There are plenty of reasons gas costs so much, but one of them is that the United States doesn't have enough refineries. The last refinery was built in 1976, almost 35 years ago. We are the problem not Libya or anyone else. Refinery capacity has increased by 3% BUT OUR POPULATION AS YOU KNOW HAS GROWN FAR MORE THAN THAT. We have a built in bottle neck and it is the refineries. America needs oil. You'd rather have a beach condo.
NIMBY ( not in my backyard) is supposedly the problem as the best place to build them is supposedly the place of entry "the coast" BS! force oil companies to build more refineries and build them inland. They know how to drive trucks. They just want to be able to raise the price of oil with every excuse. I just looked at my oil bill this morning and it was $516.00 and it will get worse along with everything else. That aside what struck me was that the oil cost $3.45 per gallon and refined gas is at $3.30 per gallon. Why is that?
We are in trouble here and it didn't start this year. We have been here before. I did a 4 story series 3 years ago that was so Deja vu including the gas prices and our current housing and financial situation that I believe you will find them cathartic. You may think they are from today but they and all the information is from 2008 under George Bush. Back then I believed our situation would force a change in demographics. It has and it will more so in America and around the world as our situation as a whole continues to worsen as it will.
5/26/08 The rapidly failing economy will change Demographics! It's moving Quickly and daily!
Unbelievably I posed that thought 5/26/08, we have been here before. As you know it is getting worse every day and will get much worse. Knowing we are right now whether our so called leaders realize or admit it or not we are in the beginning of the Second Greatest Depression. As such I have done a series on our changing Demographics because of it and another series that the Great Depression had Hoovervilles and we will have tent cities. Many locales already set aside areas for them. Larger cities set aside parking lots as secure areas for those who find it necessary to live in their cars. I have done another series that many food kitchens have to close their doors as they are running out of food!
I have been thinking about much of this for years but at one time here in America it was thought of as Communistic or something to make people live and work in the same town! However the time has come. I have written so many books, Pamphlets, Stories, Letters to Politicians, Media outlets, over the years I think I am ready to give up but it is happening!.With that said world wide chaos aside, this is all coming to a head societally and of late I have found myself wondering at what point can average Americans no longer afford to work? Or to have to relocate because of the price of oil and gas! Or the loss of their home? I hate to say it but I see some positive things coming out of all this.
I keep seeing stories of people hawking everything they own so they can keep ahead of the debt collectors. There are daily stories of people Hawking their gold teeth and Pawn shops doing an increasingly lucrative business. Our society was going the route of the Roman Empire which is normal in the cycle of life of a society. Bush has merely sped up that process along with everything else and now we must deal with it. Work place killings, murder suicides, and mass shootings and killings are increasing as societal conditions get increasingly tenuous.
I can remember after 9/11 when the idiots in charge stupidly said no one is going to change our way of life! in the same token I remember when oil first started skyrocketing and gas at the pump started climbing. People stupidly said they'll never curb my driving. Well! in both instances even a fool can tell you, you are only saying "Thank You Sir give me another" You are just asking for things to get worse. as a little child I learned shut up or put up period and most people are too naive to realize that as I said about any fool! At a time when gas prices were at an all-time high, Americans had curtailed their driving at a historic rate. The Department of Transportation said figures from last March showed the steepest decrease in driving ever recorded.
I highlighted that people are learning to compromise and some of you responded with your own adjustments. Today it is being felt deeper and moving rapidly! Jobs are being lost at an increasing rate, 3.6 million in the last year. Consumers are feeling worse about their personal finances and prospects - far worse than government statistics about the economy would indicate. Only a few years ago, Americans who considered themselves middle class were scrimping to pay for their kids' college education. Now, many of them are struggling to cover far more basic needs - gas and groceries. "Don't forget, this was all 3 years ago"
One person said. "You can't be sure you know exactly where we are or where we're going. Consumers are afraid that the light at the end of the tunnel is an oncoming train." That's exactly how Chris Ackerman feels. He said that he and his wife, who live just outside Seattle, find that their paychecks no longer cover their rent, student loans and daily living expenses. That is forcing the young couple to turn to their credit cards to make ends meet. They've already cut out much of their entertainment and trips to visit her family and friends 30 miles away. If gas and grocery prices continue to rise, Ackerman, who works for an importer, said he'll have to stop contributing to his 401(k) plan. He doesn't see many other options. "The worst part is looking to the future," said Ackerman, 25. "What if everything keeps getting worse. That's the scariest part. Is my grocery bill going to double again? What will we do?" Making a good living, but still feeling strapped
* Today I reiterate The compromises are just beginning and I hate to say it when this is done we will be better, stronger, and more serviceable and functional as a society but we have some changes to make.
** People have begun to evaluate their daily habits.Do I have to go out to eat? Do I need those trinkets? new clothes? Can I find a cheaper place to shop? A closer place? Do we need that vacation? Can we stay local? Aah Local now there is the key. There is our future. Go back to your roots. It is normal but most Americans are not use to compromise. Get use to it. When the price per gallon was sky rocketing I was wondering how much higher does the price of gas have to be before many people can no longer afford to work and would be forced to make a compromise that in the end may be better for them, society, and our communities? Think of your situation or maybe you don't want to but a AAA study showed it cost an estimated $850 per month to own a car. You can handle that at at $10 an hour if you lived with your parents, had a room mate, or cheap rent. $20 an hour would do it and give you a comfortable place to live and you could own a house and continue to drive to work if there was 2 making that money and you were lucky enough not to get caught by those teaser rate mortgage loans. What if you end up living in a tent?What it all boils down to is many people are screwed and if they are to make it we have to go back to the way society was in 1942 and we will be all the better for it though you may not like it!!
*** I see the necessity for people to maybe take a lesser paying job to stay local or just to eat and live who knows where! . If you are lucky I see a return to downtown's. A resurgence of local life. a return of local stores, local theaters, and local points of concern and interest. I see a return of public interest in their cities,more concern over what is happening there, more community involvement. Taking any job to get by! Live and work in the same area.I do not like what is happening but I see it bring many families and communities back together as only hard times can and sadly you see it every day. It will soon be not because of natural disasters but our own man made disasters. We will persevere! How do you feel today?
In closing I want to remind you that, that was written 3 years ago and it applies today so I am sure many of you can relate as it will continue to get worse. I will post the next 3 installments in the following days and don't forget we have been here before!
http://anaverageamericanpatriot.blogspot.com/2009/02/rapidly-failing-economy-will-change.html
James Joiner
Gardner Ma
http://anaverageamericanpatriot.blogspot.com
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