Sky Rocketing Gas Prices

R

RitualOfTheTrout

Gas prices are already at an all time high, and with the destruction caused by Katrina they are predicted to go up even more. Already today prices in my area have gone up 30-40 cents per gallon. Prices are at 2.85 and predicted to hit 4.00.

If this isnt remedied soon this could have some devastating long term effects to the economy. I think folks could absorb the recent rises, but I dont know about this.

Anyone else have any comments / feelings about this?
 
This sucks mostly for me... see im a cyborg that runs on an internal combustion engine. I go through about 6 gallons of fuel a day. THIS IS SO NOT COOL!
 
It's hurting everyone all over. Pay attention to prices at the grocery store, they're going up. It takes gas to get the food to the market. UPS and FedEx are expected to raise their prices AGAIN. Plus, non-essential items won't be selling. People can't afford to buy junk items when they don't have any disposable income left after filling the gas tank.

It cost me $50 to fill my car's 12 gallon tank today. I'm currently on unemployment. I can't afford the gas necessary to go out and look for a job but one day a week now. I have to list everyplace that's put an ad in the paper during the last week that I want to go to, then map out my route to use the least amount of gas. I also have to skip some places, if they're too far out of the way for that week's route. Hopefully they're still taking apps the following week when I can go that direction. (Thankfully, most of the jobs I've applied to I've been able to do so online. But many won't pay attention to any apps that weren't filled out on-site.)

Also, I'm somewhat convinced that the downturn in movie ticket sales that the studios keep lamenting is partialy to blame on gas prices. You can pick up some DVD rentals on your way home from work or the grocery store or whatever. Then you don't have to leave again, using more gas to get to the theaters.

On the other hand, it'll be good for the environment. That's the ONLY thing that'll benifit from people not being able to afford to drive anywhere.
 
Originally posted by VertigoXX@Thu, 2005-09-01 @ 12:01 AM

It's hurting everyone all over. Pay attention to prices at the grocery store, they're going up.

[post=138976]Quoted post[/post]​
Click to expand...

I can verify that this has already started happening. Its been graudual, but this week everything has gone up. See right now Im working in the produce dept of a grocery store, and prices went up on EVERYTHING. Usually when I do the price changes some stuff goes down or stays the same, but not this week. Its all up a small amount. I hate to see next week after the high prices have a chance to take effect.

It also sucks for my new job prospect. Iv made it to the final round and I am a candidate being considered for the position, unfortunalty round trip from my house is close to 80 miles.. Might be moving in with my finance were it would only be 40 mils round trip. Heck at this rate id be further ahead to stay at the grocery store.
 
I picked up my little sister from school today with the indicator that was less than "E"...
 
Well, it's still not as bad as the shortages in the 70's, but I think the difference is that this time, it's going to continually get worse. I think that in another 10-20 years, things are going to be drastically different.
 
I have been a bit worried about this so i have downgraded my car from a 4litre 6cyl to a 2 litre 6cyl. My work is about 70Km from home and i just cant afford to be there everyday now so i have been given the chance to work from home most days.

EDIT,

Where i live, the government subsidises the price of petrol a little. But atm i am paying around $1.20 per litre (ulp) and $1.30/litre PULP and that is one of the cheapest prices in the country.

Edit 2...

I think that it works out to be

$3.70USD per galon for PULP
 
The fuel costs is why I was willing to move to Gardens (the town my work and school are located in). I was spending 250 USD a month on fuel when I lived in Royal Palm and the fuel was like 2.40... now that its almost 3 here it actually saves me to pay the 1150 I pay in rent up here (expensive in comparison to the 950 I'd pay down in RPB).

Now I can ride my bike to school and my work is just a 3 minute drive, I would ride my bike there, but I'd have to cross the interstate AND the turnpike... not easy on a bike.
 
Time to bring my transportation cost from $10 to $15 when I make a house/business call.

Its good having other people pay for your gas 😀
 
A lot of the root of this problem lies in the fact that the price of oil lies in a futures market. The price your seeing isn't actually the physical valued cost of oil. It's a 'predicted' value, determined by a mathematical formula based on a series of contributing factors.

The formula is something like this:
2676fc611e304665f7153542232725d2.png
and this
e2393d4b10fbb5174eedb1ea75ed90f0.png


Ridiculous? Yes, but it gets worse. These futures are also controlled by 'volatility' and general public feeling for the market. As of right now, that 'volatility' factor is high. As such, your likely to see a 5 cent jump in gas if the operator of a pump on an oil rig gets a cold or breaks a nail. More realistically however, things like the War in Iraq or more recently, Katrina, are the real contributors. People say they can't understand how, even when the Saudi's are repeatedly increasing output, the oil prices still won't drop. The stupid concept of 'futures' and 'scared' (or perhaps better termed 'greedy') traders are why it won't.

Some are saying that we need market caps on oil, but that's not the solution. What we really need is prices that reflect real value (not a derived value from what could be an abitrary or meaninless factors) and regulatory bodies like the CFTC to do thier job and bring the system under control (or end it).
 
ya know, mickey d's is within a bikeable distance... and would pay better than my last "permanant" job did anyway. (you know, the one where they fired me so they could give my job to someone who was willing to do it for less money, when I was only making 7 bucks an hour as an assistant manager.) only problem is, the manager there was one of my little sister's best friends in high school. be kinda weird working for someone i used to chaparone to concerts.
 
Makes me glad I bought a wrx a couple weeks ago, it requires 91+ octane fuel... just in time for the prices to go up.

I'm pretty fortunate though, most of my gas expenses are a writeoff.
 
I figured ito ut last night, and if I bought a civic to drive instead of my camaro....at 3 dollars a gallon and averaging out about what I drive now (before school started....which did this week so more driving). Over a 5yr period I would save $7500 at the pump....time to buy a civic? lol. Maybe :-\.
 
My workplace is a 15-20min. drive from my home. I'm going to be biking to work as long as the weather holds up. When it starts getting cold, I'll take the bus.

Fuck the oil companies. Soon (within our lifetimes) this will be all a moot point anyway as peak oil production will be reached and supply will not be able to keep up with demand. We will see a massive ruin of our current petroleum based energy economy along with class wars and a total global economic collapse.
 
Using exchange rates to compare gas prices isn't really a fair comparison. Exchange rates are largely based on interest rates and not the actual value of the currency when it comes to buying product in it's nation of origin. A better comparison would look at cost of other products, miminum wage, and average salary to determine the relative cost.

Of course, I'm glad I'm not Brittish so I don't have to pay all the silly taxes you have.

Anyway, back on topic, I'm seriously considering riding my bicycle to work. I could use the exercise anyway. I've also been toying with the idea of putting together a solar/gasoline hybrid out of an old beat-up standard transmission car, but I don't currently have the funds or the storage space for such a project.
 
Originally posted by Kidderz@Thu, 2005-09-01 @ 11:08 AM

I can't believe that I'm seeing Americans moaning about fuel prices.

Count your lucky stars you aren't British. :huh:

[post=139010]Quoted post[/post]​
Click to expand...

Our gas may be cheaper than yours, or roughly the same now, but you'd be bitching if you saw a 300% spike in gas prices in less than 2 months as well.
 
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