Author Topic: Complainypants Central...  (Read 16564 times)

The Guru

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Complainypants Central...
« on: June 25, 2014, 08:18:44 PM »
...better known as MSN News, or more accurately, the responses to same. Not that most of their stories are heavyweight reading, but the comments are mind-blowing in their negativity and ignorance. ( I even read one on garden tools- someone felt compelled to point out that "the ten-tine garden fork pictured only has five tines!"

This article http://money.msn.com/investing/post--us-set-to-export-first-oil-since-1970s on the US decision to export oil, though takes the cake (I especially love the comment about how we should be paying $1.00/ gallon. Not to mention the expected slams from the "free-market" Obama bashers. You'd think a supporter of free market economics would recognize this as the free market doing exactly what its supposed to do ).

Wow. Just freakin' wow.

viper155

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Re: Complainypants Central...
« Reply #1 on: June 26, 2014, 12:06:56 AM »
...better known as MSN News, or more accurately, the responses to same. Not that most of their stories are heavyweight reading, but the comments are mind-blowing in their negativity and ignorance. ( I even read one on garden tools- someone felt compelled to point out that "the ten-tine garden fork pictured only has five tines!"

This article http://money.msn.com/investing/post--us-set-to-export-first-oil-since-1970s on the US decision to export oil, though takes the cake (I especially love the comment about how we should be paying $1.00/ gallon. Not to mention the expected slams from the "free-market" Obama bashers. You'd think a supporter of free market economics would recognize this as the free market doing exactly what its supposed to do ).

Wow. Just freakin' wow.

Us "free market" Obama bashers, I guess, are a little pissed that the price of gas has doubled under his watch. It does not matter how little or how much you use, it still doubled. But then again, NOTHING is ever his fault. The free market is, as you state, doing what it is supposed to do. However, over regulation is preventing it from doing even better. BTW, where does the government get the right to make over 40 cents a gallon in taxes while the oil company that takes all the risk and does all the work profits 9 cents a gallon? The government, with the exception of the military, does NOTHING right.

wizlem

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Re: Complainypants Central...
« Reply #2 on: June 26, 2014, 02:26:13 AM »

Us "free market" Obama bashers, I guess, are a little pissed that the price of gas has doubled under his watch. It does not matter how little or how much you use, it still doubled. But then again, NOTHING is ever his fault. The free market is, as you state, doing what it is supposed to do. However, over regulation is preventing it from doing even better. BTW, where does the government get the right to make over 40 cents a gallon in taxes while the oil company that takes all the risk and does all the work profits 9 cents a gallon? The government, with the exception of the military, does NOTHING right.

I feel compelled to point out that you can only say the price doubled if you look at the price right around the time he took office when gas prices fell when the markets crashed. If you compare prices with exactly 6 years ago(before Obama), they haven't moved at all. I don't understand the mentality that people in political office have the power to control everything when they're only real power is to make you think they do.

Back to topic. If you look at the unfiltered comments of almost anything on the internet, it's almost all idiots spewing complaints. No matter what you do, people with anonymity will spew forth hate and stupidity. Comments are definately junk food on the low information diet.

http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2013/10/01/the-low-information-diet/

agent_clone

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Re: Complainypants Central...
« Reply #3 on: June 26, 2014, 02:48:04 AM »
Also if you want an international comparison when I filled up with unleaded petrol (RON91) last week it was $1.54 a litre.  There are 3.78541 Litres in a Gallon which means that it was about $5.83 a gallon.   If the US is paying on average $3.68 a gallon then it is cheap!  It hasn't been an average of that since 2005 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia which is where I can find the data for (source: http://www.qgso.qld.gov.au/products/tables/petrol-avg-retail-price-type-bris/index.php).

So I would personally say that your government is subsidising the oil industry.

Also with the import/export thing I think I came across an article at some point that was saying that the US uses more oil than it makes.

warfreak2

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Re: Complainypants Central...
« Reply #4 on: June 26, 2014, 04:30:31 AM »
The government, with the exception of the military, does NOTHING right.
Is this satire? It's impossible for me to tell.

Malaysia41

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Re: Complainypants Central...
« Reply #5 on: June 26, 2014, 04:52:37 AM »
Wow - looks like a lot of people spewing opinions in the commentswithout even reading the article.

That said, I will state my position - which I realize is opposite comment-thread-conventional-wisdom: I'm all for expensive gas.  The sooner we make it expensive the sooner we'll ramp down on fossil fuel consumption and ramp up on renewable energy consumption.  (And before you call me commie liberal - I'm a registered Republican). 

Emilyngh

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Re: Complainypants Central...
« Reply #6 on: June 26, 2014, 07:42:02 AM »

Us "free market" Obama bashers, I guess, are a little pissed that the price of gas has doubled under his watch. It does not matter how little or how much you use, it still doubled. But then again, NOTHING is ever his fault. The free market is, as you state, doing what it is supposed to do. However, over regulation is preventing it from doing even better. BTW, where does the government get the right to make over 40 cents a gallon in taxes while the oil company that takes all the risk and does all the work profits 9 cents a gallon? The government, with the exception of the military, does NOTHING right.

Must be something wrong with my forum settings, trying to read your post but all I can see is "waaaaah!"

I'm all for gas prices rising (although preferably accompanied by some kind of offset for lower earning Americans).  For us middle/upper middles we could use incentives to conserve more/find alternatives.    IIRC MMM himself has a post stating something similar regarding gas prices.

Rollin

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Re: Complainypants Central...
« Reply #7 on: June 26, 2014, 07:57:34 AM »

"Us "free market" Obama bashers, I guess, are a little pissed that the price of gas has doubled under his watch. It does not matter how little or how much you use, it still doubled. But then again, NOTHING is ever his fault. The free market is, as you state, doing what it is supposed to do. However, over regulation is preventing it from doing even better. BTW, where does the government get the right to make over 40 cents a gallon in taxes while the oil company that takes all the risk and does all the work profits 9 cents a gallon? The government, with the exception of the military, does NOTHING right."

Can you guess how much the oil companies receive in subsidies from the US?  Last I heard it was in the billions.  Also, the government does not "make" any money on oil sales, they collect the taxes so that roads can be built (so that you can drive and burn gas).  BTW - gas taxes do not even come close to covering the cost of providing roads (but that's a subject for another post).
« Last Edit: June 26, 2014, 07:59:39 AM by Rollin »

Rollin

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Re: Complainypants Central...
« Reply #8 on: June 26, 2014, 07:58:07 AM »
Wow - looks like a lot of people spewing opinions in the commentswithout even reading the article.

That said, I will state my position - which I realize is opposite comment-thread-conventional-wisdom: I'm all for expensive gas.  The sooner we make it expensive the sooner we'll ramp down on fossil fuel consumption and ramp up on renewable energy consumption.  (And before you call me commie liberal - I'm a registered Republican).

+1

shotgunwilly

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Re: Complainypants Central...
« Reply #9 on: June 26, 2014, 08:05:41 AM »
Quote
The government does NOTHING right.
Is this satire? It's impossible for me to tell.

I fixed it for him.

Ashyukun

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Re: Complainypants Central...
« Reply #10 on: June 26, 2014, 08:38:19 AM »
When I ended up stopped at a stoplight near my house riding my bike home from work yesterday I glanced over at the gas station on the corner and noted that gas was at $3.83- and that as far as I could remember it had been about there when I'd started back up riding my bike to work after the move to the new house. It also occurred to me that I couldn't remember the last time I'd had to BUY gas- I don't think I've had to fill up either of my cars since I started back commuting on my bike. Granted my wife has certainly had to since she has to drive to her work, and when we need to get stuff from the store or go someplace we take her small SUV- but it's been nice not having to worry about it.

I'm all for gas being more expensive- and this is from someone who owns two classic cars that are far from paragons of fuel efficiency.

Mississippi Mudstache

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Re: Complainypants Central...
« Reply #11 on: June 26, 2014, 09:04:49 AM »
The government, with the exception of the military, does NOTHING right.
Is this satire? It's impossible for me to tell.

Poe's law

Vorpal

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Re: Complainypants Central...
« Reply #12 on: June 26, 2014, 09:11:08 AM »
I see a steady increase in prices over the last 20 years, with typical fluctuations along the way and a temporary drop during Financial Armageddon. But blame Obama if that makes you feel better, I guess.

Source: EIA.gov charts

« Last Edit: June 26, 2014, 09:19:55 AM by Winston »

Vorpal

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Re: Complainypants Central...
« Reply #13 on: June 26, 2014, 09:24:52 AM »
Here's one with finer detail:


SpartanQ

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Re: Complainypants Central...
« Reply #14 on: June 26, 2014, 12:37:02 PM »
One word: Inflation. In 2006, you could get 4 gallons for one ounce of silver, even back to 1995 it was about the same. Currently you can get about 5 gallons per ounce of silver. So the increased production and improved efficiency has actually reduced prices. But inflation is the hidden tax that nobody sees.

Vorpal

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Re: Complainypants Central...
« Reply #15 on: June 26, 2014, 02:34:02 PM »
Inflation is part of the price increase, but not the lion's share. According to the CPI inflation calculator (data.bls.gov), that $1.25/gallon gasoline available in 1990 should only cost $2.28 in 2014.

Mississippi Mudstache

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Re: Complainypants Central...
« Reply #16 on: June 26, 2014, 02:59:47 PM »
One word: Inflation. In 2006, you could get 4 gallons for one ounce of silver, even back to 1995 it was about the same. Currently you can get about 5 gallons per ounce of silver. So the increased production and improved efficiency has actually reduced prices. But inflation is the hidden tax that nobody sees.

Sadly, my local BP doesn't accept silver bullion.

Also, the price of silver has very little to do with inflation. 

SpartanQ

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Re: Complainypants Central...
« Reply #17 on: June 26, 2014, 03:22:04 PM »
Generally speaking, precious metals like gold and silver tend to have a consistent purchasing power.  The value of an ounce should roughly buy you the same amount of goods 20 or 30 years ago as it does today. 


Guses

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Re: Complainypants Central...
« Reply #18 on: June 26, 2014, 03:24:37 PM »
What about the environmental cost of drilling, pumping, shipping (and sometimes spilling), burning the oil? Is the company paying for this?

Who maintains the infrastructure that you run your car on?

Is 40 cents per gallon sufficient to cover all of this?

PS: I am not American and I often find the American politics debate to be completely hilarious. Each candidate is trying to convince the populace that the other is the bogeyman... 

Sonorous Epithet

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Re: Complainypants Central...
« Reply #19 on: June 26, 2014, 03:31:46 PM »

Us "free market" Obama bashers, I guess, are a little pissed that the price of gas has doubled under his watch. It does not matter how little or how much you use, it still doubled. But then again, NOTHING is ever his fault. The free market is, as you state, doing what it is supposed to do. However, over regulation is preventing it from doing even better. BTW, where does the government get the right to make over 40 cents a gallon in taxes while the oil company that takes all the risk and does all the work profits 9 cents a gallon? The government, with the exception of the military, does NOTHING right.

Must be something wrong with my forum settings, trying to read your post but all I can see is "waaaaah!"

:D

dragoncar

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Re: Complainypants Central...
« Reply #20 on: June 26, 2014, 03:52:43 PM »
BTW, where does the government get the right to make over 40 cents a gallon in taxes ...


Please read the Constitution. Please!

Indeed

Zamboni

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Re: Complainypants Central...
« Reply #21 on: June 26, 2014, 04:03:21 PM »
Please add me to the camp who thinks petroleum should cost more than it does right now, not less.  There's only so much of it left (yes, we keep finding more, but the supply on Earth is finite) yet we continue to turn it into carbon dioxide and water at an ever accelerating pace.

The Guru

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Re: Complainypants Central...
« Reply #22 on: June 26, 2014, 08:29:19 PM »
I can't understand why gas prices aren't higher, given that the average American motorist refuses to do anything of consequence to reduce their usage. Even in 2008, when prices flirted w/ $4/ gallon ( the first time), year-over-year comparisons of consumption vs. 2007 showed a decrease of a whopping 5%. That's pathetic. Many of my co-workers drove to lunch daily. Even the ones who lived literally a stone's throw away drove in daily. (One asked me, in dead earnestness "How come you ride the bus to work?") Any time I stopped at a convenience store I could count  on at least one vehicle (usually the biggest pickup truck or SUV) having its engine running. Nothing has changed. I once heard the following offered as criteria for setting prices (in general; not confined to the oil industry or any other):

If your customers are BUYING and not COMPLAINING- your prices are too low.
If they're COMPLAINING and not BUYING- your prices are too high
The sweet spot is where they are COMPLAINING, but STILL BUYING.
Hmmm... where does that put us?

FWIW I have no expectation that oil companies (or any other) are obligated to sell their product for a penny less than the absolute maximum that people will buy. Why do so many people expect otherwise?

Middlesbrough

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Re: Complainypants Central...
« Reply #23 on: June 26, 2014, 08:32:22 PM »
Yeah, double the tax on gas which will help provide better infastructure and eliminate some drivers at the same time. Win, win.

CarDude

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Re: Complainypants Central...
« Reply #24 on: June 26, 2014, 08:49:56 PM »
I'm Mr. Car Safety, and I'm all about higher gas prices...much, much higher prices. We refuse to regulate drunk driving or speeding in this country, so the next best thing is to make it too expensive for the drunks and speeders to drive. It'll also have the benefit of shrinking car sizes, which would make the roads safer for everyone, including children, cyclists, and pedestrians.

Travis

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Re: Complainypants Central...
« Reply #25 on: June 27, 2014, 06:29:28 AM »
The problem in the United States of "who is to blame" is the fault of the politicians for claiming credit for every success in the first place.  We think they control every economic circumstance because that's how they run their campaigns.  They promise to fix everything you think is wrong with the world with either no idea how to do it or knowing they have no control over it to begin with.  Simply based on inflation the price of gasoline will always rise just like any other commodity.  The taxes we pay on our gas have not risen at the same rate as the market would suggest it should as far as how much it costs to maintain our roads.  The number of drivers goes up, the number of roads goes up and not only has the tax not changed in years, but some politicians have offered that the tax should go down to offer us "relief."  That tax is our cost to bear to maintain the roads we beat up every day.

YankeeSaver

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Re: Complainypants Central...
« Reply #26 on: June 27, 2014, 07:41:08 AM »
One word: Inflation. In 2006, you could get 4 gallons for one ounce of silver, even back to 1995 it was about the same. Currently you can get about 5 gallons per ounce of silver. So the increased production and improved efficiency has actually reduced prices. But inflation is the hidden tax that nobody sees.

Not quite inflation but rather the weakness of the dollar.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/louiswoodhill/2012/02/22/gasoline-prices-are-not-rising-the-dollar-is-falling/

This is in part caused intentionally by government policy designed to make US exports more competitive. The United States is in a currency war with other nations.

lisahi

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Re: Complainypants Central...
« Reply #27 on: June 27, 2014, 02:21:25 PM »
Quote
The government does NOTHING right.
Is this satire? It's impossible for me to tell.

I fixed it for him.

I always try to ignore hyperbole like this, but as a U.S. federal government worker, it is difficult to realize that most Americans have no idea what all those thousands of Federal employees are doing all day that make a ton of difference in how they are able to live their lives. Is the system perfect? Absolutely not. But is the U.S. government, through its many hard-working employees, doing a lot of things right on a day-to-day basis? Yes. Politicians make up such a small part of the Federal government.

Back on topic -- I agree with those who believe that gas prices should be higher. As somebody who has to drive 2.5 hours there and back to her parents house about once a month, it's not fantastic paying $60 per fill of the tank, but if higher gas prices encourage alternate forms of long-range, safe transportation that could be made available to me in the future, I'm all for it.

And my favorite complainypants website is CNN Money. The doom and gloom is palpable... and hilarious.

Cheddar Stacker

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Re: Complainypants Central...
« Reply #28 on: June 27, 2014, 03:04:33 PM »

Us "free market" Obama bashers, I guess, are a little pissed that the price of gas has doubled under his watch. It does not matter how little or how much you use, it still doubled. But then again, NOTHING is ever his fault. The free market is, as you state, doing what it is supposed to do. However, over regulation is preventing it from doing even better. BTW, where does the government get the right to make over 40 cents a gallon in taxes while the oil company that takes all the risk and does all the work profits 9 cents a gallon? The government, with the exception of the military, does NOTHING right.

Must be something wrong with my forum settings, trying to read your post but all I can see is "waaaaah!"

I'm all for gas prices rising (although preferably accompanied by some kind of offset for lower earning Americans).  For us middle/upper middles we could use incentives to conserve more/find alternatives.    IIRC MMM himself has a post stating something similar regarding gas prices.

+1. I'd like them to rise because I own oil company stocks, but also because we need someone to find an alternative fuel and there's no motivation to do so at $3/gallon. We need it to be $5-6/gallon or more to be competitive with [insert new technology here] fuel.


Holy shit this thread got derailed quickly. I think there are 2 or 3 replies about the actual subject.

Yeah, comments sections suck (note the complaint) ; )

... I once heard the following offered as criteria for setting prices (in general; not confined to the oil industry or any other):

If your customers are BUYING and not COMPLAINING- your prices are too low.
If they're COMPLAINING and not BUYING- your prices are too high
The sweet spot is where they are COMPLAINING, but STILL BUYING.
Hmmm... where does that put us?

FWIW I have no expectation that oil companies (or any other) are obligated to sell their product for a penny less than the absolute maximum that people will buy. Why do so many people expect otherwise?

I love this The Guru. I have a client in "big retirement community buildings" and he hates an occupancy rate higher than 92% because it means he's not charging a high enough rent. Same idea I guess.

brewer12345

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Re: Complainypants Central...
« Reply #29 on: June 27, 2014, 06:35:36 PM »
Quote
The government does NOTHING right.
Is this satire? It's impossible for me to tell.

I fixed it for him.

I always try to ignore hyperbole like this, but as a U.S. federal government worker, it is difficult to realize that most Americans have no idea what all those thousands of Federal employees are doing all day that make a ton of difference in how they are able to live their lives. Is the system perfect? Absolutely not. But is the U.S. government, through its many hard-working employees, doing a lot of things right on a day-to-day basis? Yes. Politicians make up such a small part of the Federal government.

Back on topic -- I agree with those who believe that gas prices should be higher. As somebody who has to drive 2.5 hours there and back to her parents house about once a month, it's not fantastic paying $60 per fill of the tank, but if higher gas prices encourage alternate forms of long-range, safe transportation that could be made available to me in the future, I'm all for it.

And my favorite complainypants website is CNN Money. The doom and gloom is palpable... and hilarious.

+1.  While my superiors liked to drone on about the intangible rewards of public service, much of my 5 year sentence working for Federal Reserve banks consisted of doing all I could to mete out punishment deserved under regulations and figure out how to save what was savable then being afraid to have any logo of the organization on me when I left the building for the day for fear of being accosted or even assaulted.

I'd love to see higher prices and free exports since I own a big pile of oil and gas producer equities and oil tanker stock.  Yee-haw!

when I want to see the seedy, pale underbelly of Merkin society, I head for the comments on almost any Yahoo article.

EscapeVelocity2020

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Re: Complainypants Central...
« Reply #30 on: June 27, 2014, 07:12:55 PM »
So when are you going to write that book that I'm going to want to buy Brewer?

brewer12345

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Re: Complainypants Central...
« Reply #31 on: June 27, 2014, 09:58:00 PM »
So when are you going to write that book that I'm going to want to buy Brewer?

Probably never.  Lots of the stuff I did was classified as an examination which is not even subject to a subpoena.

RetiredAt63

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Re: Complainypants Central...
« Reply #32 on: June 28, 2014, 06:26:12 AM »
Gas prices are high here ($1.31/litre and up in the Ottawa area) and going higher.  Every time they go up people slow down, and then a few weeks later the old driving habits are back.  I still get passed all the time going 98-100 (Kph that is, not mph) and rarely pass anyone.  The problem is that there are few other options - there is no cheap way for me to get to Ottawa, for example, except driving.  I take the train for middle distances but I have to drive at least 100 km to get one.  Governments are OK with heavily subsidizing urban transport (well, that is part of why Tim Hudak didn't get votes in Ottawa, he said there would be no provincial funding for phase 2 of the LRT plan), but once you get into rural areas you have to have a car or you are not going any great distances (and yes I know there are bicycles, but what about an acquaintance of mine who has put about 500 km on her car this week? She is in her 80's).

On the other hand, in the late 19th century there were other major urban pollution problems - too much horse manure in the streets.

ender

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Re: Complainypants Central...
« Reply #33 on: June 28, 2014, 07:13:31 AM »
Inflation is part of the price increase, but not the lion's share. According to the CPI inflation calculator (data.bls.gov), that $1.25/gallon gasoline available in 1990 should only cost $2.28 in 2014.

A better comparison would be looking at not a single, cherry picked date.

http://inflationdata.com/Inflation/Inflation_Rate/Gasoline_Inflation.asp

You will notice the last two spikes come with unrest in the middle east. Which the United States government does have some influence over but ultimately cannot dictate.

Vorpal

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Re: Complainypants Central...
« Reply #34 on: June 28, 2014, 11:01:48 AM »
Inflation is part of the price increase, but not the lion's share. According to the CPI inflation calculator (data.bls.gov), that $1.25/gallon gasoline available in 1990 should only cost $2.28 in 2014.

A better comparison would be looking at not a single, cherry picked date.

http://inflationdata.com/Inflation/Inflation_Rate/Gasoline_Inflation.asp

You will notice the last two spikes come with unrest in the middle east. Which the United States government does have some influence over but ultimately cannot dictate.
My dates were not cherry picked, they were the beginning and ending prices of the available data set. If you look at the data set, you can tell they're not outliers. They are in line with the prices in the surrounding months. I was using them to illustrate that inflation is NOT the main reason for gas prices being higher now than in 1990, as SpartanQ was purporting.

That is a nice chart, though. It certainly does show correlation between gas price spikes and middle east unrest (which I think we all recognize).

DollarBill

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Re: Complainypants Central...
« Reply #35 on: July 05, 2014, 06:27:59 PM »
I wonder how much stock in oil would one need to purchase to off set the price of gas? I know it varies between usage/price of stock/gas but it would be interesting to hear what you guys say. I'm just now getting back into the stock market and I think I should start buying the stock of all of the companies that are in my must have budget...Oil, Utilities, Food, Phone, Trash, Insurance. That way it might feel like I can off set my cost of living.

agent_clone

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Re: Complainypants Central...
« Reply #36 on: July 05, 2014, 06:39:02 PM »
Personally I wouldn't be investing in oil or coal unless you are looking at a shorter term investment.  I would be investing in renewables such as wind and solar however.

I can see both oil and coal industries worth siginificantly reducing over the next 20-30 years.

iwasjustwondering

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Re: Complainypants Central...
« Reply #37 on: July 05, 2014, 06:57:06 PM »
...better known as MSN News, or more accurately, the responses to same. Not that most of their stories are heavyweight reading, but the comments are mind-blowing in their negativity and ignorance. ( I even read one on garden tools- someone felt compelled to point out that "the ten-tine garden fork pictured only has five tines!"

This article http://money.msn.com/investing/post--us-set-to-export-first-oil-since-1970s on the US decision to export oil, though takes the cake (I especially love the comment about how we should be paying $1.00/ gallon. Not to mention the expected slams from the "free-market" Obama bashers. You'd think a supporter of free market economics would recognize this as the free market doing exactly what its supposed to do ).

Wow. Just freakin' wow.

Us "free market" Obama bashers, I guess, are a little pissed that the price of gas has doubled under his watch. It does not matter how little or how much you use, it still doubled. But then again, NOTHING is ever his fault. The free market is, as you state, doing what it is supposed to do. However, over regulation is preventing it from doing even better. BTW, where does the government get the right to make over 40 cents a gallon in taxes while the oil company that takes all the risk and does all the work profits 9 cents a gallon? The government, with the exception of the military, does NOTHING right.

Bullshit.  I paid well over $5 a gallon during my vacation to California in the summer of 2008.

brewer12345

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Re: Complainypants Central...
« Reply #38 on: July 05, 2014, 07:14:57 PM »
I wonder how much stock in oil would one need to purchase to off set the price of gas? I know it varies between usage/price of stock/gas but it would be interesting to hear what you guys say. I'm just now getting back into the stock market and I think I should start buying the stock of all of the companies that are in my must have budget...Oil, Utilities, Food, Phone, Trash, Insurance. That way it might feel like I can off set my cost of living.

I would focus on investing in things that are good investments rather than stuff that is in your budget.

DollarBill

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Re: Complainypants Central...
« Reply #39 on: July 05, 2014, 08:04:19 PM »
I wonder how much stock in oil would one need to purchase to off set the price of gas? I know it varies between usage/price of stock/gas but it would be interesting to hear what you guys say. I'm just now getting back into the stock market and I think I should start buying the stock of all of the companies that are in my must have budget...Oil, Utilities, Food, Phone, Trash, Insurance. That way it might feel like I can off set my cost of living.

I would focus on investing in things that are good investments rather than stuff that is in your budget.
I'm sure I will but would love to pump gas or pay a bill when I think it's compensated. I'd be happier if the price I pay goes up knowing it's compensated.

Nords

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Re: Complainypants Central...
« Reply #40 on: July 05, 2014, 10:58:25 PM »
I wonder how much stock in oil would one need to purchase to off set the price of gas? I know it varies between usage/price of stock/gas but it would be interesting to hear what you guys say. I'm just now getting back into the stock market and I think I should start buying the stock of all of the companies that are in my must have budget...Oil, Utilities, Food, Phone, Trash, Insurance. That way it might feel like I can off set my cost of living.

I would focus on investing in things that are good investments rather than stuff that is in your budget.
I'm sure I will but would love to pump gas or pay a bill when I think it's compensated. I'd be happier if the price I pay goes up knowing it's compensated.
Maybe you could sidestep the whole problem by buying a photovoltaic array and an electric vehicle... or a bicycle?

warfreak2

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Re: Complainypants Central...
« Reply #41 on: July 06, 2014, 04:45:46 AM »
I wonder how much stock in oil would one need to purchase to off set the price of gas? I know it varies between usage/price of stock/gas but it would be interesting to hear what you guys say. I'm just now getting back into the stock market and I think I should start buying the stock of all of the companies that are in my must have budget...Oil, Utilities, Food, Phone, Trash, Insurance. That way it might feel like I can off set my cost of living.
This isn't really how it works; oil company stocks will do well when their profits go up. Profits don't go up just because gas prices go up; gas prices go up because production costs go up. It's more likely that if prices go up a lot, profits will go down, because of lower demand.

kyleaaa

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Re: Complainypants Central...
« Reply #42 on: July 06, 2014, 08:36:17 AM »
Us "free market" Obama bashers, I guess, are a little pissed that the price of gas has doubled under his watch. It does not matter how little or how much you use, it still doubled. But then again, NOTHING is ever his fault. The free market is, as you state, doing what it is supposed to do. However, over regulation is preventing it from doing even better. BTW, where does the government get the right to make over 40 cents a gallon in taxes while the oil company that takes all the risk and does all the work profits 9 cents a gallon? The government, with the exception of the military, does NOTHING right.

My problem with "free market" Obama bashers is that they usually have no idea what the term "free market" actually means. They don't understand even very, very basic economics. Uneducated people tend to think that "free market" means "less regulation." It doesn't. "Free market" means APPROPRIATE regulation. Sometimes the appropriate amount of regulation is actually far more than what we currently have. A current example would be carbon emissions: a free market absolutely REQUIRES more regulation on this front, be it cap-and-trade or something else. The "free market" wonks who constantly wine about too much regulation almost never know what they're talking about. Not even Milton Friedman, the champion of free market economics, would support most of their positions.

Here's a prime example:

"BTW, where does the government get the right to make over 40 cents a gallon in taxes while the oil company that takes all the risk and does all the work profits 9 cents a gallon? "

The fundamental tenants of free market trade gives the government not only the right, but the responsibility to do this. Were there no taxes on gasoline, that would be fundamentally ANTI-free trade. Those who have read an economics textbook will know why.
« Last Edit: July 06, 2014, 08:38:48 AM by kyleaaa »

joleran

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Re: Complainypants Central...
« Reply #43 on: July 06, 2014, 08:51:09 AM »
My problem with "free market" Obama bashers is that they usually have no idea what the term "free market" actually means.

It's debatable as the meanings of words and phrases are fairly fluid over time.  Just mentally replace "free market" with "Laissez-faire" whenever you hear it in a modern context and you'll probably be better off.

NinetyFour

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Re: Complainypants Central...
« Reply #44 on: July 06, 2014, 09:13:20 AM »
I'm Mr. Car Safety, and I'm all about higher gas prices...much, much higher prices. We refuse to regulate drunk driving or speeding in this country, so the next best thing is to make it too expensive for the drunks and speeders to drive. It'll also have the benefit of shrinking car sizes, which would make the roads safer for everyone, including children, cyclists, and pedestrians.

+1000

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Re: Complainypants Central...
« Reply #45 on: July 07, 2014, 02:57:38 AM »
An update to the fuel tax discussion:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/bump-at-the-pump-senators-propose-a-12-cent-hike-in-federal-gas-tax/2014/06/18/0eb5b4b2-f702-11e3-a606-946fd632f9f1_story.html

Quote
A bipartisan Senate proposal emerged Wednesday to rescue beleaguered federal transportation funding by raising the tax on gasoline by 12 cents a gallon.
 
The proposal to hike the 18.4-cent federal tax for the first time since 1993 came from Sens. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and won quick endorsement from an array of advocates ranging from road builders to AAA.
 
In addition to increasing the tax by 6 cents in each of the next two years, the senators want the rate indexed to inflation. Failure to keep pace with inflation over the past 20 years, along with steadily increasing fuel economy, has caused the Federal Highway Trust Fund that receives the money to sink to a dangerous level...

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!