Hummers, wow!!!

[isaiahbrink]

Well, a bit of a vent here. I just read on another photo fourm about how a guy had bought a Hummer and is now complaining about gas prices!!! I mean, come on now, if you buy a vehicle that guzzles gas like you have a gas station in the back seat, and actually think that gas prices will come down back to under $1 a gallon, then you shouldn't be allowed to drive, becasue you lack the common sense to operate any sort of machinery. Ok, time for all of you Hummer drivers to try to rip me a new one here!

Isaiah

[volney68]

I feel the same way about people who buy homes 1+ hours drive away from where they work for the soul purpose of being able to afford a larger home. Its been going on for years and I have always thought that it was a sure sign that gas prices were way too low and due for a correction.

Well the correction is here. Gas prices are finally catching up with inflation and these people are feeling the pinch. But instead of recognizing their mistakes and learning from them, they look for someone else to blame (namely the current administration). Its hilarious!

[Photomart]

A photographer friend of mine bought a sweet 27 foot power boat so he/we could shoot models and party on the nearby lake. At the beginning of the season he filled the two 100 gallon tanks at $5.25/gal (on the lake) ... and now the boat mostly sits in the slip because it costs too much to drive it. Guess that's why he named the boat -- "All Tied Up."

[isaiahbrink]

Yeah, just over a week ago, when the gas was just hitting $4.00 a gallon at the corner station (here in Fresno, CA) and milk was 4.69 a gallon. Come on, milk is local, as in same county, refined less, and less shipping costs. What we forget is that the city of Oakland refused to allow BP to build another refinery, would have been the first in 30 years. Oil has to be brought in from the middle east, refined, and then shipped again to your local gas station, that's a lot of shipping costs and refining costs, especially compared to milk, and to think about it, bottled water. Interesting note about bottled water, did you know that the EPA requires your city to make sure that the water that comes out of your tap to be safe for human consumption, containing less than a certin amout of harmful materials, but bottled water has no restrictions.

[BenE]

Originally Posted by volney68

I feel the same way about people who buy homes 1+ hours drive away from where they work for the soul purpose of being able to afford a larger home. Its hilarious!

Yep.. and why do I not feel sorry for a well known TV personality who has a $6 million + home that might be foreclosed on? I just can't feel that sorry for a person who has probably made, in the past, more money in one year than most people make in a lifetime. Of course he had a certain lifestyle to maintain... poor guy.

[brew]

Well how much do they need ???

from NY times "Exxon Mobil earned more than $1,287 of profit for every second of 2007."

Entire article: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/01/bu...-exxon.html?hp

In my opinion... the current administration is all about OIL.. big oil and why not help out your friends,family and associates by allowing oil prices to go through the roof before your last day on the job... lets get everyone all monied up !!

volney68... "Well the correction is here. Gas prices are finally catching up with inflation and these people are feeling the pinch. But instead of recognizing their mistakes and learning from them, they look for someone else to blame (namely the current administration). Its hilarious!"

WOW... read the article get your head out of the sand and look around once in a while.

now everyone may be saying im bitching.. nope just pointing out some things.
I do have a Hummer... and i LIKE it !!
I do have a fairly large home... and I like it !!
Photography is a hobby for me I make zero $$ from it in fact it costs me alot.. but I like it !!
I am considering buying a summer home on a lake.. WHERE I WOULD HAVE A BOAT .. if that happens im sure I will like that too.

There are things called luxurys and things called necessities the real problem comes in when people cannot distinguish between the two as well as having no understanding or regard for their financial situation.

[volney68]

"I do have a Hummer... and i LIKE it !! "

I have no problem with Hummers as long as I don't have to listen to any Hummer owners bitching about how much it costs to keep it fueled.

"I do have a fairly large home... and I like it !!"

I have no problem with large homes as long as I don't have to listen to people whining about how they can no longer afford thier mortgage because its costing them so much just getting to and from work every day.

"Photography is a hobby for me I make zero $$ from it in fact it costs me alot.. but I like it !!
I am considering buying a summer home on a lake.. WHERE I WOULD HAVE A BOAT .. if that happens im sure I will like that too."

Good for you man! I'm sure you know what your doing.

"In my opinion... the current administration is all about OIL.. big oil and why not help out your friends,family and associates by allowing oil prices to go through the roof before your last day on the job... lets get everyone all monied up !!"

I think you are hugely overestimating the influence that any administration can have on the price of oil. Explain to me how an administration goes about telling newly industrialized countries like China and India to stop competing with us for the world's oil supply?

I have a suggestion. Lets open up the United States to oil exploration. Drill in ANWAR, off the coast of California, off the coast of Florida, where ever. But do it with the stipulation that the oil recovered can only be sold domestically.

But then that brings us to refining capacity. Lots of luck getting any new refinerys built in this day and age. Not with such a large percentage of our population being duped by that whole global warming farce.

[johnw]

Gross Oil profits are up to but the actual profit margins are down slightly. Profit Margin on gallon of gas at $0.04, yet the federal government taxes a gallon @ $0.15. Whose gouging whom?

Speculators and the increase demand in India and China as well as other countries is what driving the price.

If it was announced that we would begin immediately exploration in Anwar, off Florida and California as well as going after the Oil shale in Colorado and Montana. The price would drop and the speculators whould end up taking a financial bath.

I don't believe a new refinery has been built in the US for at least 15 years. We can't drill of florida yet China through Cuba will be drilling 60 miles off the coast of Florida. Makes sense to me.

[Al_Nowak]

Lessee...

Bush = Texas oil man

Exxon = oil company

Bush + Exxon = $40 BILLION INCOME + $17 BILLION GOVERNMENT SUBSIDY

A non-political statement brought to you by an American consumer...

[BenE]

I have lived in the Permian Basin since 1955. This area is know as "Oil Country", and of course the Bush family is from Midland (among other places), but they lived in Odessa back in the early '50s.

This is not a political statement, either, but a statement of fact.

The oil crisis is not new. Remember the oil shortage back in the mid 70.. the Carter administration. Remember long gas lines?

Now then, since I have lived in the middle of oil country, and used to work in the oilfield, and have many friends and customers who still work in that business, I can speak with some knowledge.

For many years.. not the last 8.. the thousands of pump jacks.. the pumping units that pump oil out of the ground have been highly regulated as to how much oil can be taken out of the ground. The regulation transcends any political party, because it has been that way for years.

Do oil men make money.. sure do.. so does Bill Gates, and Steve Jobs, and in fact Gates is the richest man in America.. hi tech money, right?

There are building contractors in our area that are millionaires, and a home costs a small fortune anymore. An auto can cost some people $50 thousand, and auto manufacturers are making millions.

The medical profession is the hottest market around here, and the starting salary for a nurse is more than what an oilfield worker makes.

But back t0 the non-political facts.. Drilling for oil has also been highly regulated for many years.. not the past 8 years. In order for a well to be drilled there is a lot of red tape, and it takes an "act of congress". figuratively and literally to open new exploration areas.

For many years.. not the past 8.. I would drive through my part of the country and see pump jacks sitting idle and wonder what was going on. We have zillions of barrels of oil yet to be touched in many areas of the country, and it has been that way for many years. ,,,, not the past 8 only.

This oil speculation we are hearing about is not new, but has gotten worse, because the oil comes from thousands of miles away, and as in many areas of commerce, they can control prices, just like some hi tech companies can control prices. Just as some in the medical profession can control prices.

One reason this situation has gotten so bad is because some other countries, mainly China and India have increased their demand for oil products in the past few years. That is something America cannot control.. the oil consumption of other countries.

Now for a brief comparison of gas prices

Amsterdam, $6.48
Milan, $5.96
London, $5.79
Dublin, $4.78
Madrid, $4.55
Tokyo, $4.25

Moscow, $2.10
Saudi Arabia... 91 cents
Kwait city... 78 cents
Cairo... 65 cents
Caracas Venezuela.... 12 cents

It is easy to see how cheap fuel CAN be when it is not from thousands of miles away. America has oil, but legislation makes it illegal to drill for it. AND.. that is not new legislation.. it has been around for a long time.

In 1995 Clinton vetoed a bill that would allow drilling in ANWR.

In December 2000, a Coast Guard report charged Aleska with repeated safety violations at a Valdez terminal, causing prices to jump again. The Bush administration pushed to perform exploratory drilling for oil and gas in and around the refuge, anyway, and The House of Representatives. voted in mid-2000 to allow drilling. In April 2002, the Senate rejected it.

During the Carter term. his Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act created 103 million acres (417,000 km2) of national park land in Alaska, where no drilling is allowed. Alaska has (1,717,855 km2) total area.

On April 29, 2008, Bush had a news conference where he emphatically stated we should have more exploration in the USA, especially Anwr. In case you missed the news conference, you can find it on Utube.. just search for (keywords), Anwr. Bush. news conference. It is not hearsay that Bush wants more drilling.. he says it himself.

Just stating facts, and am in no way trying to make a political statement, but facts are easily found if a person takes time to look for them.