Gas prices - What are you paying in your neck of the woods to survive?

[Kyung]

You know, I get a lot of questions about page rates and things like that. People are curious and they want to know. And I see page rates for other parts of the country. Well, the thing is they all have to be put into context, i.e., cost of living. So to get an idea of what things are costing us, let's take a survey of gas prices and miles that people are traveling to work. Very informal, just chime in whatever area you are.

Now, I live in California. Our standard of living is high here. A house despite the recent mortgage meltdown is still going to run you over $600K, a nice house, 3-bedroom. Condos are running $350K to $500K and up.

Gas prices here are about $3.50/gal (in the last week) for unleaded to $3.70 and up for Supreme unleaded for those of you who can afford the "nice" cars :)

I drive anywhere from 10 miles one way to 30 miles one way depending on if I'm working local or hauling myself into downtown LA.

What kind of prices are you guys looking at out there?

It's sad. I read an article the other day about how gas prices are getting so high that people are actually starting to carpool and ride public transportation more often. I'm not sad about that. The sad thing is that we, as court reporters, can't rideshare. Just not feasible. Unless, perhaps, we work in a courthouse.

[Kelli Combs (admin)]

If they release this car already I will buy it instantly.
Problem so far very few companies are willing to fund it even though everyone I ever show this to say they would buy it.

[Chris Renegar]

Just my two cents on the price of gas (petrol) in other parts of the world...in Sydney, Australia, where I live, a gallon of gas is almost six dollars! (The Australian dollar and the American dollar are virtually neck and neck these days, so although the cost of living is much higher here than in the U.S., the price of gas is still disproportionately high.)

[Stephanie]

I'm in Washington state and the gas prices here rise every 2-3 days we're at $4.60ish here now and diesel is well over $5. It's not summer yet and I know it's only going to get worse. I think minimum wage is around $7.75 or something so people are paying over 1/2 of what they make an hour if they make minimum wage...THAT is sad. How do they expect people to get to work if they have a job outside the home and have to commute? They're worried about the economy and people not spending enough on things ha! Quit robbing people at the gas pump then. I'd be MORE than happy to spend my money on things BESIDES gas. I'm glad I work at home but still it's just insane to pay this much for gas.

[Brenda Rogers]

Yesterday we crept past $4 at the cheap station for the first time. Damn . . .

[Shannon Wise]

I don't understand why people have a hard time with oil companies making a profit or making money. I just don't see the crime. Companies don't go into business to not make a profit. Why aren't you complaining about how much the government makes on taxing the oil companies? The oil companies get about 13 cents profit for gallon, while local, state, and federal agencies get the rest. That's a lot. And did you know that Microsoft, yes, a big corporation, makes more profit than the oil companies, but you don't hear anybody saying anything about that. And as I said before on this blog, if you're invested in any type of retirement or pension plan, you better hope the oil companies make a profit, because that's where they're invested. And you were right if you were thinking that about the 2006 election, because whenever the dems get in control, everything goes up, we have less money, and things get more complicated with federal regulations because their answer is "we can fix everything." They said change, boy, did we get change. How in the world did the American people get it in their head that the Constitution says that the government is the answer to everything? The Constitution limits the government on the people, not the people being limited by the government. They are not the answer, they are the problem. And, no, this one is not Bush's fault. You need to go back in history about 30 years to the 40 years controled by the dems when they decided to stop oil production and building refineries in the U.S. It sure wasn't the repubs. We are paying for it now.

[Debra Carter]

Hi, Shannon. I agree that oil companies should be allowed to have some profit, but I also believe that they should be regulated like our electric companies are here.
Our electric and natural gas company cannot raise rates over a certain percentage and not more than once per year. They also have to send a notice out a few months prior to prepare people for the rate increase.
Gas is an energy and it should be regulated in the same way. It isn't a luxury. We don't have a choice but to buy it and pay for it ( at least those that live outside of public transportation). This, to me anyway, is the same as electricity. It should be regulated in the same way.
Our regular gas is 3.99 here in Wisconsin. We don't live in the city, and my husband has to drive 35 miles one way to get to work. It adds up. Our gas has gone up 70 cents in three months. That is an increase that just isn't acceptable to me.
These companies were supposed to be using all the tax cut incentives to re-invest in fuel alternatives or refinery updates. I believe on Dateline, they said that they haven't reinvested what they should be, they are keeping the profits because of some loophole in the tax incentive bill.

[Shannon Wise]

I only wish I had 35 miles one way. I've got 55+. Anyway, regulation is not the answer, it's the problem. The more regulations you put on something, the more expensive it is going to be. The oil companies are making such a large profit because they can't drill, explore, or build. It's against the law. And once again, you've got China and India buying gas now. We cannot control the price of oil because we are DEPENDENT. We have no control because we are not INDEPENDENT. They know we won't say, okay, fine, we'll just use our own and forget you. We're like rabid animals needing something that we don't have. The only thing is, we do, and we've got more than the Saudis could ever dream of. It's a crime that we cannot use our own oil and gas...but, oh, China can go ahead and drill off the coast of Florida. I can guarantee you they don't give a crap about environmental laws. But, oh, no, let's let them have it anyway and we'll just do nothing. If you want to talk about fuel alternatives...that's a long way off. Not an overnight cure. Obviously the biofuel isn't working, and it's not economical either. We should never have stopped drilling or building, and that's the problem. An example of regulation. The good old EPA said they had to take sulfur out of diesel. That's why diesel is now more expensive. Diesel used to be around 30 cents cheaper than gas, and now it's almost a dollar more. I have a diesel, and I'm fixing to hit $5 probably next week at this rate. And with the difference in the gas price and the diesel price, it's no longer cheaper to operate the diesel. The truckers are not going to last much longer.

[Shannon Wise]

Barb, obviously you have not visited the Petroleum Institute and seen for yourself. Why would the oil companies be screaming to drill if there was only 6 mos of oil sitting under us? That's not logical thinking. Experts? Whose experts? The EPA's experts? The left side's experts that want us to be dependent up them and look to them to solve all our problems? Yeah, right. We've got more oil than anybody else. Deal with it. But if you're on the side that wants to tell you what kind of car you can drive, what kind of house you can live in, what kind of stinkin light bulbs you can burn, what kind of washer/dryer you can have and on and on and on, then don't vote for McSame. Vote your liberties and freedoms away. I don't like McCain, he's not a true conservative, but he's what we have, and he's gone against Bush when conservatives didn't like it, but I wouldn't vote for the other 2 if they were the last people on earth. And also, why don't you read up on the Warren-Leiberman bill that's going to send our energy prices soaring into outer space. Expect $10/gal on that. Don't think there's a conservative on that bill. You cannot see the truth for the lies. I knew one of you would come out of the woodwork and blast me with your mean spiritedness. But facts are facts, and if you deny them, that's your problem. When you see that the earth isn't burning up and that this so-called global warming is a cyclical event and humans can do nothing about it and that we're actually headed to the cooler side, I guess we'll be the ones telling you I told you so. Old Gore has invested in all these green companies and want to tax carbons. How ridiculously insane is that? He wants you to buy into all this crap so he makes more money. Why aren't you screaming about that? And all these people wanting us to cut back on the way we live DO NOT live by example. It's okay for us, but not for them. That's what collectivism, socialism, and marxism is about. Look it up. Why don't you read the communist manifesto and see if Nobama isn't wanting to do the same to us. Here, I'll save you the trouble from Googling and give you the address, http://www.erichsmith.com/cmtenplanks.html. You know he's going to raise our taxes. You live in one of the states that's taxed to death. How is that working for you? There's a mass exodus out of California and NJ because they're tired of being taxed to death. California's going to have a huge deficit because of that. Guess where they're all coming? Here, Texas. I don't understand why you don't want to keep more of your money. If you don't think we're taxed enough, then donate some of your own money. Once again, you are wrong. My life is not hunky-dorey. I commute. My gas bill is enormous. In Texas we are spread out and people drive. Public transportation doesn't work for a place like Texas. What works one place doesn't for another. And I've cut back. I bet my electric bill is going to be $200 next month when it used to be around $120, and I keep my a/c on 78 to 80. Frankly, I like to make my own choices and continue to do so without a government entity telling me to do so. Yes, I am for the oil companies. You should be too. What are you going to do without them? Think about it. They earn...according to the latest...8 cents a gallon profit. How criminal is that? How much profit do you earn on your pages? You forget that India and China have many, many, many, many more people than we do, and you know what? They're buying gas. Economics 101. The more people that buy your product, you make more profit. But the oil companies can't do anything with their money.
You can blame Bush for Katrina all you want, but there again you deny the facts. The governor of LA did not want help. It was a debacle on every level, but it wasn't all Bush's fault. He didn't make all those people stay in NO. How come some got out? Guess they could think for themselves. What a concept. We've not been attacked since 9/11, but we were attacked many times during the Clinton Administration while he was busy being serviced. What a joke.
Here's your facts for how things have changed since the 2006 election. Oh, yeah, there will be change if the dems get total control. You don't believe them...research them.
Part 1
In just one year. Remember the election in 2006?
Thought you might like to read the following:
A little over one year ago:
1) Consumer confidence stood at a 2 1/2 year high;
2) Regular gasoline sold for $2.19 a gallon;
3) The unemployment rate was 4.5%.

Since voting in a Democratic Congress in 2006 we have seen:
1) Consumer confidence plummet;
2) The cost of regular gasoline soar to over $3.50 a gallon;
3) Unemployment is up to 5% (a 10% increase);
4) American households have seen $2.3 trillion in equity value evaporate (stock and mutual fund losses);
5) Americans have seen their home equity drop by $1.2 trillion dollars;
6) 1% of American homes are in foreclosure.

America voted for change in 2006, and we got it!
Remember it's Congress that makes law not the President.
He has to work with what's handed to him.

Quote of the Day........"My friends, we live in the greatest nation in the history of the world. I hope you'll join with me as we try to change it." -- Barack Obama

Part 2:
Taxes...Whether Democrat or a Republican you will find these statistics enlightening and amazing.
www.taxfoundation.org/publications/show/151.html
Taxes under Clinton 1999 Taxes under Bush 2008
Single making 30K - tax $8,400 Single making 30K - tax $4,500
Single making 50K - tax $14,000 Single making 50K - tax $12,500
Single making 75K - tax $16,800 Married making 60K- tax $9,000
Married making 75K - tax $21,000 Married making 75K - tax $18,750
Married making 125K - tax $38,750 Married making 125K - tax $31,250
Both democratic candidates will return to the higher tax rates
It is amazing how many people that fall into the categories above think Bush is screwing them and Bill Clinton was the greatest President ever. If Obama or Hillary are elected, they both say they will repeal the Bush tax cuts and a good portion of the people that fall into the categories above can't wait for it to happen. This is like the movie The Sting with Paul Newman; you scam somebody out of some money and they don't even know what happened.tax $23,250 Single making 75K - tax $18,750 Married making 60K -

PART 3:
Boy, am I confused. I have been hammered with the propaganda that it is the Iraq war and the war on terror that is bankrupting us. I now find that to be RIDICULOUS. You think the war in Iraq is costing us too much? Read this:

1. $11 Billion to $22 billion is spent on welfare to illegal aliens each year by state governments. Verify at: http://tinyurl.com/zob77
2. $2.2 Billion dollars a year is spent on food assistance programs such as food stamps, WIC, and free school lunches for illegal aliens. Verify at: http://www.cis..org/articles/2004/fiscalexec.html
3. $2.5 Billion dollars a year is spent on Medicaid for illegal aliens.
Verify at: http://www.cis..org/articles/2004/fiscalexec.html
4. $12 Billion dollars a year is spent on primary and secondary school education for children here illegally and they cannot speak a word of English!
Verify at: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.0.html
5. $17 Billion dollars a year is spent for education for the American-born children of illegal aliens, known as anchor babies. Verify at http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html
6. $3 Million Dollars a DAY is spent to incarcerate illegal aliens.
Verify at: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html
7. 30% percent of all Federal Prison inmates are illegal aliens.
Verify at: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html
8. $90 Billion Dollars a year is spent on illegal aliens for Welfare & social services by the American taxpayers.
Verify at: http://premium.cnn.com/TRANSCIPTS/0610/29/ldt.01.html
9. $200 Billion Dollars a year in suppressed American wages are caused by the illegal aliens.
Verify at: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html
10. The illegal aliens in the United States have a crime rate that's two and a half times that of white non-illegal aliens. In particular, their children, are going to make a huge additional crime problem in the US
Verify at: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0606/12/ldt.01.html
11. During the year of 2005 there were 4 to 10 MILLION illegal aliens that crossed our Southern Border also, as many as 19,500 illegal aliens from Terrorist Countries. Millions of pounds of drugs, cocaine, meth, heroin and marijuana, crossed into the U. S from the Southern border. Verify at: Homeland Security Report: http://tinyurl.com/t9sht
12. The National Policy Institute, "estimated that the total cost of mass deportation would be between $206 and $230 billion or an average cost of between $41 and $46 billion annually over a five year period."
Verify at: http://www.nationalpolicyinstitute.org/pdf/deportation.pdf
13. In 2006 illegal aliens sent home $45 BILLION in remittances back to their countries of origin. Verify at: http://www.rense.com/general75/niht.htm
14. "The Dark Side of Illegal Immigration: Nearly One Million Sex Crimes Committed by Illegal Immigrants In The United States." Verify at: http://www.drdsk.com/articleshtml
The total cost is a whopping $ 338.3 BILLION DOLLARS A YEAR. Are we THAT stupid?

And one more thing, we're not in a recession. Look it up. We're struggling because of gas prices and people buying homes they could not afford. Once again, it's not the government's job to bail out stupidity!

[Shannon Wise]

If y'all are for being independent from the middle east and want lower gas prices in the future, then sign the petition at the following web site for us to start drilling now in our own country. We are sitting on the richest repository of oil in the world. Let's use it and tell the saudis to kiss our ever lovin' you know what.
www.americansolutions.com

[Patricia Babits]

Hope this doesn't sound too dumb, but I know Mexico is a very oil-rich country. Why don't we buy oil from them instead of being so dependent on the Middle East where we have so many problems?

[Kelli Combs (admin)]

Actually most of our oil comes from Canada.. believe it or not.
this might sound a bit political but IMO we are being raped by the oil corporations and not the rich oil countries as widely believe.
http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/petroleum/data_publications/comp...
please remember that exxon, chevron, shell ...etc have made RECORD profits the last decade and it continues to rise each year (if that possible)
I hate politics so i am going to end this rant with:-
it is $4.59 today in my local gass station.

[Patricia Babits]

Monti, I just did some research and found that out about Canada. I was very surprised.