With gas this low I don't care how it smells

[Jethro Bodine]

Do you think falling oil prices were purposely brought on to punish Putin?

 

[jasonc]

Do you think falling oil prices were purposely brought on to punish Putin?

I was thinking about the other thread of yours when I was working on my mercury sable with its fuel pump problem. it had some old gas in it and had my wife get some high octane gas to help it clear that stuff out and add a gas additive. that gas was so old it had no punch to it. the pump was bad and when I was lowering and raising the tank. the lines were off and the fumes didn't really phase me. usually they do.

 

[Lewis]

Paid $2.55 a gallon yesterday

 

[jasonc]

Paid $2.55 a gallon yesterday

I paid 2.25 a few days ago but I think I will be paying less when I gas up again.

 

[stovebolts]

Regular hasn't been above $1.95 for a few weeks around here. I'm still seeing it for $1.71 (cash) at a station in Detroit. Most are $1.85 (cash) a gallon.

 

[stovebolts]

Do you think falling oil prices were purposely brought on to punish Putin?

No, I think Saudi Arabia is trying to shut down US production by dropping the price so low we can't stay in business. Why do you think gas was $5 a gallon 10 years ago? Because the automakers were getting serious about alternative fuels. (e-85). Trucks and SUV's were the cash cow's of US automakers and most US small cars sold at a loss, or very little profit. When Gas rose, SUV's and Truck sales plummeted. In business, it's called "Leverage".

We need to get off Saudi oil... seriously folks. They be playing us like a drug dealer. And can you believe how stupid people are? Since gas has dropped, SUV and Truck sales have risen significantly. Watch, when US production drops and investors loose their butts and the point has been made clear by Saudi Arabia that they can bankrupt us again and toy with our economy, prices will go back up again.

 

[Michael74]

Deflation is such a blessing for shoppers. Let's hope it continues.

 

[stovebolts]

Deflation is such a blessing for shoppers. Let's hope it continues.

Why is diesel still so high? If the cost of diesel dropped, it wouldn't be deflation. It would be cost savings.

 

[Michael74]

Lets hope there is deflation in diesel too. Maybe food prices will deflate if food delivery trucks have inexpensive fuel. Deflation is good.

 

[stovebolts]

Michael74
Correct me if I'm wrong, because I'm not up on economics probably as well as you, but...
I always understood deflation as a reduction in price which negatively effects ones profit margin without lowering expenses.
Example: An apple costs 10 cents to buy at the store.
It costs 8 cents for the apple when you factor in all the expenses from the orchard to your store clerk.
This leaves 2 cents profit.
With that profit, you have operating costs, such as your light bill, wages and savings. Lets say that takes another penny.
That leaves 1 cent for you to grow and expand your business.

What deflation does is lowers the price at the store, lets say to 8 cents an apple, but it doesn't lower any of the other expenses. As a result, the store needs to reduce it's operating costs, such as wages, savings and forget about any future growth.

 

[Lewis]

By the power invested in me, I will send a executive order for gas to drop to 50 cents a gallon to be in affect today, I have spoken.

 

[eddif]

Why is diesel still so high? If the cost of diesel dropped, it wouldn't be deflation. It would be cost savings.

Most diesel has to be purchased. OTR trucks do not have an option.
Some gasoline sales are optional. People cut back on travel. A low buck gallon is a carrot we still have to resist.

Some diesel fuel is cracked into gasoline, and thus the cheap diesel fuel price is driven up. Diesel fuel cars still get fuel mileage advantages (if you chose a low maintenance diesel - rare breed indeed). You have to really research your diesel cars ( I learned the hard way - one is a 400,000 mile vehicle with few issues, the other is a 200,000 mile vehicle with all sorts of hoops to jump through).

eddif

 

[Jethro Bodine]

I'm still seeing it for $1.71 (cash) at a station in Detroit. Most are $1.85 (cash) a gallon.

The catch is staying alive on the trip from your car door to the gas pump.

By the power invested in me, I will send a executive order for gas to drop to 50 cents a gallon to be in affect today, I have spoken.

The gas gods have spoken. And I don't mean Uncle Bob in the Living Room right after Thanksgiving dinner.

 

[Jethro Bodine]

Lets hope there is deflation in diesel too. Maybe food prices will deflate if food delivery trucks have inexpensive fuel. Deflation is good.

No, what will happen is business will see this as a profit taking time. It will go right into their coffers. And the long overdue raises business owes workers will be the extra money the workers have from the lower gas.

 

[Jethro Bodine]

Most diesel has to be purchased. OTR trucks do not have an option.
Some gasoline sales are optional. People cut back on travel. A low buck gallon is a carrot we still have to resist.

Some diesel fuel is cracked into gasoline, and thus the cheap diesel fuel price is driven up. Diesel fuel cars still get fuel mileage advantages (if you chose a low maintenance diesel - rare breed indeed). You have to really research your diesel cars ( I learned the hard way - one is a 400,000 mile vehicle with few issues, the other is a 200,000 mile vehicle with all sorts of hoops to jump through).

eddif

I can't believe people are buying more gas guzzlers just because gas is low right now.

 

[Jethro Bodine]

No, I think Saudi Arabia is trying to shut down US production by dropping the price so low we can't stay in business.

I would agree with that to an extent, but the Saudi's are in Washingtons' pocket. We control global politics by manipulating Saudi oil output, essentially paying them to produce what serves our political agendas. That's why I wondered if this is our way of putting the squeeze on oil producing Putin. But I agree that the Saudi's do have room to protect their own intrests, too.

Why do you think gas was $5 a gallon 10 years ago? Because the automakers were getting serious about alternative fuels. (e-85). Trucks and SUV's were the cash cow's of US automakers and most US small cars sold at a loss, or very little profit. When Gas rose, SUV's and Truck sales plummeted. In business, it's called "Leverage".

Ah, good point.

We need to get off Saudi oil... seriously folks. They be playing us like a drug dealer.

We get what we want, they get what they want.

And can you believe how stupid people are? Since gas has dropped, SUV and Truck sales have risen significantly.

Hey, didn't I just say that? Oh, you said it first. 2

Watch, when US production drops and investors loose their butts and the point has been made clear by Saudi Arabia that they can bankrupt us again and toy with our economy, prices will go back up again.

Well, I'd hate to see Chevy disappear, but they sure aren't the company they have been in past decades. I haven't been there, but I'm pretty sure there's a Chevy small block at the center of the earth keeping things spinning. I heard that at just the right angle you can see a Chevy bowtie on earth from space.

 

[Jethro Bodine]

I paid 2.25 a few days ago but I think I will be paying less when I gas up again.

Ah, that's right. You live in one of the the high rent districts of the US.

 

[stovebolts]

Most diesel has to be purchased. OTR trucks do not have an option.
Some gasoline sales are optional. People cut back on travel. A low buck gallon is a carrot we still have to resist.

Some diesel fuel is cracked into gasoline, and thus the cheap diesel fuel price is driven up. Diesel fuel cars still get fuel mileage advantages (if you chose a low maintenance diesel - rare breed indeed). You have to really research your diesel cars ( I learned the hard way - one is a 400,000 mile vehicle with few issues, the other is a 200,000 mile vehicle with all sorts of hoops to jump through).

eddif

No kidding!
Not only OTR trucks, but also your local delivery trucks and yes, even Rail relies on diesel.
Diesel used to always be way less than gasoline. An old timer once told me that diesel was the "cheap" gas because it wasn't refined as much as 'regular' gasoline. I always kinda looked at it like crunchy peanut butter. It takes more grinding to have a purely smooth peanut butter but if you don't grind it all up and leave some crunch in there... shouldn't it be cheaper lol!

 

[Michael74]

Michael74
Correct me if I'm wrong, because I'm not up on economics probably as well as you, but...
I always understood deflation as a reduction in price which negatively effects ones profit margin without lowering expenses.

Not necessarily. Chip makers reduce expenses on a regular basis, which enables them to make iPads and such affordable, while still making a profit. Similarly, machines made farming efficient so that farmers could sell food at affordable prices, and still make a profit. More efficient production methods allow inexpensive prices at a profit.

Inflation is mostly a bank bailout that is counter productive for the ordinary person. Notice that the bank does not send newly printed money to Joe average's bank account, to compensate him for inflation. Printing is being used to redistribute purchasing power from Joe average to financial sector players. Banks borrow newly printed money at ZIRP, and then collect interest on it by buying bonds with it. Hedge fund managers borrow millions of newly printed dollars at ZIRP, and use it to place bets on stocks, commodities, etc... Meanwhile, Joe average can buy fewer goods at the store with his paycheck/pension. Printing is being used as a reverse Robin Hood scheme, that takes from the poor/elderly, and gives to rich financial sector players.

 

[Jethro Bodine]

Example: An apple costs 10 cents to buy at the store.
It costs 8 cents for the apple when you factor in all the expenses from the orchard to your store clerk.
This leaves 2 cents profit.
With that profit, you have operating costs, such as your light bill, wages and savings. Lets say that takes another penny.
That leaves 1 cent for you to grow and expand your business.

This is called 'making a living'. IOW, the way things used to be.

Move your gross profit percentage up to about 4¢ for every dollar and you have big business and how they have to feed hungry, vicious, and emotionally unstable, and greedy investors trying to retire by age 50. When GP drops below 40%.....look out. Out come the crooked and wicked ways business adjusts.

Disclaimer: I 'taint no economical guru. I's just goes by what granny tells me. My specialty is double know spyin' and brain surgerin'.