Cheap gas

[gride]

87 octane $2.98 @ SAMs here in lower alabama. Btw, I was watching die hard(released in 88) and 87 was $0.75 in NYC.

[SkiTower]

yep! remember when it finally broke a dollar and when a change of one cent was a big thing.

[DanielC]

I remember gas at 35 cents a gallon, for leaded premium.

[AirTool]

yep! remember when it finally broke a dollar and when a change of one cent was a big thing.

Yeah...I remember as a kid when they sold gas by the half-gallon because the pumps couldn't do 1.00 ....only 0.99 per gallon. I think some priced the gas at half and then you double the price. Then the digital pumps were installed.

[sodbuster88]

Interesting topic.

In 1969 gasoline was only $0.35 a gallon. In 1976 it had risen to around $0.60 per gallon. In 1980 - 81 we were paying above $1.00 for the first time. In those 12 years, gasoline rose approx a full dollar from $0.35 to $1.35. That is an increase of 286% in 12 years!

Now adjusting for inflation...in terms of 2012 dollars, in 1981 that $1.35 would be the equivalent to $3.37 in inflation adjusted terms for January 2012 dollars...utilizing the CPI of both years (see Bureau of Labor Statics).

Prices then remained relatively flat (in 2012 dollars) until 1998 when the average price was about $1.00 and by July 2008 it had increased to about $4.00 ... a 294% increase in 10 years even greater than the 1981 spike.

And here's the shocker....the average 2012 inflation adjusted gasoline prices for the following peak years were; 1918 was $3.75, 1938 was $3.22, 2008 was $3.39, and the average for all of 2011 was $3.48. All very close when adjusted for inflation to where prices are today. Let that sink in boys....( reference bureau of labor statistics )

[SkiTower]

now compare that to salaries adjusted for inflation as well as tax debt to define the financial burden of buying that gallon of gas. Are we richer or poorer today? Is more of our salary being "redistributed"?

[gride]

and factor in gas milage, how far people actually drove/drive, and regardless i feel like i'm getting bent over at the pump. isn't most of gas the federal tax? oh ya, i forgot...they cut it with ethanol now too so you have to factor that too.

[jbach]

Let that sink in boys....( reference bureau of labor statistics )

lol. think a little bit harder. real wages adjusted for inflation are flat (expected, almost by definition). fact is, we are spending 40% more on fuel prices (again, adjusted) from our income. (Reference - Common Sense)

[AirTool]

and factor in gas milage, how far people actually drove/drive, and regardless i feel like i'm getting bent over at the pump. isn't most of gas the federal tax? oh ya, i forgot...they cut it with ethanol now too so you have to factor that too.

If most of you knew what it took to get gasoline to the pump you wouldn't complain about the price so much.

On tax, fed tax is twenty-something cents per gallon and state taxes are about the same....varying by state.

Don't forget, if the oil came from the gulf of Mexico, the oil company also had to bid on the lease plus pay federal royalty on production. The government gets a lot of money from our oil production and gas consumption. It doesn't matter if federal oil or private. The private owner pays income tax on the production profit.

I still believe gas pumps should have two meters. One meter racks up the charge from the oil company. The other meter (swipe your card separately) racks up the taxes and royalties. If people were reminded every time they filled up their Tahoe that 15 bucks (or more if you include inderect royalties and taxes) went to the government, they would start a revolution.

[scottb7]

So adjusted for inflation and subtracting out taxes, gas is basically free. The government is pretty much paying us to buy it.

[gride]

The fed should be on their knees asking and begging for money from us. It shouldn't be how it is where we fear retribution. People need to stop paying all together and see how the fed gets by

[sodbuster88]

So adjusted for inflation and subtracting out taxes, gas is basically free. The government is pretty much paying us to buy it.

Haha, not far off the mark...and good evidence that fossil fuel is plentiful...but still subject to the laws of supply and demand that are primarily imposed by big government regulation. People in the UK are paying about 1.4 GBP/ litre. That's roughly $8/gal ... Sadly, the tax and regulation structure that is in place there is creeping our way...

[sodbuster88]

lol. think a little bit harder. real wages adjusted for inflation are flat (expected, almost by definition). fact is, we are spending 40% more on fuel prices (again, adjusted) from our income. (Reference - Common Sense)

Agree totally with your sentiments, however it's not flat...it's worse. Average "real" wages have flattened since 2003 and inflation has accelerated drastically since the Fed took us off the gold standard in 1971. Inflation is now growing faster than real wage growth and has been since 2005. You are really paying the same for fuel adjusted for inflation)...your greenbacks are not going as far as they used to. And...cost of goods and services sold (other than fuel) have rocketed skyward, couple this with the Fed printing more M1 gives us all the illusion of growth. For every buck that is printed, we have one in our wallet that will buy less fuel. (Reference..."down-on-the-farm" reality)

[196 die hard]

The worst part about it is when you find out how much of YOUR dollar gets nickle and dime on taxes after you have already paid payroll and all the other taxes. Then you sit there and watch how the Government just pisses it away on useless waste.

[perry386]

I also live in alabama and 87 is about 295 to 299 a gallon