BillsWatch Posted April 18, 2008 Share Posted April 18, 2008 Stupid should be rationed. Stupidity ought to encouraged. Design a big arena with sharp spikes with fatal poisons, automated trucks and trains, etc and have tropheys for most stupid. Have walls with their names and pictures on it. Eliminate as many stupid people from the gene pool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetbaboo Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 Gas prices are going up - again - because every spring the refineries have to switch over to the summer blend, meaning they increase the ethanol content, which causes all sorts of problems because ethanol is hyrdophillic, so they have to make sure that their refining systems are clean and dry, moreso than they used to with MTBE. Hence, it takes longer to switch over than it did five or so years ago, hence refineries are down longer in the spring, hence supply gets tighter, hence prices spike every April and May... ...lather, rinse, repeat. Every single spring I point out that gas prices spike in April and May because of the switch in blends. For the record: gas prices will spike in the spring of 2009, as they switch to the summer blends. You want to lower the price of gas? Stop putting !@#$ing corn in it. doesn't it go up when they change to the winter blend also? so basically, every year there's multiple reasons for the gas prices to keep going up if this keeps up, i'm getting a motorcycle with a sidecar! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
/dev/null Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 Technically, they're not free - the telephone companies paid for them. You mean somebody has to actually pay for my free lunch? I thought it was free? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 Why not? We are fighting a war that some have put on the scale and magnitude of WWII... They did it back then. Why stop there... Why don't we all stop consuming and start a "Victory Garden" while we are at it... It will get us out of the credit crunch, save a little coin, and more importantly fight the "battle of the bulge" in the bellies of Americans! Again, it work before if in fact times are the same now... Go for it ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
/dev/null Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 Why not? We are fighting a war that some have put on the scale and magnitude of WWII... They did it back then. Why stop there... Why don't we all stop consuming and start a "Victory Garden" while we are at it... It will get us out of the credit crunch, save a little coin, and more importantly fight the "battle of the bulge" in the bellies of Americans! Again, it work before if in fact times are the same now... Go for it ! Who has time for that? It's American Idol® season! DING! Gotta go Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 People are free to ration their own usage any time they wish. True. But at times of war, I think it can be ordered. No? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
/dev/null Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 True. But at times of war, I think it can be ordered. No? Times of war? But I thought "Mission Accomplished" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 Times of war? But I thought "Mission Accomplished" I thought that too... What gives? The lock here is leaking like a sieve, water is saturating old rubber 480 v lines, and boats are complaining because they are "getting stuck" because they can't get back home from the lake due to reverse flow lock closings because we can't dump water back into the lake while we are fast approaching our 50 year service cycle (2010) with nearly a hint of major rehab the last 30... Hey the yachts are rationing fuel (not!) why we divert a million gallons of lake water every 15 minutes and at every available opportunity that we can get are hands on water to divert away from the Great lakes forever... Yet, that money is being siphoned off to the military mission why we stand pissing in the wind while our home infrastucture melts away faster than you can say Katrina... What gives? Ration? Heck we can't even save the north's number one resource... The water... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 Wow! Didn't realize it, but that summed up my job description in a nutshell! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KD in CA Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 Why not? We are fighting a war that some have put on the scale and magnitude of WWII... They did it back then. Who is 'some'? True. But at times of war, I think it can be ordered. No? Can be? Sadly, the government can do just about anything the morons who infest and support it desire. But what would the purpose be? I wasn't aware we running out of gas to fuel tanks on the battlefield. To draw comparisons between sacrifices people made during WWII and today is simply laughable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steely Dan Posted April 20, 2008 Share Posted April 20, 2008 Rationing kept gas prices down in the 70's. What caused the prices to go up in the 70's was the lies of the oil companies claiming that the world was running out of oil. They did this so the government would deregulate the gas prices by saying more money would give them more money for R&D. Gas prices are going up - again - because every spring the refineries have to switch over to the summer blend, meaning they increase the ethanol content, which causes all sorts of problems because ethanol is hyrdophillic, so they have to make sure that their refining systems are clean and dry, moreso than they used to with MTBE. Hence, it takes longer to switch over than it did five or so years ago, hence refineries are down longer in the spring, hence supply gets tighter, hence prices spike every April and May... ...lather, rinse, repeat. Every single spring I point out that gas prices spike in April and May because of the switch in blends. For the record: gas prices will spike in the spring of 2009, as they switch to the summer blends. You want to lower the price of gas? Stop putting !@#$ing corn in it. IMO, the biggest reason for increasing gas prices is the weak dollar. The weak dollar makes imports more expensive and because this country imports approx. 65% of it's oil it pushes the prices up automatically. If the new President pursues a stronger dollar policy that will automatically reduce the price of gas and many other items that are increased in price due to higher oil which is just about everything. While it makes American goods more attractive overseas it also decreases purchasing power at home due to rising prices. If adding corn to gas is a problem, and it is a small problem, it doesn't explain the record profits of the oil companies. All of the problems from ethanol are expenses not profit and therefore the oil companies profits should be down not up. It's funny how with a Texas oilman in the Presidency the profits of oil companies have skyrocketed. If someone from another industry were elected President and that industry started having record profits what would the questions be? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted April 20, 2008 Share Posted April 20, 2008 IMO, the biggest reason for increasing gas prices is the weak dollar. The weak dollar makes imports more expensive and because this country imports approx. 65% of it's oil it pushes the prices up automatically. If the new President pursues a stronger dollar policy that will automatically reduce the price of gas and many other items that are increased in price due to higher oil which is just about everything. While it makes American goods more attractive overseas it also decreases purchasing power at home due to rising prices. If adding corn to gas is a problem, and it is a small problem, it doesn't explain the record profits of the oil companies. All of the problems from ethanol are expenses not profit and therefore the oil companies profits should be down not up. It's funny how with a Texas oilman in the Presidency the profits of oil companies have skyrocketed. If someone from another industry were elected President and that industry started having record profits what would the questions be? Re-read my post. I wasn't talking about the long-term trend, I was talking about the short-term spike. Long-term, the price of oil (and hence gas) is trending in part with the declining dollar, and in part with increased worldwide consumption. Anyone who doesn't believe that should check the price of oil over the past five or so years in euros. But short-term is a different story. Ethanol is a seasonal problem, because switching over seasonally to the summer blend seasonally reduces refining capacity and thus seasonally drives up price. It's happened every year since they switched to ethanol as an additive. As for the oil company's record profits...when you sell a commodity that's in high demand on an open market, you make a ton of money. We're basically stuck in a position, long-term, where the Chinese will drive up the price of oil using our dollars they get from their trade surplus. It helps, too, when your profits are derived from a global source but you report them in weak American dollars. It ain't coincidental that oil companies are reporting record profits while the dollar's at record lows, either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Indablanc Posted April 20, 2008 Share Posted April 20, 2008 Excellent points on the last two posts. I agree with the weak dollar issue. China is now competing for much of the worlds oil. Supply and demand will always do what it does regarding prices. For what it is worth gas was not rationed in the seventies as it was in the forties. In the seventies you could only buy gas on odd/even days based upon one of the digits on your license plate unless you were driving a motorcycle. God I miss my old Suzuki from back then. Head out to get the newest issue of Motorcycle Magazine, a quart of beer, and some extra hots from Meester Taco in Brockport. Good times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mead107 Posted April 20, 2008 Share Posted April 20, 2008 If gas has gone up $1.00 per gallon , what is the big deal ? If you use 25 gallons a week it is only $25 more per week you are spending .I blow more than that on lotto and scratch offs in a day . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted April 20, 2008 Share Posted April 20, 2008 If gas has gone up $1.00 per gallon , what is the big deal ? If you use 25 gallons a week it is only $25 more per week you are spending .I blow more than that on lotto and scratch offs in a day . Because apparently cheap gas is a right. Actually, it's because of the presumption that oil companies backed by the White House are colluding to screw the American consumer by artificially jacking up the price of gas. While I'm willing to agree that the White House is screwing the American consumer (ridiculous federal debt and a weak dollar getting weaker), the oil industry's business is FAR broader than retail sales. I seriously doubt American consumers are even a major profit-maker for the oil industry. Still cheaper than a gallon of milk or orange juice, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted April 20, 2008 Share Posted April 20, 2008 To draw comparisons between sacrifices people made during WWII and today is simply laughable. True... I agree also. Yet, we can't keep on spending, even on the homefront... When will the day of reckoning be? Ther is always a day of reckoning, no? With gas prices high... What the average slob should do (and probably is doing) is take as much out on their credit cards as possible and spend it on gas, gas only... Then everybody default on the unsecured debt in unison. Then scale back everything but home, transportation, and job... Then live off the cash you are earning (if in fact you still have a job)... Ya, a tad bit of an anarchist in me... Push it to the brink, that is where it is heading anyway...?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steely Dan Posted April 20, 2008 Share Posted April 20, 2008 Re-read my post. I wasn't talking about the long-term trend, I was talking about the short-term spike. Long-term, the price of oil (and hence gas) is trending in part with the declining dollar, and in part with increased worldwide consumption. Anyone who doesn't believe that should check the price of oil over the past five or so years in euros. But short-term is a different story. Ethanol is a seasonal problem, because switching over seasonally to the summer blend seasonally reduces refining capacity and thus seasonally drives up price. It's happened every year since they switched to ethanol as an additive. As for the oil company's record profits...when you sell a commodity that's in high demand on an open market, you make a ton of money. We're basically stuck in a position, long-term, where the Chinese will drive up the price of oil using our dollars they get from their trade surplus. It helps, too, when your profits are derived from a global source but you report them in weak American dollars. It ain't coincidental that oil companies are reporting record profits while the dollar's at record lows, either. How about if we go by the price of a barrel of oil since 2002 in dollars. In 2002 the price of a barrel of oil was roughly $20 per barrel, in 2003 it was just under $40 a barrel, in 2004 it was slightly less than 2003, in 2005 it was roughly $50 a barrel, in 2006 it was $60 a barrel, in 2007 it was about $55 a barrel and now it's over $115 a barrel. Ethanol blends and increased world wide consumption do not affect the price of oil by more than double in one year. I don't know what caused it but it wasn't those two factors. Before you were saying that Ethanol blends were the culprit and when I said that that is an expense not a profit you glossed it over. The Ethanol blends may increase the price of gas noticeably but not by more than $.10 per gallon, IMO. Because apparently cheap gas is a right. Actually, it's because of the presumption that oil companies backed by the White House are colluding to screw the American consumer by artificially jacking up the price of gas. While I'm willing to agree that the White House is screwing the American consumer (ridiculous federal debt and a weak dollar getting weaker), the oil industry's business is FAR broader than retail sales. I seriously doubt American consumers are even a major profit-maker for the oil industry. Still cheaper than a gallon of milk or orange juice, though. Cheap gas isn't a right It's an economic necessity. Since the price of oil drives the price of almost everything cheap gas makes purchasing power of the dollar, domestically, a lot stonger. American consumers account for approx 5% of the oil consumed worldwide, IIRC. How much of the oil that is produced in America is shipped overseas? Less than 1% of the oil produced in the U.S. is exported. While supply and demand is a factor why is it that a car produced here in America is cheaper here than in Saudi Arabia? Why is just about anything domestically produced in just about any country cheaper than the exported product? 65% of the oil we consume is brought in but why should a barrel of oil imported cost the same as a barrel domestically produced? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts