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You are assuming that Exxon isn't selling oil at the higher crude prices.
They have a whole bunch of wells drilled that operate at a relatively fixed cost. When oil prices go up, they make a lot of additional money.
people forget that exxon is far more than "retail gas chains". in fact, i think they disolved themselves from association with those retail chains that carry their brand-name. i refuse to go to exxon/mobile. they are virtually always at least a few cents more than another gas station.
the average trip for the 500 people who bought nissan leafs is 7 miles. according to various polls i've read online, the average commute for an american is 16 miles one way.
i've been to italy, and there are plenty of small towns where people drive, but they often rely on the network of rail and/or buses to get places.
my commute is 23 miles each way. if i need something, i stop on the way home. i keep my trips to a minimum. there are people out there who waste trips, and commute far. but most people don't realize how short their trips are, in general.
Around here I would bet it's 20-30 one way, even for low-wage jobs. People commute here from small towns to the cities, partly on regular roads (poor mpg) and partly on highways. That's at least a gallon each way = $8. Someone grossing $11/hour and netting $8/hr is paying one hour of wages daily for gas. That might be fine if rents, property taxes and food were in line with wages, but forget that.
If you have one or two kids, or an elderly parent living with you, you're shuttling them all over the place. Sure, you can stop at the 7-11 or grocery on your to or from work, but I do not believe that's the only driving Americans do each week.
As usual NPR zeroed in on the "yuppies" (maybe there's a new word?) yesterday in their report that "people are OK with the rising prices." Who did they interview? Someone from LA and a few other areas who claim they were adjusting just fine to the gas prices ("it's equal to a couple of dinners out per week," no big deal.) Well it is very much a big deal for many people making not so much money.
Does gas "deserve," as some people claim, to cost as much as it does for consumers when oil giants are logging unprecedented profits and justifying the prices as due to this or that?
Around here I would bet it's 20-30 one way, even for low-wage jobs. People commute here from small towns to the cities, partly on regular roads (poor mpg) and partly on highways. That's at least a gallon each way = $8. Someone grossing $11/hour and netting $8/hr is paying one hour of wages daily for gas. That might be fine if rents, property taxes and food were in line with wages, but forget that.
If you have one or two kids, or an elderly parent living with you, you're shuttling them all over the place. Sure, you can stop at the 7-11 or grocery on your to or from work, but I do not believe that's the only driving Americans do each week.
As usual NPR zeroed in on the "yuppies" (maybe there's a new word?) yesterday in their report that "people are OK with the rising prices." Who did they interview? Someone from LA and a few other areas who claim they were adjusting just fine to the gas prices ("it's equal to a couple of dinners out per week," no big deal.) Well it is very much a big deal for many people making not so much money.
Does gas "deserve," as some people claim, to cost as much as it does for consumers when oil giants are logging unprecedented profits and justifying the prices as due to this or that?
Like they say in my area during tourist season, people driving $400,000 RV's that get 8 mpg or less on diesel fuel probably don't give a s*** that fuel costs over $4 per gallon and rising. But, the average middle class family in the Impala or minivan DO care, and they may not be traveling at all or spending way less on anything else but fuel during their trip.
What the morons in the media still don't seem to get--along with a lot of sheeple listening to those idiots--is that inflating fuel prices affect the prices of EVERYTHING--even for people that do little or no driving. That big gob of inflation hasn't really hit yet, but it's on the way. Even the fools who say, "Well, it's just a dinner or two a week" will be "squealin' from the feelin'" when that hits.
Around here I would bet it's 20-30 one way, even for low-wage jobs. People commute here from small towns to the cities, partly on regular roads (poor mpg) and partly on highways. That's at least a gallon each way = $8. Someone grossing $11/hour and netting $8/hr is paying one hour of wages daily for gas. That might be fine if rents, property taxes and food were in line with wages, but forget that.
If you have one or two kids, or an elderly parent living with you, you're shuttling them all over the place. Sure, you can stop at the 7-11 or grocery on your to or from work, but I do not believe that's the only driving Americans do each week.
As usual NPR zeroed in on the "yuppies" (maybe there's a new word?) yesterday in their report that "people are OK with the rising prices." Who did they interview? Someone from LA and a few other areas who claim they were adjusting just fine to the gas prices ("it's equal to a couple of dinners out per week," no big deal.) Well it is very much a big deal for many people making not so much money.
Does gas "deserve," as some people claim, to cost as much as it does for consumers when oil giants are logging unprecedented profits and justifying the prices as due to this or that?
i'm not sure i follow you on NPR. as for the "oil giants" earning profits...oil prices are higher...companies that refine the oil benefit from that. i don't like it, but that's how business works.
people need to stop buying it if they don't want them to get those profits.
Small scale organic farming is labor intensive but seemingly more viable option than relying on machines.
Our goal is small scale organic -- but near totally machines. Any type of basic robotics and automation from 1980 and after can be applied, pick-and-place, automated sort, variable speed drives, computer control, autonomous vehicles -- apply any or all of that to farming, with relatively low energy electric motors, and away we go.
Problem with the current crop of Ag machines is they are hopelessly mired in the 1960's to 1970's. Diesel engines, hydraulics operation. Burn fuel, baby, burn. Bigger Tractor Must Be Better Tractor. Could be talking about dinosaurs -- T-Rex v. Brontosaurs.
You talk to the knucklesheads stuck in that thinking about electric and -- about like the automobile folks -- they start chanting nonsense about batteries, batteries, batteries.
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Some folks laugh at the Amish but they will be the last ones left standing to laugh perhaps. Their operation in Lancaster PA is pretty impressive.
I used to farm in a "mixed" area. About 1/4 Amish, 1/4 Mennonite, and the rest of us -- some sort of mixed "English," as the Amish called us. Overall, the Amish tended to be pretty smart business folks. No debt. Very little overhead. Very Profitable.
Our goal is small scale organic -- but near totally machines. Any type of basic robotics and automation from 1980 and after can be applied, pick-and-place, automated sort, variable speed drives, computer control, autonomous vehicles -- apply any or all of that to farming, with relatively low energy electric motors, and away we go.
Are you in business for yourself, or with others, and in what state?
I don't expect gas to go down significantly. Neither do I expect it to go much above $4.50 - $5 in the near future. I think it will find a level at around $4 - $4.50 for the next couple of years. I think the main drivers here are the weakness of the dollar and growing global demand. In terms of inflation adjusted dollars, the price of gas has been remarkably stable over the years:
I don't expect gas to go down significantly. Neither do I expect it to go much above $4.50 - $5 in the near future. I think it will find a level at around $4 - $4.50 for the next couple of years. I think the main drivers here are the weakness of the dollar and growing global demand. In terms of inflation adjusted dollars, the price of gas has been remarkably stable over the years:
Actually global demand is flat or down a touch, so it is not responsible for the skyrocketing prices over the last few months. The weak dollar has some effect, but the biggest culprit is market speculation by investors. They are realizing they pushed it too high and the sell off has begun- resulting in the 10% price drop we have seen just today.
I don't expect gas to go down significantly. Neither do I expect it to go much above $4.50 - $5 in the near future. I think it will find a level at around $4 - $4.50 for the next couple of years.
Although I would like to believe you I don't. Home heating oil and gas are on the rise, maybe not at the rate they are now, but even at a lesser rate per week, project those weekly rates forward over 2 or 3 years (give or take a few backslides and plateaus) and see what figure you can see.
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