Original Posted By: Scott McKitrick
Pietenpol-List: Fwd: Gas out? worth a shot
Re: Pietenpol-List: Fwd: Gas out? worth a shot
Original Posted By: shad bell
Before you buy into the GAS OUT Rage, think about the following:The rate of inflation has raised the price of almost everything at a ratehigher than the cost of Gasoline. Indeed, how much did you pay in 1970 or1980 for a car? My family bought a brand new Camero in 1970 for around$3300. How much do you pay today? at least $22,000 for the stripped model.Compare 1970 gasoline at 50 cents per gallon (at one point it was 35centsper gallon.) to the prices today $1.39 to $2.00 per gallon. The car costsalmost 8 times more. The gas at most 4 times more. (Why not stop buyingcars!) Compare airplanes if you want to see inflation!Believe it or not, the current price of gas is about where it should be.Last year, when gas was so cheap (half price) no one realized that many oilindustry workers were out of work. This includes many members of my familyand many friends. If this were the steel, auto, or any of a dozen otherindustries then the press and the public would throw a fit to protect theendangered jobs. Politicians would line up to help.The perception that the oil industry is all rich fat cats ignores the manyworkers who find, drill, ship, refine, store and deliver oil. This does notinclude the other industries that support the oil industries such as weldingshops, scrap and iron yards, pipe manufacturers, truck drivers. secretaries,bookkeepers, and many others. When the oil industry went bust in about 10years ago my wife's aunt had her salary cut in half and she lost herbenefits, she is a bookkeeper. The company that she worked for went broke,ruining many lives.While I do not want to go back to the oil embargo days of the 70's. Thecurrent prices are not out of line. Compare what you pay in rent today towhat you paid in 1980 or 1970! The rate of inflation has been much higherthan price increases in gasoline.By the way, I do not make my living in the oil industry and I don't own oilstock. I just think this is a movement to strike at the "BIG GUY" and doesnot consider the many people who are affected by these actions.Don't be too hasty to declare a GAS OUT before you consider all of theramifications.Steve Dortch----- Original Message -----
Before you buy into the GAS OUT Rage, think about the following:The rate of inflation has raised the price of almost everything at a ratehigher than the cost of Gasoline. Indeed, how much did you pay in 1970 or1980 for a car? My family bought a brand new Camero in 1970 for around$3300. How much do you pay today? at least $22,000 for the stripped model.Compare 1970 gasoline at 50 cents per gallon (at one point it was 35centsper gallon.) to the prices today $1.39 to $2.00 per gallon. The car costsalmost 8 times more. The gas at most 4 times more. (Why not stop buyingcars!) Compare airplanes if you want to see inflation!Believe it or not, the current price of gas is about where it should be.Last year, when gas was so cheap (half price) no one realized that many oilindustry workers were out of work. This includes many members of my familyand many friends. If this were the steel, auto, or any of a dozen otherindustries then the press and the public would throw a fit to protect theendangered jobs. Politicians would line up to help.The perception that the oil industry is all rich fat cats ignores the manyworkers who find, drill, ship, refine, store and deliver oil. This does notinclude the other industries that support the oil industries such as weldingshops, scrap and iron yards, pipe manufacturers, truck drivers. secretaries,bookkeepers, and many others. When the oil industry went bust in about 10years ago my wife's aunt had her salary cut in half and she lost herbenefits, she is a bookkeeper. The company that she worked for went broke,ruining many lives.While I do not want to go back to the oil embargo days of the 70's. Thecurrent prices are not out of line. Compare what you pay in rent today towhat you paid in 1980 or 1970! The rate of inflation has been much higherthan price increases in gasoline.By the way, I do not make my living in the oil industry and I don't own oilstock. I just think this is a movement to strike at the "BIG GUY" and doesnot consider the many people who are affected by these actions.Don't be too hasty to declare a GAS OUT before you consider all of theramifications.Steve Dortch----- Original Message -----
Re: Pietenpol-List: Fwd: Gas out? worth a shot
Original Posted By: "William C. Beerman"
Steven, I just read your rebuttal to the "gas out" post, and I just wanted to say thank you from somone in the oil patch. I read the note, and thought many of the same things, but I just didn't speak out, since I didn't feel I was in a position to speak objectively. But I just just changed my mind. I agree with your assessment of inflation, and how gasoline prices have been flat vs every thing else, but people do get used to paying a set amount for something, and when the price changes dramatically, they get upset. That part is understandable, but most people don't seem to think the whole thing through. Most people think they know all about the oil company "fat cats", and how they're getting rich off this situation. What they don't know, is that several of the oil companies got caught on this deal too, and had signed contracts for delivery of oil at a set price before this spike. Many let out contracts for April delivery at $15/bbl. Now this oil is $30-$34/bbl, where do they get the oil to fill these contracts? They pay the price and take a huge loss. The only parties getting rich in this deal are the OPEC countries. But then, that's fair too. They have what we want, and they get to produce as much as they want, and thus, charge us what they want. Europeans pay $4-$5/gallon and think we're spoiled with $1.50 gasoline. When was the last time that anyone went to a ball game with their family. What are the ticket prices compared to the 1980 prices? What about a loaf of bread? In 1980 I paid $1.25 per gallon for gas. Then the price dropped for many years, but now has gone back up, and now I pay $1.55 per gallon. That's up 24% from 20 years ago. That's a little over 1%/year since 1980. What has inflation done in that time. Honestly, how many of us that were employed then through now, have only seen 1% yearly pay raises since then? Another thing, and I hate sounding too condescending about this, but any kind of "gas out" can't work. This stuff is sold in staggering amounts, and a few mad motorists not buying gas for three days ain't even gonna make a statistical difference, much less a real difference in the amount of gasoline sold throughout the world. It won't send any message, it wont' "hurt the fat cat". On day 4 you'll still have to make a gas run and fill up your car, because no one is gonna take vacation to make this thing stick, you won't inconvenience yourselves to try to make a real difference. You'll go about your business, doing what you do, and that's fine. But, if you're really bothered about the oil/gasoline prices, (and the environment), do something that makes a difference. Car pool, van-pool, or take the bus to work. Ride a bike to get milk, or better yet, walk - you might even improve your health. You can get a more efficent car(if you can afford it - remember when a Toyota/Honda was an affordable car? Remember inflation?). Government pressure, and internal discord is what caused OPEC to increase production before. We all drove smaller, more efficient cars, and our consumption went way down - supply and demand came into play, and prices dropped. Now enter the SUV. Now, many, many people drive huge gas hogs, guess what, here comes OPEC cashing in. Who can blame them? We've done it to ourselves, AGAIN! No one wants to hear what I just said, and most will dismiss it and get mad. That's because everyone wants it easy. It's easier to get mad and boycott gas than it is to make a commitment, then stick to it. Everyone wants to have their cake and eat it too. For Americans, the car isn't the tool that it should be, but the end in itself, the reason for driving, a sign of freedom. I'm not a tree-hugger and I'm certainly not fat cat. I'm just a guy that happens to work in an industry that everyone hates, that supplies everyone with what the energy that they want or need, for a price that is still the lowest in the whole world. The Europeans are right - what a spoiled country we've become.Sorry about the length,Gary Meadows________________________________________________________________________________
Steven, I just read your rebuttal to the "gas out" post, and I just wanted to say thank you from somone in the oil patch. I read the note, and thought many of the same things, but I just didn't speak out, since I didn't feel I was in a position to speak objectively. But I just just changed my mind. I agree with your assessment of inflation, and how gasoline prices have been flat vs every thing else, but people do get used to paying a set amount for something, and when the price changes dramatically, they get upset. That part is understandable, but most people don't seem to think the whole thing through. Most people think they know all about the oil company "fat cats", and how they're getting rich off this situation. What they don't know, is that several of the oil companies got caught on this deal too, and had signed contracts for delivery of oil at a set price before this spike. Many let out contracts for April delivery at $15/bbl. Now this oil is $30-$34/bbl, where do they get the oil to fill these contracts? They pay the price and take a huge loss. The only parties getting rich in this deal are the OPEC countries. But then, that's fair too. They have what we want, and they get to produce as much as they want, and thus, charge us what they want. Europeans pay $4-$5/gallon and think we're spoiled with $1.50 gasoline. When was the last time that anyone went to a ball game with their family. What are the ticket prices compared to the 1980 prices? What about a loaf of bread? In 1980 I paid $1.25 per gallon for gas. Then the price dropped for many years, but now has gone back up, and now I pay $1.55 per gallon. That's up 24% from 20 years ago. That's a little over 1%/year since 1980. What has inflation done in that time. Honestly, how many of us that were employed then through now, have only seen 1% yearly pay raises since then? Another thing, and I hate sounding too condescending about this, but any kind of "gas out" can't work. This stuff is sold in staggering amounts, and a few mad motorists not buying gas for three days ain't even gonna make a statistical difference, much less a real difference in the amount of gasoline sold throughout the world. It won't send any message, it wont' "hurt the fat cat". On day 4 you'll still have to make a gas run and fill up your car, because no one is gonna take vacation to make this thing stick, you won't inconvenience yourselves to try to make a real difference. You'll go about your business, doing what you do, and that's fine. But, if you're really bothered about the oil/gasoline prices, (and the environment), do something that makes a difference. Car pool, van-pool, or take the bus to work. Ride a bike to get milk, or better yet, walk - you might even improve your health. You can get a more efficent car(if you can afford it - remember when a Toyota/Honda was an affordable car? Remember inflation?). Government pressure, and internal discord is what caused OPEC to increase production before. We all drove smaller, more efficient cars, and our consumption went way down - supply and demand came into play, and prices dropped. Now enter the SUV. Now, many, many people drive huge gas hogs, guess what, here comes OPEC cashing in. Who can blame them? We've done it to ourselves, AGAIN! No one wants to hear what I just said, and most will dismiss it and get mad. That's because everyone wants it easy. It's easier to get mad and boycott gas than it is to make a commitment, then stick to it. Everyone wants to have their cake and eat it too. For Americans, the car isn't the tool that it should be, but the end in itself, the reason for driving, a sign of freedom. I'm not a tree-hugger and I'm certainly not fat cat. I'm just a guy that happens to work in an industry that everyone hates, that supplies everyone with what the energy that they want or need, for a price that is still the lowest in the whole world. The Europeans are right - what a spoiled country we've become.Sorry about the length,Gary Meadows________________________________________________________________________________
RE: Pietenpol-List: Fwd: Gas out? worth a shot
Original Posted By: "Gary Meadows"
I've decided to support both camps. I'll take three days off work, bike tothe airport and fly all day.Steve E :)________________________________________________________________________________
I've decided to support both camps. I'll take three days off work, bike tothe airport and fly all day.Steve E :)________________________________________________________________________________
RE: Pietenpol-List: Fwd: Gas out? worth a shot
Original Posted By: "mboynton(at)excite.com
Steve, Now you're talking! I think I'll only buy avgas, and camp out at the airport! That's gotta be better than working!!My post, by the way, was aviation related, cause I promote saving gasoline so that we can fly more! Yeah, that's it!Gary________________________________________________________________________________
Steve, Now you're talking! I think I'll only buy avgas, and camp out at the airport! That's gotta be better than working!!My post, by the way, was aviation related, cause I promote saving gasoline so that we can fly more! Yeah, that's it!Gary________________________________________________________________________________
### Re: Pietenpol-List: Fwd: Gas out? worth a shot
Original Posted By: Ken Beanlands
Pietenpol-List: Fwd: Gas out? worth a shot
Original Posted By:> Scott McKitrick