Topic: Anyone worried about the price of gas?

[vdk]

What would life be like without an index for everything..

http://www.economist.com/blogs/multimedia/2011/02/unrest_arab_world

[johngenx]

Property taxes!!  My taxes have gone from ~$160/month to nearly $500/month.  It's forcing the seniors out of my neighbourhood.  This is mostly thanks to the provincial government downloading expenditures onto the municipal government, creating an increasing regressive tax.

Gasoline is the second highest operating cost of an automobile, so choosing a fuel efficient vehicle is one of the best ways to reduce long term costs.  Even though we lack the wonderful choices available to many other consumers around the globe, we do have a great selection of cars that achieve startling good fuel economy.  It's even becoming possible to buy some pretty luxurious or sporting models with either hybrid or smaller four cylinder drivelines.

[Erik]

I have never bought a car because of fuel economy as the primary motivator and I doubt I ever will. I drive something like 45-50,000 km per year, so paying for gas is just part of the deal.

[tpl]

Property taxes!!  My taxes have gone from ~$160/month to nearly $500/month.  It's forcing the seniors out of my neighbourhood.  This is mostly thanks to the provincial government downloading expenditures onto the municipal government, creating an increasing regressive tax.
...

As a newly minted senior citizen I'd rather pay property taxes than Federal taxes. Unlike many of my co-citizens of Guelph I think I get good value from property taxes RELATIVE to Federal taxes.    Guelph doesn't run foreign wars. Doesn't spend on equalization payments to name but two boondoggles.    I admit I get CPP and OAS from the Feds and they, I suppose, would rescue me if I got stuck in some foreign place but that's about it.
FWIW I am neutral on provincial taxes as they do pay for health and education.

I don't really have a problem with the price of gasoline. Mainly I suppose 'cos I don't have to commute and can manage my use of it.

[rrocket]

I have never bought a car because of fuel economy as the primary motivator and I doubt I ever will. I drive something like 45-50,000 km per year, so paying for gas is just part of the deal.

But since you use your car for work, you get to write those expenses off....

[rrocket]

Property taxes!!  My taxes have gone from ~$160/month to nearly $500/month.  It's forcing the seniors out of my neighbourhood.  This is mostly thanks to the provincial government downloading expenditures onto the municipal government, creating an increasing regressive tax.

Well, exclusive gated communities are expensive...

[mmret]

A few comments

1. This price spike was inevitable. Just part of a long upward secular trend for oil prices.

2. I'm loaded for bear (no pun intended) on oil and other commodities.

3. Here in North America, we have it easy. WTI is about $15/bbl under Brent in the first few contracts.

4. The stuff is still dirt cheap. $1.20 CAD pays for someone to find it, someone to drill a hole, bribes to be paid, wars to be fought, a rig to be set, safety equipment to be bought and implemented, workers to be hired and trained and employed, just to get it out of the ground. And then you have to put it on a huge boat and ship it half way across the world, where its refined, QC'd, then transported to tens of thousands of conveniently located filling stations, where its stored again in huge underground vats and pumped into your car at your leisure. All the while you pay huge taxes on the gasoline directly along with all the indirect taxes / royalties all the way up the stream. And the gas station operator still needs to pay to keep his lights on. The stuff is cheaper than Coca Cola and a million times more useful.

[ArticSteve]

As a newly minted senior citizen I'd rather pay property taxes than Federal taxes.

x1000


When the FEDS profit from every increase in the price of gas, ya know we is facked.  The only silver lining in all of this is that if oil goes to $150. a barrel fast, along with the subsequent increase in gas prices, together with the inevitable economic meltdown, the same morons that voted Harper in over the 2% GST cut will be the ones that kick him out.

[No H2O]

I've already paid $2.35 per liter years ago...long before any "crisis", so whats a $1.20?

What us sheep ought to do is ask government how exactly "we" benefit from all our oil sales in the tar sands.

[Triple Bob]

I agree, I used to spend over £600 a month on fuel in the UK, it's cheap here!

In my future there will be a very cheap to run daily driver, and a very expensive to run weekend car. That's the way forward for me.

[vdk]

That's the way I see it too. A hybrid for around town and A-B, an older M5 for fun and a bike for sunny days.

[Triple Bob]

That's the way I see it too. A hybrid for around town and A-B, an older M5 for fun and a bike for sunny days.

I was gonna go to extremes. Nissan Leaf and Dodge Viper!

But I think I'll end up more, Ford Focus and Ferrari 348.

[rrocket]

That's the way I see it too. A hybrid for around town and A-B, an older M5 for fun and a bike for sunny days.

I was gonna go to extremes. Nissan Leaf and Dodge Viper!

But I think I'll end up more, Ford Focus and Ferrari 348.

348, eh?  I'd opt for the 355.....or if I wanted to bring the kiddies, a 456 GT.   

[Triple Bob]

That's the way I see it too. A hybrid for around town and A-B, an older M5 for fun and a bike for sunny days.

I was gonna go to extremes. Nissan Leaf and Dodge Viper!

But I think I'll end up more, Ford Focus and Ferrari 348.

348, eh?  I'd opt for the 355.....or if I wanted to bring the kiddies, a 456 GT.   

I have to start somewhere.

[rrocket]

That's the way I see it too. A hybrid for around town and A-B, an older M5 for fun and a bike for sunny days.

I was gonna go to extremes. Nissan Leaf and Dodge Viper!

But I think I'll end up more, Ford Focus and Ferrari 348.

348, eh?  I'd opt for the 355.....or if I wanted to bring the kiddies, a 456 GT.   

I have to start somewhere.

I'm just saying a 355 is only slightly more used than a 348.....So the premium may be worth it for sanity and future bank account health. 

[Schmengie]

Let me ask another more hypothetical question. Let's say that one day the oil companies are forced to tell us where the oil used to make our gasoline actually comes from - you know, like manufacturers have to tell us where our food is grown and where all of our consumer goods are made. You're driving down the road and notice you're running out of gas. There are two gas stations ahead, one selling gas from some repressive, dictatorial middle eastern regime like Libya at $1 a liter. The other one sells gas from right here at home, but it costs $1.50. What would you do?

[rrocket]

Let me ask another more hypothetical question. Let's say that one day the oil companies are forced to tell us where the oil used to make our gasoline actually comes from - you know, like manufacturers have to tell us where our food is grown and where all of our consumer goods are made. You're driving down the road and notice you're running out of gas. There are two gas stations ahead, one selling gas from some repressive, dictatorial middle eastern regime like Libya at $1 a liter. The other one sells gas from right here at home, but it costs $1.50. What would you do?

How about we just save our oil for ourselves so WE can have cheap gas? 

[Ice]

The price is going to spike for a bit and then likely to settle down but it will always be inching upward. The supply is pretty much tapped out at the current maximum level according to what I've read. So combine that with increasing demand means the price will go up and we know that were either near or slightly past the peak in terms of oil production so it will be getting more expensive in the future. Slowly, with spikes, but slowly going up.

[rrocket]

The price is going to spike for a bit and then likely to settle down but it will always be inching upward. The supply is pretty much tapped out at the current maximum level according to what I've read. So combine that with increasing demand means the price will go up and we know that were either near or slightly past the peak in terms of oil production so it will be getting more expensive in the future. Slowly, with spikes, but slowly going up.

But Canada is a "net export" oil country.  95%+ of our export go to the USA.  If we didn't send out oil there when things flare up in the world, we could have plenty for us to continue having dirt cheap gasoline. (at least that's what we'd hope)

[vdk]

The stuff is still dirt cheap. $1.20 CAD pays for someone to find it, someone to drill a hole, bribes to be paid, wars to be fought, a rig to be set, safety equipment to be bought and implemented, workers to be hired and trained and employed, just to get it out of the ground. And then you have to put it on a huge boat and ship it half way across the world, where its refined, QC'd, then transported to tens of thousands of conveniently located filling stations, where its stored again in huge underground vats and pumped into your car at your leisure. All the while you pay huge taxes on the gasoline directly along with all the indirect taxes / royalties all the way up the stream. And the gas station operator still needs to pay to keep his lights on. The stuff is cheaper than Coca Cola and a million times more useful.

And still bring massive profits in for all companies involved. So is it really cheap? What's the mark-up I'm curious...