I'm sorry, but WTF. 6 out of 10 people making $50-75k/year think gas prices are a 'hardship'. Let's do the math. 15,000 miles/year, say 20mpg which is a good bit less than most reasonably sized cars get. That's 750 gallons. Gas goes up a dollar, that's a whooping $750/year. $62.50/month. Wanna bet that the same people crying about financial impact of gas prices don't have a problem paying $50-100 for cell phone plans, $80+ in cable TV bills, dine out regularly, etc etc etc...? Honestly, if you make 50k+/year and $50-60/month is going to cause you financial troubles, you probably ought to step back and take a serious look at your budget.
It's true. I never thought I'd see the day when gas prices would be owning people making 50K a year.... :sarcasm:
yeah, but think about how many americans live above their means? i could easily see that stat being true.
I'm not debating its accuracy, just commenting on how screwed up your finances are when you make 50+ and a $1 hike in gas prices send you into financial troubles.
true also, but if I was makin 50k I would not be makin a fuss except for the esuvee I brought that gets 5-10 miles to the gallon but then that would be totally my fault:hsugh:
the only thing i cant stand is price gouging. It really irritates me that the only expense that has had a huge increase is gasoline and natural gas. My satellite, cell phone, telephone, internet, electricity, insurance and food have all stayed the same if not decreased a bit. The increase is not sending me into any financial troubles but it really does piss me off. I mean that $60-$70 increase in gasoline combined with the natural gas increase of %100-%150 increased my monthly expenses by almost $300 from December through March. I mean thats an extra $1100-$1300 I definately could have used.
does the average perosn really only drive 15,000 miles a year? i put 10k on my suby when i had her for 4-5 months.
not only that those 6 out of 10 probably dont get anywhere close to 20mpg. most expencive cars have big motors. big motors = bad gas milage. with the big truck and suv rage in the states most probable only get 14 or less mpg. also people making 50 to 75k a year also probably live outside their budget and dont see it till something like this happens.
i know its hard to believe but some people may drive a lot less than that. I had 33,000 miles in december and now I have 36,8xx. So its people like me that drop the average for you high rollers
Its not a hardship if you are single and have an income of 50k a year, live in an apartment and share all the expenses with a roomate. But if you have a family of 4, a house and pay your own health insurance. There isn't going to be much left. I don't think I could make it living off 50k and I don't even have any car payments.
yea.. a family member of mine is in that situation just as you described..not only that he has a carpet cleaning business which means he has to fill his tank multiple times a week! so it has effected his income more than the average person. as for me and driving. My car is just a daily driver to and from work. I dont go anywhere else during the week and on the weekends we take my wifes car so the wagon sits in the garage from friday night to monday morning.
Down with SUV's. And why the hell are all cars getting bigger? I guess some people just don't care how much gas costs, they're going to keep on driving thier mobile houses no matter what. My only hope is that big trucks (privately owned + not for businesses) and XL SUV's have finnally reached thier peak in sales. And I say if gas has to go up in cost in order to stop the madness then so be it.
Well...there were rumors of trucks and SUV's were going to have to comply with car emmissions and fuel consumption requirements. I don't know if that went through or not.
i'm so glad it's not just me... i was just saying to my wife the other day when a magnum on 22+" wheels drove by "look honey, it's a lowrider SUV"
Well. I can see large families using SUV's and it makes sense that businesses should have good strong trucks to work with, but everyone and thier granma having one or the other just because it represents wealth or excess is just wrong. It's such a waste when you look at it on the national level.
<the unspoken truth> I have more money than you so I can buy something bigger, better that uses more gas. I can pay for the extra gas no problem. Jacking up prices will help force poor people onto mass transit where they belong. Clear the road for my 'slade BEATCH! :hsnono: </the unspoken truth> Personally I've just been eating out less to cover the difference. ** I'm not the "I" up there just how I wrote it. But it's definately how I think some people think.
this is the future. biodiesel from algae. http://www.americanenergyindependence.com/biodiesel.html forget about e85. that stuff takes more energy to make it than it produces when you use it. Its a net energy loss. Without government subsidies no one would even try to make it because the cost are so high.
Like hydrogen powered cars. Because it currently requires three times as many resources to make a tank of hydrogen as it does to make a tank of gas. Give or take a little.
Kris, there are petitions that are available to sign against gas gouging...I recently saw something on the news where a group of people were doing this...I am with you 100% man...totally... Mark
Problem is that people have _one_ kid and it's a panic trip to the dealership to pick up a freakin' Tahoe or Expedition. Geez, we somehow managed to take vacations and trips in a Saab 900 (without--the horror--video games or DVDs to entertain us!), and that was my parents, myself and my two siblings. I hate to seem like one of the SUV basher types -- nothing wrong with the vehicle itself -- but it's getting god damn ridiculous. Especially when people have no clue how to drive the things and think it's ok to tear down I85 at 90mph while eating and chatting on the cellphone. :grr: :grr: Who's doing the gouging though? The big oil companies profit margins haven't really increased by much (any?) %-wise. The gas station operators make less than a dime per gallon even at today's prices.
1 thats exactly why i do no more than 75 in my truck period. 2 you just answered your own question. its uncle sam thats gouging us all.
DUDE! Where have you been living? Exxon and several other oil companies have posted record profits. Exxon even passed up WalMart as the biggest company. Large % increases in profit. That's what so many people have been pissed about. Special legislation almost passed concerning those records profits too. Etc., etc. etc. It's the govt's job to keep us from getting screwed by anti-competive practices. Like no new refineries in how many years to stifle supply?
That's also why I joined Sam's Club and Costco because of the awesome prices on gas...I can't believe I didn't do this sooner....It was also a lot cheaper getting gas on base too. At least the gas prices are coming down a little...I am in total agreement with Moose regarding the whole SUV issue. Mark
Gas prices are getting a bit much though. For me it's not a big deal though because In the last 19 months I've only put 12,000 miles on my car. I have friends though that go to my school because it's a magnet school and they have to commute up to 20 miles each way and their parents wont pay for gas. The only problem is that in order to participate in after school activities and other stuff, they have to have their own transportation and their parents work. Try paying that much for gas and insurance if you're in high school and barely have enough time to work @ minimum wage. Either they need to control gas prices or they need to raise minimum wage, because a lot of people have no other alternative. Marta doesn't go everywhere, so that's not always a solution.
The only solution is to lower consumption. If we keep on using more and more gas the prices are going to continue to keep going up. And I'm not even talking about inflation. SUV's = high gas prices.
there's a big difference between profit and 'profit margin.' Profit means nothing without contrasting it with COST.
I really can't trust the gov't to help protect us. And i really don't see any alternative fueling becoming the majority for the next 20+ years. The big oil and auto-industry have so much to lose by this. and to the original post... My sis is a doc and making well over 70k a year, not counting her husbands salary. They just trading in their explorer for a GMC Yukon Delani bc they just had their second child and suppossedly need the extra room for road trips for the four of them plus the possibility of grandparents, so they won't be unconfortable... WTF?? The same grandparents and sis and I use to take road trips across the country to visit cousins when I was a kid. We are talking 12+ hour trips in a small 4 door!!!
I gotta figure out what gas to use in the 240 bp sucks butt and I have to hit the gas when I first start it up and get it hot other wise it stalls out. it was almost immediatly after I put BP in too. I heard people with fi had lots of troubles but dayamn. I put some octane stuff and alcohol in to balence out the BP gas that helped. I am trying chevron now. then to quiktrip if that is bad
:hsugh: Err, yeah, but Profit has always meant something, even when by itself. P/E ratios, dividends, market capitalization are good for stocks and economics classes, but Profit is Profit. "Economists distinguish between normal profit and excess profit. Normal profit is the opportunity cost of the ENTREPRENEUR, the amount of profit just sufficient to keep the firm in business. If profit is any lower than that, then enterprise would be better off engaged in some alternative economic activity. Excess profit, also known as super-normal profit, is profit above normal profit and is usually evidence that the firm enjoys some MARKET POWER that allows it to be more profitable than it would be in a market with PERFECT COMPETITION. " Now read this link. Both pro and con Big Oil. Fact is they are raking in record profits like I said, while we pay $3/gal. http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/earnings/2005-10-27-xom_x.htm
yes, but let me put this to you: 1: who in the world gets to decide when you make 'too much money,' and 2: If the oil company only gets .08 to .10 a gallon in profit, and the federal & state governments gets .46 in tax revenue per gallo, (and has since gas was 1.00 a gal), who's really making the excess profit here?
1) The FTC for monopolies, price fixing schemes, etc. 2) The Govt's mandate is not "Maximize shareholder value". If the .46 hasn't gone up in proportion to gas prices maybe its time to increase the fixed rate. I know profit vs profit margin. Are you saying Exxon sold 75% more gas that quarter? Parse these 2 facts. Net income up 75% to $9.92 billion. Revenue up 32% to $100.7 billion.
Kanchou already covered % vs actual $ , so I'll just list a few companies with higher profit margins than Exxon Mobile: American Express Intel Coca-Cola Microsoft 3M Citigroup McDonalds General Electric Yet, I hear no "ZOMG PRICE GOUGING" on my double cheese burgers, my Coke Zero or my tape and staples...
But where is cost? Where is cost of doing business? but back up a bit to answer my questions. ;p lemme see if I understand your view. Is answer to 1: The Federal Trade Commission decides how much money a company can make? and the answer 2: is that taxes on gas aren't high enough? Am I hearing you right?
Sorta. 1) If gas producers are up to anything illegal, yes the FTC can say "you screwed customers by charging them too much". This just happened with the record labels and it cost those businesses $$$$$ in the settlement. If it's a FAIR MARKET, then let supply/demand set the price. 2) If the tax rate for gas was 46% at $1, why not 46% at $3? Something has to pay for social security. The cost of doing business would be .... Revenue = $100.7 billion minus Profit = $9.92 billion for.... $90.78 billion cost of doing business. It's hard to follow I know, but try to keep up! :keke: Microsoft busted for monopolistic practices. Exxon & company, might be coming. The others are strong businesses and nobody is forced to buy their stuff. I *have* to buy gas and Windoze.
How quickly people forget why they originally broke up Standard oil into Exxon and Mobile because of the monopolistic pricing power they had. Now Exxon-Mobile is back , BP and Amoco merged, Chevron-Texaco, Conoco-Phillips and RoyalDutch-Shell. Looks like the good ole days of monopoly price fixing are coming back. I am also very happy that we are giving the oil companies large tax breaks in their time of need. How could they possibly survive on only 9 billion a quarter in profits?
i only hate it bc im a poor college kid i dont complain though i just become angry at our stupid government.
this is what happens to us when gas climbs for no reason.. i mean there is no earthquake, hurracane, etc etc and it just climbs up because summer is comming.. over all it shouldnt effect me i'm making 37-45 k a year depends where i work. and i'm fine and i have so many things to pay for also.. it's crazie.. making a buget now
the avg american doenst make over 50k... and were speaking of the avg american last i read( a while back ) it was near 35k
true but gas normally goes up some in the summer anyway..granted higher that usual so is conoco and shell the same gas?hnoes:
so the average income for "Americans" are 45k-50k....?....guess I need to step up my game.....thought i was doin o.k...