So "we're getting used to" higher gas prices? Is that the plan?

[theHandpuppet]

So the oil companies figure we'll pay whatever it takes because "we're getting used to" higher prices? And if we complain it's "griping"? I don't know where the Energy Dept got its numbers, but here it's already past the $2.50 summer forecast!

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060401/BIZ01/604010351

Gasoline creeping higher
Crude nears price at time of Katrina
BY ALEXANDER COOLIDGE | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

Oil prices are rising and appear headed back toward $70 a barrel - a level not seen since Hurricane Katrina battered the Gulf Coast and sporadic shortages sent gasoline at the pump above $3 a gallon nationwide in September.

Although $3 gas can't be ruled out this summer, the Energy Department is forecasting an average summer price of $2.50.

Economists and oil-market experts say that, for all the griping, consumers are adapting to higher prices - in large part because energy is a tiny piece of overall spending.

Sherry Cooper, chief economist at BMO Nesbitt Burns, said the sting from $70 oil and $3-a-gallon gasoline would be "more mild" the second time around "because we're getting kind of used to it..."

MORE...

[chelsea0011]

1. I was thinking the same as I paid $2.49 yesterday. It's not that I

think gas prices shouldn't be high as long as the money goes to staes in form of taxes. But oil companies are cleaning up with profits. It's a disgrace.

[ixion]

2. getting tired of it, is more like it

:grr:

[Trevelyan]

3. Rep. Conyers initiated an anti-gas gouging bill just after Katrina,

don't know what happened to it but price gouging should be our meme.

[meegbear]

4. Energy is a tiny piece of overall spending?

Maybe if you don't have to worry about heat in the winter and can afford $3 a gallon.

[cornermouse]

5. Think hybrid.

:) You'll feel better if you do.

[theHandpuppet]

11. I sympathize with the sentiment, but...

The problem is, of course, that those who can least afford higher fuel prices are also those who cannot afford to go out and buy a hybrid vehicle. Most of my neighbors drive a collection of older cars because it's all they can afford.

The same problem applies to home heating/cooling costs as well. Poor and blue collar folks can't afford to go "off the grid" or even a switch to partial solar; neither can they afford newer, more energy efficient homes making use of passive solar. The older neighborhoods here (and in many parts of the country, I'm sure) have the old radiator heat generated from gas-fired furnaces. All these folks can do is put on more layers of clothing, turn the thermostat down, or freeze.

So those in a position to make the switch are fortunate. For those who can't afford it the future is mighty bleak indeed.

[cornermouse]

13. True. Fair enough.

The only other immediate solution that I can think of is to nationalize the oil companies, but the fact is that the country is being run by a group of people who have no morals, no ethics, no compassion, no sense of mercy, and extremely close ties to the oil companies who are clearly goudging us for everything they can get. And when they get through with us, they're going to turn on each other.

[darkmaestro019]

19. heh. teach me to read all replies and not skim. eom

[darkmaestro019]

18. Can't afford so much as a slightly newer clonker. Let alone a hybrid.

And I suspect most of the people hurting bad over the gas prices are in the same boat.

[devinsgram]

6. Over the last couple of years I have seen how they

do this. They raise the price, let's say, about .50 or .60, people are outraged so then they it goes back down about .40 and stays there for awhile. Voila, the outrage goes away. They let the price stay lower for awhile till everyone does get used to it they start the process all over again. HOw stupid do they think we are?

[HockeyMom]

7. $4+ by Summer

It already ranges from $2.79 to $2.89 and going up by the day. At this rate it will be $3+ by NEXT WEEK.

I cannot afford the gas to drive 150 miles a week to work. I also cannot afford $600 a month in utility costs. My electric bill includes a fuel surcharge that is almost $100 a month. This is if I sit in the DARK and turn NOTHING on.

I going to look at an apartment today that includes ALL the utilities and is 2 and a half miles from work.

No, I WILL NOT get used to this. I will FIGHT it anyway I can.

Wish me luck.

[LynzM]

21. Good luck with the apartment, Hockey mom

I have a 66 mile/day commute. I hear ya on how much that hurts. :hug:

[Missy M]

8. Yes, I believe it is the plan and they started after......

Katrina. The prices went up and everyone complained so they brought the prices down and slowly started raising them again. When they started to rise again we accepted them because they had already been higher. Yesterday I saw a price of $2.77 in our area. The average around here right now is $2.65. I'm sure we will see $3.00 and over fairly soon.

[Minnesota Libra]

9. That's the plan, notice that when gas prices go up they also........

.....drop back eventually. Then later, the gas prices go back up again and stay there. Oil companies are then free to start working on the next price hike. We will hit $5 a gallon for gas by 2010 at the latest.

[Cobalt Violet]

10. This is going to further turn the people on the GOP.

[we can do it]

12. I'm Getting Used To Walking As Much As Possible

[shenmue]

14. I'm not used to it

I still hate it.

:grr:

:puke:

[Hubert Flottz]

15. The price of a gallon of Morality Supreme(ethyl)is rising in direct...

proportion, to the falling approval numbers of our Morality Maker In Chief!

NEVER FORGET,...that when you are somewhere pumping Ethyl, that a GOP corporate Welfare King, somewhere, is pumping(hosing)YOU!

[darkmaestro019]

16. I'm telling you

Suddenly, magically, they need more ethanol? Or it's more expensive? The ethanol fairies are demanding higher wages?

They're gonna jack it up to three bucks. Then * will ramble and jawgrind and smirk and squint and ramble a little more and his cronies will generously drop it to 2.80 for the cheap shite and everyone will applaud how very helpful * is in this CRISIS and how clever he was to LOWER gas prices.

[darkmaestro019]

17. oh yeah, and "pay whatever it takes"

Yeah. Most people have to. We're making dirt working for ourselves and I have fuck-all idea what to do about taxes when the time comes, heh, but we're STILL less BROKE than we were when we had to drive to work. Lots of people can't do this, so they HAVE to pay whatever the bastards demand because they have to get to work to put food on their families!

[AndyA]

20. The oil companies need to answer some serious questions

Under oath, they need to explain how they can all make billions of dollars of profit per quarter without overcharging. It's not what the market will bear, it's what they can shove down our throats. Gasoline for our vehicles is a necessity. Just like water, it is a requirement for most of us to survive.

It needs to be regulated. A company cannot make almost $10 billion in profit in 3 months without overcharging. And with Bush in office, he's allowing them to get away with it.

They need to be investigated, prosecuted, FINED, and the American people should get REFUNDS!