Slashdot Mirror
Much Ado About Gas Prices
markmcb writes "It seems that a week cannot pass without finding big news about gas prices. They're up, they're down ... but why do we care so much? OmniNerd posted an article that aims to put gas prices in perspective. The author takes a look at other commodities and their price variances and applies some simple math in order to make the claim that best-gas-price-hunting is an effort that could be better used on other products. From the article, 'Why the disproportionate emphasis on gas prices in our culture, then? Although some cite a failure of politicians or media populists to account for inflation and purchasing power changes, I think it is simply because gas prices are in your face.'" IMO, the other side to the price of gas is that, especially in developed countries, it has a pervasive effect throughout all layers of the economy — food prices (because of the trucking), schools (busing), etc., etc.
This article is just a very vigorous proof that you're an idiot if you spend any time at all searching for the cheapest gas. We all know that some gas stations don't follow the unspoken price rule where you don't undercut your competitors and they won't undercut you. Some people must feel very smart finding those gas stations. How much gas they waste getting to them might be interesting to compute also. Oh well, as long as it makes you feel good inside.
I remember when Exxon Mobile reported the largest profits ever received by a company in a single quarter. While they were raking in that dough, they were telling me that hurricane Katrina and the war had left them with no oil at all. They warned me gas prices were going to go up. Then why the hell did they make record profits?
What I would like to read an article about what the hell happened with the congressional hearing that was supposed to investigate Exxon Mobile? And we're subsidizing gasoline companies through preferential tax codes? Am I the only person wondering what is going on here?
My work here is dung.
Wish we *had* public transport to use.
Mod me down with all of your hatred and your journey towards the dark side will be complete!
The point that wasn't put forward so well in the article is that the Gas price can change everything.
Your shopping for example will go up in price as it costs more to transport it. Your electricity/gas at home can go up in price too.
The reason we care so much is that many of us spend more on gas than any other commodity. We consider it as essential as food. And its price varies wildly from season to season. I spend roughly $300 US each month on gas currently, and when it was higher you bet your ass I cared that I was spending an extra $50 a month.
Would you pay $6/gallon for gas to support the taxes required for all those socialist services?
I've had enough abrasive sigs. Kittens are cute and fuzzy.
Expect gas prices to continue to decline up to the November elections. Oil companies will forgo the profits short-term in order to give oil-friendly Republicans a better shot at the polls.
After the election, look for a price spike, probably blamed on increased heating demand and Middle East instability.
And no, you can't have my tinfoil hat.
Another problem is that it's a big deal because the media makes it a big deal.
And the media makes it a big deal because the status quo for intellegence is not very high. Average Joe customer simply sees things on the surface and doesn't do any deep thinking. I remember hearing someone that I know say "I guess buying a diesel car is the way to go". No doubt he simply thought that because the price of gas on diesel cars was advertised as a few cents cheaper per gallon at the time. Now, its the opposite. And I don't know this for sure, but aren't diesel cars more expensive? If that's the case then you'd be losing money overall.
As Americans, we are spoiled!
We are accustomed to cheap gas and all its by-products (heating oil, propane, electricity, etc.) for some time now. So much so, that we take it for granted. On top of that we extend ourselves to the max, getting credit cards and running up debt like crazy. So, when all of sudden this cheap energy source doubles in price and now stresses everyones budget, we scream foul. That is why gas prices are so closely watched and such a hot topic. We can afford the spike. Other countries have dealt with high energy prices by promoting mass transit, build more efficient cars, etc. But we just can't relate.
European cars get better mileage and it is easier to live without a car there than it is in the US, where every store is a 20 minute drive away and there is only the barest shell of viable public transport. A lot of this is due to the political landscape in the US which is extremely friendly to large auto and oil corporations, but maybe this will change as gas prices inexorably continue upward and people start asking for change.
Gas prices are driven because of the spot market on oil, and the way it's basically a "futures market".
American consumers don't have to deal with the extreme volatility that is involved with such a rampantly speculative market on a day to day basis, EXCEPT when it comes to gas prices. This makes them a lot more visible than other speculative swings.
I'm a fiscal conservative, it's a pity we don't have a political party anymore
I would gladly pay $6/gallon if it would get all the jackasses driving Yukons with one passenger off the road. The public transit would be nice, but it would require everyone to not live on 3/4 acre in a development 35 miles from the center of the city for it to be even plausable.
I'm more shocked by the people who bitch about gas prices while chugging away on their third $4.00 cup of Starbucks that morning.
This guy's the limit!
It's election season, dumbasses, they're lowering prices to help out their buddies in Washington.
l ications/wrgp/mogas_home_page.html In fact, gas prices peaked in November of 2004, having risen over 20% from March to November of that year.
Nice theory, but what happened in 2004? Remember all those rumors that Bush had a secret arrangement with the Saudis and they were going to lower gas prices around the election to make Bush look good. Well, it never happened. http://www.eia.doe.gov/oil_gas/petroleum/data_pub
The more you regulate a company, the worse its products become.
I always hear about people complaining about gas prices. Then someone always makes the comparison that a cup of coffee at starbucks is like $10 a gallon so gas is relatively cheap. To that I say so what. I don't need to buy 15-20 gallons of coffee a week, but I do need 15-20 gallons of gasoline a week. The complaint is that gas prices go up 5 cents and people freak out. Well, 5 cents * 20 may only be $1 more a week. But then next week it goes up again. Here in the US (I know prices are better here than most places), just 5 years ago gas was $1.50. So now, It is $1.50 more a gallon, multiply that by 20 gallons and it is $30 more a fillup. Multiply that by 52 weeks a year and it is $1560. Now that is something to complain about. Oh, and I know I am from the US, but I have a fuel economy car (33 mpg) and I have a 30 minute commute. Oh, and for those of you that say move closer to your work, that is not possible because I work someplace that the cost of living is far out of my price range, which may be why most of the people at my company have 20+ minute commute.
In most Western Countries, you can choose where you live. I could have chosen to live within the City Limits, where the store is within walking distance (and public transportation is actually quite good). Instead, I chose to build a house in the suburbs. It is MY OWN DAMN FAULT that I now have to pay $50 a week to fill up my Ford Escape. And, my wife and I chose to purchase a fuel-efficient Mazda 3, because her new job had a very long commute.
If you feel that the stores are too far away, then either move to a new house (closer to the stores you shop at), or buy a more fuel-efficient car.
You speak as though 3/4 of an acre is a large lot. It's a decent sized yard at best. 1 acre is the smallest lot I'll even consider when looking at houses. It's a luxury of living in the large nation that we do. We don't have to be crowded into small spaces in dirty cities. We can choose to live in comfort and have some space for kids to enjoy, and to build shit on.
nothing
Would you pay the taxes to subsidize the petroleum indestry, so they only have to charge you $3/gallon at the pump?
TFA: According to the Energy Information Administration, the average cost of gas in the U.S. that year was $1.85 per gallon of regular grade4 and the average gas mileage of a new, light-duty vehicle was 21 mpg
Okay, forget the rest of the damn article. Amercia, your problem is right there: MPG.
Whilst American cars struggle to reach 25MPG, the average MPG of a European car is over 40MPG (source).
How can the country that has MIT have such crappy MPG? I mean, aren't you chaps utterly ashamed of your engineers? Forget saving money, just bring it down to technical prowess. Why aren't American engineering nerds hanging their head in shame?
I have a 4x4 SUV that does better than 25MPG, not just on the motorway and country lanes, but on crowded higgledy-piggledy British towns. And it's a stupid 4x4 that I only really need in the winter! My mother's sporty saloon car does 45MPG. My wife's Volvo (read: APC with upholstery) does 35MPG. What the hell are you Yanks driving to need that much fuel per mile? Do you just grab a fire truck and bolt a couch to it, or what?
(Even given 1 Imperial gallon = 1.2 US Gallons, your MPG still sucks, Amercia)
Andrew Oakley - www.aoakley.com
I hate driving in traffic. I would love to take the bus. However, I just can't do it with the current options. One major reason is that I have to pick up one of my children from after school care by 6:00pm. To do that, I would have to take the 4:25 bus from work, which is a little difficult when I get off at 5:00. Of course, I could start work earlier, which means I would have to catch the first bus of the day at 6:00, which is a little difficult since my son's school bus doesn't arrive until 7:25 and the school won't allow children to be dropped off until 8:00. I could enroll him in the before school care, too, but that doesn't start until 7:00, which still is insufficient for catching the 6:00 bus.
So, as much as I hate driving during rush hour (if you can call creeping at 15 mph driving), I still prefer it over riding the bus with the options I currently have.
The city here puts a lot of effort into showing how much effort they are putting into public transportation. They don't seem to put much effort into making it at all convenient for people to use.
Edward Burr
Having a smoking section in a restaurant is like having a peeing section in a swimming pool.
Oil still costs about $12:bbl to extract from the ground, and deliver to the refinery as it did in 2001. It still costs the same to refine it to gas and deliver it to your pump. But oil costs about $75 now, not $25. That means that we're not looking at just a tripling of price in 5 years, but rather almost five times the profit. While the rest of the country's economy, except for these energy corporations and banks, is stagnant or shrinking.
You're also paying for artificially tight refining capacity and the risk that something disrupts the supply chain. From what I hear, the cost of extraction may still be the same, but the quality of oil has declined especially in Saudi Arabia. That means higher refining costs before low quality oil meets the standards of oil traded at index price.
The way to avoid price gouging at the gas pump is to lower the barrier to entry for refineries. The US government can contribute by cutting back on the regulation burden. Breaking up OPEC would also be nice, but I don't see anything with the power to make that happen.
Finally, I don't see the point with the automobile layoffs. This was going to happen. The US auto makers aren't competitive in quality of product or labor costs. This is particularly true of GM which is most of the current run of layoffs. They've been bleeding market share for decades. Blame transference to oil might result in bad economic decisions by the federal government but it's not going to recover those jobs.