Gas prices in the US are exactly like every other product you've ever bought, except for two key aspects. 1: it's not made in China for 2 cents a unit, and 2: our culture has made us 100% dependent on it. But just like everything else in this capitalist economy, it's all based on supply and demand. I'm no economist or analysis expert, but it's really pretty simple: if you keep buying the Hummer instead of the Smart ForTwo or a Honda Civic, prices keep going up. Back in the 40s, gas was 15 cents for a gallon, and the price has probably inflated more than any other product since then, because we kept buying it at the same rate, just accepting it.
So when gas goes up to 2.00/gal, and we are still ok with it, and keep buying it, the price continues to go up, until people stop buying, or buy less, which is what happened when gas got to about $3.50/gal. Now that the national average is somewhere around $4.00/gal, people are starting to think about that $115 worth of gas every few days that they put in their Suburbans and Hummers. But once these people get rid of their gas-guzzling machines, and settle for something reasonable such as a Honda Civic, which gets about 30mpg, prices go down. People start buying less and less gas, so to keep revenue up, the oil companies have no choice but to lower prices.
But do you know what happens when gas goes back down? "Well shit! I want my Hummer back!" Yes, people take atvantage of the current market, and buy another big gas-waster. And when half the population of the US buys a new SUV, gas goes right back up to $4.00/gal. So it's really a cycle just like every other product, but I do encourage people to buy economic vehicles, if not for the cost-saving benifits, then for the sake of the environment. I own a Honda Civic, and I get between 25 and 37mpg depending on how hard I drive it. I can go about 300 miles on a tank of gas, and at $3.89 in Austin TX, it only costs about $40 to fill up.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Cycle of Democracy
The Cycle of Democracy in this great nation, began long before 1607, the year the first permanent settlement of Jamestown Virginia was founded, and the cycle is almost complete. It began with the conception of the idea of free thinking, and freewill, when people began thinking that leaving their dictatorship and making a 1000+ mile journey through treacherous waters, hoping there was someplace else to make a new life, would be so much better than submitting, and giving in to the dictatorship at hand. The people were secure and protected, but had no free will. The nation as a whole has become exceedingly lazy, and is becoming apparent in the national policy. Our founding fathers considered debt to be slavery, and would be appalled at our current (Oct. '07) national debt standing at $9.1 trillion.
"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising them the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over a louse fiscal responsibility, always followed by a dictatorship. The average of the world's great civilizations before they decline has been 200 years. These nations have progressed in this sequence: From bondage to spiritual faith; from spiritual faith to great courage; from courage to liberty; from liberty to abundance; from abundance to selfishness; from selfishness to complacency; from complacency to apathy; from apathy to dependency; from dependency back again to bondage." (Tyler, Alexander; 1770; Cycle of Democracy)
Obama's universal healthcare system he intends to employ, should he be elected office, will no doubt be one of the final flaws to bring the downfall of this system of government, this nation, and the way of life we all are accustomed to living. By electing Obama, we are secure, I will not deny. We have universal healthcare. What more can you ask for? This is an easy question to answer: freedom and choice.
For every bill that is passed making more and more services available for free, more money comes out of each citizen's taxes, until there is eventually nothing left. You sacrafice your freedom, and ability to make your own decisions, for security, ultimately resulting in the totalitarian government this country's founding fathers sought to prevent.
I believe this country is somewhere between apathy and dependency. The welfare system is clearly showing that some people can't get out of bed and walk to McDonald's to get a job, and would rather ask the government for money, and live in poverty. It seems we all want something we can't have: when we had security, we wanted freewill, and now that we have it, we want security. But they are mutually exclusive, and we must choose. I choose freewill
Please prove me wrong...
"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising them the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over a louse fiscal responsibility, always followed by a dictatorship. The average of the world's great civilizations before they decline has been 200 years. These nations have progressed in this sequence: From bondage to spiritual faith; from spiritual faith to great courage; from courage to liberty; from liberty to abundance; from abundance to selfishness; from selfishness to complacency; from complacency to apathy; from apathy to dependency; from dependency back again to bondage." (Tyler, Alexander; 1770; Cycle of Democracy)
Obama's universal healthcare system he intends to employ, should he be elected office, will no doubt be one of the final flaws to bring the downfall of this system of government, this nation, and the way of life we all are accustomed to living. By electing Obama, we are secure, I will not deny. We have universal healthcare. What more can you ask for? This is an easy question to answer: freedom and choice.
For every bill that is passed making more and more services available for free, more money comes out of each citizen's taxes, until there is eventually nothing left. You sacrafice your freedom, and ability to make your own decisions, for security, ultimately resulting in the totalitarian government this country's founding fathers sought to prevent.
I believe this country is somewhere between apathy and dependency. The welfare system is clearly showing that some people can't get out of bed and walk to McDonald's to get a job, and would rather ask the government for money, and live in poverty. It seems we all want something we can't have: when we had security, we wanted freewill, and now that we have it, we want security. But they are mutually exclusive, and we must choose. I choose freewill
Please prove me wrong...
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Re: America Today (Erich Fields)
Re: America Today
Go Erich! I totally agree. What's going on in this country?? I'll tell you what it is... people are lazy. Look around us, people sit on their butt's all day and eat cheetoes and get fat. The only thing they do is wobble their lazy asses out of their house to make a trip to Starbucks, and purchase a Mocha Frappuccino Latte, because America NEEDS Starbucks (what would we ever do without it!!??). My point is people are lazy. According to the US Census (http://www.census.gov/prod/2006pubs/p20-556.pdf), less than 64% of the eligible population actually voted in the 2004 election, supposedly one of the most heated elections in US History. That means that over 36% of our country couldn't muster the energy to drive 2 miles (in our enormous gas-guzzlers) to fill out a slip of paper, because we "didn't feel like it." So I attribute this to all the laziness. People would rather sit there and watch our country's government go down the toilet than actually be proactive and do something about it. Come on people!
Go Erich! I totally agree. What's going on in this country?? I'll tell you what it is... people are lazy. Look around us, people sit on their butt's all day and eat cheetoes and get fat. The only thing they do is wobble their lazy asses out of their house to make a trip to Starbucks, and purchase a Mocha Frappuccino Latte, because America NEEDS Starbucks (what would we ever do without it!!??). My point is people are lazy. According to the US Census (http://www.census.gov/prod/2006pubs/p20-556.pdf), less than 64% of the eligible population actually voted in the 2004 election, supposedly one of the most heated elections in US History. That means that over 36% of our country couldn't muster the energy to drive 2 miles (in our enormous gas-guzzlers) to fill out a slip of paper, because we "didn't feel like it." So I attribute this to all the laziness. People would rather sit there and watch our country's government go down the toilet than actually be proactive and do something about it. Come on people!
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