High gas prices: under GWB = bad, under Obama = good

[Hubie]

[noonwitch]

Gas prices have been dropping pretty quickly this week, at least around here. I filled up on Monday, and it was down from 3.85 to 3.67 a gallon.

Yesterday, I drove by Meijer and it was down to 3.44. I'll be relieved if it gets under $3 a gallon.

[djones520]

Gas prices have been dropping pretty quickly this week, at least around here. I filled up on Monday, and it was down from 3.85 to 3.67 a gallon.

Yesterday, I drove by Meijer and it was down to 3.44. I'll be relieved if it gets under $3 a gallon.

I'd be happy with that as well. My 14mpg truck hurts when I take it to the gas station.

[noonwitch]

I'd be happy with that as well. My 14mpg truck hurts when I take it to the gas station.

I had to fill up one of the state vans recently, so I can imagine what that costs out of your wallet.


My Focus has a small tank and gets good mileage, but it still costs $35 to fill it up from close to empty.

[Novaheart]

I hate high gas prices as much as the next person, but keep in mind that gas prices peaked in the summer of 2008, ie before Obama came to office. Those prices then fell rapidly, showing us for the manipulated fools we are.

However, a little perspective which is no doubt not lost on the gasoline corporations. While the price of gasoline is a visual and emotional smack in the face to the American who remembers and longs for sub-$1 gasoline, as a function of minimum wage and some other cost comparisons, gasoline isn't all that expensive.

Let's use $3.50/gal since that is the going rate here.

Minimum wage is currently $7.25. So a gallon of gasoline is 48% of one hour's wage. In 1974 gasoline was 53¢/gal which was 27% of minwage. So by that comparison, gasoline is give or take 44% more expensive than it was 38 years ago. But the minimum wage is arbitrary, and some sources say that it hasn't been properly adjusted, that if it were then it would be $10.50/hr in which case gasoline would be 35% of minwage.

But minimum wage isn't the only figure we can consider. I remember that in 1974 the price of hamburger was 56¢/lb. which was roughly the same as the price of a gallon of gasoline. While it's possible to purchase cheap hamburger on sale for less, the going rate for decent hamburger is still about the same or more than the price of a gallon of gasoline. And for those who argue with my quality judgement, I would ask them if they would put the relative quality of gasoline in their expensive automobile that would correspond to $1.99 a pound hamburger in a tube from Walmart. Those large pieces of gristle might fuck up our fuel filter.

[m00]

But minimum wage isn't the only figure we can consider. I remember that in 1974 the price of hamburger was 56¢/lb. which was roughly the same as the price of a gallon of gasoline. While it's possible to purchase cheap hamburger on sale for less, the going rate for decent hamburger is still about the same or more than the price of a gallon of gasoline. And for those who argue with my quality judgement, I would ask them if they would put the relative quality of gasoline in their expensive automobile that would correspond to $1.99 a pound hamburger in a tube from Walmart. Those large pieces of gristle might fuck up our fuel filter.

Thing about hamburger prices is that we still have a supply chain that runs on oil. So of course a hamburger is going to increase in price if gasoline increases in price. It's going to be like that until we get away from a centralized food supply model (people grow/eat local), or until we use "alternate energy" in our shipping... but then everything would just be fixed to the price of that instead.

[m00]

Gas prices have been dropping pretty quickly this week, at least around here. I filled up on Monday, and it was down from 3.85 to 3.67 a gallon.

Yesterday, I drove by Meijer and it was down to 3.44. I'll be relieved if it gets under $3 a gallon.

OPEC is pushing the prices down to help Obama during the election.