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Automotive News & Views How does gas at $4 and higher impact you?
2183 messages, Last post on Nov 21, 2009 at 5:13 PM
You are in the Automotive News & Views Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & claires
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Replying to: larsb (Jan 19, 2009 7:30 am) So much hangs on how you arrive at the "common good". If you depend on the political process to define the "common good", you end up with abominations like the farm subsidy program, whereby tens of billions of tax dollars find their way into the pockets of 1 percent of the population according to formulas that only a handful of experts pretend to understand. While the beneficiaries of this largesse may loudly insist that this arrangement somehow advances the "common good", I strongly suspect that most of the 99% of us on the losing side would strenuously disagree. As a classical liberal (not to be confused with a welfare liberal), I'd prefer to say that the "common good" is whatever results when free men & women are left alone to live their lives as they see fit. If some of them choose to make "small personal sacrifices" to promote their individual visions of the "common good", that's fine with me - just as long as we keep politics out of this. Does anyone here really believe that holding political office somehow uniquely qualifies a person to determine what constitutes the "common good" for the rest of us? As far as taxes are concerned, it's not surprising that I'd rather see them lower - not higher - because higher taxes would only pay for more stuff that most of us neither want nor need. Still, I will go out on a limb & say that I would support higher gasoline taxes - but only if income taxes are sharply reduced or, better yet, eliminated entirely. In my view, the "common good" is best served by taxing consumption - including fuel purchases - instead of income. Why punish productive behavior? |
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Replying to: larsb (Jan 19, 2009 9:40 am) Sorry, my family can't eat good intentions, we'll take cash please.
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Replying to: oldfarmer50 (Jan 19, 2009 4:39 pm) Sorry, my family can't eat good intentions, we'll take cash please. Thanks for saying that. I was about to toss out the Bandini flag on that as well. Someone that proposes higher taxes for fuel is doing nothing for me or my family they are doing it for their own personal agenda. First they try to cajole us into conserving. When the people conserve by reducing their consumption by 6 percent they complain their tax revenue is down so they may have to raise it. Is that by any stretch of the imagination for the greater good? If we cut back even more will they have to tax even more? Most of us know cow manure when we hear it and when we hear raise fuel taxes for a better America it smacks of cow manure. Someone mentions that they use more oil for heating and the response of the "concerned" tax raiser is, "well suck it up brother it is for the greater good." Sounds like someone would like to turn all the stars on our flag red. We point out higher fuel taxes will raise food prices, "Suck it up it is for the greater good.' Public transportation will cost more, "suck it up it is for the greater good." Air travel will cost more and some airlines will close, "suck it up it is for the greater good." Low wage people will not be able to afford to get to work or their employers will not be able to afford as many employees, "suck it up brother it is for the greater good." Who the heck is this greater good person? So far all I see is an attempt to attack the working class in their paycheck. $4.00 gas hurt the average driver in the US and "no one questions that "fact". $2.00 gas has given the American public some relief and no one questions that "fact". Raise the fuel back to $4.00 with taxes will be no less damaging to the economy that $4.00 fuel was without the taxes. To suggest otherwise deserves the Bandini flag and and a 15 yard penalty for roughing the consumer.
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Replying to: boaz47 (Jan 19, 2009 6:17 pm)  The states and Feds need to start using the gas tax as it was proposed. Not for other crap. There would be plenty if used as intended. |
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Replying to: gagrice (Jan 19, 2009 7:01 pm) Gas continues to creep up around here. Some stations are now up to $1.73 for regular. Won't be too long till we break the $2 barrier again.
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Replying to: steve_ (Jan 19, 2009 8:14 pm) 
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Oil remains at a 12-month low (and perhaps a low over an even longer period), and yet the $0.30/gallon that gas went down after mid-November is all BACK. I was out on the highway this weekend, paid $2.29 at the bottom of the Grapevine, a freeway exit where about eight gas stations are all colluding on price - it was $2.29 at all of them. Even in my local area it is up close to $2.10 for regular unleaded now, and we had $1.70 around Thanksgiving, so gas prices are well and truly on their way UP - that's almost a 25% increase for me in the last 4-6 weeks. There seems to be no method to them, no predictability to them, and from where I'm sitting anyone who would GUARANTEE we wouldn't have $4 gas again this summer in my neck of the woods would certainly just be talking out of their ear... |
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Replying to: nippononly (Jan 19, 2009 10:22 pm) "Flint Hills Resources says the refinery has lost money over the past year while the company considered whether to sell it, close up shop or invest in major upgrades to make it more profitable." Refinery operator says funding out I've sort of been following this story and haven't heard anything in the last month about how they are doing. |
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Replying to: gagrice (Jan 19, 2009 7:01 pm) This of course means that lightweight Prius would pay same miles use tax as a gargantuan Suburban. Unless of course Oregon puts in a two part tax: everyone pays same rate for miles travelled, an extra charge per mile depending upon the weight of vehicle registered. Thus, conservers in a Prius get a break while gluttons in a Suburban pay more.
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Replying to: nippononly (Jan 19, 2009 10:22 pm) Here in Bartlett, Tn Kroger blinked at the pump yesterday. They started a couple of weeks ago leading the charge to higher prices, topping out at $1.739 last week. Others in the area were following right on their heels in raising prices. Now Monday I go by and Kroger has dropped back down to $1.599 and were still there Tuesday morning. Only time will tell if they will stay lower. (Many of us get $.10 gallon discount at Kroger for each $100 spent in the store...other times it is only $.03 just for using their card. So, paid $1.499 net yesterday after paying $1.639 last Friday. |
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