$7-a-gallon gas?

$7-a-gallon gas?

www.nypost.com

President Obama has a solution to the Gulf oil spill: $7-a-gallon gas.
That's a Harvard University study's estimate of the per-gallon price of the president's global-warming agenda. And Obama made clear this week that this agenda is a part of his plan for addressing the Gulf mess.
The answer can be found in Obama Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel's now-famous words, "You never want a serious crisis to go to waste -- and what I mean by that is it's an opportunity to do things that you think you could not do before."

(visit the link for the full news article)


Related News Links:
belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu

I know personally that the $4 a gallon gasoline from a couple of years ago was a killer. I often wonder if it's what started the current economic dip. Imagine what $7 a gallon gasoline would do. Everything from pickles to bubble gum would have to increase in price. The United States runs on oil. We use about 20 MBPD (Million Barrels Per Day) and choking the price before newer clean energy sources are available could be catastrophic.

Harder Than it Looks. Reducing oil consumption and carbon emissions from transportation is a much greater challenge than conventional wisdom assumes. It will require substantially higher fuel prices, ideally in combination with more stringent regulation.

Higher Gasoline Prices Essential. Reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the transportation sector 14% below 2005 levels by 2020 may require gas prices greater than $7/gallon by 2020.

belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu...

The catch-22 of course is that other energy sources might not be created if we keep the price as low as it is today. Still the sudden increase in prices can't be the answer.

www.nypost.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Well that's surely a good way to ignite spastic inflation. Just what America needs right now.

Btw, why do gas companies always have to make a profit? Doesn't a car maker take it on the nose when they screw up? Toyota comes to mind. But NOOOOO let the taxpayer pay for Big Oil's screw ups. :shk:

Hello America, welcome to the world of European gas prices!

Here the gasoline costs €1.45 per liter, roughly $6.5 per US gallon. And the prices sometimes go even higher, during Katrina it was well over €1.50 per liter here. Not exactly very cheap, but alternative fuels – like hydrogen – are banned with a very high penalty tax (€500 per day) if you get caught using them in traffic.

I am going to buy a golf cart.
It runs on batteries.
Then I'm gonna put a cardboard sign
on the rear bumper which reads:

[snip] OIL COMPANIES !!!

Who's with me ???






Mod Edit: Profanity/Circumvention Of Censors – Please Review This Link.

[edit on 18-6-2010 by 12m8keall2c]

reply to post by intrepid


Taxpayers pay for everything one way or another. If they fine the company it gets passed on to the pump. IF they tax the product it gets passed on. If they bailout the company it gets passed on. If they don't bail it out and it goes belly up, we get to pay all the unemployment benefits.

The end user is the only person that pays for anything! Which is exactly how we can influence the outcomes, but it takes concerted effort, and we just aren't that committed.

reply to post by Doc Lithium


It's a lot different over here. EVERYTHING revolves around petrol. For example, how many countries could you visit in Europe driving for 24 hours? Here in Ontario you wouldn't be out of the province yet.

Crude Oil prices and the price you pay at the gas station are not that related. And if the spill would matter in a substantial amount the crude prices would be near the previous all-time high by now.

In the big picture it may make sense, because the biofuels would be competitive at this price, which finally would give them a reason to create a real food shortage.

[edit on 18-6-2010 by kybertech]

reply to post by boondock-saint


The electricity probably still comes from the Petroleum product. Maybe Coal, but probably Natural Gas. If not, well then all the plastic in the Golf Cart and all the chemicals in the battery surely came from Petroleum.

How about we walk or bike instead? Or, we just don't work and drive so dam much. How about we all take a step back to simpler times! Use Glass instead of Plastic, Pay an extra buck or two for something that will last a few years instead of being thrown away every other day? Stop the two income overtime rat race and start sitting on the porch a little and enjoying the sound of frogs and jar flyes? Turn off the tube.

Originally posted by intrepid
Well that's surely a good way to ignite spastic inflation. Just what America needs right now.

Btw, why do gas companies always have to make a profit? Doesn't a car maker take it on the nose when they screw up? Toyota comes to mind. But NOOOOO let the taxpayer pay for Big Oil's screw ups. :shk:

Your post I would say represents the last bit of common sense that still lingers with a few of us, since TPTB obviously have none.


I agree completely, it seems that the government is out to protect all their big interest buddies and screw the public. That being said Obama might as well have been the one doing the apologizing to BP, even more so since they were a huge backer in his campaign.

It is sickening when you think about it all.

Raist

$7 a gallon gas will cripple the country. It would have a huge ripple effect around the world as well. No one could afford to go to work, all money would be spent on housing and food, no investing would happen, no buying of other goods. China and Mexico would see a huge decrease in their export sales. This would be the worst possible thing to happen, obviously the super rich could still afford things but would hold onto their money just in case. The lower and middle classes would be wiped out, it would create havoc that we wouldn't recover from in any of our lifetimes. Perhaps this is exactly what they want.

reply to post by dbates


Obama has proven himself to be unworthy of the Commander In Chief.

In fact doing something like this says nothing more than Obama is completely pathetic.

If he decides to run with this, Revolt would be a word rumbling among our people.

Sad that we have gone from one horrible president to another that is bent on destroying American completely.

I believe most Americans, myself included, think high gasoline prices were one of the main contributing factors of the recession. It was too coincidental that gas prices started to increase in 2007 then all of a sudden we were in a full blown recession. Government of course will never admit to this but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see how gas prices relate to the economy. In the most simple terms if people are spending all their money on gas there is nothing left over to go on vacation and buy goods such as LCD televisions and boats. And as much as I hate it, our economy is based on consumer spending for the most part.

I think the $4+ prices we experienced in the past pushed us to the limit here in America. $7 a gallon would absolutely destroy what is left of our economy. The American economy simply cannot handle gas prices that high. And as much as I despise the so called commander in chief, I think even he knows that. I do not think we will ever see gas that high, at least I pray we don't.

[edit on 18-6-2010 by utahjay]

reply to post by Doc Lithium


You do know that if our gas here in the states goes to $7 per gallon
that will mean that your rate will be somewhere around $10-$12
per gallon.

[edit on 18-6-2010 by manta78]

Outstanding!

Another recession-ending solution from Obama and his staff.

Oh, well, when it happens, and the US actually moves into a depression, I guess he can always blame Bush for the problem.

As someone who is broke as a joke at this juncture in time it would probably behoove me to be against any policy or policies that would make gasoline go up to $7 per gallon, but you know we--fellow Americans especially and the world in general--really need to reduce our reliance on crude and old habits die hard.

I remember when I was a kid, my mom would get into an uproar when gas hit 50 cents a litre...

Nowadays, everyone jumps for joy when it goes down to 94 cents.

We entered the stage of "between a rock and a hard place" many years ago. For a long time there was still time to back out. Then it was too late, but we were coasting along as usual anyway. Now that phase has come to an end. Since we didn't choose "rock" or "hard place," the choice is being made for us: now we get both.

It's an Op Ed...

Obama isn't raising gas to $7 a gallon. A Harvard study estimates that would happen with Obama's "global warming agenda". It's a guess.

Go ahead and freak out about it, but it's an opinion piece.

And if other countries are paying that much, why shouldn't we?

Originally posted by Benevolent Heretic
And if other countries are paying that much, why shouldn't we?

Because it would create unlimited inflation. That's something that the US doesn't need right now. It would hit EVERYBODY, the Amish excepted I would assume.