Excuse me while I rant

[Ibanez]

Krista and I were on the to work yesterday and noticed gas was $3.29. On the way home, that same station was now selling for $3.37! My problem is that people are trying to get on thier feet and better themselves but they can't because of these prices. Not only is gas more expensive, but food isn't getting any cheaper. During the week, I drive to and from work, and maybe the 2 miles to and from Publix. It still costs me $80/week to fill up the tank. On top of that, wages aren't keeping up with inflation. Now, how the hell do you expect me to live if the economy and my employer are working against me?! We've cut back so much, saving is getting more and more difficult b/c the necessities are more and more expensive. It would be easier if I weren't paying down debt, but I'll be damned if i'm going to stop paying off my debt now. I've had to reduce my 401(k) contribution just so I have the extra $100 month. Why can't we get some sort of relief? Why can't we begin drilling in ANWAR or off the coast while reducing or putting a 1 year hold on all Federal gasoline taxes? You know why we can't? Because we are in a godforsaken, quagmire that was funded by a surplus when it should've been funded by taxes. We should've had "liberty" bond sales and rationing at the start. And where the f*ck is the oil money that will pay for the war? I'll tell you where it's at..it's in the banks OPEC and that crazy f*ck Chavez-ruled country. I might have to tell my boss that when gas reaches $4.00/gallon, i'm going to need a raise or have the ability to work from home.

Please excuse my rant. Thank you

[chris]

Gas Prices is one of my biggest issues too.

I say instead of sending everyone a $600 check, just lower gas to $2.00/gallon or less. This will stimulate the economy much better that everyone having a little extra cash. That is just my opinion though and I am no economist.

[Ibanez]

Gas Prices is one of my biggest issues too.

I say instead of sending everyone a $600 check, just lower gas to $2.00/gallon or less. This will stimulate the economy much better that everyone having a little extra cash. That is just my opinion though and I am no economist.

Well a reduction or stop on Gas taxes at both the Federal and State levels would be greatly appreciated.

[travelinman67]

Gas Prices is one of my biggest issues too.

I say instead of sending everyone a $600 check, just lower gas to $2.00/gallon or less. This will stimulate the economy much better that everyone having a little extra cash. That is just my opinion though and I am no economist.

Shooting from the hip...It's cheaper for the government to do the 'rebate' stunt. After they eliminate 1/3 of the eligible taxpayers for 'technical' reasons...failed to file or file on time, owed past due tax, incorrectly submitted documentation, etc...it brings the 'adjusted' cost down to $400 per taxpayer/household. Since the average household has 2+ drivers each spending $127+/mo, $1,524/yr for a total of $3,048/yr for fuel, i.e., ~900gal/yr times Fed of 18.4 cents or $166/household...

...NOW, add in commercial (gasoline only) vehicles, with total annual fuel consumption rates that almost doubles personal vehicle consumption, and that $400 avg per household allows the Feds to keep $1.3 Billion (Total GAO projected cost of rebate = $8B / $600 = 13.33m rebate checks x $97 = $1.3B).

Plus, the rebate check more 'equitably' distributes the payout with eligibility to everyone who filed a tax return, regardless of employment or vehicle ownership status. (i.e. eligibility would include the unemployed, retirees, physically or severely mentally handicapped [...blind, quadriplegic, UNI alum...])

[Mvemjsunpx]

Gas prices are so high because the world's finite oil reserves are becoming low. That's the only reason. The amount of untapped oil reserves that are still around & easily accessible is fairly low. The ANWR oil is too negligible to even be worth the investment. Even if there was a rush in new-location oil drilling, it wouldn't saturate the market for years anyway, so there's no immediate relief there. Is tiny, delayed-effect relief worth the cost & probable environmental issues?

Eliminating the gas tax or artificially lowering gas prices are even worse ideas. I laughed at the stupidity of John McCain's summer gas tax moratorium idea. First of all, gas taxes mostly go for the building & maintenance of highways & bridges, so the state governments will go insane & the measure will therefore have no hope of passing. Second, lowering the gas tax will lower gas prices, thereby increasing consumption of gasoline. The net result is a massive spike in gas prices when the summer moratorium ends. Even if you permanently repeal the gas tax, the effect is ridiculously short-term at best because the increased consumption will cause prices to rise faster than they would have before. The idea of artificially lowering the price of gas to $2.00/gallon (as Chris suggested) also doesn't work because gas stations would all go out of business. That is, unless you want the Federal Government to subsidize the oil & gas industries by even more billions of dollars than they already are.

The only way to stop paying high gas prices is to stop using gas, period. Most of the government has ignored this problem for decades & it just can't be ignored anymore. Whether it's federal subsidies/tax incentives or consumer demand for hybrid cars, clean coal, biofuels (other than corn ethanol, because that seems to be a waste), and then eventually better solutions like hydrogen fuel cells, the government & the people need to realize that things need to change. To me, artificially lowering gas prices and desperately trying to squeeze the last bit of oil out of the American landscape are ways of pretending this problem doesn't exist and also ways of simply passing the problem onto later generations (like mine).

As it looks now, the United States is entering a redux of the 1970's. The stagflation of that era was caused by many of the things we're seeing now: deficit spending largely attributable to an unpopular war, a gas shortage, and a relative decline in the strength & innovation of American business (though I think that last reason is less of an issue than it was 30 years ago). Oh well, at least now the clothes won't look as horrible.