Well Thank GOD it finally happened..
I was listening to the 6:00 o-clock news tonight here in California and there was a story that there is a trucking company here not far away in Long Beach that finally said enough and went on strike and said that they cannot afford to pay the price for diesel to run their trucks and they claim they won't run them untill somethings happens. ( I don't know what they mean by something but at least it is a start.) The trucks haul containers from I belive the port to whatever destination and the guy interviewed said it cost around $85.00 for fuel for 1 trip and they cannot afford it anymore. I guess you can only pass off only so much to the end user untill you say WHAT FOR...
Now I just heard this on 2 stations tonight and so don't hold me word for word but I think this is what needs to happen to stop this insane price gouging.
You know if I invented a pill that you could put in your fuel tank and then fill it with water, the government will raise the price of water to over $3.00 a gallon. ( although yuppie designer water already is, but that is a diffrent story.) I drink 2 kinds of water, from the faucet and from the hose.
I have been into solar energy and RE homes almost since the begining and I remember reading an article where a man had a totaly self sufficent home with his roof full of solar PV panels and he comsumed NO power from the grid. The local POCO came out and set up a photometer to try and figure how much solar energy he consumed so he could be taxed for it.
They never got away with it but it goes to show you what they will try and get away with.
Man I hope more follow them now and maybe something will happen.

Jim.

 

Jim,
I know we can all rant on the government and blame them for everything that we think is wrong, but let's find out REALLY who is to blame. Our fuel is taxed so much per gallon - - that supposedly (probably most of it does) pays for our roads we love to travel - - I don't mind that tax as long as it pays for roads. That tax has not changed. There is more to this increase than blaming government. How many of us drive our pickemup trucks just because we love a truck, but really don't need a truck? How many drive huge SUVs that don't need an SUV? We are in love with gas guzzlers. This places us in the position of requiring huge amounts of crude oil. Which then places us at the mercy of our "friends" (you know, the ones that blow up our buildings) who have all the oil.

Let's add to this mess the greenies who oppose every nuclear power plant that is running or tries to get off the ground.

Add to that mess the oil companies who see this confusion as an opportunity to make more money - - their profits have never been higher.

Who pays? We do. Is it the government? Partially, but not entirely. When we start voting with our pocketbooks on what type of vehicle we will buy, someone will listen. When we vote in someone other than died in the wool "politicians" and put into Congress some "Americans" (what party? Who cares!!!) who have the guts to demand the best for America, things will change. Why not insist the auto industry produce vehicles that must pass the test for fuel economy - - we started down that path years ago, then abondoned it. Why not put the money for research into the alternative fuel system that will get us off dino fuel instead of supporting some artist (??DUH) who puts a cross in a bottle of urine and calls it art? We, as citizens, have the right and responsibility to make changes - - will we do it or maintain our status quo and just complain?

Oh boy, I am wound up this morning - - excuse me - - I get disgusted real easy on this subject.



SettlingBackDownBob

 

I really do need my truck because of the kind of work I do and it I guess is just a by-product that I have one that I love and also gets GOOD mileage. I do understand that most of the tax goes to repair the roads and most of the roads I travel are so bad they literaly shake my truck to death. I don't know who they get to work on them besides Cal Trans but they really do a sloppy job on the repairs. There is a stretch of highway where I live and it is always under repair. They start at one end and they will work north and tear it up for whatever reason and move on, it takes about 6-9 months and then when they are done they start back where they started with a diffrent company and dig it up for something else. In the last few years they have installed new sewers, gas lines, water lines, sections of telco and fiber. I am sure if you ask some of the people who live here they will agree about the freeways, most are washboard and will shake you to death. I-10, I-605, I-710, I-57, I-405, I am totaly for alternate power as long as it is safe and not covered up for some reason like a payoff to the inspectors who inspected the cracks in the welds or something. I used to love to go the the beach and look at the oil towers all lit up at night. About a year ago there was some wacko here that went and torched a bunch of SUV's and Hummers in the area because he was" trying to make a statement". I am not blaming the government but they sure jump right in and squeeze you whenever they get the opportunity.

 

Thats pretty bad, especially when those guys only get paid $150-200 a container, (depending on where there going). Container haulers get paid minimum.

 

The oil companies are basically an oligopoly. Meaning that the market is dominated by a small number of sellers. This basically has the same effect as a monopoly would. It drives prices upward.

The sad part is that oligopolies are LEGAL. The government CAN regulate them if it so desires, but why would it do that when oil compnaies pay the bills for the congressmen?

 

Oil prices are set by commodity brokers just like sugar, gold, and pork bellies.

 

Commodity brokers are only part of the equation. Admittedly a big part, but only part nonetheless.

The brokers are the demand side of things. You also need supply to create a price point. And everything I read says that we have not increased our refining capacity in YEARS.

 

Ah yes road tax. Well with the money they have made in the past year, I should never see a pothole.

 

What the guys that fly the desk do not relize and probly dont care is that it is only $$ and they have plenty at govt level.....its not on thir radar screen. they cant even concive the notion budget!
The next thing they do not relize is when diesel gose up it starts a domino effect way back when the first buket of what ever is pulled out of the ground (say iron ore) from there on it coast evry time it is moved till it lands as a done pruduct somewhere.......its not just the transport on the last run......it coast much more to manufacture everthing.

 

I live 37 miles from my MAIN job. I work for the fed govt. They have an agreement with the county bus company. The Bus company provides the buses and pays the employees, the fed allows their employees to be drivers for the county. The drivers then use the county buses to pick up other fed employees on a specified route and bring them to and from work for free. I am one of those drivers, I get paid from the fed for 8 hours, then the county for 3.5 hours each day. I have 47 riders each day. There are 25 other buses doing the same thing as me. In the past 3 months ALL of the buses have gotten full. Folks here are fed up with fuel prices. I even ride my bicycle to the bus(4.5 miles from home). My CTD only gets used when hauling the trailer or moving heavy stuff. I hate paying $500/month on the truck and $100 for fuel. What can I do? I am already doing all that I can to ease my dependency on oil.

 

And the commodity brokers make their decisions off what the OPEC..ers do. They can increase or decrease production at will. They don't increase to keep the price high. Life is good for them right now. Not to mention the fact that China is trying to buy it all up right now.

 

Just wait till that $100 for fuel turns into $125 to pay for the Alaskan Way Viaduct in Seattle while the rest of the roads in the state fall apart.

 

If a Sheik sneezes, the brokers change the price of oil.
If the brokers "Think" there will be a shortage 6 months from now, the brokers change the price of oil.

Not all OPEC's doings.

I'm NOT an OPEC fan by any means.