Gas prices are funny to me. They are funny due to everyone’s perception. Right now, everyone has an issue with the way prices have shot up specifically in the past week. You hear people say this is ridiculous and something should be done about it. The question is what should be done or could be done. I would even ask you if you know if things are bad at all. Take a look at the image at this link. You will see two lines. The black one represents cost which will represent the prices you have been pay for gas when you fill up. The other line (light blue) represents the price for the gas at the pump adjusted for inflation. In the end, we come to three conclusions. The first we have been getting a below market price for gas for quite some time. The second conclusion is we are at where we should be right now with gas prices.
The third conclusion is we need to stop focusing on the gas prices and looking at what we are doing with the gas. Two things make gas impact our pocket books. First, we drive cars that have improved very little in fuel efficiency over the same previously discussed period. Twenty five years ago furl efficiency was not much better with cars. Standard was 15 to 20 miles. Yeah sure you could go out and buy a car with closer to thirty miles per gallon but with technology the way it is I think it should be expected that 40 should be readily available. There has been no pressure on the car companies to make though because everyone is in love with their gas guzzling SUV’s that are getting even worse gas mileage.
To follow up with the first point – and I admit I have not looked this up – but I bet you would find the average American goes through gallons of gas WAY FASTER than they ever have in the past. We all drive long distances to work and find it necessary to drive anywhere and everywhere. All in all, due to those two factors the demand for gas has gone up which basic economics say that gas has to go up in price.
I think in the end, I am just letting people know that we are creating a case against ourselves due to our habits and decisions.
Showing posts with label Economics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Economics. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Economics, Politics and DJ Snobbery
Well I was doing things and than remembered – I have talked to the people in several days.
Several thoughts from the last few days including politics, economics, and Club DJ critiques…
I did not do something that I have for as long as I can remember – watch the “State of the Union”. It has nothing to do with Bush as much as it has to do watching the talking heads. Sure I could have turned it on just for the speech but I know I would have listened to some knucklehead break it all down and some how include the current election. Now I have been following the current election fairly closely.
The news coverage of the elections is weird. Obama wins South Carolina and you would have thought he won in November. He spending all his money in each state with hopes he wins and get more contributions. The Clintons have plenty of money and know which states really matter and South Carolina is not one of them despite the discussion from the media.
As I am writing this Clinton looks like she is winning Florida hands down. Florida is a good win for anyone. Despite the complete and total lack of class by the Clintons, I think it is their race to win. They have support in the key states and they will probably not look back unless they act like the morons they were Saturday night. Bill – keep your pie hole shut.
By the way, speaking of the Clinton’s, has anyone seen Chelsea lately. I caught a good glimpse of her on TV the other day, leading me to tell myself, “Sheesh, someone has become a nice piece of… errrr… personage”. No I don’t know if “personage” is the right word but you get my point. I do think she got a nose job. I often wonder aloud if she even likes her parents.
Another story out there- I will avoid mentioning the subject name – needs to screw their head on real tight. Granted it did happen some time ago but why do I know in my heart of hearts high jinx and hilarity has not stopped especially when they thought they go t away with a good one. Will they do the right thing – whether it be the subject I am referencing or their constituents – and step down or vote them out? The answer I think on both counts… no. The lessons are simple. The first is honesty is the best policy. If you are not honest right from the beginning, you will pay the price through many different ways. The other lesson is to the constituents – you get what you vote for and if you choose to defend them, you will only be hurt in the end.
After watching “60 minutes” this past Sunday, I would like to nominate the “US Mortgage Crisis” for being the most over discussed, over blown story ever. According to Monday’s Wall Street Journal, all the foreclosures that have taken place have amounted to .1% or 1/1000th of the total economy. Is that enough for the Dow Jones Industrial to drop like a lead weight? Is that enough to giving out checks to the American people? I wish people would do their research and not depend on the talking heads of America to give you the “non-truth” on how the economy is doing. If you read the article, you will see, ahem, the economy is doing quite well.
While on the mortgage crisis I will tell you I have no sympathy for the banks. They were sucked into the rest of corporate America looking for today and screwing tomorrow. They forgot they were stuck with these things for 30 years. They knew they were bad bets and it was a game of musical chairs or Russian Roulette. Please government – don’t bail them out. Allow natural economic forces determine their future.
I will say openly I don’t why the American people who fall under the right guidelines are getting checks. My question is where is the money coming from? Why is the Fed lowering the Interest rate? They are basing their decisions on one part of the economy – one part that measures to nothing.
Please don’t kid yourself one bit. The check coming to your home soon has zero to do with the government liking you as a person or feeling sorry for you. It has to with getting your vote. If this was not an election year, those checks would not even see the light of day. Should anyone deny the check? I hope anyone reading this knows that answer.
On a very light note, I went to the bar this past weekend. I am a bit of a DJ snob. Here the people were shaking their tail feathers to the usual top 40 music with the occasional east side favorites. (I am exposing myself now) All of a sudden, the DJ pulls out one from yours truly favorite list - Darude Sandstorm . People were shaking their heads wondering what happened. First based on what he has been playing and the venue – they have pool tables and the dance floor is hardly “club” size – it seems like a sharp left. Now I know from back in the day, this is a long song. It was one of those which played until you were not sure it would ever end. Well after taking a minute, the people did get into it but then the DJ decided to brake and stop it. I wish it would have at least continued for the whole track. It is tough to find a venue – that I WANT to go to – that will play such tracks. In the end, it should have not been played at all. I will not get into the DJ’s poor transitions or the trashy presentation of cocktails. I can’t believe what I get dragged to from time to time.
Several thoughts from the last few days including politics, economics, and Club DJ critiques…
I did not do something that I have for as long as I can remember – watch the “State of the Union”. It has nothing to do with Bush as much as it has to do watching the talking heads. Sure I could have turned it on just for the speech but I know I would have listened to some knucklehead break it all down and some how include the current election. Now I have been following the current election fairly closely.
The news coverage of the elections is weird. Obama wins South Carolina and you would have thought he won in November. He spending all his money in each state with hopes he wins and get more contributions. The Clintons have plenty of money and know which states really matter and South Carolina is not one of them despite the discussion from the media.
As I am writing this Clinton looks like she is winning Florida hands down. Florida is a good win for anyone. Despite the complete and total lack of class by the Clintons, I think it is their race to win. They have support in the key states and they will probably not look back unless they act like the morons they were Saturday night. Bill – keep your pie hole shut.
By the way, speaking of the Clinton’s, has anyone seen Chelsea lately. I caught a good glimpse of her on TV the other day, leading me to tell myself, “Sheesh, someone has become a nice piece of… errrr… personage”. No I don’t know if “personage” is the right word but you get my point. I do think she got a nose job. I often wonder aloud if she even likes her parents.
Another story out there- I will avoid mentioning the subject name – needs to screw their head on real tight. Granted it did happen some time ago but why do I know in my heart of hearts high jinx and hilarity has not stopped especially when they thought they go t away with a good one. Will they do the right thing – whether it be the subject I am referencing or their constituents – and step down or vote them out? The answer I think on both counts… no. The lessons are simple. The first is honesty is the best policy. If you are not honest right from the beginning, you will pay the price through many different ways. The other lesson is to the constituents – you get what you vote for and if you choose to defend them, you will only be hurt in the end.
After watching “60 minutes” this past Sunday, I would like to nominate the “US Mortgage Crisis” for being the most over discussed, over blown story ever. According to Monday’s Wall Street Journal, all the foreclosures that have taken place have amounted to .1% or 1/1000th of the total economy. Is that enough for the Dow Jones Industrial to drop like a lead weight? Is that enough to giving out checks to the American people? I wish people would do their research and not depend on the talking heads of America to give you the “non-truth” on how the economy is doing. If you read the article, you will see, ahem, the economy is doing quite well.
While on the mortgage crisis I will tell you I have no sympathy for the banks. They were sucked into the rest of corporate America looking for today and screwing tomorrow. They forgot they were stuck with these things for 30 years. They knew they were bad bets and it was a game of musical chairs or Russian Roulette. Please government – don’t bail them out. Allow natural economic forces determine their future.
I will say openly I don’t why the American people who fall under the right guidelines are getting checks. My question is where is the money coming from? Why is the Fed lowering the Interest rate? They are basing their decisions on one part of the economy – one part that measures to nothing.
Please don’t kid yourself one bit. The check coming to your home soon has zero to do with the government liking you as a person or feeling sorry for you. It has to with getting your vote. If this was not an election year, those checks would not even see the light of day. Should anyone deny the check? I hope anyone reading this knows that answer.
On a very light note, I went to the bar this past weekend. I am a bit of a DJ snob. Here the people were shaking their tail feathers to the usual top 40 music with the occasional east side favorites. (I am exposing myself now) All of a sudden, the DJ pulls out one from yours truly favorite list - Darude Sandstorm . People were shaking their heads wondering what happened. First based on what he has been playing and the venue – they have pool tables and the dance floor is hardly “club” size – it seems like a sharp left. Now I know from back in the day, this is a long song. It was one of those which played until you were not sure it would ever end. Well after taking a minute, the people did get into it but then the DJ decided to brake and stop it. I wish it would have at least continued for the whole track. It is tough to find a venue – that I WANT to go to – that will play such tracks. In the end, it should have not been played at all. I will not get into the DJ’s poor transitions or the trashy presentation of cocktails. I can’t believe what I get dragged to from time to time.
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