http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9365607/

The problem is not Bush...it's them left wing communists avtivists crying over oil spills when they are being cleaned up by specialists

LET US DRILL OFF ALASKA...no wait, that will impact migration the reindeer

[Edited on September 16, 2005 at 8:52 PM. Reason : .]

9/16/2005 8:51:09 PM

Quite an argument you have there.

9/16/2005 9:01:10 PM

everyone knows youll wreck santa's domain

i saw that movie

9/16/2005 10:35:10 PM

how do they let these people into universities.

i thought these were places for higher learning, not remedial education

9/16/2005 10:48:20 PM

As HockeyRoman:
Because the deer are any less important than humans?
How about the humans change to where they aren't dependant upon a polluting, finite resource.

[/HockeyRoman]

[Edited on September 17, 2005 at 12:36 AM. Reason : .]

9/17/2005 12:34:42 AM

just wait, kids.

who can remember two bucks per gallon? you will NEVER see that price again. we aren't a giant oil producer, not thru current methods anyway. we will be/are paying what europeans pay. do you want to be on the same level as the french on anything?????

9/17/2005 12:50:01 AM

9/17/2005 12:57:36 AM

^^ Whaaat?

http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/international/gas1.html

Weekly Retail Premium Gasoline Prices (Including Taxes)
Belgium__France__Germany__Italy__Netherlands__U.K.__U.S.
_6.32____6.08_____6.34____6.18_____7.00_____6.56__3.17
(U.S. Dollars per Gallon)

All that said, we will probably get below $2 a gallon at some point. As with any market, it suffers from booms and busts. We are currently in a boom, the last bust was in 2001, the one before that was 1998, etc. etc. on back through history.

9/17/2005 1:17:24 AM

werent gas prices supposed to go down after the gulf pipeline was fixed? im wondering what the problem is. its not like gas companies arent pulling in record breaking profits or anything. i think for the quarter profits tripled or some crazy number. this shit is crazy

9/20/2005 1:47:11 AM

get over it

adapt and overcome

move closer to work

get a bike

take the bus

and quit bitching

9/20/2005 2:07:58 AM

if you voted democrat or republican, the gas prices are YOUR FAULT

9/20/2005 2:10:14 AM

and the libertarians would be able to do something about this?

you think the absolute free market would drive prices down?

supply and demand (and China)

9/20/2005 2:12:11 AM

Libertarians arent perfect, but one thing is sure... the current system doesnt work worth a shit.

9/20/2005 2:14:22 AM

An absolute free market would drive the price of gas up, I think. The price of gas is inelastic, but not completely inelastic. I think the gas companies would raise prices to just below the point where it hurts demand, and even at 3-something, I don't think we hit that point.

One of the economist nuts on here once chastised me because I said if I owned a business, I would adjust the price of goods on a daily basis to stay within a certain profit margin range. This is exactly what the price of gas is though. With other types of goods, the retailers/distributors have to dig in to their margins, or pocket extra cash on fluctuations, with only gradual adjustments to a product price, or to release new products with better features. The gas market doesn't seem to be subject to the same forces.

9/20/2005 2:41:58 AM

are you suggesting the government forces gas prices to be lower? If so, why is there a 43 cent per gallon tax?

9/20/2005 3:29:22 AM

We should make pre & post Rita price gouge predictions.

If Rita comes close to a refinery/port/oil rig but does no damage: +25 cents/gallon
If Rita does damage to ......: +60 cents/gallon

9/20/2005 10:17:57 AM

I like the gas tax it helps assure that people are only going to buy suv's if they can afford the cost of gas.

9/20/2005 10:21:43 AM

Quote :

"All that said, we will probably get below $2 a gallon at some point."

yeah
right

9/20/2005 10:23:58 AM

At this point it looks doubtful that we will ever see prices below $2.499


[Edited on September 20, 2005 at 10:28 AM. Reason : 4]

9/20/2005 10:28:27 AM

^ Ever? Do you mean this year or in the next 100 years?

Because I assure you, the international economic system is not that resilient. Just watch, in 5 to 15 years during the next Asian Crises or major US Recession the price of oil will fall below $2 a gallon. If the world-wide economic system collapses then it will go below $1 a gallon, but this last possibility is wholly unlikely.

9/20/2005 12:13:33 PM

Quote :

"we will be/are paying what europeans pay. do you want to be on the same level as the french on anything?????"

you're dumb

9/20/2005 1:18:11 PM

^^
At this point I'm pretty pessimistic - I mean ever. Not this year, not any year. Gas companies have seen that they can get away with it. Don't forget Rita. That will drive the prices higher than the post-Katrina ones.

I think that other states in the union have already seen prices below what I posted. It would be nice if NC would follow suit.

I also think that the tax generated from gas purchases in NC is on the dollar amount - a percentage on the price of gas per gallon. As an example: The percentage is say 20%. If a gallon of gas is $1 that is $0.20 to the state per gallon sold. When the price goes up to $3/gallon the state rakes in $0.60. Do you think the state is going to do anything about it? Unlikely. Not that they could do all that much to begin with but I need something to complain about.

I wonder what NC is going to do with all that extra money they are getting? Probably act like they never got it.

What money?

[Edited on September 22, 2005 at 10:19 AM. Reason : ?]

9/22/2005 10:19:41 AM

i think the tax is per gallon not per dollar

but i could be wrong

there is another discussion going on in some other thread, maybe in chit chat

9/22/2005 10:36:30 AM

It's per gallon. NC charges 27.1 cpg and the federal govt charges 18.4 cpg.

9/22/2005 11:49:05 AM

well shit, thats less than 10%

9/22/2005 11:54:50 AM

http://www.wral.com/news/4940369/detail.html

From the article (bold added for emphasis:

Quote :

"Pate said a moratorium would provide temporary relief for people on fixed incomes and small business owners who rely on transportation. At the same time, he said the state's gas tax needs a major overhaul, since North Carolina is one of only a few states with a variable rate that goes up with a rise in wholesale gas prices."

It may be 27c a gallon but if prices go up the tax will follow.

9/22/2005 11:55:18 AM

n/m, the tax segment has been covered.

[Edited on September 22, 2005 at 11:56 AM. Reason : ^ ^^]

However, there is a lot that you can do to help yourself: learn to live with less gasoline. For example, trading in your old rusted out Geo which gets 25 mpg (used to get 33, but you havn't changed the oil regularly) for a motorcycle which gets 70 mpg (or a motorscooter which gets 80+ mpg) and your fuel bill will be cut to almost 1/3rd. As such, you would be paying less for fuel now than you did four years ago!

[Edited on September 22, 2005 at 12:01 PM. Reason : re-edit]

9/22/2005 11:55:23 AM

It does vary but no more than 2 times per year (at least in the last 15 years)

http://www.dor.state.nc.us/taxes/motor/rates.html

9/22/2005 11:58:24 AM

Quote :

"well ####, thats less than 10%"

Yeah, considering:
Income tax
Sales tax
Income tax the business pays on their profits
Tax Tax
etc.

Wow 10% tax on gas. We are getting a deal

I wonder how much buying power each dollar we actually end up with has after every tax has taken it's cut?


[Edited on September 22, 2005 at 12:03 PM. Reason : .]

9/22/2005 11:59:48 AM

you had to star out when I cussed

wtf?

(pssst, the "f" stands for "fuck")

9/22/2005 12:01:14 PM

^What can I say. I try to keep it clean.

[Edited on September 22, 2005 at 12:03 PM. Reason : ^]

9/22/2005 12:03:43 PM

NC is one of the more heavily taxed states in the nation, and yet we still can't seem to balance the state budget...

9/22/2005 12:05:22 PM

All those damn Democrats.
What we need is a party split to fix the books: Republican senate, Democrat House, and it doesn't matter who is Governor (NC's governor is too weak to matter).

9/22/2005 12:10:23 PM

Does anyone here think $3/gal covers the true cost of gas?

9/22/2005 12:14:21 PM

Yes, I'm sure all the partisan bickering will get that budget in shape in no time. I mean, if the Republican party at the federal level is any indication of how the state Republicans will treat spending, I'm positive we'll have a budget surplus in a matter of days!

9/22/2005 12:15:31 PM

It is a statistical oddity that state governments which are split between the parties, such as a Republican Governor and Democratic Legislature or a Republican Senate and Democratic House, tend to have the lowest budget deficits.

Yes, they are also more likely not to pass a budget at all, but if they do then neither side gets what it wants. For example, the Republicans are unable to cut taxes, the Democrats are unable to raise taxes, Republicans are unable to spend money on their pet projects, Democrats are unable to spend money on their projects, etc. Combine the deadlock with a growing economy, and the state will do very well.

9/22/2005 3:41:02 PM