$6 Gas; what's your guess?

[plthijinx]

I found THIS very interesting. Apparently the dems want an investigation into price fixing by the oil companies.

[classicman]

Good - lets start investigating everyone who charges more than the millionaires in congress think is fair. Next up is cell phone providers. I'm over $300 for 4 phones, internet and whatever. That's more than I pay for gas in a month... well it was. They are getting pretty close right now.
WTF?

[HungLikeJesus]

Are you somehow compelled to pay for those items? Unplug!

[classicman]

I'd rather not drive.

[HungLikeJesus]

Look at that, you've just figured out how to save $600 per month.

[Fair&Balanced]

Originally Posted by classicman

Good - lets start investigating everyone who charges more than the millionaires in congress think is fair. Next up is cell phone providers. I'm over $300 for 4 phones, internet and whatever. That's more than I pay for gas in a month... well it was. They are getting pretty close right now.
WTF?

Apples and oranges.

There is an appropriate role for regulatory bodies to investigate manipulation of prices and the role of speculators and index traders in oil futures markets. Such trading practices or futures markets do not exist in the cell phone industry.

second thoughts:
The DoJ and the FCC are investigating, appropriately IMO, the potential impact the AT&T merger with T-Mobile may have on the cell phone market.

[plthijinx]

hey, while we're bent over........

The Obama administration has floated a transportation authorization bill that would require the study and implementation of a plan to tax automobile drivers based on how many miles they drive.

oh, joy.

The White House, however, said the bill is only an early draft that was not formally circulated within the administration.

“This is not an administration proposal," White House spokeswoman Jennifer Psaki said. "This is not a bill supported by the administration. This was an early working draft proposal that was never formally circulated within the administration, does not taken into account the advice of the president’s senior advisers, economic team or Cabinet officials, and does not represent the views of the president.”

from Here

i can't imagine being taxed by the mile. people like me and I.M. would get truly anal raped with no lube. or at least with a $120 barrel of west texas sweet crude.

[BigV]

plt--

don't you think you're already there? If you're driving so much, you're buying more fuel, and paying more in gas taxes. In my mind, this would be an effort to fund the expense of the investment in our roads with taxes that are paid by the people who use the roads. No driving, no wear and tear, no taxes. More driving, more wear and tear, more taxes. There's an effort to do that already with a tax on fuel. More efficient cars use less, and are taxed proportionally less, and vice versa. I think this would be another way to 'PAYGO', so to speak.

I believe it would have to be introduced with a corresponding reduction in the taxes on fuel, and NOT merely an additional tax.

[plthijinx]

Yeah, didn't look at it that way, however, i don't see them easing taxes fuel bought. Kinda like the sam houston tollway aka beltway 8 here in houston. They where supposed to do away with the toll booths when it was completed as per the write up for voting approval. It is such a cash cow that they will never do away with them. I'm not saying that a lower fuel tax would happen, i just think its unlikely.

[infinite monkey]

Originally Posted by BigV

plt--

don't you think you're already there? If you're driving so much, you're buying more fuel, and paying more in gas taxes. In my mind, this would be an effort to fund the expense of the investment in our roads with taxes that are paid by the people who use the roads. No driving, no wear and tear, no taxes. More driving, more wear and tear, more taxes. There's an effort to do that already with a tax on fuel. More efficient cars use less, and are taxed proportionally less, and vice versa. I think this would be another way to 'PAYGO', so to speak.

I believe it would have to be introduced with a corresponding reduction in the taxes on fuel, and NOT merely an additional tax.

On the surface, this seems fair. But let's look deeper, shall we?

Communities, societies, the people within, pay all sorts of taxes that for things that keep that community running.

For instance, I don't have kids in school. Does that mean I don't pay school taxes? No, it does not. And I think I SHOULD pay school taxes, being a part of a community. (This was just my handiest example, disclaimering being I want to see the youth of the society have a chance to succeed and good schools can do that.)

We pay taxes to keep police and fire services. I don't often use the police or fire, but I damn sure don't mind paying the taxes, as part of the community, for if I ever do need them, or family needs them, or a neighbor or a friend. Police use the roads. See what I'm getting at? It's all kind of intermingled.

What a funny country. There's a predominant attitude of: I got mine you get yours. I made a transition to try to get mine, or more of mine than I was getting, and I get a funny feeling that now I am penalized for daring to not work across the street.

And if I hear the old arguments...1) Well just MOVE or 2) other countries pay so much MORE...I might wail and gnash my teeth. Moving isn't a viable option in many cases. And I live here, where we have the public transportation options you can fit on the head of a pin, or on a pinhead. I could move into the city...THEN I'll get to use the police department a LOT.

Finally, do you really think that some of the folks who have finally found a job after being unemployed for so long can just run out and buy a hybrid? Easy to sit on the sideline and say "well, it would be BEST if you..." but none of that is helpful if the ideas aren't viable. In real life, not fantasy (this is how it should be) land.

[infinite monkey]

addendum:

And paying taxes for my community isn't making billionaires out of ANYONE.

[plthijinx]

Well said.

[glatt]

I don't know what the rules are, but our grocery store offers rewards for buying stuff, where you get a slip of paper at checkout and you enter that code when you buy gas from Shell, and you get a discount. No idea how it's calculated, but we just buy our normal groceries at our normal store, and we get these coupons every couple of weeks.

Today's coupon was for 40 cents off a gallon at Shell. Not bad. Instead of $4.01, it was $3.61/gallon to fill the tank.

If you have Giant grocery stores where you are, it might be worth a look. With our small car, it only amounts to a savings of $3.50 or so a tank, but hey, free money.

[Nirvana]

I think the countries that have all the oil should just keep it and eat it and since we grow most of the food we will keep that and eat it. Who will be better off? The non driving food eaters or those that have oil?

[glatt]

Do we produce enough oil to grow the food and get it to market?