$200/barrel oil? (real estate, companies, interest, salary)

[SandyCo]

Here is an interesting article about how life would change:

Envisioning a world of $200-a-barrel oil - Los Angeles Times

[bchris02]

Scary stuff. I think its in everybody's best interest though this demand destruction doesn't happen, even oil companies, speculators, and George Bush. They are trying to get it as high as they possibly can to line their pockets as much as possible without crashing the economy. It also doesn't hurt that an oil man is in the White House. When it gets to a point demand destruction begins, look for the price to stabilize if not fall a little bit. I see this happening in the $150-170 range.

[movin'on]

I think this has to be the scariest thing I have ever read. This is changing my spending big time and it doesn't have so much to do with the price of gas as all of the very real signs of doom and gloom on the horizon. I don't even think I will go out to dinner tomorrow night, even though I should.

[Humanoid]

You know the writing has been on the wall for 3 decades and nobody cared. For the past 3 decades things have been developed as if oil was infinite and energy would always be cheap. Big surprise.....its not. Americans are going to have to learn the hard way that the rest of the world doesn't care about subsidizing their life style.

When it gets to a point demand destruction begins, look for the price to stabilize if not fall a little bit.

This is tautological. When demand destruction begins that will stabilize prices, it has nothing to do with the big bad oil companies trying to screw us.

[Wild Style]

Originally Posted by Humanoid

You know the writing has been on the wall for 3 decades and nobody cared. For the past 3 decades things have been developed as if oil was infinite and energy would always be cheap. Big surprise.....its not. Americans are going to have to learn the hard way that the rest of the world doesn't care about subsidizing their life style.


This is tautological. When demand destruction begins that will stabilize prices, it has nothing to do with the big bad oil companies trying to screw us.

bravo sir, bravo.

[KevK]

Never happen so why fantasize about it.

[KevK]

How much higher would fuel prices have to go before she quit her job? Already, the 170-mile round-trip commute to her job with Los Angeles County Child Support Services in Commerce is costing her close to $1,000 a month -- a fifth of her salary. It's got the 55-year-old thinking about retirement.

Does anybody see the problem here???

[SandyCo]

You'd be surprised how many people in L.A. have commutes like this, and even worse ones (up to two hours a day one way), just because they're willing to sacrifice time with their families for the sake of home ownership. I'd rather continue renting an apartment only twelve miles away from my job than take on that kind of stress.

People were saying only a few months ago that oil was high at $100 a barrel, and that it wouldn't go to $150. We're only $10 away from that now, and I don't see anything stopping it from reaching $200. I'm not going to go into why oil is so high right now, but I don't see this coming down any time soon.

[harry chickpea]

Originally Posted by KevK

How much higher would fuel prices have to go before she quit her job? Already, the 170-mile round-trip commute to her job with Los Angeles County Child Support Services in Commerce is costing her close to $1,000 a month -- a fifth of her salary. It's got the 55-year-old thinking about retirement.

Does anybody see the problem here???

Raises hand - ME! ME! http://bestsmileys.com/bouncing/19.gif (broken link)

"Sky-high gas prices "would basically reorient society to where proximity would be more valuable," said Tom Gilligan, finance professor at USC."

Gee, http://bestsmileys.com/clueless/1.gif (broken link)ya think California residents and academics might finally be learning the old real estate saw "Location, location, location?"

About time.

"Restaurant owners are complaining that thieves are helping themselves to used barrels of cooking oil, which can be home-brewed into biodiesel fuel."

Are we to interpret that those smelly barrels of used cooking oil and lard, that were commonly set out back of restaurants to attract rats and annoy neighbors are a prized commodity now? Just who is complaining and why? Sorry, no sympathy here at all. If the stuff has value, treat it as such. http://bestsmileys.com/clueless/4.gif (broken link)


"Already Californians' mobility is being curbed. Traffic on the state's freeways fell almost 4% in April compared with a year earlier"

About time. http://bestsmileys.com/cars/18.gif (broken link)


"The fee increases on the ferry would be nothing compared with the added cost of transoceanic shipping if oil goes to $200. Some experts say high energy costs are altering global trade and slowing the pace of globalization."

About time. http://bestsmileys.com/happy/7.gif (broken link)

"local ports could lose business if shipping costs get so out of hand that companies begin shifting production back to North America from Asia -"

About time. So sad for all those offshore dreams of big business.http://bestsmileys.com/sad/8.gif (broken link) NOT!

"high fuel prices will push restaurants, retailers and food manufacturers to look for suppliers closer to their operations."

About time. http://bestsmileys.com/eating1/10.gif (broken link)

"Videoconferencing, touted as "the next big thing" for years, would finally have its day, thanks to improved technology and a desperation to cut corporate travel budgets."

About time. End the lunch meeting in the conference room http://bestsmileys.com/office1/5.gif (broken link)

"It wouldn't all be bad, of course."

Huh????? All of the above was bad???? http://bestsmileys.com/frustrated/4.gif (broken link) What is it about the media that it can't grasp reality?

California built cities predicated on dirt-cheap oil. Dirt-cheap oil is going bye bye. Dinosaurs died to support California, California urban sprawl and screwed-up values go the way of the dinosaurs. Sounds fair to me.

[SandyCo]

Harry, I can agree with most of what you wrote, but I think suburban sprawl in all of its glory is not confined to California. Have you ever seen pictures of Florida?

Here's one I found on Google:

http://advocacy.britannica.com/blog/...wl-florida.jpg