Gas Prices Killing Average Worker?

[Razorblade01]

I think so. I don't know how much more the average worker making $8-9-10 dollars an hour is going to make it. Keep in mind that when gas goes up, food and everything else goes up. Food prices rose around the world 40% last year. I just don't see how people are going to make it with these prices.

What do you think?

[Old Codger]

1. Absolutely

The mind boggling greed involved in the high fuel prices is pathetic.. Absolutely going to seriously hinder any sort of economic recovery. Of course it has been greed that got us here in the first place..

[Warpy]

2. I know what I'm seeing here in the inner city

and that is people getting up at 5 AM so they can commute an hour and a half on the city's lackluster bus system for the commute that would take them maybe 20 minutes by car. I also know ridership is way up on our shiny new commuter rail system from the southern exurbs.

I also see a lot more crazy drivers who think flooring it and running lights will save gas because the car won't be "on" quite so long.

Higher prices have already eaten up the whole rise in the minimum wage the Democratic Congress managed to get, the whole increase that won't kick in for another year.

At some point it's got to dawn on these overstuffed old men that they're killing the goose that lays all those golden consumer eggs by shunting all wealth to the already rich and squeezing the spending classes to death.

[izquierdista]

6. They will never realize

The overstuffed got that way by one reason; they know how to "game" the system. Like Ken Lay and your friendly mortgage broker, they know how to bend the system until it funnels a lot of money their way. The fact that they have put a kink in the line which will allow pressure to build up to explosive levels is something they are blissfully ignorant of. When things do explode and they are showered with shrapnel, all they can do is look stupid and mumble "wha hoppen??" In the end, their greed will kill them, probably taking other innocents along with them.

[glowing]

3. Isn't that the grand plan.. starvation works just as well to ensure population

along with that the wars that will ensue for food.. In short, these fat cat asses will ensure that population is reduced just like all of their plans insist on..

[Cresent City Kid]

4. Job hunting's no picnic either

Crossing town to apply for a job is like a casino game from hell. I've always had more success showing up than using e-mail, but now I have to make some hard choices.

[A wise Man]

5. Amazing that there are only 4 response...

...to one of the most important post yet.There has never on this earth has there ever been any product that rises so often so fast. With this administration and all its cronies stealing and robbing this country and the world. Dick Chaney and his secret enery meetings, the republicans as well as the democratic congress and the senate aren't doing a damn thing about it. I hope they enjoy their stock options since they'll be the only ones that will be driving and working.

[raccoon]

7. The gas prices will also send the economy into the toilet.

Of course, some of you may say, it's already there. :shrug: And you may be right.

[Fumesucker]

8. My basement shop is full of motorycycles..

I'm waiting as long as I possibly can to sell them because the higher gas prices are, the more I'll make off them..

I buy old bikes that need some tlc and fix them up, I can almost always at least triple my money and often I can do considerably better than that.

45 plus mpg for under a couple of thousand dollars is starting to sound pretty good to a lot of people and will sound better and better the higher gas prices go.

[KharmaTrain]

9. We've Passed The "Tipping Point"

Out here in Pleasant Valley Sunday, the $8-$10 jobs are filled by the kids and old folks at the Wal Marts...most "bucket-pail" types around here look at $15-$20...but those numbers mean little when you consider those wages have stagnated while the cost of everything around us has skyrocketed. Around here, the car is the only mode of transportation...strip malls and drive-thrus prevail, but the stores are not as busy and the streets aren't as full of traffic at nights. When you have to put more of that check into your tank or to pay for groceries, there's less for the Circus City or Olive Garden. As prices continue to rise, more corners are gonna be cut that will ripple through the economy...we're stuck on a downward slope with no end in sight.

The combination of lessing consumer demand and rising manufacturing and distribution costs are a real killer...for everyone. It'll be cost-prohibitive for certain items to be manufactured, stores will cut back hours due to lack of traffic (laying off people in the process) and debts will grow greater and savings will shrink as people do what they can just to stay above water. All the while, this regime will sit back and ignore the mess they've created. This mess, like all others, is our fault and our problem...gut it up.

The economy will be the #1 issue this November...more than Iraq (yes, more than Iraq) and one that spells doom to the GOOP on many levels. Let them spin and pretend they are in a strong position...they aren't, and no matter the spinning and lying Gramps says this Fall, when people go into the ballot booth, they'll be counting the money in their pockets when they do.

[A wise Man]

11. And no one hasn't open their "MOUTHS

to address this major problem and economic catastrophy to do anything about it.While the super rich greedy oil mongers sit on their fat asses and laugh at us.

[KharmaTrain]

13. It's A Silent Rage...But It's Definitely There...

I hear it constantly...from friends, business associates, relatives, neighbors...just mention the economy and you'll hear another horror story or concern. The corporate media downplays it or trivializes it because little is felt inside the beltway bubble of drinkie-drinkie parties and expense accounts. Their panic came when the market blew 2,000 points and now that the treasury bailed out the banks to stabilize their portfolios, all is good. But it doesn't mean that people are buying it.

This regime sits back as they don't care about the future. Their clocks tick only to 1-20-09 and they're gonna fleece the taxpayer until the very last moment and beyond. The only change now is not in creating the wealth as much as its preserving it.

Cheers...

[Wcross]

10. Most of the increase is due to the free-fall the dollar is in.

Yes, the average worker is getting slammed by rising costs. Don't worry though, I am sure everyone will get the traditional 2% raise this year which will make everything OK.:sarcasm:

[dawgman]

12. I got 4.7 increase this year

and it doesn't cover the rising cost of living. Luckily I am most likely going to move companies which will add another ~6% or so and if I stay until the end of the project before leaving I will get a $15,000 dollar severence. That will help equalize things but only for about a year.

[demmiblue]

14. Of course.

I don't see how many are making it, either. $8-10 dollars an hour is a piddly sum compared to the cost of living (especially when you take into account different geographical areas). Damn, can you even imagine those who make minimum wage?!

In my state, the cost of heating our homes has only added on to the difficulty. I have kept my thermostat very low this Winter, but my heating bill is three times as expensive compared to several years ago. I would really like to know the number of house fires that have been caused by people trying to survive by using their ovens or space heaters to get a little warmth. Thank goodness it is warmer now!

[1monster]

15. Not just gas prices... the gas itself. My car has been getting sicker and sicker

with constant stalls.

First, I put in gas additive. More stalls. Then I had the fuel injectors cleaned. Even more stalls. Then I had my plugs, wires and roter replaced. The care worked much better for about a week.

Then, after filling up, it would not work the next morning. Great start, then died. Five times before I gave up.

Since the fuel filter was replaced six months ago, and the fuel pump was replaced just two years ago, we didn't think they were the problem, but checked them anyway.

What came out of the fuel filter was gas so dirty it looked like a scoop of water along with some mud taken up from the bottom of a sandy creek and shaken up.

The sand just about ruined my car. So far we have replaced the, fuel filter, the feul injectors and the feul/air regulator as they were clogged with sand. The fuel/air regulator was frozen with the sand. The knock in the engine from the poor quality gas was so great that it destroyed my knock sensor and two other sensors (we're starting to talk BIG MONEY now). I'm praying that the mechanic can have my car back up on the road tomorrow and that I can pay my mortgage after paying him. Two hundred dollars yesterday just for small parts and that might not be enough. And I still have to pay him for labor. :scared: He's supposed to drop my gas tank today (or tomorrow) drain it, and clean it.

How did so much sand and dirt get in my gas tank? Well, at this point I cannot prove it (but I'll be looking to do so), but one of the two gas stations that I frequent dug all of its gas tanks up at the end of last week... Two days after my car died. I had been going to fill up my husband's car that day at that station. Thank God they were closed due to the dig up or I might have TWO cars down with the same problem.

Do I have any chance of having the gas station pay for at least some of the repairs on my car?

on edit: I know how to spell "engine" so why does it seem to come up "enjine" so often? I lernd to spel with "Hookd On Fonix"!