Its blatently obvious that gas prices are gouging us, even though they are determined to tell the public otherwise.
And perhaps someone can shed some light on us but I highly doubt it'd persuade me to believe otherwise.
Heres how I know they're gouging us:
The price for a barrel of oil is 13-16 dollars less this year than it was last year, and yet we're paying over 10 cents more than we were last year. There used to be a fine line of profit. If oil went up, gas went up only to match the cost. However now, gas companies are doing it differently. oil is going down or staying pretty even to where it is, and gas keeps increasing, which turns into huge profit.
Who knows how bad they're ripping us off? Hundreds of millions? Billions? Hundreds of Billions?
Anyone have any evidence to show otherwise?
Now for myself, I plan on having a second car. And as gay and dumb as it looks, it gets very good gas mileage. Its not yet been released in the US but you can find them for about 15 grand [IMG]http://www.kulick.net/photoalbum/euroexpo99/BruceSmallCar.jpg[/IMG]
Two things:
Relatively speaking, the United States continues to have some of the lowest petrol prices in the world.
When prices rise, this is a good thing because it's a market signal to people to use less. It punishes inefficiency and overconsumption, and it stimulates development of alternative technologies. You're not some sort of anti-market communist, are you?
i used to have a car exactly like that except it was white and blue. your right thats because gas and oil companies know that oil is not the future and they want to get as much money out of us as they can before we start switching to alternative fuels.
If people are willing to pay it, someone wuill charge it.
I love the hypocrisy here. WHOA NELLY YOU'RE TRYING TO SET A MINIMUM WAGE? COMMUNISM! HEATHENISM! EVIL AND WOE! FREE MARKET IS THE ONLY HOLY TRUTH! Whats this? expensive gas? GOVERNMENT, SAVE ME! OH WOE TO THE EVIL OIL COMPANIES.
idiot.
There are Brits on this board.
Run.
RUN.
It's like $8 for a gallon in Sweden.
Stop *****ing already. -_-
I remember ages ago when the price of 'gas' rose in US by something as pathetic as a few cents and patriots were up in arms, furious that the "money hungry eveil gas companies" added on an extra nickel per tank. All while Brits paid double the price for petrol.
Gas companies can charge what they want cause the average person is so dependant on a vehicle that they would pay whatever is needed rather than take the bus,walk or carpool
All I know is that I used to be able to fill up my tank with $20-25, and now it requires close to $40-45.
Average gas price today in Nor-Cal is $4.50.
I am being raped, and I genuinely dislike it.
I thought it was pretty obvious that gas companies could charge whatever for the gas prices as long as their competitors did. As long as we keep buying it, we have very little choice over the prices. Though I don't think it was the general intent, I think Arwon's right in that it encourages the manufacturing and use of alternative fuels, and that's definitely something that can help the world.
I drive a suburban which gets 15 miles to the gallon and I drive fifty miles a day to get to school and back. It also costs me 100 dollars to fill the forty two gallon tank which I have only filled once.
I am going to borrow my moms car until I have enough money to buy a motorcycle then gas prices will have less of an affect on me.
Yay! Another stupid Random thread.
If you live in any kind of city with a bus or metro system, stop *****ing and use it a bit. Or walk. If you don't live in a city with those services, tough luck. That's capitalism for you. There's also no real need for you to try and track down a Smart ForTwo. You can save thousands of dollars by searching for a gently used Geo Metro/Suzuki Swift. The version with the inline 3 cylinder motor gets well over 50mpg and it has luxuries such as a back seat. Then use the ~$10-12k you save for gas. A ForTwo is great if you live in a huge city and don't need and kind of storage space whatsoever. But then, you may as well just use your city's transit system because it'll be way cheaper.
[IMG]http://i19.tinypic.com/5xxobvm.jpg[/IMG]
2000 Geo (Chevrolet) Metro LSI. They started badging them as Chevy's in '97 or so.
I drive thousands of miles a month. Yes, I cringe when I pull up at the pump but I do remind myself that some people pay around $2 per litre of fuel while I'm paying about $3.20 for 3.8litres. It's really not so bad.
I really don't think Random was asking for alternatives, and thus, almost completely altering his entire lifestyle to make up for a few lost dollars in gas, Miso. Rather, I think he was looking for defenders of gas companies, if there are such people who aren't themselves employed by the companies, to try and tell their specific reasoning. Aside from the obvious, that is, "to make more money."
Honestly, I think each gas company goes up in prices with each other in tandom.
Btw, the car Random's getting is called a 'Smart car.' Just FYI in case someone was wondering. :)
Purchasing a Smart ForTwo is a pretty stupid response to his perceived problem. Given how much it costs and that it will be a second car, it's only going to cost him more money. He should just sell his current car and opt for a used fuel-miser like the Geo Metro or Ford Festiva. Both can achieve upwards of 50mpg, as does the smart car. However, well-maintained examples wouldn't command more than $3,000 while a Smart Fortwo goes for $15,000+. Random could use the thousands of dollars he'd save on the purchase and hundreds he'd save on insurance to fund future fuel expenditures and he might even be able to stop *****ing about how everything makes him poor.
And I honestly don't care if he was asking for alternatives or not. If he's going to ***** about gas prices but be unwilling to make any kind of change (except the most stupid one possible - spend thousands of dollars on a new car) then he shouldn't be complaining at all because he is actively allowing the problem to persist. Oh wait, I forgot - nothing is ever his fault. No. Of course not. :rolleyes:
Hm... yeah, one thing:
He was looking for an explanation rather than a way to vent anger.
But they're so cuuuuuuuute!!!
I apologize for not taking the time to read all of the replies to this post, as well as for not reading some of the lengthier parts of the actual post (way to go my initiative level).
anyway, I
It's a free market economy.
If you don't like it, start a rival oil company that produces cheaper oil (since you're apparently convinced this is possible) or STFU.
Fossil Fuels are so monumentally retarded and laughably outdated that I am in favor of whatever market forces facilitate their demise. If the oil companies want to cut their own throats by pricing their product high enough to motivate the very innovation that will eventually kill them, hoo-fvcking-ray I say.
Virtually the entire planet is getting sick and tired of oil, so its only a matter of time before we ("we" being the United States, Germany or Japan) resolve this with some scientific finality.
This is the year 2007 for christs sake. Aren't we supposed to have flying cars by now? It's only 8 more years until we're living in the year depicted by Back to the Future II.
An ancillary benefit to the west ridding ourselves of oil dependence is rendering all of those morons in the middle east back into a state of tent-dwelling warring sheikdoms (save for Dubai, which is pretty much the only middle eastern nation who is smart with their money) I'd love to see the House of Saud continue their lifestyle when they have to resort to their other exports like dates and 'second-hand goods' to sustain themselves.
Of course, the various "developing" nations will continue to use oil, but Scandinavians, non-Chinese mongoloid Asians, the folks in the Anglosphere and the balance of Europe- we're really above that outdated "oil" nonsense.
As usual, it will be up to the United States and Japan to make it happen since none of the other white or Asian countries can ever seem to innovate for jack sh|t, but in time, we will see it through.
Do you think that energy should be subsidized by the government and given away for free? So "the corporations" can't profit from it?
Sh|t, you think we are wasteful now... :eek:
yay it's Landon!
I thought he was dead
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