Gas prices reach all-time highFollow

Technically, it was the Illinois' Regional Economics Applications Laboratory along with the Federal Reserve Bank who was speculating since it was their study. But it's not as though they'd know more then a helicopter pilot about the economy.

The point, my negro-envy suffering friend, is that higher fuel prices are reflected in consumer spending before they are reflected in a change in driving habits. Not even because of any "scare" but because of the simple fact that an extra $20 at the pump is one less lunch out or two less Shrek 187 tickets or, if you want to be overly maudlin, no more diapers and formula for poor starving children. And that $20 doesn't stay and stimulate the local economy like lunch and a movie does.

As a mere helicopter pilot then, I hate to be the one to break it to the Feds and that vaunted Illinois Regional Braintrust of Pencilnecked Geeks Towelsnapping Each Other in their Laboratory, but higher prices of gas have empiracally been shown not to have lessened driver's use of their vehicles.

Whether or not it leaves less money for Baby Jane to eat is debatable. As for the other expenditures that amount to pocket change, well, I guess Chicago's financial underpinnings are pretty fragile if disaster is imminent due to a few less movies being attended or Lotto tickets/smokes/chewing gum are not being purchased, because that's what the cost amounts to-- impulse buys at the cash register.

Totem

Edited, May 22nd 2007 5:47pm by Totem

Don't make me go Mandingo on your a$$ and cause your relationship with Jo to suffer, Flea. I'll do it if you push me!

Totem

I fear early-middle-age wrinkling more than I fear you, Totes.

That's not the point. That was never the point. I find it funny as hell that you can't grasp something so simple.That's not neccessarily the point either. No matter how your budget is, if you're spending an extra $20 here, you are not spending it there. In this particular case, "there" is consumer spending which is, God willing, the first place people cut their budgets before deciding not to pay their mortgage, utility bills, etc.

Edited, May 22nd 2007 5:13pm by Jophiel

Let me amend that last statement: there is no economic crunch going on that wasn't in place long before higher gas prices. Americans have been overextended on their credit for generations nad expect that they should not have to scrimp or squeeze on a budget so they can drive a large vehicle. No, they just demand gas prices be lower, regardless of the economic forces at play.

So to listen to how 30 cents more a gallon is killing our economy makes me laugh. Nevermind the unlimited cell phone plan with a phone for every member of the family, the cable bill complete with premium channels, fast food three time or more a day, the large car(s)/truck(s)/SUV(s) in the driveway, the scratch-off and Lotto tickets, Budweiser instead of Hamms, blah blah blahblah. So on and so forth.

Face it, we're rich. So rich that it's inconceivable to much of the world, and to hear how a small gas price increase is devastating local economies and hurting the American family is just so much crap.

Totem

/nod

Its true.

Nope, not as such.None you can pick up on, anyway People respond to dumb shit by Varrus as well. Don't break your spine sucking yourself off just yet.I didn't say that. I undersand though that ignoring this point makes your argument much less forceful and so it's easier to knock down strawmen.

Bloomberg just announced that they're pushing to replace the entire NYC cab fleet with hybrids within the next 4 years. From the news bit I heard this would save $10,000 in gas each year. This doesn't sound too impressive to me, considering the, what, 13,000 cabs. How much do one of those Prius cost, anyways?

Smash, that is what is expected, but to date, outside of some grumbling consumers, spending has not been directly or indirectly tied or attributed to higher gas pricing.

Grumbling consumers drive the market. It's not my idea, but consumer confidence directly correlates to federal monetary policy.

Totem said this at about mid-first page of this thread.

This quote acknowledges that the money that typically would be kept within the state (this is specific to the lotto example above) and local economies is now being exported elsewhere.

Also, mentioned are the $4 cafe latte mocha-chinos starbucks, the $10 movie tickets, the local restaurants, etc. All of these establishments will be affected locally. You said yourself that in order to deal with this crunch people need to curtail their expenditures on luxury items. This means that the $10 that would have other wise gone to Shrek tickets of to the cafe are no longer being spent their.

All of this means that, while not causing a financial collapse and an end to the free market system, gas prices are going to affect a local areas economies. It's unavoidable. With people not having the extra $10 a week to spend on product x, its going to affect local businesses. I think this was the point Jophiel was making.

Again, gas prices going up 30 cents a gallon will not cause financial chaos. Totem is right about that. But, to believe that a local economy will not be affected by the continuous exportation of capital, even a seemingly trivial amount to the fat, filthy American, is kinda stupid.

i was looking at a hybrid, but ended up with a dodge cavalier. not 40MPG, but still i get 20MPG city and 30MPG highway with much larger storage capacity then any of the smaller cars that get between 5 - 10 MPG more.

getting rid of my Truck

at best it gets around 15MPG on the interstate. really powerful engine and the bed is 6.5ft. i have had it loaded up with well over 1k LBS and it does not even miss a bit when it drives with a heavy load in the bed. same goes for when towing. pulled a large trailer full of furniture for a friends not to long ago and even with the trailer overloaded the truck never was sluggish or hard to control. did have to increase time for breaking but that was only because the trailer did not have working breaks. with a good trailer i doubt i would of had to of made much of an adjustment at all other then not driving around corners as fast as i like to.

Dodge doesn't make Cavaliers, that's a Chevy model.