Gas prices expected to hit record high soon.

[fencesitter]

http://aolpf5.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B40A4FE60%2D9FE7%2D4C04%2DB5C7%2D22EEB3113ACB%7D&siteid=aolpf&dist=special

Hey, this will do a lot for our energy policies! Nothing like high gas prices to create an uneasy consumer.

[PROGRESSIVE1]

1. Fortunatly, this will NOT help the current pResident in the.....

WH!

:kick:

[bigwillq]

2. Dang, it can't go any higher

I paied 1.81 a gallon the other day, that was the highest I ever remembered paying. Just a few years ago, there was one station near my house that was 98 cents a gallon. Boy, how times have changed!

[joeunderdog]

10. I'm starting to think my $300 tax break won't last another term.

Maybe we can close a few of the homeless shelters to subsidize Exxon...

[Emboldened Chimp]

14. I wish I could pay $1.81...

Here in LA, we're up to $2.13 and climbing...

[Zero Gravitas]

3. So long as it hurts Bush*

I'm all for it. Some pro-war wingnuts actually believed that invading Iraq would somehow lead to gas costing less than $1/gal. If they're paying $3 per gallon at the end of the summer, they won't be thinking so highly of their Great Leader.

Thanks to Ralph "Enabler" Nader we have a steeper hill to climb, we'll need many more GOPers to stay home to counteract the sanctimonious pricks voting for the multimillionaire GOP shill.

[NeoConsSuck]

11. I'm all for it also!

I have a very close friend, a staunch ex-military conservative, who thought the Iraq spoils would include very cheap gas on the homefront.

I laughed at her, and tried to explain that the "US" companies over in Iraq could give a rat's ass about America. They're there for their own corporate greed.

And where I live, I love watching the Freepers in their huge pickup trucks, with 50 flags (1/2 USA, 1/2 Nascar), knowing they're wondering when gas prices will drop because we now "own" Iraq.

SUCKERS!!

[Crachet2004]

49. You got that right. If an Arab makes a dollar, a Texan makes two.

A lot of people assumed we would have cheap gas, leading up to the election, at least. Cheap fuel would then jumpstart the economy and Bushco would sail into office for a second term.

Hasn't happened. The rest of the world must be holding supply down, and big boosts in supply from Iraq are years down the road. The World hates Bush maybe worse than we do!

It was cynical of Americans to support the war in order to rip off Iraq's oil, but many did...didn't talk about it much, just assumed we would make out like a bandit-literally. Like you say, many drive gas hogs. But the ones driving NEW gashogs, like humvees are the ones who really crack me up! I KNOW those cats are Republicans!

Given Peak Oil approaching, fuel prices may NEVER come down again. And maybe this will spur alternate energy policies. I hope so. America needs to be energy independent, or we are not a free nation!

[NashVegas]

4. Uneasy? More Like Compliant

$3 per gallon means a whole lotta people who aren't going to mind going to war for oil.

[0007]

23. God Bless our War President"

[MASSAFRA]

5. Higher gas prices will be blamed

on enviromental wacos that will not let Bush's oil buddies despoil the Artic Wildlife Refuge.

[Lorien]

31. Yeah, right

ten days worth of fuel for California in ten years, with billions of our tax dollars subsidizing Halliburtan in the meantime-such a deal!

Make vehicles get 1.2 MPG more and you more than make up for anything Alaska has to offer.

[demsrule4life]

6. Maybe we just ought to catch up with what the rest of the world

is spending for gas. I remember the days when I was paying $1.25 a quart.

[quispquake]

7. Unfortunately, it'll take $3.00 a gallon to stop people...

...from buying these huge gas guzzling SUV's...suddenly a Prius will be looking a lot more welcome with gas at that price...this may not be a nice thought, but Europeans have been paying $4.00 or more for years, and perhaps that's one reason SUV's are not so prevalant over there....

My worry is more for heating oil prices which are also incredibly high right now...

[trogdor]

12. I heard the new Prius has a long waiting list.

Six months. I also heard it gets 60/51 MPG, is bigger, faster, and much less weird-looking.

[MurrayDelph]

21. Very good, but not quite THAT good

I'm told that it gets a consistent 49-52, which is better than
the 43 I get in the "Classic" 2002 Prius I have here in LA.

(and personally, I think that the new ones are WEIRDER).

I'm looking forward to the Hybrid Highlander SUV which is scheduled
to be out next January (It's the only way I would ever own one
of those monsters).

[LifeDuringWartime]

24. im not surprised

it has an optional feature which has the car do parallel parking all by itself. now, who wouldnt want THAT? :)

[Lorien]

32. 11 months in Ohio

a friend just tested one there. Said the model he drove got 65 mpg.

[doc03]

41. Saw one Friday at Pittsburgh auto show that's right 60/51 nice car

[htuttle]

45. That's nothing. I get 108 MPG...

...on my Chetak.



I've ridden it all winter (in Wisconsin) save for about 3 weeks worth of days when there was too much snow.

I spend about $1 on gas per week (or less).

Plus, I look good, don't I? (okay...that's not me...I can't play the French Horn)

[callous taoboy]

8. Just what every

proud Hummer owner should face.

[The_Casual_Observer]

9. No problem with this

America went to war in Iraq with the greedy misguided hope that it would make for cheap oil. I say too fucking bad. I hope that gas goes to $20/ gal just to spite them.

[treepig]

13. gasoline prices are actually far from historical highs

[BiggJawn]

16. My wages are actually far from "historic highs", too.

I dis-trust any chart that says "inflation adjusted". they're always quick to "adjust" price charts (that's how I know that my shortwave radio that sold for $995 in 1950 is now worth $50,000) but then tell you that adjusting your wages for "inflation" doesn't mean a thing.

[treepig]

19. ok whatever

but the average income per person was $9,494 in 1983 and in 2001 it was $22,851 (from http://www.census.gov/hhes/income/histinc/p01.html).

in both years it was possible to buy a gallon of gasoline for ~$1.30 in "current" dollars. but i think any reasonable person would agree that it was much "cheaper" in 2001, if for no other reason than that the average person could go out and buy an extra 10,275 gallons if this person chose to spend their entire income equivalent on gasoline.

[BiggJawn]

25. In 1983, treepig, my income was about $5400...

Sorry, but you mistook me for a "reasonable person". I'm a bitter old fart who wonders how he's gonna drive to the store to buy his cat food for dinner in his retirement years..
If gasoline was the ONLY thing that was increasing in price, then your thesis might be valid.

However, EVERYTHING has increased in price, so while my 1983 $5400 didn't buy very much gasoline, it bought enough of the "other" stuff to keep my family afloat.
These days, EVERYTHING is increasing in price, so the gasoline has to compete with food, heat, lights, insurance, rent, etc. And WHY does the gasoline increase in price?
"Because the Tree-Huggers stopped the President from drilling for Energy Independence..."

I don't buy it. We're getting gouged. and if someone would like to offer an excuse like "well, you ought to see what the GERMANS are paying for it" , fine, pay me what that average German is making, since your "average" German makes 3X what I do, and I'll shut up...

We're being gouged. It's political manipulation.

[treepig]

29. let me apologize . . . i didn't intend to insinuate that you personally

were not a reasonable person.

the point is, however, that personal income has risen considerably since 1983, and is gasoline had kept pace at an equal rate, it would be around $3.10 today. since everything is increasing in price, it is expected that gasoline would increase as well (with everything being equal). clearly, everything is not equal, because gasoline has not increased commensurate with overall prices - so now there's some catching up to do, and the more suddenly it will occur, the more painful it will be.

the bigger issue is that for the sake of the planet, it'd be great if the price of gasoline was $3.10, or $5, for that matter. however, the issue of low income persons such as yourself (and me too, although i do like to pride myself on my thrifty gasoline usage) being hurt the most makes this a sticky situation.

[kysrsoze]

30. So how does the govt actually say there is no inflation?

I've seen prices skyrocketing on everything - food, gas/fuel, postage, electronics, housing, clothing, etc. Where is this reflected? Real dollars? It seems prices are increasing faster than my income. This doesn't even take into account the increases in local/property taxes.

[htuttle]

34. They changed the way the CPI is calculated

They took out fuel from the inflation calculation, along with alot of other staples, and added in things like health care.

As a result, the CPI is now mostly tracking things that are inflation resistant, and ignoring those things that are inflation-prone.

And as a result of that, the CPI is now pretty much useless.

[treepig]

35. if fuel really had been removed,

then inflation would be lower than it now is (because gasoline is damn cheap - compared to historical trends or it's impact on the environment and iraqi citizens).

anyhow, here's what goes into the cpi calculations, from: http://www.bls.gov/cpi/cpifaq.htm#Question_3

7. What goods and services does the CPI cover?

The CPI represents all goods and services purchased for consumption by the reference population (CPI-U or CPI-W) BLS has classified all expenditure items into more than 200 categories, arranged into eight major groups. Major groups and examples of categories in each are as follows:

FOOD AND BEVERAGES (breakfast cereal, milk, coffee, chicken, wine, full service meals and snacks);

HOUSING (rent of primary residence, owners' equivalent rent, fuel oil, bedroom furniture);

APPAREL (men's shirts and sweaters, women's dresses, jewelry);

TRANSPORTATION (new vehicles, airline fares, gasoline, motor vehicle insurance);

MEDICAL CARE (prescription drugs and medical supplies, physicians' services, eyeglasses and eye care, hospital services);

RECREATION (televisions, cable television, pets and pet products, sports equipment, admissions);

EDUCATION AND COMMUNICATION (college tuition, postage, telephone services, computer software and accessories);

OTHER GOODS AND SERVICES (tobacco and smoking products, haircuts and other personal services, funeral expenses).

Also included within these major groups are various government-charged user fees, such as water and sewerage charges, auto registration fees, and vehicle tolls. The CPI also includes taxes (such as sales and excise taxes) that are directly associated with the prices of specific goods and services. However, the CPI excludes taxes (such as income and Social Security taxes) not directly associated with the purchase of consumer goods and services.

The CPI does not include investment items, such as stocks, bonds, real estate, and life insurance. (These items relate to savings and not to day-to-day consumption expenses.)

[htuttle]

43. They didn't remove fuel, but rather changed it's weight

Here are some links which describe this better than I have:
http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/P72746.asp
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=114&topic_id=4777

The way I understand it, they have been weighting less-inflationary items (or things getting cheaper like computers) heavier than fuel and food, leading to a deceptively low CPI.

In addition, asset inflation is entirely ignored -- and is in fact considered 'growing the economy' -- but that's another matter unrelated to the CPI (more of a philosophical question I guess...unless you're trying to buy your first house).

[doc03]

42. The falling value of the dollar is causing gas and other imports to go up

I read an article about steel prices going up and part of the cause was the dropping value of the dollar. I guess anything we import would increase in price. I suspect Bush and company are letting the value of the dollar drop in order to make our products cheaper abroad in a dispirit attempt to increase manufacturing employment before the election.

[alapolitical]

15. You all might want to check this website

Go to www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.com and www.dieoff.org for some rather good info on oil and gas prices.

(edited the web address)

[WhereIsMyFreedom]

46. I think you mean

www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net

[DrWeird]

17. Isn't the price of gas like $6/gallon in scandanavia?

We're the richest country in the world and we waste the most gas, yet we bitch when the price of gas goes up 20 cents/gallon.

[Sgt. Peppers]

18. Funny no one notices Mobil, Exon and the others making record...

profits, odd how that is huh!

[RamboLiberal]

20. Why's our dingbat in chief not 'jawboning' OPEC?

Here's what the dingbat candidate said in 2000.

A History of Candidate Bush Calling on OPEC to Raise Production
March 20, 2000: Bush Said President Clinton Should "Jawbone Opec" To "Open Your Spigots." "In January 2000, with oil prices at nearly $28 a barrel, Bush called on President Clinton to 'jawbone OPEC' to get prices to retreat. 'What I think the president ought to do,' he said while campaigning in New Hampshire where heating oil prices were soaring, 'is he ought to get on the phone with the OPEC cartel and say, 'We expect you to open your spigots,'" according to the Associated Press.

June 21, 2000: Bush Said OPEC Can Be Blamed As The "Main Reason" For Gas Prices. Bush said the "main reason" for high gas prices was OPEC withholding production and he "would hope the administration could convince our friends at OPEC to open up the spigots."

June 16, 2000: Bush Suggested We Work With OPEC To Ensure Low Gas Prices. "We should I think the -- we need to be working with our friends in OPEC to make sure that the price of crude oil, which doesn't rise to continue to force the price of gasoline up, particularly as the summer season comes -- is upon us."

June 27, 2000: Bush Said He Would Work With "Friends In OPEC" To Help With Gas Prices, Use "Capital," To "Open The Spigot." When asked for a concrete example of a solution to high gas prices, Bush said, "I would work with our friends in OPEC to convince them to open up the spigot, to increase the supply. Use the capital that my administration will earn, with the Kuwaitis or the Saudis, and convince them to open up the spigot."

http://www.grandoldpetroleum.com/openspigots.html

[tom_paine]

22. Of course they are

How much is fraud & theft by Imperial Cronies?

How much is actual supply/demand?

How much is as result of screwed up Imperial Foreign Policy?

Like the Subjects of the Old Soviet Union, Imperial Amerikan Subjects can find hours of entertainment trying to figure it out!

[DK666]

26. When the hell

Was the last time you got a .30 cent raise in a week ?


SoCal I paid 2.36 today at Arco.

[NickB79]

27. Gas prices just DROPPED here in MN

I was wondering what the hell was going on. Last week it was $1.69/gal, then we went to Madison, WI for the weekend and it was $1.73/gal there. I get home yesterday, go to gas my car up today and pay $1.60/gal! Weird, very weird. Calm before the storm?

[RT Atlanta]

28. I say...

"fuck you George Bush" every time I drive into a gas station any more. It seems like each time I fill up, the price has gone up a few cents a gallon - now I am paying almost $1.60 for 87. As someone else notes above, I think this is a good thing from the election's perspective and I hope our Democratic candidates hammer the repugs on this.

[tritsofme]

33. How high would it have to go before they tapped the strategic reserves?

nt

[Timefortruth]

36. Earlier this year there was speculation that Bush would use

the Strategic Petroleum Reserves late in the campaign to bring prices down.

Bet on it.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

37. They'll use this as a last ditch attempt to pass the energy bill

[myopinion]

38. the repuks including Greenspan are waiting

We are really add about a 60 to 70 percent inflation rate, the repuks including Greenspan are waiting until after November Elections to let the hammer drop on the average Joe six-pack. That is why Greenspan has the interest rate bottomed out to nearly zero and bush is giving billions dollars of our tax money to the oil corporations as “exploration” subsidies.

From:
http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/P72748.asp

Last Tuesday, the Reserve Bank of India stated that it was "exploring the option of replacing a part of the central bank's investment in short-term U.S. securities with European gilts." This follows on the heels of what Japanese Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki said two weeks ago, that Japan would consider diversifying the composition of its reserves.

It is worth noting that, back in 1978, the Carter administration was forced to do a tremendous amount of heavy lifting to rescue the dollar. In addition to a handful of other measures, it was forced to borrow $10 billion worth of Treasurys denominated in foreign currencies. Furthermore, our trade deficit was 0.7% of GDP at the time rather than the 5% it is now. Said differently, today's is seven times bigger.

Now, I am not saying that the price of oil would not have gone up in dollar terms anyway, if the dollar hadn’t slid. But perhaps it would not have gone up as much. As you will see, a strong currency thwarts price increases; a weak currency causes and exacerbates price increases. In the last two years, the euro has rallied from about 86 cents to around $1.28. In the last two years, the price of oil has risen from about $21 per barrel to just over $35 per barrel. OPEC's recent decision to cut production was partially due to the depreciation of the dollar. At the same time, Europeans have seen their price of oil go from about 24.5 euros per barrel to about 27.5 euros per barrel. That 12% increase is obviously a lot less than the 66%-plus increase that has occurred in dollar terms. So, the decline in the dollar has affected folks in subtle yet expensive ways that they don't quite recognize.

Let’s use the same methodology to look at a slightly different commodity -- in this case, copper. Copper is up 73% in dollar terms. In euro terms over the same period, the increase is closer to 17%. Naturally, copper doesn't enter folks' everyday life in the same way as energy, but the analysis is applicable to most other commodities.

Middlemen have absorbed much of the pain thus far. This is about to change, however, and prices are going to escalate. I could cite many more examples, but I think you get the point: When the dollar goes down, it costs you money basically every day. But in some cases, there are lags before the impact really starts to be felt.

[evworldeditor]

39. $1.59/gal here in Omaha for 10% ethanol

A huge difference from the nearly $2 I just paid in Sacramento last Friday for their cheapest grade. Higher grades well over $2.00/gal there.

Start thinking hybrids, biodiesels and electric cars folks... In case you werentt aware, if you pay 5 cents a kilowatt for electricity, you can run a battery electric car for something like 10 cents a mile or less. Compare that to what you're paying now for gasoline. Actually, you can compare it. I need to turn back on the EV VS ICE flash calculator on EVWorld.com. I'll try to do that tonight.

As for EV's, try to find one. Most of the 1,100 EV1s GM built were crushed at the GM Proving Grounds outside Phoenix, because none of us wanted them, we're told. 0-60 in something like 8 seconds or less? Range of 80-100+ miles and you charge it at home every night for pennies, so you never have to stop at a gas station again.

Sounding pretty good to me.

[jeffsurfus]

40. Makes you almost feel sorry for all those Hummer drivers....

NOT!!!!!:grr:

[Demeter]

44. Regime Change A Coming!

Start packing, Laura, sayonara Bush.

[pinniped]

47. I paid $2.15 for regular earlier today in SF, CA.

Price up about .20¢ in a few days...so far.

Some other place (Shell) wanted $2.33 regular!

[AgadorSparticus]

48. good lord! and i thought the $2.08 (reg) I saw outside Vegas was bad!

wheeeeeeeeeeee. we're in for a good summer...