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We are near $5 now in some places in California.
One station a couple of blocks near me is at $5.
My water company just sent me a letter saying they want to increase prices 35%.
My wife's insurance since Obama came to office with Obama-care went from $365 a month to $700.
Our old Governor Gray Davis gave away the farm on electricity and already has us paying 400% over national averages for energy.
Gas is going up.
Obama wants to double (over 50% tax) the death tax on the already taxed estate you might want to pass on to your children, wife, husband or others.
All part of the Obama plan my friend.
The ONE, how is that hope and change thingy working for us? For me and anyone making a Penney I think it sucks.
Only the far left, welfare types and UNION government employees love him for all the transfers of wealth to them.
I think you are right about the "conspiracy" to jack up prices but dead wrong about the reason.
Simply enough, our current way of life is unsustainable. Resources are NOT infinite. We are experiencing the "law of exponential growth" and are right at that point where the growth curve leaves the chart, shooting straight up toward doomsday.
There are three "solutions" here:
#1 Do nothing and wait for the inevitable end. We may be able to sustain the current way for a decade or so longer, but eventually it will all fall down in a most dramatic fashion. Afterwards, the survivors could rebuild, probably starting back in the stone age. Considering the majority of the non-renewable resources have already been consumed, it would make a second industrial revolution unlikely, so the human race would most likely stay there for a very long time.
#2 Voluntary cut backs. Everyone realizes the problem and their part in causing it; then voluntarily reduces their consumption and ultimately completely change their lifestyles to truly sustainable levels.
This strategy has already been tried, with many, many attempts to popularize the "green movement" over the last 40+ years. So far it has pretty much been a failure, thanks to human population dynamics and a little concept called "the tragedy of the commons" which makes holding back bad for the individual but ultimately results in the destruction of the group resource (in our case, the earth itself).
#3 Forced cutbacks. If people won't do it willingly, the next best strategy is to create poverty through inflation, jacking up the price of necessities, culling the population with wars and otherwise forcing a contraction on the lifestyles the common man. This works very well for the elite; who get to keep their diminished but still vast wealth and their power, while everyone else gets screwed (though at least they aren't eating each other like in option #1). Still, it may be too little, too late, but it may also buy the human race enough time for a "technological savior" to come about and alter the game plan.
I think plan #3 is in full swing today. Expect everything to get far more expensive without wage increases to compensate. Expect a heavy-handed government to ruthlessly enforce order. Expect to be poorer, but don't expect the world to end. That's just how it is, for good or evil.
I"m not a rich guy but I make enough to get by. I would put my self in right in the middle class income level. The problem with people like you are the shorted sightedness and lack of economic education. The short term rise in gas prices will lead to many long term benefits as the entire economy is forced by the market to adapt by becoming more energy efficient. Many Americans are willing to accept this short term pain to get the long term benefits.
You think so? They aren't willing to accept short-term pain in regard to austerity measures to balance our state and federal budgets so why should higher energy (in this case fuel) and food prices be acceptable on the "pain meter"?
It seems people are only thinking about the cost at the pump without acknowledging that higher fuel prices makes everything more expensive. So, inflation will be caused not only because it costs more to produce and transport goods but also because our debt is growing, being monitized and the dollar is buying less.
Remind yourself that when you go to the grocery store as every increase affects the cost of planting, growing food, and bringing it to market.
Yet ANOTHER reason to shop your local farmers markets and eat LOCALLY.
Quote:
Originally Posted by RCCCB
We have $5 in the cities in some places already.
Also consider California has ground polluting fuel forced on us by the libs and it is more costly to make than other gas, so we get to the $5 quicker.
*sniff* *sniff* is that dog excrement on your shoe?
Prove it. Show me where, give me an address. You are the one making statements that are pretty amazing.
Oh yes and feel free to show the "libs" hand in the ground pollution and "more costly" aspect of gas.
With gas expected to reach $5 a gallon by summer, is NOW the time to start drilling here, and the hell with what the environmentalist say or think?
In the words of Sarah Palin, DRILL BABY DRILL!!!
The energy problems of this country will NOT be solved by more of the same. The reality is at some point in the next 20 to 30 years there simply won't be enough fossil fuel based energy sources to meet global demand. In the next decade alone it’s estimated that ONE BILLION MORE PEOPLE ON THE PLANET WILL ENTER THE MIDDLE CLASS. Not only that fossil fuels are major source of air pollution. Forget climate change for overall health and economic well being of the entire planet we need to ditch fossil fuels and develop clean renewable sources of energy. The overall economic benefit in terms of developing these fuel sources and should be reason enough to get off of fossil fuels as soon as possible.
Lets see if this makes any sense...
The united states government with your money keeps middle east dictators and corrupt governments in place that control and supply us and the rest of the world oil.
We at home would rather prop up dictators who ignore most human rights and with the help of corporations and oil companies make sure the we "stability" in the region.
Not only do we give them foreign of which most of it never reaches its people it is used to sponsor terrorist and military power against its own people.
A long time ago we found it cheaper with our blood, treasury to protect our INTERESTS in the middle east then to drill at home. Not only do we have to keep up our military power to secure the region we have to now pay at the pump for it. All the while oil companies and government never feel the pain because they tax it and look for new ways to screw the American people. Even worse they will demand green energy giving government and oil companies another reason to raise the price of OIL!!
Remember when they told us the Iraq war would be funded via IRAQ oil and we didnt have anything to worry about. LIES nothing more then LIES and propoganda of which every American is so blind to see the simple facts on our foreign policy and our obsessive fears over terrorism.
Such a solution set ignores many others.
But it is a common mistake of the Zero Sum Game mindset.
They see the earth as a pie, with a growing population forced to fight over their piece of it.
Solution #4 is to bake more pies.
To illustrate: A typical "Green think" slogan is "Environmental Preservation". A wiser solution is "Environmental Expansion" - how can we support more lifeforms per unit of Earth? What would multiply the life bearing capacity?
We don't want status quo - that's a recipe for disaster.
To illustrate: A typical "Green think" slogan is "Environmental Preservation". A wiser solution is "Environmental Expansion" - how can we support more lifeforms per unit of Earth? What would multiply the life bearing capacity?
We don't want status quo - that's a recipe for disaster.
I usually don't respond to your post, for good reasons. Could you elaborate on "environmental expansion"?
If we are not dependent on outside oil or their political games, domestic oil would most certainly keep the prices down.
Oil is a fungible commodity. It is traded world wide. If we produce more it wont just be for the US it will also be sold to Asia, Europe and wherever there is demand at a profitable price. China changing its interest rates, and thereby affecting global demand, has far more of an effect on oil prices then drill, baby, drill.
You could make a temporary dent in prices, but that's a pretty shortsighted plan.
Do you understand??? If there is MORE of a comodity than the demand the price goes down....
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