='Clak']Cool your jets, bro. We aren't talking about you, get off the soap box.[/QUOTE]
Not a soap box. I get annoyed when people try to undermine what I have worked to do.
 
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