[terry_n_85318]

Last time I checked, this is a free country and a person is allowed to spend his/her money as they like. If he/she wants to buy a SUV or a pickup truck, it is his/her right to do so. If you want to buy one of those little cars, go for it. Don't tell me that I have to buy one of them.

We have plenty of oil, coal, and natural gas to use -- but the environmental extremists block us from getting at it. 85% of off shore oil is off limits!!!

Terry

 

[terry_n_85318]

One thing to consider -- In the 70's the cost of gas was 0.50 / gal and the hourly wage was $5 and hour. Wages have gone up faster than the cost of gas and the ratio is lower now.

The government makes a very large profit on a gallon of gas -- much more than the oil companies.

Terry

 

[terry_n_85318]

Mik,

Depends on your occupation and location. If you choose to work and live where the wages are lower, don't complain. If you want to make more money, then you will have to move to where the good paying jobs are. The choice is yours.

Terry

 

[terry_n_85318]

Life is about choices -- Where you live, what tye of work you do, and your education to list a few. If you set your mind to do something, you can do it.

Sure, moving is tough, but if you want to improve your quality of life for your family you need to do what needs to be done. If that means going to night school or whatever, you do it If you are happy with your present situation, then you stay where you are.

Don't complain about your status if you aren't willing to make the required changes, whatever they may be.

Terry

 

[terry_n_85318]

Uncalled for personal attack. Define "rich". If I make fifty cents more an hour than you, is that rich?

It still comes down to choice whether you like it or not.

Terry

 

[terry_n_85318]

V
If you work out the numbers, it takes a long time to break even on the cost of trading in your vehicle and buying one of the more fuel effcient vehicles. If you take the cost of a gallon of gas divide it by the difference in gas milage you get Dollars per mile. Take the cost of the new car - trade in and divide by the dollars per mile. You will get the number of miles you need to drive to break even at the current cost of gas.
I have a full size pickup, I only put ~ 8000 miles a year on the pickup. I live two miles from work and I use less than a gallon of gas a day to go to and from work. I know the cost of the driving a vehicle that only gets 18 mpg, but I can live with that.
I don't expect to get gas at 30 cents a gallon. With India and China in the equation now, the free market determines the cost of the fuel. Until the US can use the resources it has, the price will be going up to a point where the market will stabilize between supply and demand.
The only one entity that is making an obscene profit is the Government -- they do no work but get 20% or so of the cost of a gallon of gas.

On a previous post I referred to $5 hour wage. At that time the minimum wage was $1.70 an hour and the cost of gas was $0.50 / gal. Today the cost of gas is ~ $3.50 and the minimum wage is between $7 and $8 an hour. The ratio moved up a bit, but not that much.

Terry

 

[terry_n_85318]

Americans would like to produce our own energy, but a very small special interest group(s) is/are blocking most of the projects that would lead to a reduction of reliance on imported oil. (Refineries, nuclear, more coal fired plants, gasification, etc.)

Terry

 

[terry_n_85318]

Mark,

Most wages went up (execpt for the minimum wage jobs).

Terry

 

[terry_n_85318]

Mark,

I don't know what kind of work you do, but my wages have gone up from when I was working for $1.69 hour in 1969. I had an additional post relating the fifty cent gas to the minimum wage of the time and todays minimum wage. The ratio has gone up, but not much more than anything else has gone up (food, housing, etc.).

Terry