GoFuckYourself.com - Adult Webmaster Forum - View Single Post - Increasing oil prices

kane · 06-29-2008, 11:08 PM

In the long run the one thing it will do is force our hand at figuring out alternative fuels, conservation techniques and lifestyle changes. The process, however, is going to be very painful.

No matter what any politician tells you gas prices are not going down. They may drop a little from time to time but they are never getting back to $2 a gallon. I would be shocked to see us at anything less than $3.85 a gallon. There is too much world wide demand for oil for the producing countries to bother selling it cheaper. Sure, we can drill, but it will take anywhere from 5-10 years before that oil finds its way into our gas tanks.

The reality is the middle class in America is built around owning a car. The suburbs were created for people who don't want to live downtown, want a yard and don't mind driving a little bit to work. Then the car companies convinced these people that they need a giant SUV. And now those SUVs are kicking everyone in the ass.

The rising cost of gas is sending the cost of food up between 9-12% every year. That means in 3 years your food bill will be about 1/3rd more than it is today. Anything that is shipped will go up in price. This cost will greatly outpace wage increases and most American's are maxed out and live paycheck to paycheck. This leads to them having huge difficulties making major lifestyle changes. Sure, you can trade in the SUV for a smaller car, but if you are upside down in your car loan (which most people are) your new commuter car will have a higher payment than the old SUV. It doesn't make sense to spend another $200 a month to buy a car that will only save you $150 month. I guess in the long run it will end up saving you money once you paid it off, but the immediate future will be tough.

Mass transit, buses and other options are slow to build up so the suburbs won't be getting more of that any time soon. People will simply have to suck it up and pay more. That means less money to spend on other things. And if they want to develop these mass transit systems it will take money to do them and money means more taxes which suck for the already stressed out people.

So in the long run it could be good for us. We have talked about developing alternative fuels and better conservation for a long time and now it seems we have no choice but to get on it. Once these things happen and things are good, we will do better, but in the mean time it is going to be a painful situation.

I don't forecast a very pleasant economic outlook for the next 3-5 years.

sorry for the long post.

06-29-2008, 11:08 PM
kane Too lazy to set a custom title Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: portland, OR Posts: 20,684	In the long run the one thing it will do is force our hand at figuring out alternative fuels, conservation techniques and lifestyle changes. The process, however, is going to be very painful. No matter what any politician tells you gas prices are not going down. They may drop a little from time to time but they are never getting back to $2 a gallon. I would be shocked to see us at anything less than $3.85 a gallon. There is too much world wide demand for oil for the producing countries to bother selling it cheaper. Sure, we can drill, but it will take anywhere from 5-10 years before that oil finds its way into our gas tanks. The reality is the middle class in America is built around owning a car. The suburbs were created for people who don't want to live downtown, want a yard and don't mind driving a little bit to work. Then the car companies convinced these people that they need a giant SUV. And now those SUVs are kicking everyone in the ass. The rising cost of gas is sending the cost of food up between 9-12% every year. That means in 3 years your food bill will be about 1/3rd more than it is today. Anything that is shipped will go up in price. This cost will greatly outpace wage increases and most American's are maxed out and live paycheck to paycheck. This leads to them having huge difficulties making major lifestyle changes. Sure, you can trade in the SUV for a smaller car, but if you are upside down in your car loan (which most people are) your new commuter car will have a higher payment than the old SUV. It doesn't make sense to spend another $200 a month to buy a car that will only save you $150 month. I guess in the long run it will end up saving you money once you paid it off, but the immediate future will be tough. Mass transit, buses and other options are slow to build up so the suburbs won't be getting more of that any time soon. People will simply have to suck it up and pay more. That means less money to spend on other things. And if they want to develop these mass transit systems it will take money to do them and money means more taxes which suck for the already stressed out people. So in the long run it could be good for us. We have talked about developing alternative fuels and better conservation for a long time and now it seems we have no choice but to get on it. Once these things happen and things are good, we will do better, but in the mean time it is going to be a painful situation. I don't forecast a very pleasant economic outlook for the next 3-5 years. sorry for the long post.