Gas Prices Going to $10+

[LTLFTcomposite]

And what keeps the house of cards from coming down once the cancer of economic devastation makes landfall?

Capitalism.

 

[AndyH]

And what keeps the house of cards from coming down once the cancer of economic devastation makes landfall?

Capitalism.

Ok - "hair of the dog."

What does 'capitalism' mean to you?

 

[davewill]

What does 'capitalism' mean to you?

The rich get richer. Watch who profited over the Iraq war, and the last economic crash to see that. The only time capitalism has benefited anyone else is when progressive taxes and careful regulation have spread the wealth.

 

[AndyH]

And what keeps the house of cards from coming down once the cancer of economic devastation makes landfall?

Capitalism.

If you please - pretend it's Thursday morning at 5AM. Saudi Arabia has stopped supplying oil to international markets after they decide to use what they have left for their own needs. Gasoline jumped $2 a gallon overnight, to a national average of $10.049. Unemployment has topped 15% and is expected to increase. WalMart prices are up 20% due to increases in shipping from China. The waiting list for food stamps, aid to dependent children, WIC, unemployment, and other social safety net programs reaches an all time high after the last round of budget cuts.

Please - what's your plan to use capitalism to fix the problem of getting people back to work so they can afford a roof over their head and food in the kitchen?

Then look backward - how can capitalism prevent the problem from happening in the first place?

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

What does 'capitalism' mean to you?

Capitalism: It's what's for dinner.

 

[Stoaty]

Capitalism: It's what's for dinner.

Unfortunately, you can't eat a word or an idea. That leaves a lot of people crushed under the wheels of "capitalism"... especially with the "screw the poor" GOP variant that seems to be in vogue with the Tea Party.

 

[Nekota]

What does 'capitalism' mean to you?

Capitalism: It's what's for dinner.

I'd rather see a level playing field where all of us have access to unlimited trades and instant pricing for 24 hours/day and 7 days a week. None of this sleeping, holiday, and weekend stuff to interfere with the millisecond adjustments. At some point there has to be a return to adding value is worth more than adding fear and compensating for it with derivative based trading.

Sorry to hear capitalism was served for supper. I like it alive and growing.

 

[Reddy]

Interesting that the article was published just months before 9/11. Well, others have given their input so I'll give it a try as well.

1) almost instantaneous gas shortage as everyone fills up the tanks. Yup, been there, done that, on 9/11 at about 8:30am as soon as I heard the news. Prices spiked by that afternoon. Yes, I contributed to the problem and didn't really need to since I only drive less than 7000 miles per year. Guilty as charged!

2) dramatic reduction in driving and driving speed. Again, after 9/11 the number of people flying dropped 5x-10x. I traveled 4 or 5 times in the Sept/Oct and thoroughly enjoyed the empty airports and planes, although security was a bit scary. I would expect that the number of cars on the roads would decrease by 2x to 4x. Yes, we are addicted but will find ways to reduce trips. I live within 3 houses of two others who work in the same building as I do (nope, we don't carpool). Pretty good odds that we will at $10/gal with everyone riding with ME in my Leaf. When gas hit $4.00+ back in 2007 I notices about 50% fewer cars on the freeway and speeds dropped 10 mph. That was a lower price and slower rise, so the greater shock will produce greater effects.
3) 100% telecommuting for anyone who can
4) Everyone pulls out the old bicycle and takes it for a spin around the neighborhood. Yup, I know some of you think this is crazy, but it will happen. Not everyone can ride to work, but most short trips can and will be by bicycle (and you may actually love it). This winter, a 60-something friend started riding 35 miles RT. He rides a couple of days a week, taking a day to rest the legs. As others have noted, there are roads other than the freeway. And when most people are bicycling, the automobile hazards will be much reduced.
5) dramatic price increases and shortages of everything (gas, food, goods, etc.).
6) return to locality, when things are available. No more driving 30 miles to dinner when there is a local restaraunt just down the block.
7) local production of foods, goods, services. Remember victory gardens? Now they will be called survival gardens. I'm a pretty good gardener and expect to be in high demand. Right now I grow more than my family can eat, and freeze/dry/can/give away at least as much. I can easily increase production 2x-4x.
8) increased bartering. Money (and stuff see #5) will be tighter than you can imagine (unless you're 85+ and can remember 1933). Nope, I wasn't there, but have heard the family stories, seen the pictures, and learned the lessons. If you have skills, you will gladly trade for something that you can't do/make/grow.
9) return of the neighborhood since we can't travel.
10) you'll be lucky to be able to get on a bus since they will be overflowing with people and perhaps unable to obtain enough fuel to run their schedule.
11) conversion of gasoline engines to natural gas
12) skyrocketing demand for EV's and hybrids
13) if/when it gets really bad, then nationalization of oil for the military (this probably should have been #2).

Well, that's probably enough for today.

Reddy........and waiting for my Leaf sometime in August

 

[Yodrak]

Driving maybe. Driving speed? Hah!

In response to the 1973 oil embargo, which caused both gasoline shortages and a dramatic increase in price, from 1974 to 1988 we had a federal law prohibiting speed limits higher than 55 mph. Despite the fact that gas was both hard to get for a while and significantly more expensive ever since, the law was ignored by most drivers and was not enforced by most states. In 1988 the speed limit was allowed to increase to 65 mph on certain roads, in 1995 the law was repealed altogether.

Gas price does not cure lead foot disease.

Regards, JEff

...
2) dramatic reduction in driving and driving speed. .....

 

[Pipcecil]

Working in transportation, I can second that people rarely obey the speed limit. Our traffic guy says, on average, about 60% of drivers drive the speed they feel comfortable with, regardless of the posted speed. 20% actually attempt to drive the speed limit, and the last 20% are aware of the speed limit and drive something else (like 5 miles over, 5 miles under, etc.). In texas, by law, when a new roadway is built (state road), for the first month a traffic study is done on the road with NO SPEED LIMITS POSTED. They then take the 80% median and, as long as it doesn't exceed the desgin limits of the road, place the speed limit at this speed. This is done in hopes that only ~20% will go over the speed limit and most will be at the speed limit or under.

Its still interesting to note that most people don't even know what the speed limits are, but just drive (and we have loads of data to back this up). Speed limits (and their enforcement) really doesn't affect the majority of the traffic long term, its more a means for municipalities to make money.

 

[smkettner]

If you please - pretend it's Thursday morning at 5AM. Saudi Arabia has stopped supplying oil to international markets after they decide to use what they have left for their own needs. Gasoline jumped $2 a gallon overnight, to a national average of $10.049. Unemployment has topped 15% and is expected to increase. WalMart prices are up 20% due to increases in shipping from China. The waiting list for food stamps, aid to dependent children, WIC, unemployment, and other social safety net programs reaches an all time high after the last round of budget cuts.

Please - what's your plan to use capitalism to fix the problem of getting people back to work so they can afford a roof over their head and food in the kitchen?

Then look backward - how can capitalism prevent the problem from happening in the first place?

How would the Saudi King stop the riots of revolution when he stopped supplying public services? Without oil revenue Saudi government would be broke and not last long. Don't say they would draw on investments because those would be in the tank also.

 

[AndyH]

If you please - pretend it's Thursday morning at 5AM. Saudi Arabia has stopped supplying oil to international markets after they decide to use what they have left for their own needs. Gasoline jumped $2 a gallon overnight, to a national average of $10.049. Unemployment has topped 15% and is expected to increase. WalMart prices are up 20% due to increases in shipping from China. The waiting list for food stamps, aid to dependent children, WIC, unemployment, and other social safety net programs reaches an all time high after the last round of budget cuts.

Please - what's your plan to use capitalism to fix the problem of getting people back to work so they can afford a roof over their head and food in the kitchen?

Then look backward - how can capitalism prevent the problem from happening in the first place?

How would the Saudi King stop the riots of revolution when he stopped supplying public services? Without oil revenue Saudi government would be broke and not last long. Don't say they would draw on investments because those would be in the tank also.

I was actually asking about conditions in the US.

 

[JPVLeaf]

If ... "gas prices might skyrocket to $10/gallon in the United States ...."

Folks would look towards alternate modes of transportation, as some already are while reg gasoline prices are at <$4.00/gal in So Calif.

"Scooter Nation: Bike Sales Soar Amid High Gas Prices"

http://money.cnn.com/2011/07/26/pf/scooter_motorcycle_sales/

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- With prices at the pump still painfully high, drivers are swapping their gas-guzzling cars for Vespas and other more wallet-friendly two-wheelers.

Victoria Yribe's husband, Ernest, had been begging for a scooter for years.

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Little did Ernest know, a mint-condition 2008 silver Shenke scooter was waiting for him in the garage at their Oceanside, Calif. home.

The new ride -- which cost $1,195 -- replaced their second car, an old Jeep they sold on Craigslist for $3,000. While it cost $45 to fill up the Jeep's tank, which got 18 miles per gallon, they've only spent about $5 to fill up the 1.5-gallon tank of the new scooter, which gets 80 miles to the gallon. Per month, the Yribes estimate they will save about $70 on gas -- or about $840 a year.

"The thing can go 45 miles per hour on the street, so we go everywhere on it -- it's really the only way to go," said Victoria. "[E]ver since we've done this, we've been seeing them everywhere."

That makes sense. Gas prices have surged around 30% this year. As a result, sales of more fuel-efficient motorcycles and scooters have been climbing, too.