Impact of rising gas prices 'fairly limited', economists say

[jpak]

http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2007-05-22-gas-price-impact_N.htm

WASHINGTON — Drivers may be griping about record high gasoline costs, but the recent surge in the price at the pump will have little impact on most consumers and will be hardly noticed in the broad economy, say several economists, including those at Standard & Poor's, LaSalle Bank and the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.

Rising incomes will help offset higher gas prices for most Americans, they say. And although gas prices are at unprecedented levels, not adjusted for inflation, the price gains have come over a number of years, giving consumers time to adjust their budgets.

"It's going to slow things down … but luckily, consumers' pocketbooks are doing reasonably well," Standard & Poor's chief economist David Wyss says. "Some people are going to get hurt by this. But the overall impact on the economy is going to be fairly limited."

Low-income households that are already stretched thin are likely struggling to pay their higher gasoline bills, Wyss says.

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[NMDemDist2]

1. BS! wait til the food prices and everything else goes up to adjust for the

higher gas prices. we ain't seen nothing yet if these prices hold

[nascar55]

4. BS is right

I compared my grocery bill from 4 weeks ago, buying the same stuff today as I did than, My bill is up 15% in one month.

[uppityperson]

5. I agree, food is going to be the breaker.

People will start cutting back on everything, putting off things, round and round and round the increasing outgo and decreasing income for many of us.

[BeyondGeography]

2. Oh, bullshit

Bullshit on top of bullshit, actually.

<Weak April retail sales bring May jitters>

<...Those factors include the weak housing market and the fallout from high-risk mortgages during the boom years. Some industry watchers also are raising concerns about gas prices, which are threatening to hit $4 a gallon in the coming weeks. Americans also are facing longer-term financial issues such as increasing credit card and other types of debt, and extraordinarily low rates of personal savings.

“When you put all this together, it starts to look to me like a very scary situation for the consumer, structurally,” said Howard Davidowitz, chairman of the retail consulting and investment banking firm Davidowitz & Associates Inc. “In other words, to me, the customer is spent up.”>

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18592826/

[grilled onions]

3. Speak For Yourself Moron

I know people that are struggling day by day working at minimum wage jobs with no chance of a raise and they have little choice but to feed their vehicles in order to feed their families but something has to give. Utilities get behind. Purchases like clothes for growing kids gets set aside(even after hunting the thrift shops). Money is not like rubber. You can only stretch a paycheck so far. Those that are forced to travel a long distance or those like cabbies or pizza delivery often run close to just barely breaking even. WHo are these people that are only "fairly limited" as to the sacrifice they must make every time they full that gas tank???:grr:

[angstlessk]

6. Only effect the middle class and the poor..those rich have nothing

to worry about..their pay has more than risen to cover the cost of fuel. end of story

[Lobster Martini]

7. Holy cow, economists can be irritating.

Rising incomes? Most people I know get annual raises that are just barely above CPI. Gas prices are increasing way more than CPI. Obviously there's less money to spend elsewhere. Do economists have a restraining order keeping them from contacting reality?

[phantom power]

8. These people are clearly sharing the bubble with Dim Son.

[depakid]

9. "Rising incomes will help offset higher gas prices for most Americans, they say"

Sometimes, I think neoclassical economists are not merely myopic, but outright delusional.

[Nihil]

12. Wonder what spit-roast economist tastes like?

Probably something between oily fish and road-kill ...

Still, at least it would give them a useful purpose and an
opportunity to "serve" the people they've been blindly
walking over for years ...

:evilgrin:

[Odin2005]

10. More evidence for why I disdain most economists.

Most economists are stuck in ideological bubbles.

[NickB79]

11. Just reaffirming my belief that Post-Peak-Oil will be a hard landing

Our country is run by delusional, short-sighted people whose primary purpose in life is to keep the sheeple calm while things crumble around them.

[Javaman]

13. Yeah, it's limited only to the poor, the middle class and the upper middle class

The rich are just fine.

In other words, fuck you America. Weeeeeee!!!

[Kolesar]

14. It means more wealth sucked out of my state and to oil producing states and countries

That means more economic growth--somewhere else !