Gas Prices

[cleoeo]

Last summer when gas went over $2 a gallon here in the Midwest a bunch of Republican Governors (IL, MI, WI) demanded a Congressional investigation, insisting that politics had nothing to do with their outrage. Now with a Republican administration in the White House they're curiously silent as gas goes back up again. Where's their non-partisan outrage now?

[ogb]

I can only tell you that the original price of the gas here in Germany (and probably similar everywhere in the world) is shifting between 50 and 65 Pf (= $0,20 and 0,30) each litre (take price x3.785 for one gallon). The profit of the concerns is about 15 Pf (=$0.07) each litre and everything else is taxes.

[CBranski]

There really doesn't need to be much of an investigation when it comes to the price of gas. The reasons for the price have been discussed and are well known. A few examples follow:

1) Currently, there are about 50 blends of gasoline in use here in the US. Those 50 blends are distributed to specific areas. (For example, Milwaukee and Chicago have their own EPA mandated blend.) When you have to make specific blends for specific areas, that obviously pushes up the price. Add this to the fact that our refining capacity hasn't increased for quite some time; thus the price goes up.

2) The Republican governors do not want to face the fact that taxes account for about .43 cents per gallon (In Wisconsin at least) and themselves signed gas tax increases into law-Governors Thompson and McCallum here in Wisconsin did just that, even though this state has one of the highest gas taxes (and total tax burdens) in the country. With all their blather about how high taxes are and how they are robbing families, they put those on fixed incomes closer to the brink.

While driving on the East Side of Milwaukee yesterday, I was stuck behind a car equipped with a bad exhaust and a Greenpeace bumper sticker. During that time, I thought about how the Republican leadership in this state babbles about "giving money back to the people who earned it." Then I realized that the aforementioned vehicle would be a perfect car for Governor McCallum.

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"Every Man a King, But No One Wears a Crown."
"If You Can't Beat Them, Arrange to Have Them Beaten."

[Ada_Doom]

We're all just going to have to use public transport again.
Question: Why, when even the French can do good trains, can't Britain? I do not understand.

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An organisation is like a tree full of monkeys, all on different branches at different levels, some climbing up, some falling down. The monkeys on top look down and see a tree full of smiling faces.The monkeys on the bottom look up and see nothing but !%!%!%!%!%!%!%!%s.

[ogb]

Using the public transport system is exactly what I don't like to do. I don't want politicians to restrict my way of living + the PTS is not very comfortable. In the USA the PTS is hardly existing except in the metropolitan areas.

[Sjax]

ogb, maybe you dont want politicians to control your life, but puplic transport might be a good idea if you want to prevent your children or grandchildren from choking in pollution!

[Ada_Doom]

Ogb! You're German! The German Public Transport System is hervorragend (v. v. good.)! I personally would much rather be sitting on a train reading a book and listening to a CD than getting high blood pressure sitting in a traffic jam with a load of annoying people destroying the ozone layer and stressing about being late. But that's just my opinion.

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An organisation is like a tree full of monkeys, all on different branches at different levels, some climbing up, some falling down. The monkeys on top look down and see a tree full of smiling faces.The monkeys on the bottom look up and see nothing but !%!%!%!%!%!%!%!%s.

[ogb]

I hate two companies, one of them is the Deutsche Bahn. The trains are late, dirty, crowded, slow and the DB is expensive. It was cheaper for my brother to drive to Dortmund (80km) and fly to Munich than using the train on this track. Personally I don't even use busses anymore as I hate to stand in the crowd and hear the newest solutions for all computer games from all sides. Additionally I don't like to stop fights between pupils whenever I am in a bus (happened three times so far).
I am currently having a lawsuit vs. the Bundesamt für Zivildienst (office for civil service) because they forced me to use trains that would have taken me 3 1/2 hours if not being late (+2 changes and bus), whereas I could drive home by car in 1 hour. As they only offered a ridiculous sum for the fuel consumption, I sued them on paying 3.000 DM.

[Ada_Doom]

Well there you have it folks. The german person thinks German trains are crap. The British person thinks they are wonderful. What does that say about British trains?

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An organisation is like a tree full of monkeys, all on different branches at different levels, some climbing up, some falling down. The monkeys on top look down and see a tree full of smiling faces.The monkeys on the bottom look up and see nothing but !%!%!%!%!%!%!%!%s.

[ogb]

I always have problems with the fuel consumption of American cars. On the one hand most American cars look much better than European or Asiatic ones, but the engines are far too powerful (although unneccessary) and therefore wasting too much fuel. A friend of mine is driving a GMC van that uses 20 litres on 100 km (my car needs 6 litre). Meanwhile he is using a gas tank (in the sense of the unvisible stuff, not petrol) which is much friendlier to the environment and to the wallet (0.99 DM/l compared to 2.15 DM/l). You see that in this case it doesn't matter that he needs 25 l of gas for the same track. The crucial point here is: gas is friendly for the environment, you can't add moral taxes on that - and therefore the government doesn't prefer it. There you can see that the whole talking for environment taxes is simply crap. My friend has to drive to the next city to find a station to fill his gas tank. The economy is developed enough to build such gas tanks in all cars, but it is simply not wanted.

[This message has been edited by ogb (edited May 24, 2001).]

Originally posted by CBranski:
There really doesn't need to be much of an investigation when it comes to the price of gas. The reasons for the price have been discussed and are well known. A few examples follow:

1) Currently, there are about 50 blends of gasoline in use here in the US. Those 50 blends are distributed to specific areas. (For example, Milwaukee and Chicago have their own EPA mandated blend.) When you have to make specific blends for specific areas, that obviously pushes up the price. Add this to the fact that our refining capacity hasn't increased for quite some time; thus the price goes up.

2) The Republican governors do not want to face the fact that taxes account for about .43 cents per gallon (In Wisconsin at least) and themselves signed gas tax increases into law-Governors Thompson and McCallum here in Wisconsin did just that, even though this state has one of the highest gas taxes (and total tax burdens) in the country. With all their blather about how high taxes are and how they are robbing families, they put those on fixed incomes closer to the brink.

While driving on the East Side of Milwaukee yesterday, I was stuck behind a car equipped with a bad exhaust and a Greenpeace bumper sticker. During that time, I thought about how the Republican leadership in this state babbles about "giving money back to the people who earned it." Then I realized that the aforementioned vehicle would be a perfect car for Governor McCallum.


"2 wrongs don't make a right, 3 do"

[cleoeo]

Well, I just payed $1.37 per gallon. Many analysis said we'd be paying over $3 a gallon this summer. If bigshot economists can't get a handle on a single commodity like gasoline, why do people even listen to them when they try to predict what the stock market will do? Highpriced windbags. Might as well base National economic policy on a close examination and detailed analysis of goat's innards.

[Idnew]

Bringing this back to the top because since 9/11 prices have went down, now that's great but why did it take a tragedy to bring them down. The lowest I've seen so for in Florida is #1.09. Think it's .94 in Ga

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[ogb]

Is this the price for a gallon??? We also have quite low fuel prices (1,70 DM for one liter = about $3 for a gallon). The government is increasing the taxes more and more. The ecology party has the aim to make the liter cost 5 DM ($9 for a gallon), luckily they won't be reelected next fall.

[CBranski]

Originally posted by ogb:
Is this the price for a gallon??? We also have quite low fuel prices (1,70 DM for one liter = about $3 for a gallon). The government is increasing the taxes more and more. The ecology party has the aim to make the liter cost 5 DM ($9 for a gallon), luckily they won't be reelected next fall.

Ouch, ogb that still hurts! Gas here in Wisconsin is at the lowest price I've seen in a while. ($1.17 per gallon in Milwaukee, $1.14 in Madison.)

As for the ecologists, they harbor the same feeling here in the US, forgetting the fact that high fuel prices affect the working poor in a big way. In most parts of the US, folks have no choice but to drive to work, grocery shopping, etc.

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Tony Soprano for Sherriff!

[Serendipity]

You guys are lucky! In the UK it's about £3.70 per gallon / £0.89 per litre. That's about $5.00 per gallon (I think). About 80% is taxes. http://www.dumblaws.com/ubb/frown.gif

[ogb]

Originally posted by CBranski:

As for the ecologists, they harbor the same feeling here in the US, forgetting the fact that high fuel prices affect the working poor in a big way. In most parts of the US, folks have no choice but to drive to work, grocery shopping, etc.


That's why I say that ideologies are dangerous. In their ecologic delusion they don't realise that they are creating a two class society. For me as a student the prices may not get much higher, otherwise I am really restricted in my personal freedom.

@dippy: I know about the gas prices in England. As all other prices they are really insane.

[Serendipity]

Originally posted by ogb:
@dippy: I know about the gas prices in England. As all other prices they are really insane.

At least beer, while taxed quite enough, doesn't cost about £5 a pint like it does in some Scandinavian countries... In general, I agree. To drive from the UK to Spain, it can be cheaper to go through France to Germany, head south, then back west.