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Four Bucks for a gallon of gas?

NickD on Tue April 22, 2008 7:48 AM User is offline

Country of Origin: United States

Well $3.899 in Illinois, is 20 cents a gallon less in Wisconsin, must be the road tax in IL that makes it more expensive. Ha, took roads I use to drive at night when I was a kid, major state roads, and not a thing was done to them in the last 55 years, not even the large cracks were filled. Only difference is, a zillion homes were built and a traffic light was added every couple of feet. Then it was a problem to find ethanol free gas in IL, so I only put five gallons it, but that got us home. Engine really seemed to lack power, but didn't experience detonation this time, you would think for four bucks a gallon, would get good gas.

We made an appointment with the Venezuelan Consulate over a month ago to get both my wife's and daughter's foreign passports renewed that we would have needed to get stamped as it seemed like we would never get their ten year permanent resident cards before the one year extension was up. But this time, I stayed at my sisters home in Lake Villa and we took the train in, it was only a three block walk to the consulate. 40 mile train ride was $6.60 a ticket or $19.80 for the three of us, and $39.60 round trip. Took 90 minutes, only pleasure was seeing the long line of cars backed up at each intersection as the train had the right of way.

To our great surprise, their green cards came in the mail yesterday, maybe we didn't even have to make that trip. Walking downtown, all those fancy super high office buildings dealt with making money with money, investments, credit card companies, banks, stocks, etc. Nothing there made the necessities of life, like food or car parts, do we really need that? Also selling protection and no wonder why my cell phone bill is so high! What a crazy world we live in.

Wife and daughter wanted to go up in the Sears Tower, I said no thanks, my weakness, don't trust civil engineers, but I already flew a thousand feet above it and took pictures that I have slides of, did walk around and leaned I could park there all day for 33 bucks, but still glad I didn't drive, last time took us four hours to drive from downtown to about ten miles north of O-Hare when the traffic finally broke and could drive 55 again. That was a long eight hour trip.

A lot of people have built million dollar homes around the Chicago area, wonder what they do to make the mortgage payments, never got an answer to that. Their property taxes are astronomical but not a cent of that goes into the roads, somebody is getting rich.

Sure a lot of dead weight in those train cars, why can't they make something smaller with decent seats in them. Just a lot of questions, no answers, but glad I don't live there anymore.

Oh, GM sent me a postcard to get $2,000 off a Yukon, gee I could buy 500 gallons of gas with that savings and if driving in Chicago getting five mpg if lucky, could drive about 2,500 miles. Where do I sign up?

Found the old Union Station, brought back memories of mandatory military service, had to report in Chicago and was forced to run from the draft to that station at 9:00 AM in the morning, felt like an idiot running in downtown Chicago. Took a picture of the balcony we had to sit at for 15 hours waiting for the train. Had an AH put in charge, wouldn't let us walk around nor wouldn't tell us when the train was leaving, ha, like to find that guy and pound the crap out of him. Seems like we have more than our share of AH's running this country.

Edited: Tue April 22, 2008 at 7:55 AM by NickD

TRB on Wed April 23, 2008 12:11 AM User is offlineView users profile

Only $ 3.4999 in Phoenix. Thought we were supposed to get all this cheap gas! After all we stole all the oil fields correct?

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NickD on Wed April 23, 2008 7:10 AM User is offline

Quote
Only $ 3.4999 in Phoenix. Thought we were supposed to get all this cheap gas! After all we stole all the oil fields correct?

Same price here for unleaded 87 octane with ethanol, prefer paying an extra 20 cents for the super stuff that doesn't have ethanol, my vehicles seem to get drunk drinking that stuff.

GM, airlines, truckers, the entire shipping industry claims on going broke because of the high cost of fuel, guess if they can't do anything about it, why should one rotten consumer complain about it? Won't make any difference.

Was surprised to learn about that new Metra System with many new railroad lines spoked out of Chicago for the commuters that want some grass for their kids that adds four hours to their work day. Ha, many are still reading the Chicago Tribune on their way to work each day. Recall in the 60's a monthly pass was 28 bucks, today it's 150 bucks. Heard a lot of that car gas tax was used to support this system. The expressways are still way over jammed wasting billions of gallons of gas just driving back and forth, what a life.

The USCIS only has 83 field offices stretched across the USA so not everyone can live across the street from one. These trips are killers for us and try to make most of them in one day, Chicago is just too far especially with the traffic. We still have three trips left to finish off, one for the third set of finger prints for the third FBI check at the same USCIS field office that is scheduled for next week. The second is for an interview asking about the colors of our flag and can you spell cat, takes normally about twenty minutes, and the last is to repeat these words.

"The Oath of Allegiance
I hereby declare, on oath,
that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all
allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince,
potentate, state, or sovereignty, of whom or which I
have heretofore been a subject or citizen;
that I will support and defend the Constitution and
laws of the United States of America against all
enemies, foreign and domestic;
that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same;
that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States
when required by the law;
that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed
Forces of the United States when required by the
law;
that I will perform work of national importance under
civilian direction when required by the law; and
that I take this obligation freely without any
mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help
me God."

That's about 1,500 miles of driving for us for less than a total of 30 minutes of personal visits, seems like they should have a more efficient way. Ha, those field offices are loaded with armed guards, more guards than office personnel. No cameras, not that I really want to take a picture of a bare wall room with folding chairs stacked close together, and no cell phones so I can't bring in my 120 page manual to learn how to use it while waiting.

Karl Hofmann on Wed April 23, 2008 7:03 PM User is offlineView users profile

Quote
Originally posted by: TRB
Only $ 3.4999 in Phoenix. Thought we were supposed to get all this cheap gas! After all we stole all the oil fields correct?


Tim,

How much of that price is for the fuel and how much is tax? Our fuel would be very cheap if it wasn't for the tax payable to Gordon "Fat bastard" Brown.


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Never knock on deaths door... Ring the doorbell and run away, death really hates that!

NickD on Wed April 23, 2008 10:09 PM User is offline

They tell us 52 cents a gallon in our state. U.S. gallon.

TRB on Wed April 23, 2008 10:14 PM User is offlineView users profile

I with you Karl, if the government wanted to help they would remove all taxes on all fuels.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_tax

-------------------------

When considering your next auto A/C purchase, please consider the site that supports you: ACkits.com
Contact: ACKits.com


Edited: Wed April 23, 2008 at 10:16 PM by TRB

NickD on Thu April 24, 2008 7:04 AM User is offline

Somehow, the USA was able to built an entire no traffic light interstate system with a nickel gallon fuel tax, today, can't even plow these roads for over 50 cents per gallon.

With the creation of the EPA and DNR, the DOT could never build that system today. Even making improvements causes a huge lawsuit, roads and bridges are built anyway, but only after a group of attorneys make twice as much as it cost to make those improvements.

Aviation gas wasn't taxed at all, recall paying 23 cents a gallon in the 50's and asked if I could fill my car tank with that gas, was told no, it was unleaded, today, it's close to five bucks a gallon, something about distribution costs and tax, wonder why they didn't have a distribution cost back then. Illinois put on a tollway charge back then of 30 cents, claiming there road was expensive to build, maybe through Chicago, but certainly not between WI and O'Hare, have to stop every couple of miles and pay over a buck, no more change. Road is like a washboard compared to WI that doesn't charge a toll.

Individuals use to be able to get a tax credit for non-highway use of fuels, that is history, only corporations can do that today.

Since we don't hear much about organized crime today, feel all these crooks just ran and are in office, and found a legal means to screw us. This use to be a great country loaded with opportunity, guess the only way to get that opportunity today is to get into office.

Why doesn't the automotive industry have a say in what they put into gas, they are the ones designing the engines, what do they use as a reference for that design? And do they test all 155 different blends? What does the EPA know about blends, they can't even write their own 609 test. One of those blends poisoned the Milwaukee water supply a few years back. It's crazy.

Karl Hofmann on Thu April 24, 2008 7:10 PM User is offlineView users profile

Quote
Originally posted by: TRB
I with you Karl, if the government wanted to help they would remove all taxes on all fuels.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_tax


Ha! Are you kidding? Fuel tax is a great money earner for Gordon.. He'd really be up shit creek without it since a gallon of unleaded is around £5 and out of that 70% is tax... You guys have a little way to go to catch up with us.. The US is even more addicted to the motor car than we are so there is no real reason why your government couldn't do the same.. After all what could you do about it? Most folk these days are too busy earning to pay their mortgages to be able to protest about it... As more manufacturing plants go abroad the revenue that they once paid has to be found else where.. the motorist is a perfect cash cow.. Don't forget Gordon came to visit George the other week to tell him how easy it is to rape the car owner... Just our luck the week we send you Gordon and Lee Harvey Oswald is out of town... LOL


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Never knock on deaths door... Ring the doorbell and run away, death really hates that!

NickD on Fri April 25, 2008 9:44 AM User is offline

Karl, if you are saying, they got us where they want us, well, they got us where they want us, was reminded that gas was 96 cents a gallon before Bush took office and was higher than that when his old man was in office, can check my records, but believe it was around a buck and a quarter back then. Do recall it was a buck sixty-nine before last Novembers election. Told my wife we should plan our vacation before this next November election. She already was on the net searching madly, airline rates have doubled since one year ago, then you have to hope and pray you get a plane where the wings aren't ready to fall off.

It was back in the 60's that the last passenger train went through town and around the mid 80's when the last Greyhound bus stopped here, so the only way to go anywhere is your private car. Still cannot deduct your transportation costs to work or school. Course, you don't have to work, but it's the law to bring your kids to school and the only way is to drive them.

They got us where they want us.

Ha, talked to my son's father-in-law, a long time banker, said many of these loans were issued with principle and interest payments that exceeded the net income of the borrowers, how stupid can people be?

Ha, then after you pay off your house, it's falling apart, did find a guy in town that will replace my foggy argon windows for a hundred bucks a piece, have a total of 44, only six are foggy, so I guess that is not too bad, should only cost me $4,400 if they all go bad. Then I just found a eight by eight foot wall rotting away, I carefully removed the siding to learn they cut the garage roof flashing off two inches too short that let water pour in between the siding and the sheathing. Only cost me 60 bucks for all new materials to repair that. Did check the rest of the house, thank goodness that is okay, but watch how they slap up these half a million buck homes. Really doubt if they will be around when the last payment is due.

Seems like we became a nation that enjoys screwing each other. My airport cities and counties still limit me to the IRS rate of charging 48.5 cents per mile, same rate as when gas was lower than two bucks a gallon, it's okay, I like being screwed.

oznznut on Sun April 27, 2008 11:34 AM User is offline

But we must remember something when we all talk about how things were so cheap long ago. So was the pay. Also, crude is $120.00 per barrel. How much in a barrel? 44 US gallons. Divide that and you get $2.73 per gallon of crude, not per gallon of gasoline, jet fuel, diesel etc. Add in refining, distribution, transportation etc and then taxes, and you are pretty near the cost of the stuff we buy. Last I read the oil companies make about 6-7 cents per gallon. But the sell a jillion gallons, thats where those mega profits come from.

Of course, the arabs and Chavez, and mexico charge us those crude rates. When our own oil companies do the same, that may be somewhat questionable.

And now with China and India competing for the same oil, the price will go up more. I just don't see it coming back down. I bet we'll never see even $2.50 gas again. Its a given we need liquid fuels for transportation, but it doesnt make any sence to me to burn liquids for electricity. We have to get back to nuclear, coal, oil shale etc. And those "green" electric cars!! Where do they think the power to recharge them comes from? If we all had electrics, we would need a bunch more power plants. And we haven't built any in what?--20 years. And what would the power plants use to produce the electricity?

Dave

NickD on Sun April 27, 2008 1:52 PM User is offline

Only difference between freedom and slavery is cheap energy, fusion is the key and has already been proven in lab experiments, but really no government nor commercial interest, everybody is only interested in making a buck today. We have a known 4,000 year supply of natural gas, another 4,000 year supply of methane, and about a 2,000 year supply of harder to get methane hydrate where all three burn much cleaner than crude oil. Can get it domestically if our own EPA will let us. Seems like a big investment in foreign sources some are trying to hang unto that also seems to be getting us into more trouble. Anyway, we are paying the price.

Heard they want to run a new natural gas line through out state with strong objections from some environmental group, have no idea who these people are, but whoever they are, they should be shot.

Karl Hofmann on Sun April 27, 2008 6:53 PM User is offlineView users profile

35 years ago they put an oil pipe through the countryside near where I grew up, within a year the only way that you could tell anything was there was by newly planted hedges where the hedgerows had been disturbed.. Today most people have no idea that the pipe is there..

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Never knock on deaths door... Ring the doorbell and run away, death really hates that!

TRB on Sun April 27, 2008 11:45 PM User is offlineView users profile

Quote
Originally posted by: oznznut
Add in refining, distribution, transportation etc and then taxes, and you are pretty near the cost of the stuff we buy. Last I read the oil companies make about 6-7 cents per gallon. But the sell a jillion gallons, thats where those mega profits come from. Dave

I read somewhere the oil companies make about 10 percent profit on a gallon of gas. What's the profit margin the government makes on an oil revenue? Sure the oil companies make money! But it is not like they are making 1000 percent profit on a gallon of gas. Can the government say the same on their part of the oil debate?



-------------------------
When considering your next auto A/C purchase, please consider the site that supports you: ACkits.com
Contact: ACKits.com

NickD on Mon April 28, 2008 7:47 AM User is offline

Quote
He'd really be up shit creek without it since a gallon of unleaded is around £5 and out of that 70% is tax..

Karl, it's really not fair just to look at one tax as governments are telling you how to live with taxation, in your case, should be driving a moped that get over 100 mpg.

My state is telling me, I should not have a $4,000 motorhome and a home assessed for $225K as I am paying 68 bucks per year for registration regardless of the value of motorhome, but 26 buck per thousand property taxes on the assessed value of my home. If I had a $225K motohome and a $4K home for example, my tax would decrease by $5600 per year.

If a guy is only making 400 bucks per year with a 15% FICA rate would pay 60 bucks that is a good portion of his wages for FICA taxes, but if making 10 million per year, that rate drops down to about 0.12%. Don't have a telephone or cable or buy anything from Europe, will be taxed to death. Drink milk or orange juice, no tax on that, but have to pay a tax on a coke. Actually the cheapest thing to drink in my state is beer, but never have one while driving, then they will really cream you. To really pay low or no taxes, form a religious based corporation plus you can have sex with teenage girls. Try and keep your wages below $33K per year so you will get tax credits, make a buck more and you will pay through the nose.

Just saying you should study all of your taxes so you know how your government wants you to live.

Karl Hofmann on Mon April 28, 2008 4:34 PM User is offlineView users profile

Quote
Originally posted by: NickD

Just saying you should study all of your taxes so you know how your government wants you to live.


Ha! The government wants us to live to work but I'm not too sure what at because we don't make anything anymore... Gordon is trying to balance the books that he screwed up when he was Chancellor. The UK went through a long period of prosperity yet it has emerged that he has borrowed Billions and now we have to pay it back. Now the fat fuck is giving Billions to the idiot banks who were happy to give out 110% mortgages only a few short months ago. I don't suppose it would be so bad if we had actually voted for him but Brown has never won an election... Now am I wrong here but didn't we just hang a non elected dictator?

-------------------------
Never knock on deaths door... Ring the doorbell and run away, death really hates that!

NickD on Tue April 29, 2008 6:20 AM User is offline

"Crude oil price could hit $125 per barrel if the workers of Mobil Oil Nigeria Plc do not call off their strike, international experts have said."

Ha, a couple of pipeline workers go on strike and the world price of crude jumps up, or one refinery goes out like with Katrina, it's endless. I know what you are talking about, Karl, same crap here, our old Governor Thompson claims we have a huge budget surplus, sends everyone a couple of hundred bucks, but when in fact the state is 30 billion bucks in a hole. New governor claims we are not getting our federal bucks back due to the war in Iraq, so property and other taxes skyrocket, so we end up paying that couple hundred bucks back, tenfold. Same thing is going to happen with Bush's money, ha, and don't spend that money at Wal-Mart, it's all going to China.

It's unbelievable. Can't even drive through town anymore, half the roads are being worked on from all the frost damaged caused by dumping tons of salt on the roads, that is also endless.

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