Posted on 08/10/2005 7:53:55 AM PDT by SmithL
The record-breaking gasoline prices that tormented California drivers this spring are back with a vengeance, with the state average reaching a high Tuesday of $2.66 per gallon.
Truckers have it even worse, with the average diesel price passing $3 Tuesday, according to the AAA of Northern California auto club.
Those pump prices reflect the dramatic run-up in crude oil's cost, which has nearly tripled since 2002. After years of trading around $20 per barrel, crude now fetches more than $60, the result of surging worldwide use and political tension in the Middle East. The fuel set a record Monday of $63.94 per barrel, and the longer it stays at its current height, the more drivers will pay for gas.
Californians now spend 71 cents more for each gallon than they did at this time last year, and filling up a typical sedan costs $12 more now than it did in August 2004, AAA spokesman Sean Comey said. That hurts because many people aren't able to significantly cut the amount they drive.
"For a lot of people, they really don't have good options," Comey said. "The likelihood that people are going to get out of the car and massively switch to public transit isn't great. But they may get a different car when it's time to buy."
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
They decry the "obscene profits" made by "greedy Big Oil," while ignoring the fact that they created the situation. California gas and diesel fuels are mandated to have special flavorings that are only required in Califorinia. Therefore, we are a captive audience.
On top of that, outrageous labor and environmental regulations guarantee that there will be no new capacity in California for the foreseeable future.
California politicians may decry the "obscene profits" of the oil companies, but I'm sure they gleefully accepting the increased sales tax revenues on the sales of gasoline and diesel. The higher the price of gas and diesel, the more sales tax they take in. Sweet, huh?
If housing was unaffordable, by definition it would not sell as no one could afford it. But facts tell a different story with record sales month after month after month.
Please stop making sense. It contrasts sharply with the "feel good" liberal crapola that the MSM and dems are pushing. Gas prices, housing prices, etc. should all be low by virtue of the magic of liberalism with no connection to reality or the laws of economics. Businesses aren't in business to make profits. They are in business to make us feel good even if it means going out of business.
The only "obscene profits" being made on petroleum products are the taxes collected by the State and Federal Governments!
Anyone know the price of gas in europe these days. If they were paying $4 a gallon back when a barrel was $20, it must be about $10 a gallon now.
The Wal-Mart bashers would agree with that.
European fuel prices are higher because their fuel taxes are much higher than ours.
Why isn't the media talking about a "gasoline bubble" the same way they love to talk about the "real estate bubble"? The rapid increases in the prices of both are caused by the same thing - supply and demand.
"The higher the price of gas and diesel, the more sales tax they take in. Sweet, huh?"
I don't know about California, but in a lot of states the tax is a certain number of cents per gallon. In that case, the price per gallon has no affect at all on the amount of tax collected. The only thing that matters is the number of gallons sold. So if high prices reduce the number of gallons sold, the state actually collects LESS money, not more.
I personally have few problems with the gasoline tax as long as the money goes straight back into transportation. Somebody's got to pay for roads and bridges -- they don't build or repair themselves. With the gas tax, the more you use the roads, the more you pay. The less you use them, the less you pay.
I do wonder, however, why my cost at the pump has gone up 30 cents (about 15 percent) in the past 10 days.
California has a gasoline tax, but sales tax is also charged on gasoline.
Yee-Ha! right on the button with that one....except who will build our roads??? and upkeep them???
As of June, the average price, in U.S. dollars, for a gallon of gas among European nations ranged from $5.50 in France; $5.78, Italy; $5.94 in the UK; to $6.49 in the Netherlands.
Affordability of housing is not designed to measure current homeowners buying and selling. It's designed to measure NEW homeowners and their ability to buy a first home.
There's enough built-up equity at the top to keep the mania going, but the foundation is made of clay. Once the first time homebuyer drops out of the market, the person selling the home that used to be affordable to a first-time buyer will be unable to sell at a high enough price to roll into a bigger house. At which point, they'll opt not to sell.
The dominos will continue to fall until the entire Ponzi Scheme collapses.
Try housing in Salina, KS; Jackson, MS, Richland Center, WI; or Eloy, AZ. I bet you'll find some incredible bargains. You'll also be subject to ridiculous heat, horrible cold (or both), no amenities (theater, arts, shopping) and certainly little first-rate shopping. I'm not at all criticizing these areas---we live in Dayton, OH, which has an average or below-average-priced housing market, and the difference between us and 30 miles down the road, at Westchester, a suburb of Cincinnati, is like night and day. You PAY for good climates, for access to water or mountains, for access to higher education, amenities, professional sports, and so on.
Doesn't quite work like that. At $4.00/gal, about 2.80-3.00 of the price was tax. That's still the going tax rate(even the froggies aren't stupid enough to raise excise taxes on goods whose price is rising rapidly), so figure they're paying $5.75-6.00 right now.
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