Will You Pay $7.00 per Gallon for Gas???

Maybe it is time we started developing really good public transportation in this country. If I lived in Europe I would rent a car on occasion, but very rarely. I have been able to go anywhere I wanted in Europe, every tiny villages, on cheap and reliable public transportation. It was not until I lived there for a number of months that I realized how far we are behind in this area.

 

What's half of zero?

 

(Warning: Fainting alert)

I tend to agree.

However, there are several ways to ensure that this will never work. The main one would be allowing a unionization of drivers and others in public transportation.

I will speak firsthand for the complaints in my area regarding public transportation:

1. It must be safe. In Montgomery, there have been numerous assaults, etc. on buses. Handle the crime early, before it becomes an issue, and inexorably linkeed w/ public transportation.
2. It must be efficient. Too many buses are not on schedule. If Switzerland can do it, so can we. Run 'em on time. If you're late for your bus, you'll get the next one. Thanks.
3. It must make sense. We have some really stupid routes in Montgomery. make the routes make sense. Make the maps readable and simple. Those kind of things will either increase ridership, or kill it. Use common sense...you know, that thing that government usually isn't allowed to use?

 

I will say that Philadelphia's public transportation is relatively safe. For instance, I have no problem putting my kids on the Septa Broad Street Line and on New Jersey's High Speed Line to go to Phillies' games by themselves.

Jersey Transity gives their bus drivers a four minute window (one minute early, three minutes late) and after that they dock the driver.

I will say this: in all of the places I've lived, Jersey Transit in New Jersey is by far the best. There are very few places in New Jersey you can't go with New Jersey Transit, plus they connect to transportation hubs in Philly and New York.

Delware is by far the worst. It's ridiculous. The buses don't even run on Sunday.

You forgot to say that it must be practical. Too many places in our country are too isolated to have public transportation.

You also forgot to say that it must be privatized. Government run public transportation has no incentive to be cost effective or efficient.

 

One thing I truly believe here: Public transporation will never replace private--one reason is for the very reason you just enumerated. We're too big and spread out to efficiently put every village on the public transportation map.

Agreed...but that also means that red tape would need to be reduced so that transportation folks wouldnt' be smothered with regulations.

 

I am surprised how low the price of gas is. According to economic theory the price should rise until the net profit of the retailers falls.

 

>If that was true, the cost for penicillin should be astronomical.

Why? If the cost of penicillin was astronomical and the manufacturing cost was low then an astronomical number of people would start to build factories to make the stuff and the price would drop.

>Wheat, corn and other farm grown crops should be out-of-sight when it comes to pricing.

The purpose of commodities contracts is to prevent large prices in commodities. A company like General Mills probably buys contracts for their raw materials several years in advance. When The Russian power reactor blew the price of wheat skyrocketed but the price of US bread and flower didn't. Why? because the big mills had most of their requirements already bought months ago and only had to pay spot price if they were short on supplies. If they has excess supplies they would have sold their surplus contracts at a profit.

> When something is so inexpensive to produce (due to advanced technology and delivery systems), and the supply and demand (world-wide) is so great, the cost to purchase these products should not be increasing with time.

Then why does pot cost $250-$500/oz when is should cost less than strawberries? It grows like a weed. Because the availability is controlled by the government.

But you are correct. You have stated the official economist line of reasoning and is the major reason why the middle class grew for 40 years after WW2. But in the last 20 years costs have been contained by sending jobs off shore and management doesn't feel required to pass the savings on to their remaining American employees. Did you note that new hires under the latest UAW contract will get only $16/hour?


>If it is true that America uses 20% of the world oil supplies, and, other nations, especially oil producing nations, can still purchase gas for under fifty cents a gallon, this theory, floated every time gas goes up, doesn't hold water

THIS is caused by local tax structure and local subsidies, not supply and demand. See http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/international/gas1.html

Large US cities seem to have lower gas prices than small towns between the cities. Why? It doesn't cost 20 cents a gallon to transport 10,000 gallons 50 miles.

 

Greed is one of the basic driving forces of Capitalism. There is nothing of the Golden Rule in Capitalism.

Now, fortunately or unfortunately, to this point in history Capitalism has been the best economic system at producing wealth. I am not sure it is the best economic system at taking care of people without government intervention. Remember the bad old Robber Baron days in our own history?

 

Producing wealth for whom? I think the large post WW2 growth of the so-called middle class was a freak of circumstances and we are now reverting to the historical norm.

The working class has been conned into believing that people who earn ten times minimum wage are rich and should pay higher taxes. In this economy, 100 times minimum wage is more reasonable. People making only 5 times minimum wage should be considered "poor."

 

I said yes, but I would be forced to change what I drove. I have to go to an office, 60 miles round trip, per day. I would prob have to buy a motorcycle to commute. Or a horse.

 

This is probably the only country where people think they have an economic right to drive 60 miles a day in a private car to work and back.

Before I retired I was driving 60 miles a day. Before that, 100 in a 74 Chev 3/4 ton. 1989 (?) 12 MPG. One day I was in a truck dealership and saw a story about the 3 cylinder Chev Metro getting over 50 MPG. I went to the nearest dealer and said, "Sell me one." I saved more than the payments cost. I kept a log for 100,000 miles and averaged 58 MPG without fuel injection or computers. How come I can't buy a new non battery car that gets 58 MPG.

 

With the rewriting of history that is going on in this country you should know that car did not exist, no car that uses gas ever got over 30 per gallon. Now go reread your history book and get your facts straight :smilewinkgrin:

Our Hyundai does close to 30 around town 30 if I don't hot rod and I am going to be hard pressed to get rid of the thing even if it is ten years old. Of course if gas is 7 I might have a costly yard art piece :thumbsup:

 

Actually, comrade, self-interest is the driving force behind capitalism, not greed.

 

Sure it did. Furthermore, I know two people who had one and they regularly got that kind of mileage.

Now the car had a 3-cylinder engine that could barely drive into a strong breeze, but it did get fantastic mileage.

My wife's 2004 Honda Civic EX gets about 32-33 mpg in city driving and regularly gets 40 mpg on highway driving (higher mileage that the sticker rating).

When we used to travel in the car on long trips, I would track the mileage very carefully and would consistently get 40 mpg without having to do anything special (that included driving 70 mpg or so and passing whenever appropriate).

 

Well, of course we would pay it, what choice do we have? The problem is, if gas goes up to $7 per gallon, everything else will go up accordingly. Everything we buy, everything we manufacture is dependent on fuel prices, regardless of what fuel is used. Because of increased transportation costs, every business would be forced to charge more for their product.

Of course, people will adapt whatever way they can. Two fellows where I work ride scooters to work. However, they do not ride their scooters when it rains or in the winter.

I used to split a ride with a co-worker, I would drive one week, he would drive the next, but now we are on different shifts. It did save us quite a bit sharing a ride though.

 

That was a JOKE, note the grinny face :wavey:

 

One thing Capitalism does do is hold people accountable for their efforts. It developes individual imagination, expands horizons, and makes people think. In fact, does not the Bible say a fair day's work for a fair day's pay, or, if you want to eat, work. Where do you think the jobs come from that allow people to work?

 

Ah, yes....let's try the Albanian method. No greed there.

Oh, wait. Never mind. Epic fail. Maybe we should stick with what we have...