FED UP with fuel prices?

[DCreed]

The oil companies will get a pass from me because they actually get me a product that I can use. If the oil companies made $10 Billion each last quarter then the government made twice that amount for doing nothing! They didn't go to all the trouble of exploring, finding, drilling, extracting, pumping, refining, shipping, and all that to get diesel to my local kwik-e-mart. Almost all people in CONgress are more concerned about getting reelected and covering their own back sides than doing what the voters who sent them there want them to do.

Thankfully, WE can change that, and vote in better people and better policies to deal with Americas problems in a way that is beneficial to its people.

 

[Crazy Horse]

WE can change that, and vote in better people and better policies

Here is what is spooky to me.



These people are allowed to vote.

 

[AClayton]

Quite eyeopening!!!

 

[JesseJ]

Yep, kind of along the same lines as stupid people shouldn't breed, well, stupid people shouldn't be allowed to vote. I think it's pretty pathetic that someone can get elected based on their speech-giving skills, looks, age, and dare I say, race, and none of them pay a bit of attention to his policies and how they will send this country down the toilet. I've heard people describe Obama as Carter number two but the sad fact is, Carter will look like Reagan compared to the left-wing radical Obama.

 

[MJaynes]

congress and president were republican controlled for several yrs... (how short is everyones memory?)they didn't do anything about drilling in alaska either... its all about getting every dollar from us...

 

[JesseJ]

Ummm, do you think that maybe there was no reason for drilling since prices didn't start to go up until just recently? It wasn't on anyones radar while "those evil republicans controlled the congress and white house. " Prices went up after Katrina and other hurricanes but everyone understood that, they could see for themselves the devastation that was caused. After that, prices went back down and nobody paid attention.



Number two, it probably could have passed if it weren't for all the RINO's in CONgress(Republican in name only).



Number three, the beloved speaker of the house Nancy Pelosi made a big deal about how we're going to get gas prices back down lower when us democrats are elected. And where have they gone since then? Way up! Good job there Mrs. Pelosi. Good idea, just keep taxing them to death. Heaven forbid we get more oil since that's what this country runs on.



When will someone invent a machine to make some kind of power out of all the hot air that flows out of D. C. ?

 

[DCreed]

When will someone invent a machine to make some kind of power out of all the hot air that flows out of D. C. ?

that much power could run the world and launch the space shuttle!!:-laf

 

[MJaynes]

democrats dont have enough of a majority to override a presidential veto...

but soon they prob. wont need to... at any rate, it is all calculated to ring every penny out of fuel users... unfortunately almost all the folks around

here dont have an income anywhere near the national average. ( the local avg. here

is just over half the national avg. ) we can not afford more of the failed policies of the last 8 yrs.

and,taking a chance on something we are not sure of is worth doing vs. 4 or more yrs. of the same. this is traditionaly a very republican area... but that's not what i'm hearing this go around. something has got to give or most of my county will be in foreclosure in the next year or so. does anyone think that big oil having more domestic oil will actualy bring down prices a great deal?i would like to think so,but just cant belive it. by the way,diesel was . 92/gal. when i bought my truck in 2002... don't drive it much anymore except to haul the trash off or go cut a load of firewood. we will all have to get together to get anything done... i just don't think that will ever happen either. mike

 

[DHayden]

override a veto on what? If you are thinking the president is holding back drilling you need to do more research. The vote to drill in ANWR and off the coast of florida were ALL voted down by democrats, Bush was for ALL. I don't agree with all of his policies but man people need to educate themselves or their going to be in for a rude awakening.

If your illuding to the next four years being much the same as Bush if McCain is elected then you need to do even MORE research, McCain is no Bush... he is a liberal in my book. Open boarders, Amnesty, no drilling for new oil and he has fallen under the spell of the Global Warming sheep.



Dont know if anyone else has seen this, but an indepth study was done on "global warming". IF ALL of the things the democrats and tree huggers wanted us to do was done, it would lower the temperature 7/100's of 1 degree and cost us Trillions of dollars. I believe we can do our part rationally, but the temperature is going up on every other planet in the solar system and that tells me it doesnt have alot to do with humans ruining the earth.

Meanwhile we will let the Chinese drill everywhere for OUR oil, after all they are much more environmentally friendly then we are



PS. I think its been said before but if we truly and honestly said we were going to drill in ANWR, off the coast of alaska, the dakota's and other places, OPEC would lower their prices like mad to keep us from doing it. Their economies run on us buying their oil, if we threatened to open up that much more supply they would panic. Sorry for the long post

 

[DHayden]

One other thing, if democrats were aloud to pass a windfall profit tax on the oil companies do you think that will hurt them or make our gas cheaper? Taking away the tax breaks they get from the government? All either of those will do is RAISE our gas prices because the oil companies will get their money and their going to get it by raising our fuel prices to make up for the extra taxes they will have to pay uncle sam... . great plan.



Want to have big oil invest in developing new types of energy? Why? Their in the oil business not the wind or solar business. Thats like telling McDonald's that people are to dependent on eating hamburgers and the need to start financing and changing over to spaghetti and tofu.

 

[MJaynes]

i was refering to the fact that the speaker of the house and party dont have enough of a majority to overrride the republican big oil agenda,but if you think the big oil friends(v. p. and co. ) are going to do anything to

loosen their own grip you need to do more research(or a reality check)... more drilled oil in the u. s. means a greater profit margin and nothing more. as far as taxing them to death, it looks like they are quite alive... typical republican misinformation... . the democrats will tax us to death... if you are talking about the rich,i hope so. the poor ,who do the real work in this country are paying 30+ percent of their income just for insurances and taxes(i know i am) and i work 60-70 hrs a week just to keep our head above water and i am mostly disabled due to my back(3discs worn out) and i am a "leach off the rich" democrat who has not even looked at dissability, and cant because i work for myself. i remember waiting in those long lines with my parents in the early 70's,do you? we should have started then to get away from independance from foreign oil(like brazil has very successfully done) but it was not in the interest of big oil then and it is not now. have you ever looked into the eyes of three small children,knowing you have ruined your body working extra(and prob. wont be able to support them till they can support themselves) and all because of the price of just basic needs?in our church (filled with old and poor)the old are chosing between food,fuel and medicine. do you think any of the rich around here care? most of the rich around here are republicans by the way. it is clear to me that there are plenty in this world that are all for themselves who care little about their neighbor... big oil is in this group. i go to church,pay tithes,pray for our soldiers,leaders and all... i am pro life as well. does this sound like the democrats you envision? there are plenty around here the think exactly as i do and will not vote for the party that supports big oil,only the lesser of 2 evils... . if drilling anywhere in the u. s. will reduce the prices alot i am all for it... maby they will start in your front yard. God bless you all... mike

 

[Dieselnut59]

i was refering to the fact that the speaker of the house and party dont have enough of a majority to overrride the republican big oil agenda,but if you think the big oil friends(v. p. and co. ) are going to do anything to

loosen their own grip you need to do more research(or a reality check)... more drilled oil in the u. s. means a greater profit margin and nothing more. as far as taxing them to death, it looks like they are quite alive... typical republican misinformation... . the democrats will tax us to death... if you are talking about the rich,i hope so. the poor ,who do the real work in this country are paying 30+ percent of their income just for insurances and taxes(i know i am) and i work 60-70 hrs a week just to keep our head above water and i am mostly disabled due to my back(3discs worn out) and i am a "leach off the rich" democrat who has not even looked at dissability, and cant because i work for myself. i remember waiting in those long lines with my parents in the early 70's,do you? we should have started then to get away from independance from foreign oil(like brazil has very successfully done) but it was not in the interest of big oil then and it is not now. have you ever looked into the eyes of three small children,knowing you have ruined your body working extra(and prob. wont be able to support them till they can support themselves) and all because of the price of just basic needs?in our church (filled with old and poor)the old are chosing between food,fuel and medicine. do you think any of the rich around here care? most of the rich around here are republicans by the way. it is clear to me that there are plenty in this world that are all for themselves who care little about their neighbor... big oil is in this group. i go to church,pay tithes,pray for our soldiers,leaders and all... i am pro life as well. does this sound like the democrats you envision? there are plenty around here the think exactly as i do and will not vote for the party that supports big oil,only the lesser of 2 evils... . if drilling anywhere in the u. s. will reduce the prices alot i am all for it... maby they will start in your front yard. God bless you all... mike

If drilling domestically does increase the "profit margin", I am ALL for it! I would rather those "profits" be made domestically that go to the arab countries.

I am one of those awful rich people you speak of who does not do the "real work". I am co-owner of a family business. We have 8 employees. Ever been employed by a poor person?

"Poor" people usually get themselves into their situation, often by having children they cannot afford to raise, buying more house then they need, more vehicle than they need or buying more "frills" (cell phone, plasma television, stereo equipment, etc) than they can afford. Many of the "poor" also smoke and or drink. Then they whine about gas prices and not being able to feed their family. To your credit, you said you work hard to make ends meet. Many of the whiners do no more than necessary, then turn to the government for their "needs".

What proposals have the democrats come up with that you like so much? How are they going to help you? All I have heard is more wealth redistribution and "tax the rich" proposals. Well, I can tell you: If they tax the "rich" (business owners), the cost is passed on to the consumer, so the ones who are hurt are the "poor", "underprivileged" and "middle class". We the "rich" are not hurt as badly by tax increases "on the rich", as the increases are passed on to the consumers or less employees are hired or are paid less... Who keeps the economy strong by providing jobs, providing goods and services and investing capital? It ain't the "poor"! And yes, most "rich" people I know are Conservatives. We have what we have through hard work, wise decisions and good investment. We do not want it taken away.

Unfortunately, there are no conservatives in the major parties this presidential election. I will vote Libertarian.

 

[DHayden]

I DO remember sitting in those lines in the 70's and I DO have 3 children. I drive 130 miles round trip to work so I know a bit about the costs. I am NO way rich, not even close. I have to make the same hard decisions most every other American has to make. The only difference is I dont blindly follow the crowd and try to do my homework on why things are the way they are. Sometimes I'm wrong and I will admit it, I dont think this is one of those times.

I highly doubt with big reserves off the coast they will need to come to my front yard, maybe I should just let the chinese come drill it out of my yard so they can sell it back to me?



Food for thought:



Suppose that everyday 10 men go to PJ's for lunch. The bill for all ten comes to $100. If it were paid the way we pay our taxes, the first four men would pay nothing; the fifth would pay $1; the sixth would pay $3; the seventh $7; the eighth $12; the ninth $18. The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59. The 10 men ate lunch in the restaurant every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement until the owner threw them a curve.



"Since you are all such good customers," he said, "I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily meal by $20. " Now lunch for the 10 would costs only $80. The first four are unaffected. They still eat for free. Can you figure out how to divvy up the $20 savings between the remaining six so that everyone gets his fair share?



The men realize that $20 divided by 6 is $3. 33, but if they subtract that from everybody's share, then the fifth and the sixth man would end up being paid to eat their meal. The restaurant owner suggested that it would be only fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount that each paid and he started to work out the amounts each should pay.



And so the fifth man paid nothing, the sixth pitched in $2, the seventh paid $5, the eighth paid $9, the ninth paid $12, leaving the tenth man with a bill of $52 instead of $59. Outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.



"I only got a dollar out of the $20," declared the sixth man pointing to the tenth, "and he got $7!"



"Yeah, that's right," exclaimed the fifth man. "I only saved a dollar, too. It's unfair that he got seven times more than me!"



"That's true," shouted the seventh man. "Why should he get $7 back when I got only $2? The wealthy get all the breaks. "



"Wait a minute," yelled the first four men in unison. "We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor. "



The nine men surrounded the tenth man and beat him up. The next day he didn't show up for lunch, so the nine sat down and ate without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important: They were $52 short!



And that, boys and girls and college instructors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up at the table anymore. There are lots of good restaurants in Switzerland and the Caribbean.



This is a concept to many people dont grasp, have a good one

 

[JesseJ]

Mike, you are one of the democrats that I like. You believe in personal responsibility and working hard for everything you have. You do not want to take handouts from the government, you'd rather do whatever is neccessary to provide for your family. Unfortunately, your party has been taken over by the left-wing radicals who want to turn our country into socialism. There are very few democrats left who believe as you do, and they are gettting harder and harder to find every day.

"Typical democrat misinformation"- One, tax the rich, not the poor. As has already been pointed out, the rich provide jobs for "the poor" and nevermind the fact that the top 10% of wage earners in the U. S. pay somewhere around 60-80% of the income tax that comes into the treasury and yet they're not taxed enough?

Two-tax corporations more to help out the little guy- Corporations don't pay taxes. That's built into the cost of whatever product or service they sell. If taxes go up, they raise their price to cover it so who gets screwed? The consumer of the product I. E. "the little guy"

Three-Everyone has been praising Brazil for their energy independence and how they've done it with sugar cane ethanol. What the media will not tell you because of their bias is the fact that their sugar cane ethanol is only a small part of it. The biggest factor in Brazil becoming energy independent is because THEY DRILLED FOR MORE OIL! off their own coasts.



I think if they were allowed to drill here their profit margins might actually go down because more oil on the world market would probably lower prices.

And unfortunately, I don't feel too sorry for most of the people being foreclosed on because they overextended themselves, bought more house than they can afford, or just plain didn't pay enough attention to realize they were probably getting a raw deal and a bad loan from unscrupulous lenders. Nobody in the U. S. knows a thing about delayed gratification. They always want it now, instead of saving up money to buy something. They have a loan for two cars, student loans, credit cards, etc. And then complain that they got a raw deal on their mortgage. Well, tough luck. I'm still living in an apartment, saving up money for a down payment on a house I can afford, because I don't think the government should come and bail somebody out every time they fail. Most people I know let their kids fail on occasion so they can learn from their mistakes. If you always bail your kids out of every situation then they never learn anything, and that's what our government is doing.

 

[HBarlow]

I DO remember sitting in those lines in the 70's and I DO have 3 children. I drive 130 miles round trip to work so I know a bit about the costs. I am NO way rich, not even close. I have to make the same hard decisions most every other American has to make. The only difference is I dont blindly follow the crowd and try to do my homework on why things are the way they are. Sometimes I'm wrong and I will admit it, I dont think this is one of those times.

I highly doubt with big reserves off the coast they will need to come to my front yard, maybe I should just let the chinese come drill it out of my yard so they can sell it back to me?



Food for thought:



Suppose that everyday 10 men go to PJ's for lunch. The bill for all ten comes to $100. If it were paid the way we pay our taxes, the first four men would pay nothing; the fifth would pay $1; the sixth would pay $3; the seventh $7; the eighth $12; the ninth $18. The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59. The 10 men ate lunch in the restaurant every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement until the owner threw them a curve.



"Since you are all such good customers," he said, "I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily meal by $20. " Now lunch for the 10 would costs only $80. The first four are unaffected. They still eat for free. Can you figure out how to divvy up the $20 savings between the remaining six so that everyone gets his fair share?



The men realize that $20 divided by 6 is $3. 33, but if they subtract that from everybody's share, then the fifth and the sixth man would end up being paid to eat their meal. The restaurant owner suggested that it would be only fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount that each paid and he started to work out the amounts each should pay.



And so the fifth man paid nothing, the sixth pitched in $2, the seventh paid $5, the eighth paid $9, the ninth paid $12, leaving the tenth man with a bill of $52 instead of $59. Outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.



"I only got a dollar out of the $20," declared the sixth man pointing to the tenth, "and he got $7!"



"Yeah, that's right," exclaimed the fifth man. "I only saved a dollar, too. It's unfair that he got seven times more than me!"



"That's true," shouted the seventh man. "Why should he get $7 back when I got only $2? The wealthy get all the breaks. "



"Wait a minute," yelled the first four men in unison. "We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor. "



The nine men surrounded the tenth man and beat him up. The next day he didn't show up for lunch, so the nine sat down and ate without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important: They were $52 short!



And that, boys and girls and college instructors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up at the table anymore. There are lots of good restaurants in Switzerland and the Caribbean.



This is a concept to many people dont grasp, have a good one

DHayden:



Amen! It's an old story but worth repeating. It sums up our corrupt tax system and blow-dried empty suit politicians who demagogue the issue endlesslyl

 

[HBarlow]

MJaynes,



It is clear from your post that you are an old school democrat who believes in the same values as most of us. Hard work, self-reliance, etc.



Sadly, you are just misinformed about the political parties and the oil industry as are many hardworking Americans. As JesseJ above wrote, your political party ceased to exist in the '60s. It is now home for all the radical, anti-American leftists and socialists who want to turn our country upside down and remake it in order to reward them, who produce nothing of value instead of men like you, who work for a living.



Their is no big oil conspiracy and the president and vice-president have nothing to do with the oil companies. President Bush has attempted throughout his administration, not very effectively unfortunately, to get the emptysuit blowdried members of your party in Congress to allow drilling and production of crude in AK and offshore. If we produced our own oil prices would immediately drop on the world market and thousands of Americans would find jobs in the oil industry and drilling rigs.

 

[HBarlow]

Mike, you are one of the democrats that I like. You believe in personal responsibility and working hard for everything you have. You do not want to take handouts from the government, you'd rather do whatever is neccessary to provide for your family. Unfortunately, your party has been taken over by the left-wing radicals who want to turn our country into socialism. There are very few democrats left who believe as you do, and they are gettting harder and harder to find every day.

"Typical democrat misinformation"- One, tax the rich, not the poor. As has already been pointed out, the rich provide jobs for "the poor" and nevermind the fact that the top 10% of wage earners in the U. S. pay somewhere around 60-80% of the income tax that comes into the treasury and yet they're not taxed enough?

Two-tax corporations more to help out the little guy- Corporations don't pay taxes. That's built into the cost of whatever product or service they sell. If taxes go up, they raise their price to cover it so who gets screwed? The consumer of the product I. E. "the little guy"

Three-Everyone has been praising Brazil for their energy independence and how they've done it with sugar cane ethanol. What the media will not tell you because of their bias is the fact that their sugar cane ethanol is only a small part of it. The biggest factor in Brazil becoming energy independent is because THEY DRILLED FOR MORE OIL! off their own coasts.



I think if they were allowed to drill here their profit margins might actually go down because more oil on the world market would probably lower prices.

And unfortunately, I don't feel too sorry for most of the people being foreclosed on because they overextended themselves, bought more house than they can afford, or just plain didn't pay enough attention to realize they were probably getting a raw deal and a bad loan from unscrupulous lenders. Nobody in the U. S. knows a thing about delayed gratification. They always want it now, instead of saving up money to buy something. They have a loan for two cars, student loans, credit cards, etc. And then complain that they got a raw deal on their mortgage. Well, tough luck. I'm still living in an apartment, saving up money for a down payment on a house I can afford, because I don't think the government should come and bail somebody out every time they fail. Most people I know let their kids fail on occasion so they can learn from their mistakes. If you always bail your kids out of every situation then they never learn anything, and that's what our government is doing.

JesseJ,



I salute you for a well written, accurate, and honest post written in a polite manner. I wish a few million more fellow Americans believe as you (and I) do.

 

[MJaynes]

well, i can see from the posts that i am in the minority here... for one i am not uninformed... go read the voting histories of the prospective candidates... they are all over the web from several unbiased sources. 2-i have nerver been employed by the rich(and dont drink etc. but play write and sing in a gospel group)... but have worked for myself most of my life and the folks i know that work for the rich are grossly underpaid(i am in appalachia and they have very little choice because most were too poor to afford college past 2 years at the local tech school) and many business owners i personally know have gotten filty rich on the backs of these less fortunate folks who didnt get a business handed to them(and i realize many actuall worked for what they have- but several i know didnt). 3- as for me i saved 16 years. . 16YEARS to buy my truck in cash(and own all three of our cars). 4- i built my home with my own hands... from framing to finishing, and was actually able to save money every year till the last 2 or 3(by the way i bet my mortgage is less than most here). 5- i am a small business owner and built that business from the start with no help-other than a small loan from a bank with a small piece of land as security. 6-i didnt have kids till i was financially stable with a house,business and paid for vehicles with a decent amount of savings in hand. i guess it is the attitude of the rich i know,how they act like they deserve to be rich,and they are somehow surperior to those around them that turn me off. God created all men equal in His sight and in His commandments

He says love thy brother as thy self... . to me,anyone who takes advantage of less fortunate in any way is disgusting to say the least. i am glad to see someone who has been successful by working hard,playing by the rules and

helping those around them as much as they can. unfortunately, the prices of the things people count on can be manipulated(speculators and such) by some who only cares about the bottom line is sad. i sincerely hope something makes a turn for the better in this country because in this area people are suffering like i have never seen... furniture factories,textiles and all the businesses that depended on these peoples paychecks are in jeopardy of going completely bust(the factories already have)... businesses owned by democrats and republicans alike. maby some day people will wake up and realize we are all in this together and act that way. so keep flaming and "educating" me (by the way most of my family served in the military and all of my immidiate familly graduated from college)since i am a poor,stupid uninformed democrat whose entire pary is a bunch of radical,lazy,unmoral,uniformed,stupid,uneducated,inbred,etc... . I'll still be at church tomm. praying and worshiping... hoping for better days ahead for all of us. gotta go to work now since its still the workweek for me. sorry for the long,sloppy post. God bless you all-mike

 

[DCreed]

Thanks Mike! Please dont feel alone in this. Unfortunately the more well-off people are often blind to the day to day struggles the rest of us face. And dont feel it is unjust to step on others if it gets them ahead. In the end we will all be judged, Continue to make your kingdom in heaven and I hope to see you there!

 

[JesseJ]

As I said before Mike, I think you and I agree on most things. Obviously I don't believe your entire party are stupid, uninformed, left-wing radicals. What I was saying is that it seems to me, (and this is just one mans humble opinion), that your party has been taken over by the left-wing radicals who do not love this country but hate it and want to tear it down for the worse. I'm also of the opinion that my party has been hi-jacked by the "moderate" Republicans who I believe will not do this country any good. I have written my congressmen on several issues, I am angry about high fuel prices, high food prices, etc. just like everyone else and I'm trying to do all I can, save taking a pitch-fork and a torch to D. C.

I don't think it matters whether there's an R or D next to our names, we're all Americans and Gods children in the end. I heard last night on the radio from someone who would be considered a very right-wing conservative that "It takes two wings to fly forward, we've been flying in circles for too long. Let's start moving forward. " It takes cooperation from both sides to move this country forward instead of flying in circles and backstabbing and bickering at one another instead of taking care of this country and it's issues. That's all that's been going on in Washington. I think it's horrible the things BOTH sides will drum up and talk about on the other side, the personal attacks and anger and bitterness. There is no more respect for one another in D. C. like their used to be. We can agree to disagree for sure, but in the end, we all have to live next door to each other and work together.