** Gas prices up 27,000% since 1942 **

[Cuyo]

THANKS ALOT, every [insert scapegoat party] President since FDR.

 

[Avatar4321]

You know, there are few things stupider than pretending we don't have problems when we do.

 

[Mr. H.]

THANKS ALOT, every [insert scapegoat party] President since FDR.

Wait a minute- are you adjusting for inflation?

 

[Cuyo]

You know, there are few things stupider than pretending we don't have problems when we do.

Yes, and blindly blaming a specific POTUS for rising prices in a finite commodity would be one of them.

 

[Cuyo]

THANKS ALOT, every [insert scapegoat party] President since FDR.

Wait a minute- are you adjusting for inflation?

Nah, $2.38 in 2010 dollars. And yes, inflation is part of the algorithm that is often ignored...

 

[Mr. Shaman]

You know, there are few things stupider than pretending we don't have problems when we do.

.

....Like allowing OIL-SPECULATORS TO....

JAM-UP OUR ECONOMY!!!!!​

 

[Two Thumbs]

"If gas goes over 50 cents a gallon, we are walking everywhere!".... My Mom, in the 70's
"If gas goes over a dollar a gallon, we are walking everywhere!".... My Mom in the 80's

yeah, my mom doesn't walk anywhere except store to store in a mall.


I recall when sodas went for Two dimes to a whole quarter.
"That's not fair!! It's highway robbery!"... Me, standing in front of a soda machine with Two dimes, no nickles, and needing a quarter.

 

[Mr. H.]

You know, there are few things stupider than pretending we don't have problems when we do.

.

....Like allowing OIL-SPECULATORS TO....

JAM-UP OUR ECONOMY!!!!!​

Good point. Crude is up $3/bbl this morning.

 

[Mr. Shaman]

You know, there are few things stupider than pretending we don't have problems when we do.

.

....Like allowing OIL-SPECULATORS TO....

JAM-UP OUR ECONOMY!!!!!​

Good point. Crude is up $3/bbl this morning.

April 19, 2011​

"Americans think they know whom to blame for high gas prices. The usual culprits are people who drive too fast, inefficient engines, OPEC, and even China. Sure, those are all factors, but that's like blaming the housing bubble on the lumber industry or a surfeit of carpenters. It's no great mystery who is responsible for higher gas prices. As I and others have written in the past, the biggest culprits are the speculators gaming the futures markets to line their own pockets. We know all that. What might come as a shock is that they are being enabled by the Federal Reserve.

The problem starts with Ben Bernanke, no matter how many of his Fed presidents claim they are not to blame for the high price of oil. The fact is that when you flood the market with far too much liquidity at virtually no interest, funny things happen in commodities and equities. It was true in the 1920s, it was true in the last decade, and it's still true today.

When Richard Fisher, president of the Dallas Federal Reserve, spoke in Germany late in March, Reuters quoted him as saying: "We are seeing speculative activity that may be exacerbating price rises in commodities such as oil." Fisher added that he was seeing the signs of the same speculative trading that had fueled the first financial meltdown.

Here Fisher is in good company. Kansas City Fed President Thomas Hoenig, who has been a vocal critic of the current Fed policy of zero interest and high liquidity, has suggested that markets don't function correctly under those circumstances. And David Stockman, Ronald Reagan's former budget director, recently wrote a scathing article for MarketWatch, "Federal Reserve's Path of Destruction," in which he criticizes current Fed policy even more pointedly. Stockman wrote: "This destruction is namely the exploitation of middle-class savers; the current severe food and energy squeeze on lower income households … and the next round of bursting bubbles building up among the risk asset classes."

As far back as 1979, when then-Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker started moving to stop inflation in its tracks, Jimmy Carter's White House said one of the benefits that higher interest rates would confer on the public would be to slow down speculators in the oil market, who were taking advantage of that year's turmoil in the Middle East. This isn't a new argument.

The economy is getting better and that's a good thing. But some claim gasoline could go to $5 a gallon this summer. The good news is that skyrocketing oil prices, like slasher movies, are truly frightening only the first time you watch one. They get less scary with repetition.

But being less scary doesn't change the basic facts. Markets need both hedgers and speculators to function properly. When they lose balance, they no longer function according to true supply and demand.

Ben Bernanke doesn't seem to understand that while he is allowing huge profits for banks and investment firms so they can recover massive losses from the financial meltdown, he is intentionally damaging what could be a much stronger recovery with the misery he's causing the average American consumer."

High Oil Prices; Speculators & Bernanke​

 

[waltky]

Rising gas prices: 'When is it going to stop?'...

Gas prices hit smaller companies
Rising gas prices hurt most small businesses, but sometimes they help others.

Pat Caruso expected his waste removal company to suffer a little pain from rising gas prices. He was wrong. It's suffering a lot. Because of the trend, the CEO of Associated Refuse Haulers has had to shell out thousands of dollars in extra daily expenses, and watch his profits take a beating. "I groan a lot," said Caruso, "and I say, 'Oh my God, when is it going to stop.' "

Associated Refuse Haulers in Monroe, Conn., removes trash and garbage for residential and commercial businesses. In the past, the company has weathered mounting gas prices without much damage. But this time, Caruso is not so sure. On top of rising prices for fuel and oil, which Caruso uses to keep the parts in his vehicles moving smoothly -- the company is dealing with higher taxes and pricier inventory and parts.

For a long time, he has absorbed it all, but recently has passed some of the costs onto his commercial customers. His biggest concern is that gas may be on its way to $5 a gallon and that "will be the tipping point for us and many other companies," he said. "You will either sink or swim."

Source

See also:

Orlando gas station charges $5.69 a gallon
April 22, 2011 -- Gas prices are on the rise nationwide, but one filling station in Florida has earned the dubious distinction of having the highest prices in the country.

Suncoast Energys, located near the Orlando International Airport, was charging $5.69 a gallon for regular gasoline on Friday. That's the highest of any gas retailer in the nation, according to price tracker gasbuddy.com. By contrast, the average price in the city of Orlando is $3.78 a gallon, a few pennies below the state and national averages.

Patrick DeHann, senior analyst at gasbuddy.com, said many tourists use the station before returning rental cars on the way to the airport, without realizing how expensive the gas is until it's too late. The manager of Suncoast Energys, Bob Barnes, confirmed Friday that the station is also charging $5.74 a gallon for medium grade gas and $5.79 for premium. When told that these were the highest prices in the nation, Barnes said, "I don't know about that; we don't check other prices."

But authorities in Orlando -- where tourism helps drive the local economy -- have taken notice of the high prices at Suncoast and another gas station near the airport. The city does not have the authority to regulate gas prices, so Orlando recently passed an ordinance requiring gas stations to post prices on signs that are clearly visible from the street.

The stations now have until May 12 to comply with the rule, or face fines of $250 a day, according to Cassandra Lafser, a spokeswoman for Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer. Lafser said the stations have not yet requested the permits required to put in the new signs. But they still have a few weeks to act before the fines kick in, she added.

Source

 

[bripat9643]

You know, there are few things stupider than pretending we don't have problems when we do.

Yes, and blindly blaming a specific POTUS for rising prices in a finite commodity would be one of them.

You mean like when turds such as you blamed Bush for rising gas prices in 2008?

 

[candycorn]

"If gas goes over 50 cents a gallon, we are walking everywhere!".... My Mom, in the 70's
"If gas goes over a dollar a gallon, we are walking everywhere!".... My Mom in the 80's

yeah, my mom doesn't walk anywhere except store to store in a mall.


I recall when sodas went for Two dimes to a whole quarter.
"That's not fair!! It's highway robbery!"... Me, standing in front of a soda machine with Two dimes, no nickles, and needing a quarter.

We went from $1.25 to $1.50 the other day at our building and FPM didn't announce the hike. You would have thought they'd committed a murder or something. Never seen so many grown people so upset at the potential loss of a quarter.

 

[Cuyo]

You know, there are few things stupider than pretending we don't have problems when we do.

Yes, and blindly blaming a specific POTUS for rising prices in a finite commodity would be one of them.

You mean like when turds such as you blamed Bush for rising gas prices in 2008?

Yes.

 

[uscitizen]

Entitlements caused it all!
Cut PBS funding and all will be well.

 

[editec]

THANKS ALOT, every [insert scapegoat party] President since FDR.

Fibrilating SUPPLY?

Meet increasing DEMAND.

 

[misteroboto]

well to be fair - the world has changed a lot since 1942

especially when it comes to fuel and usage.

but that said - we really are at the mercy of forces we simply cannot control - emerging markets china and india and south america - a sluggish economy - very very VERY low interest rates and a huge demand for what petroleum is used for.

frankly 5 dollar a gallon gas is going to REALLY suck this winter .

 

[chikenwing]

Gas station on every corner,and all the gas you can afford,yep supplies are very weak??!!

To those that applaud rapidly rising prices,hope your ready for a major dip in the mmmmmm economic recovery we might be having.

 

[Mr Liberty]

You know, there are few things stupider than pretending we don't have problems when we do.

.

....Like allowing OIL-SPECULATORS TO....

JAM-UP OUR ECONOMY!!!!!​

Good point. Crude is up $3/bbl this morning.

The supply has not changed. The demand hasn't changed. The dollar has and is falling. This is inflation. That's what happens when the government prints too much money.