stinkindiesel

Yeah, that's what we need... more laws.

IMHO, these are some of the big contributors to our current high diesel prices:
1) more diesel cars and trucks on the road in the US than ever before;
2) Americans driving more "miles per person" than ever before;
3) "our" method of producing fuel results in a higher gas-to-diesel ratio than other countries' production method;
4) higher speed limits;
5) worse traffic in most areas as the recent housing boom (R.I.P.) allowed huge numbers of people to greatly expand the suburbs far beyond the cities (yo, drivers! Can I get a "speak it, preacher!" on that one?);
6) the few refineries we have in the US are dated and, in many cases, partially non-functional due to fire, explosion, Katrina, etc.

On the other side, I think that a $40 billion dollar profit is unconscionable. Someone needs to get mule-kicked in the stones until they decide to be a bit less mercenary.

HOHN

So let me guess.. in the 1980s you were in favor of legislation to take money from the trucking companies and give it to the ailing oil companies that were going under when crude was $10/bbl? If not, why are you willing to turn the tables? Is it purely a function of personal comfort over fairness?

Oh, and on the concept of "fairness" I must confess my incredible uneasiness with the idea of "that's not fair, there oughtta be a law..." Fair to whom? According to whom? Most "fairness" doctrines are just ways for a minority to tyrranize the majority.

There are no guarantees in this life. Cheap fuel is certainly not one of them.
Heck, a JOB isn't one of them either. We have to compete to keep one, don't we? Isn't it a dog eat dog world where we each have to find a way to make it?

What makes an oil company special in that it has to justify its pricing? People don't do the same things for other oligopolies like cell phone service, do they? What about your sewer and trash services? Electricity? You don't have a choice with that-- you pay for how much you use, and you have no control over the rates.

Trucks can certainly save fuel. I can't tell you how many thousands of deadhead miles Landstar had my stepdad pulling last year because of botched planning a poor communication. Deadhead miles are the epitome of waste.

Trucks can also slow down, though I've seen almost no evidence of that happening yet. Around here, they are driving just as fast as ever.


I'm honestly very scared by the current situation-- BUT NOT because of the problems we now have. NO-- I'm FAR MORE SCARED for the FUTURE problems we will have that are the direct result of the "fixes" being enacted right now.

The Fed as we speak is "fixing" us right into the "stagflation" (remember that?) of the late 1970s. Their actions could produce conditions far worse than now exist. Even now, they are taking steps towards converting the economy to one that is more centrally planned and regulated, and this Soviet style superbureacracy will cost us our ability to compete as well and our future economic growth that would result.


Let's keep in mind what's causing all this panic. We had greedy people buying more house than they could afford by getting loans from equally greedy lenders. Then, when they default we are supposed to feel sorry for the overspenders. Then we're supposed to use TAX DOLLARS to bail out the greedy lenders who are now in hock up to their eyeballs with bad debt!

This fear then caused the Fed to start cutting rates, which leads to inflation (which is WAY up as of last qtr 07). What happens to crude prices when the US dollar inflates? BINGO-- HIGHER CRUDE PRICES.

So next time you get sick of paying $4.25 a gallon, first blame the schlep that bought a McMansion he couldn't afford, then blame the bank that gave him the money, then blame the Fed that tried to bail out the bankers.

I sometimes wonder if we even have the stomach for a free society anymore. Exhibit a= airport security. Exhibit b= moaning about fuel prices.

If you can't see how those are related, then I guess ...

jh

Raspy

Spooler,

"Long story short. If the truck drivers do pull it off and get most of the trucks to park let's see how you feel when you can't get groceries, fuel, and bare essentials. Then you will see the light."



What light will I see and how will it change anything?

John

Haulin_in_Dixie

Hohn you got it all figure out, huh. Are you telling me that there are a lot of speeding trucks doing 70 or more in the Chicago area? Get real.

Haulin_in_Dixie

Oh yeah, you brought up the '80s and if you remember it had the "excess profits tax" which kept oil companies somewhat in line. Per barrel may have been only $10 but the inflation adjusted price was almost as high as now.

chipmonk

the 'windfall profits tax' of 1980 (under jimmy carter) has actually been blamed for furthering our dependence on foreign oil, as immediately after this legislation was enacted, the incentive for the oil companies to invest huge amounts of $$$ to explore and drill for less expensive domestic crude was removed, because if successful it would have resulted in higher profits, which would have gone straight to uncle jimmy in washington. today, it would likely lead to lower production, which would wreck havoc on supplies, and cause prices to skyrocket.

HOHN

Sorry to let facts get in the way, but the reality says otherwise. In constant 2006 Dollars, oil in the 80s dipped as low as about $30/bbl. (constant dollars means inflation adjusted to remove the effects of inflation, and all prices are quoted in the average value of a dollar for a given year)

HOHN

Yes, I am. It's even worse in Michigan. On my recent trip, I was getting passed left and right by Class 8s. Posted truck limit was 65mph, and I was going the posted car limit of 70.

Scotty

I drive through Chicago at least 3 times per month...both ways...in to get a trailer and out. I get passed by other RV haulers and big rigs even when I am doing 65-70 mph in the 55 zone just to keep with the flow! I have to say that I did notice on the past two trips...big rigs on average are not going nearly as fast now. Listening on the CB the big talk is about fuel costs and how the driver is not getting compensated as fast the the price is going up. If the driver loses money why do it? Because he/she is welded into a loan or lease on their equipment, because they have family to consider...they all need food etc too so the driver keeps going. All in all its not a good picture no matter how you look at it. Even if a driver or drivers [cars trucks buses whatever ] did slow down...its still not enough to curb the appetite that people in the USA and Canada have for consuming everything and anything they can. Borrow money, eat too much, spend too much, gripe too much etc etc. Is that what some of these folks say is their CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT?
Enjoy your rights but take a look around...we have [speaking generally since some folks will say they are doing what they can] bulldozed, plundered and polluted well beyond what we can fix in our lifetime and more.

I did what I could with my truck to improve my mpg. I netted a 38% improvement right across the board on my previous trip. This trip I stayed under 65 mph and I improved that to 44%. I cannot discuss part of what I did due to site rules. However, I am within what is legal where I am registered and that is what is required where I live. A savings like this still does not put me where I was when I started hauling but I sure am pleased with the fact that I am not burning as much fossil fuel.

The solution for me is to do something else as well as change my way of thinking about stuff and take action as opposed to belly aching and factualizing, rationalizing and intellectualizing what I see as a grim future for my daughter. Times a changing...and I will too.

Time to recycle my soap box I was standing on...hmmm should I burn it to heat the house? LOL

Scotty

Haulin_in_Dixie

Well anything said is twisted. Fuel is not too high, we deserve paying 90 cents more than gas, its all our fault. There are too many diesels even if they are 30% more efficient and most of the world uses diesel for the average vehicle. Trucks drive too fast, they drive too slow and block traffic. They deprive all those suv's from going on vacation. We are so bad, I feel so guilty.

America is on the way down folks, wake up. Let Castro drill off Florida, Russia off Alaska, cap out wells, close refineries, we don't need them. At least with gorbal warming we will be warm standing in the soup lines. Meanwhile just follow, bite the bullet, let our life deteriorate. But the environmentalists will be happy, hungary but happy.

Maybe I can get a job laying train tracks to the Walmart, another line, filled with illegal Mexicans, oh well. I deserve it. Meanwhile gentlemen, I am a survivor, always have been.

chipmonk

you need to go back and re-read the posts in this thread. no one is saying we deserve to be paying 90 cents more than gas, but you're saying the government needs to step in to adjust the pricing, which would likely result in the oil companies slowing down production, which would probably cause the price to rise even more. you said that the windfall profits tax 'kept the oil companies in line', which it didn't- it actually caused us to import more foreign oil, and in the end, caused even higher prices. i personally don't buy the 'there are more vehicles running on diesel in the U.S. now, then in years past' argument that some have put forth. i don't believe that the small increase in U.S. drivers owning diesel cars/trucks has had any bearing on the rediculous rise in the price of diesel fuel, but it's just another reason that's been thrown out there, to keep the sheep (us, the consumers) in line.

HOHN

And you, Sir, are the reason there will always be hope for this country. As long as it is populated by people who are committed like you are, then nothing is going to take us out.

Colo_River_Ram

If it's Haulin In Dixies fault that trucking prices are so hi then it must be my fault natural gas is so hi as I work (Independent Gas Co) in the Gas Patch....

I grew up in the oil and gas fields and I saw this coming a longtime ago, as we over regulated and over taxed the Oil Companies to the point that they had to go offshore for so called cheap oil----(boy that one backfired on us!!!) now we're doing it with everything else.....

LIKE DAH!!!! -- HELLO ANY INTELLIGENT LIFE FORMS LEFT OUT THERE --

---- Everybody wants the latest and greatest toys in the front yard but not the factory that builds them in the back yard -----

Most people don't have a clue whats it takes to put food on the table and fuel in the tanks...heck there are actually some people who think chocolate milk comes from brown cows... It's just sad how dependent on foreign factories we have become and by doing so we can no longer control our future...

Just my (not-so-humble) opinions from the Gas Patch

austin1972

Hohn,
I'll just bring up one question since you used examples in one of your posts. That is, should fuel be considered a utility? You mentioned electricity and phone service, which are both considered utilities and are regulated to some degree. Now, fuel is not a utility but when the general poplulation is dependent on a commodity controlled by oligopolies or a monopoly, sometimes govt. oversight has made sense.
And there has been some evidence of collusion in the oil industry. Hell, OPEC is the epitome of collusion/price fixing. But the gas companies have also got some dirty hands wrt potential collusion.

chipmonk

great post- natural gas is already regulated as a heating fuel, so the regulation of pump gas would not be that great a leap.