4 to 5 bucks for gas coming!?

[unionworks]

At least that is what I seem to be reading. Like many, many Americans I am struggling to survive in this jobless "recovery". An electric car is not in my near future, I bought the best old beater I could get for my money.
Does anybody remember, in 2008 as we neared the election, the exact same thing happened with gas prices? And this year you can bet your ass they willl blame Obama and use this as a campaign issue.
It is simply the invisible hand of the 1% trying to rig the election via blackmail. And the rethug controlled house will make sure no investigative committes are formed.
I can already hear some on here talking about how this will be a good thing for pushing the clean energy agenda. They would not be so happy if they were working two jobs and paying most of the income from the second job every week for gas to get to work.
I hope Obama opens the gates of the strategic oil reserve wide and stops the oiligarchs from destroying the economic recovery with rising fuel prices. Or starts throwing them in jail. Or even better, nationalizes the oil industry. (Hey, I can dream, can't I?)

[liberal N proud]

1. The ecomomy seems to be recovering so the 1% who own the oil companies are trying to kill it

Can't have a good economy going into an election where a Democratic President is running for Re-election. A black Democrat at that.

[madokie]

9. In this case its not so much a Democrat as it is a black man doing a white mans job

and doing a hell of a job at it too. Yes this is racism in its purest form, nothing more nothing less.

[liberal N proud]

50. Yep, that is really getting under their skin

[abowsh]

67. Or maybe it's due to speculation based on threats made by Iran

But nah, screw common sense...let's call out racism.

Utterly pathetic. It reminds me of the right-wingers who always think people are out to get Christians.

[SammyWinstonJack]

85. ...

[ejpoeta]

2. It's almost $3.80 here so I'd believe it.

Every time I go by the gas station I get tense again. And I don't drive far and can conserve my gas. Increased gas prices are certainly not good for the recovery that's for sure.

[dixiegrrrrl]

66. We just paid $80.00 to fill the tank

of Mr. Dixie's '93 Ford.
fortunately, we only drive around our teeny town these days, so it will last him a month or 2.
but to pay it all in one chunk, on our income...yikes.

[Fumesucker]

3. At some point it's as inevitable as the sunrise..

Gas *will* be $4 a gallon and then $5 a gallon and so on, it's only a matter of time.

[CAPHAVOC]

10. I remember 15 cents a gallon.

Gas wars were between competing gas stations on opposite corners and they filled you up, washed your windows and checked your oil. Ah, those were the good old days. No, at 5 bucks and I am on my old Beach Cruiser. I just hope Beer does not skyrocket.

[Javaman]

20. I remember driving around with my dad as a kid

looking for gas "sales".

How quaint that seems now.

[E-Z-B]

48. I wonder what that would translate to in today's dollars

[sunwyn]

4. A main reason why I am unemployed. When you have to decide on food and rent or gas to just look for

a job, I tend to choose food and rent. All apps are filled out online.

[jimlup]

5. We have passed Peak Oil

While gas prices are not explicitly tied to oil - they are somewhat. Prices always go up as the summer driving season approaches. I wouldn't necessarily blame it on the coming election and the Reptilians. Oil has been consistently near $100 a barrel for quite a while now.

I too am in a similar situation. I certainly can't afford an electric car but I would like to get a more fuel efficient vehicle than I have now. My old but fuel efficient Honda died this time last year so I'm driving a truck to work (which I didn't have to pay for because it was a family owned vehicle) and it sucks gas.

[Javaman]

21. +1

exactly right.

What I find interesting is also how the nation became used to 3-3.50 a gallon.

I recall back in '08 people freaked out when it topped 3 bucks a gallon.

my prediction is: we will top out at 5 bucks a gallon, the nation will freak out. Then the price will recede to roughly 3.50 to 4 bucks a gallon. And we will all breath a collective "whew!".

And that price will be the new reality.

[uponit7771]

40. That's no excuse for the supply manipulation

[customerserviceguy]

6. Yes, that's what I see, too

In Northeastern NJ (where I work and buy my gas) it's already up past $3.50 a gallon in the middle of February. I figure by Memorial Day, it will be well past four bucks a gallon, and of course, way higher in NY, where gasoline is heavily taxed.

Is it the 1%? I think tensions with Iran are the more likely problem. Also, for the last few years, the jobless 'recovery' has kept down demand. It was inevitable that once the economy really picked up that we'd have higher fuel prices.

[KamaAina]

61. And NJ has some of the lowest gas prices in the nation

because so many refineries are there.

[customerserviceguy]

70. Oh, yes, and full-serve to boot

I'll be damned if I'll buy gasoline in NY when I work in Jersey every weekday.

[KamaAina]

72. Republican Stepdad always fills up in Jersey

he and Mom have a weekend place in Long Branch. Direct oceanfront!

They do a lot of their shopping there, too. NYC doesn't have a Wegmans!

[Kahuna]

7. BINGO! Right you are. nt

[Angleae]

8. Actually, gas prices plummeted leading up to the election in 2008.

Average gas prices dropped from $4.11 in july to $1.72 on nov 3, ending the year at $1.61. Of course, the other party was in charge back then (didn't seem to help them though).

[unionworks]

14. you are correct

But I did remember paying more for gas in Chimpys last year than I ever paid in my life. We. Had a democratic house then, they started talking about openning gouging investigations and prices mysteriously dropped.

[abowsh]

69. Don't let facts get in the way

But thank you, I'm glad you pointed that out. Gas prices were a hot topic during the summer of 2008, but were a non-issue in November. Remember all the talk about gas tax holidays? That would have been a terrible solution; luckily, we didn't have to resort to that.

[taterguy]

11. Generally agreed except for the strategic oil reserve stuff

That doesn't solve the problem. It just delays having to deal with it.

Tempting but not very healthy in the long run.

[Javaman]

23. +1

nothing but a bandade on a broken arm.

besides, the SOR isn't for general consumer use, it's real reason for existing is in the event of a national emergency. And those getting that oil/gas/fuel will be the various government agencies, state and local emergency depts.

[SmileyRose]

12. Price of oil (and therefore gasoline) isn't going up because of the election

IMHO it's going up because noises are being made about the oil companies are having to use their own money to secure their own oil fields in the middle east now that we have started pulling out our soldiers.

We either get $5 gas or Billions spent on war. Because the people at the top of the oil world are fucking fucks.

[unionworks]

16. I have to wonder

How much events over there are manipulated by the 1% to drive gas prices up. I find it hard to believe a bunch of extremist loonnies living back in biblical times are just allowed to have so muchinfluence on the economic health of civilized economys....

[SmileyRose]

73. The crazies are merely a wealth keeping tool for the 1%

The 1% could blast the craziest off the map in 15 minutes if they wanted to. Easy since the 1% created the "problem" in the first place.

Truth is if left to self govern in peace the middle eastern people are no more or less nuts than anyone else. And I think deep down even the warmongering Joe sixpacks know that.

[libtodeath]

13. Just another way

to bleed the serfs dry so they will be begging to hold on to their low paying jobs.
Plus I would bet a lot of this is a plan to starve people off the Internet and back into local isolation.
There is power in numbers and unity and TPTB have seen this with occupy.
They need to destroy that national and global wide connection.

[Bruce Wayne]

15. If gas goes to $5 per gallon, the Chinese will invade us...

in go-go boots!

[unionworks]

18. thanks

You just made my morning!

[Javaman]

25. Would that be so bad?

[AsahinaKimi]

56. The word for "Welcome" is

"Huan Yin!"


Lets just hope they bring some TsingTao with them! I Just love that beer!

[Javaman]

57. Is there anything beer cant do? -Homer Simpson nt

[okieinpain]

28. man girls with guns and boots my favorite. thanks. n/t.

[Selatius]

75. I wonder why the girl in the middle is smiling, yet everyone else is stern looking. nt

[nanabugg]

17. The question is why? Because we are making inroads into alternative fuels and relying less

on foreign oil? I thought that was supposed to make gasoline cheaper? But we all know that the price will be totally unrelated to traditional market forces except "whatever the market will bear" not on real cost, but only what the big oil wants to charge.

[unionworks]

19. I have the same theory

Also, about 6 months ago, I read an interview with the former CEO who predicted gas prices would skyrocket as the election approached, and Obama would be bllamed. If I can find it again, I will post it here.

[cleanhippie]

22. I know that it sucks, but how long do you think cheap gas can last?

Much of the world already pays $5 or more for gas. We import a majority of our oil from Canada, and pay much less for it that THEY do.


I know its going to be tough, but gas is going to get expensive. The only option is to start finding alternatives (I do not mean YOU, specifically), and the sooner we get off oil the better off we will be.

[wood snake sadge]

24. Just sit there and kvetch about gas prices while they jack you around

OR...

Ride an effing bicycle and spare us more pollution!

[Javaman]

26. and what do you say to the people that...

live 30 to 40 miles from there jobs and have no public transportation?

[wood snake sadge]

27. THEIR jobs? Well...

They need to decide whether it's financially beneficial to continue that situation. If the gas goes back to 2008 levels, it may wipe out some of those folks. We have to be flexible in the next 12 years. Pluto is transiting Capricorn and it is doing a number on every institution we thought was so solid. Those who cling to the past will face destruction.

[Javaman]

31. you have nothing.

you lost me when you went down the astrology route to explain your concept.

and trying to explain to people to be "flexible" when your previous sentence states, "it may wipe out some of those folks", leads me to believe, you have less than nothing and have never actually thought this out.

Good day, we are done.

[PVnRT]

58. What's life like on your planet?

So, they can't afford a more fuel-efficient car, but they can afford a new place to live? Sure, I bet the janitor who works at the upscale shopping center in Lake Forest, IL, can afford a half-million dollar home there. No problem!

[ejpoeta]

83. yes because it's a buyer's market out there... I mean, employers are

fighting over workers! Just quit your job or move. Easy!! /sarcasm

[Ron Green]

32. That's a world built on cheap oil:

A world in which a working person drives 30 or 40 miles in his or her own car. One side of the coin is transportational freedom only dreamed about in most if the world, but the other side of the coin is slavery to a machine that takes the largest chunk of the family budget and kills tens of thousands of people every year.

Oil was kept cheap enough for us to build this private system, but now the cost of "going public" is too great, and anyone who fell into the Car Trap is just going to have to suck it up.

[Javaman]

33. That's all nice and good, but it doesn't answer my question...

what will these people do? Suck it up? You want to be the one to tell them that?

way to think outside of the box.

[Ron Green]

36. I'm afraid "outside the box" in this case means

moving away from the car-based world. It's the bitter pill no wants to talk about, much less swallow.

[Javaman]

37. Again, you don't answer the question...

you are basically telling these folks, they are on their own.

you fault people who made no other choice than to move farther away from their jobs because the price of housing closer to their jobs was unafordable.

And as a result, they are now left to be abondoned by the "enlightened" few who saw the writing on the wall.

How about this: petition city agencies for more afordable housing withing city limits?

That would be a start, no? How about, fuel credits to those who live beyond a certain distance from their jobs?

Just pushing people off the economic cliff solves nothing.

If we are to move foward into a future that has less fossil fuels, one of the main things we must not lose is compassion.

[Ron Green]

38. Your former suggestion is in the right direction, the latter one

will simply prolong the issue. People will always take advantage of cheap fuel by using more of it. This is what the "Free Market" does when big players like the oil companies are in control. Many people on this thread would nationalize the oil companies to keep gas prices low, when quite the opposite should be done.

If gas went back to $2.00 next week, F-150s would be all over the place.

[Javaman]

43. I offer the second suggestion as a way to offset

the economic hardship that would be suffered by these folks.

The fuel credits would work in tandum with relocation.

It's one thing to move, but it's also an economic hardship to people having to that relocation.

It's not an all or nothing situation. Everything has to be done in steps.

If with the fuel credits you also offer housing credits to those who move, then a phased in policy of credits being removed over time, to match the house hold income, then people would be more open to the option of moving closer in.

but all of this would be dependant upon the city opening up affordable housing within city limits.

I have actually thought long and hard about this issue and have worked with groups brainstorming over how to approach a society with a lot less fossil fuels.

One other idea that had been floated, would be "job swaping". Just a theory of course.

The other was "satilite" offices. Where no longer there would be "central hubs" for the larger businesses or corporations.

And for those who work in jobs that require them to still drive into the city, those people would get preferential treatment for housings. aka emergency workers, police, firemen, doctors and nurses.

After them, it would be people in public works and public transport workers.

The real issue at hand, isn't the fact that people refuse to move per say, or even economic, there are also political forces at work that wish to keep certain areas free of the "riff raff". Basically the upwardly mobiles that don't want to have a mechanic living next door.

this is a result of the increasing economic divide in our nation.

Myself, as much as anyone that grew up in this nation 40 years ago, grew up in a suburb made up of doctors and lawyers who lived side by side mechanics and policemen. (FYI, my dad was a mechanic for the dept of sanitation in NYC).

And due to the now economic and class divide, people are less apt to move let alone be accepting to those of a "lower class".

The onus has to be taken off class seperation in order for any city government to move forward in making opportunities availible for those who live beyond the city limits and commute 40 miles one way.

And the only way that can happen is via understanding, compassion and to decrease the economic divide.

The solutions needed to fix the problems with transportation, fossil fuel, distance from work and the reasons why there isn't affordable housing is an amazingly complex problem that can't be solved by telling people to fend for themselves. That only creates more divide and sadly, more poverty.

And just as a qualifier, I fully understand that not everyone who make a 30-40 mile commute one way is of a lower economic situation. My work with the brainstorming was aimed only at those who don't have the economic means to move or to make a job change.

[FarCenter]

46. The housing industry is shifting to multiple dwelling units for rental

This allows more units to be built closer to work, and it provides for more mobility though renting.

Home buying has very high transactional costs, so home buyers get stuck in one spot. For example, if you buy a $300,000 house, it is only worth $276,000 the next day, since it will cost you about 8% to sell it for $300,000.

If you put down 24%, you have lost 1/3 of your investment immediately.

[Javaman]

54. I'm aware of that, but at the same time, many cities who are experiencing growth...

are allocating less and less affordable housing in the hearts of their cities.

[FarCenter]

59. US cities will become more like European ones

The wealthier neighborhoods are close to the center, and the poorer ones are in the suburbs.

[Javaman]

60. You mean like it is now.

Move to my city, that's exactly how it is now.

and that gets back to my point I stated above. there is no affordable housing in the city.

I don't know what you are trying to say here. It seems as if you went off on your own tangent.

[Ron Green]

47. I salute your efforts and your thoughtfulness

on this complex matter, and agree with you that class division should not be made worse by solutions to a problem caused by such issues ("white flight," speculative development, GMAC financing, etc.)

My overall concern is that the automobile is ingrained in our culture to a point that's as harmful as any drug. As a teenager in the early '60s I grew up in a world of cheap gas, loud pipes, lovers' lanes and all the trappings of a world built around the car. It's taken me many years to feel appropriately about my continuing use of a car: caution, and some guilt. This first step in the addict's recovery is essential if we're going to move beyond oil slavery, and calling for cheap gas doesn't help.

Until we really internalize a vision of a post-automobile world, we're moving deck chairs. Our celebration of the survival of U.S. automakers is a case in point.

Last night, I drove with my wife about 40 miles to a picturesque little town to have Valentine's Day dinner. I still value the opportunity to do this, and don't want thoughts of shame and guilt to cloud such an event, but an extra five bucks for the fuel for such a trip is not out of line.

[Javaman]

53. And that is the mission...

to make people look at the problem differently.

We found that when approaching this concept, it should be framed as if you are talking to an individual. When making a general statement, people feel as if they are lost in the shuffle.

When you make it a personal matter, people become reasonable to suggestions and to ways which they go about commuting. More over, devolping a conversation that allows the individual to reflect upon where they live with out inadvertantly insulting them or putting them on the defensive seems to be the path to solutions.

The irony to all of this is: people get defensive about where they live because they honestly believe they made that choice. When in fact, a persons choice to live where they do has less to do with their own decisions and more to do with an ingrained belief system. And that is at the heart of how to change peoples minds and it's challenge. People don't like to feel they have made a wrong choice.

If you can understand their perspective and use that in helping a person see other options and other opportunities, then the battle to change society for the better takes a step foward.

Making genreal statements along the lines of, "they will have to figure it out" puts me on the defensive because that goes against everything that I had worked against in hoping change the conversation to something more positive where all could potentially benefit.

Throughout all the research and work I did with the group, the bottom line is: for the most part, it's not that people/ families aren't open to trying something different, by and large, it's the political atmosphere that is acting as the biggest obstical to anything moving forward. The hurd mentality destroys any positive message/ work that was made fairly quickly.

Many of the meetings I had attended would end in a lot of shaking heads and frustration due to a glacially slow reaction by various city council members or their inability to listen and engage. They feel that by listening to our concepts or ideas, somehow that would make them appear weak. There were many times when I knew that council members were being purposely obtuse just to score political points.

Humans are a reactionary bunch and rarely plan long term. That is the crux of the problem and made worse of those humans are the ones in charge.

Cheers.

[yup its me]

64. How about people MOVING when where they live no longer is economically viable?

If a person lives out in the boondocks and gas gets too expensive, then you gotta look at the dollars and cents. That's a nice fantasy ya got there, Sparky, but I deal with REALITY NOW.

[Javaman]

71. so you are another who chooses to be rude.

rather than trying to engage in an adult discussion.

You comment makes no sense, but that's okay, I know you are just letting your emotions get the best of you.

It's a very tough issue to understand due to it's enormous complexity.

And while I know you are trying to get a rise out of me, it didn't work.

I have dealt with all sorts of angry people regarding this topic and frankly, all you do is give me more energy to work harder to find solutions.

So, thanks.

Hope you have a great day.

Cheers!

[Leopolds Ghost]

74. Affordable housing within city limits? That's the OPPOSITE of what (Dem!) City Administrations want.

The entire name of the game with "reclaiming the livable urban core" is to build luxury housing for the rich. 80% of all new construction is built for the top 20% of society. Local architects have reported how this gets even more extreme when looking at urban development. The President and his predecessors have eviscerated public housing.

City Administrations now function as literal tools of the developer class, through policies such as cap rates. Local politicians are not in the pocket of developers -- they view themselves as elected to SERVE developers -- first and foremost -- as anyone who's tried to get a job in real estate can tell you.

[Selatius]

77. City government is just as prone to being paid off as the US House or Senate.

In decades past, there used to be things like rent control and public housing, but in many cities, those are coming to an end. New Orleans is tearing down its public housing post-Katrina, and the city of Boston that I grew up in got rid of rent control law years ago in favor of gentrification. The poor folks are being pushed further and further away from the job centers.

[Javaman]

78. +1 nt

[Nikia]

80. This is definitely a problem in rural areas, including small towns

Sometimes a family chooses to live there because their extended family lives there, despite the lack of local jobs. Sometimes, they did have jobs there until they got laid off. Sometimes one member of a couple has a job there but the other has a job a distance away. Sometimes, neither coupled has a job in town but both members of the couple have jobs in opposite directions. Sometimes housing in the small town is significantly, especially when it comes to amount of house for your buck.
Sometimes these people would be happy to take some kind of public transportation if it was offered. A long time ago, many of of these small towns did have passenger train service to other small towns and bigger cities. For now, I guess that carpooling could help. Some businesses do encourage this. In businesses that don't though, I think that sometimes people are afraid to ask because of the American value of "independence".

[Javaman]

84. I have been writing to my city councel about bringing back overhead electrified trollies.

This could be quickly instituted and would be especially valuable for people living in the outter reaches of our city.

But alas, the city cut a sweetheart deal with some european light rail manufacturer and are instead trying to get passed a multi-million dollar system. That will, in the end, be a road to no where.

All that money could be better spent on a electrified trollies like they have in San Franscico. But alas...

this is the battle I have been up against for years in my "progressive" city.

[SammyWinstonJack]

86. Yeah! And grow all of your food too!

And provide everything you need, yourself.

It isn't just the price at the pump ya know?

[snooper2]

29. Rush has been pushing this mantra I guess it's spilled over

to other outlets now...

[okieinpain]

30. I find it crazy that this is shocking. didn't gas get to 4.00 bucks

for a while in 2008, the only thing that made prices drop was a world wide recession. my wife keeps saying that it wasn't mortgages that made the economy crash it was gas prices, I'm starting to believe her.

[unionworks]

34. Here is a comment

from a message board thart made great sense to me...

"Jacqueline Folwell · Top Commenter · Milford High School
Guess Double Dip Recession is going to hit real Soon. Tell Obama to get off his Butt, Get some B-A-L-L-S and reinstate the windfall profit tax of the 60"s and set a steep Export tax on American oil. Best way I Know of for him to have a better chance of being reelected if it's possible.As economy worstens so do his chances, But then I forgot Congress is in an internal war with each other. We all should have known Big Oil was going to get our Social Security raises and more. Why not have another of the many record High Profits for Big Oli. Guess before its over we will all have to drill a well on our properties to fuel our homes and cars."

[yellowcanine]

35. Heard a lady from Lundberg on NPR downplaying this possibility.

Basically said gas will likely go up a little but not that much. They could be wrong of course but I am skeptical about where the $5 gas talk is coming from. I suspect wingnut disinformation.

[Jester Messiah]

39. What with all the war drums beating for Iran, I think it's possible.

Ride a bike or take the bus, would be the best advice I can give.

[unionworks]

41. In my small town

what would normally be a 15 minute drive can turn into two hours or so with the scheduling and cross overs between routes. I suspect it is the same in many places.

[bullwinkle428]

42. You have to figure the Obama administration will do everything in its power to keep

gas prices stable, as they realize the kind of nightmare scenario that may occur (cough*PresidentSantorum*cough) if prices spiral out of control, either as the result of shit going down between Iran and Israel, or any other reason.

[FarCenter]

44. Gas Buddy has $3.481 as the national average today

http://gasbuddy.com/

Here's their 24 month chart of average US prices. Note that between Feb and May 2011, the price went up by about $0.80/gallon. So if it does that this year, price per gallon would be about $4.30 / gallon by summer.

http://www.gasbuddy.com/gb_retail_price_chart.aspx?time=24

Here are the "Weekly Retail Gasoline and Diesel Prices" from EIA. Note that diesel is already at $3.943 / gallon.

http://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/pet_pri_gnd_dcus_nus_w.htm

[L0oniX]

45. Just wait till Iran gets attacked.

We need to stop the military ...its a vampire and it will drain us until we are dead.

[kenny blankenship]

49. Sooner or later YES prices like that are coming.

If the global economy ever does pick itself up, yes the price of oil is going back up to the stratosphere. We're in a "banana" as Chairman Greenspan would say and even so it's at $100 a barrel. You will certainly live to see the ATH price of $147/bbl smashed. And you will see 4 - 5 dollar gasoline appearing in the US before it does. This is a long term problem that will just get worse and worse. How many energy/petroleum experts have to tell us that the global oil supply is being outstripped by demand before we finally accept what that means for us?

The idea that this "all about Obama" is silly at best. If, like most Obama's True Believers, you think that there is an economic recovery underway, then you should EXPECT to see rising oil and gas prices. Petroleum really is the most important commodity in the world (by far) and it really is in FINITE supply. We just aren't finding enough new reserves to avoid the market dynamic of constrained supply driving prices up. If I believe that oil will be more expensive in the future then I want to buy oil futures contracts today, which in turn helps raise the price of oil right now. This is the "invisible hand" raising the price of oil, even in absence of a visible rise in demand, but it has nothing necessarily to do with wanting to see this or that politician blamed for the rising price of gas. The people who do this do it for their financial positions (billions and billions). They couldn't give a shit who is president of the US and even if they disliked Obama, they aren't about to TRADE on their political prejudices putting hundreds of billions of institutional capital and millions of their own loot at risk. Barack Obama as President isn't COSTING them anything (sad to say) and he doesn't threaten to either. To the extent that commodities traders are anticipating increased demand for oil by their bidding up contracts on oil futures, you should applaud them for agreeing with the True Believer faith that the Great Obama Recovery is just around the corner.

Actually, Oil moved today on two pieces of news: the main item was that Iran announced it will cut off oil sales to Europe in retaliation for Europe's pre-announced embargo of Iran. (Contracting supply) This isn't just talk anymore. The announcement was that Iran HAS officially cut off sales to six EU countries who regularly buy its oil. The other news was that China announced its willingness to help Europe out with its financial difficulties (expanding demand). Neither of these have any connection to Republican leaning US elites wanting to throw the election to whatever clown the GOP eventually nominates - that is paranoid CT worthy of the TPers. Hell, if you must have someone to blame, blame Obama himself for continuing Bushler's aggression in the Mideast. The irony of your wailing about oil prices as though they were some kind of dagger thrown at Obama is that if Mr. Obama wasn't trying to topple Iran right now, Europe wouldn't be asked to join in our embargo against Iran, and Iran wouldn't be cutting off their oil sales to Europe as of today, nor would Iran be warning that they would respond to threatened US/Israeli/Western campaigns of air warfare against them with cutting off shipping in the Straits of Hormuz.

[unionworks]

52. you aren't really

Kenny Blankenship, I hope.

[taught_me_patience]

51. Yet the #1 selling vehicle in America is Ford F150

Rank Best-Selling Vehicle January 2012 %
Change
#1 Ford F-Series 38,493 + 7.5%
#2 Toyota Camry 28,295 + 55.9%
#3 Chevrolet Silverado 26,850 - 4.7%
#4 Nissan Altima 22,357 + 35.9%
#5 Honda Civic 21,883 + 49.5%
#6 Honda CR-V 18,960 + 16.0%
#7 Toyota Corolla/Matrix 17,988 - 12.6%
#8 Dodge Ram 17,909 + 46.8%


Three of the top eight are gas-hogging trucks. I guess Americans never learn... or they just don't give a crap.

[Throckmorton]

55. I paid $3.91/Gallon last night is SE Connecticut.

I expect that the price will be approaching $5/gallon by Memorial Day.

[Posteritatis]

62. Been at $5US/gal in Nova Scotia for months now. (nt)

[pampango]

63. Ouch. And Canada is more sparsely populated than the US.

I've seen the argument that the US can't stand high gas prices like in Europe and Japan because over there they have more compact societies where distances are not as great. That's certainly not the case with Canada.

[unionworks]

65. What does gas cost in China?

I googled it and the newest info I could find was $1.61 a gallon in 2008. That's in U.S. dollars. If anyone can find out how much it costs there now please post it. I wonder how much we would be paying for a gallon of gas if it were nationalized and we took the investment class out of the equation?

[Selatius]

76. The thing is only a minority of Chinese own cars. It's less of an issue to China as a whole.

Most people in China use bikes or motor-bikes or transit buses or trains to get around. Cars are seen as a luxury over there, affordable to those with high incomes.

Only in the United States could you find a huge metropolitan city with millions of people living in it with a mass transit grid that is essentially non-existent. American infrastructure has been primarily built around the car, and it has concordantly been built around the assumption that gasoline for cars will remain cheap. That era in world history is coming to an end.

China's "middle class" or something resembling middle class is roughly only 300,000,000 or even perhaps 400,000,000, but this is a country with a population approaching 1,400,000,000 people.

[spanone]

68. i keep reading that. big oil/gas is not happy about not getting their pipeline.

[Iggo]

79. Welcome to California.

Been there, done that.

People will drive less, take the bus, take the train, park the SUV and take the Honda. It's what we did last time and a lot of people around here suspected at the time that that may have been why the prices came back down again.

[jpak]

81. Fuck Oil Speculators - Fuck them all

US oil production has gone UP under Obama and our dependence on imported oil has declined below 50%.

This is how Wall Street treats us for bailing their sorry asses out.

fuck 'em

yup

[unionworks]

82. I wondered aloud

...upthread a ways, how much we would be paing for gas without the investment class in the equation...