If you do not care about rising fuel costs...
 

If you do not care about rising fuel, energy, food and all other costs and the simple fact that due to them the average American has effectively had 30% plus stripped from their income you have lost contact with your consumer base.

Yup keep bragging, keep on saying how you like less traffic on the highways, keep telling others to just earn more money, and make fun of those who do complain. Yup just ignore your customer base. You will be fine.

The real solution is only a log away...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080605/..._protest_fires

good point after shock.

Police say they don't know why she targeted the Starbucks. :1orglaugh
Probably because they have also raised their prices even more and well when you think corporate symbols and greed... 5.00 coffee's do fit the picture specially if you add in made up sizes for words and this quasi elitist mindset.

gas prices suck ..

The gas prices themselves just suck a little and are easy to bitch about. They can be compensated for by combining errands, car pooling and the like. The killers are the higher food costs because of it, the higher energy costs, the higher everything else. You can only share so many sandwiches. Cause lets face it not many Americans can just go start a new age victory garden now can they?

people have no idea as to whats coming or they are still in denial...

for all the people who think we are not headed a disaster, the next time you are at the gas pump or the grocery store, strike up a conversation with an average looking person.

ask them what they think about the rising gas and food prices, but be prepared for a long conversation.. you will be amazed at how much honest information they will give you regarding their personal financial condition.

its pretty scary hearing how people are barely hanging on... a lot more people than i thought...

i'm using my stimulus check to buy bananas.

I agree. I don't believe all that peak oil bullshit, but we are headed for a bad, and possibly very dangerous time. I personally know two people who have had their gas stolen right from their vehicle's tanks. How long before desperate motherfuckers start killing, so they have enough gas to drive to Burger king?

I wish this whole gas thing would just go away!

I do talk with average people (our consumers) often. Hell I speak with our neighbors almost every other day as my wife is best friends with my neighbors wife. They do not have an insane mortgage nor is it an ARM. They have small compact cars (yes plural because each needs one. One is oncall often and other needs it for job). No big screen tv's, no eating out often, 1 kid with a few activities (baseball, cub scouts, etc), no insane credit card debt. Neither works minimum wage, they have a mother down street who baby sits for free. Even still their buffer at start of year was 700.00 per month. As of last talk it was down to under 200.00 and like hell they dont even smoke and rarely drink.

That's because the average person lives out of their means and paycheck to paycheck. The housing market crisis proves that. Most people these days think they should have everything now and pay for it later. How many of those people who live from paycheck to paycheck have a big screen TV and all their furniture on credit cards maxed out with a $25k to $30k car sitting in their driveway?

People these days have no understanding of living within their means. They have been given far too much easy credit and now the stress begins to show. Hell, I don't make outrageous money in Adult. I'm not making $20k or $30k a month, I make a average wage but I live with in my means. Something most people have no concept of anymore.

That's not the average person. Where I live, everyone is in debt up to their fucking eyeballs because they are constantly trying to keep up with each other.

Well gas prices directly dont affect me much. We maybe drive 60 miles a week if that sometimes.

Everything is related to fuel. food costs are just part of it.

i think you are one of the few that see the correlation between business and peoples declining discretionary income..

if the US does not start addressing alternative energy solutions now, we are going to be in a huge mess...

almost every other major country is building coal, hydro, and nuclear plants at record pace. the US doesnt seem to be doing anything... :(

Exactly, that's the true problem with the economy and why people are in such trouble. Rising gas and food prices are only the trigger for what was bound to happen sooner or later.

until people realize the cost of fuel has not changed but the dollar has become worthless things will not change. :2 cents:

Exactly. Oil makes the world go around. It takes oil to make the damn bolts that hold the Hybrid cars together, as well as produce and deliver the food to shove down the worker's throats.

I dunno why, but this is the funniest thing I've seen today. :1orglaugh

Why are they not average because they are not in debt like crazy aside from a reasonable mortgage (former owner gave them sweet deal). You are somewhat right they very well could be much worse off but does that really matter. Here is a family that is barely treading water, dual income, neither at minimum wage and both actually on the higher wage spectrum for our area.

Gawd people confuse me. Ok so they do not carry the average amount of credit card debt as a national average, whew they are no longer average. Guess that means they are doing ok and are what others who are living within their means show be striving for. Yet wait they are 200 bucks a month away from living beyond their means and they do not have excess crap in their lives. Hell they are now using my old tv that I gave them when I upgraded. Ok it was a trade as he welded some stuff for us.

So when we have someone doing it the right way and are still nearly fucked what does that really say to the others doing it the wrong way?

I have determined that that is a big city thing.

Shh everyone knows it if is not a big city then it isn't true or average.