traxtermax
Explorer
Joined 21 years ago
User Profile
User Widgets
All Activity
Re: RV Fuel Issues & Prices - Post 'Em Here!
lwmuddy wrote: ...The Ball is in play and we'll have to wait to see who receives it. Regardless of who catches it, it'll still be the same game with some different players. Nothing will change substantially unless the politicians give up lobby money and direct their powers to our national problems instead of earmarks and things that provide the most campaign money--a concept that I think has been lost for some time.294Views0likes0CommentsRe: RV Fuel Issues & Prices - Post 'Em Here!
Strawfoot wrote: … Who is "you" and where do they get the authority to build dams and nuclear power plants? They just acquire the right-of-way on our rivers? They just dispose of spent nuclear fuel as they wish? They don't have to go through the government? Like you, I think there has to be a “central authority” to determine and develop our needs (roads, dams, etc.) and then businesses’ “social investments” can follow if the economic potential is proven or viable. … Exxon pays half of those large profits back to the government in taxes…Then they aren’t profits are they? If they weren’t taxed, their profits would be double what they are now and that would probably be politically intolerable. Our corporate taxes are about the highest in the world…Exxon Mobil seems to be weathering their tax burden rather well. [=/quote] … I get it; you hate the way our government has failed you in the past. For example, what do you have in mind? But at the same time you are still getting those prescription drugs paid for and you are still cashing your social security checks, even if you are 80 years old and have taken out twice as much as you ever paid in. Against my wishes, the government demanded that I join Social Security and I paid my dues for thirty plus years. Now, I damn well expect them to uphold their part of the “agreement”. I don’t consider SS a handout because my participation was forced and my wages garnished. It was the government’s decision to make Social Security part of the “system”, not mine or millions of others. You don't hate the government, you hate some of what government does and embrace other things they do.Of course, who doesn’t? Isn’t that part of the “human condition”? If you are a member of AARP, you are part of a huge political organization that tries to milk the government at every opportunity. What would you call big oil’s political organization that tries to milk the government at every opportunity? I’d call it an uncontrollable, humongous, lobby. You want them paying for all your medical needs and handing the bills to the next generation of taxpayers. That’s because: (a) doctors won’t take chickens for payment anymore. (b) life expectancies have increased significantly since the inception of the Social Security program. (c) grandma and grandpa used to die at home with some semblance of dignity; now they can prolong death while diluting the “quality” of the process. It’s been said that Eskimos used to place an old, “terminally sick” person on an ice floe and they were given a push to help them float their way to nirvana. I guess your right about the fact we have to change things like this. Considering the global warming problem, it’s been recently determined that properly sized ice floes are now impossible to locate. To solve the problem, the Eskimos bought a circus “human cannon” and now are teaching the funeral director how to calculate grandpa’s final trajectory to the nearest suitable ice flow sans polar bears. ;) (d) public perception of death has changed over the years. People’s final days are many times prolonged and without accompanying quality of life. It benefits the drug companies and health industry, not the government that’s making Medicare/Medicaid payments – just take a look at a hospital bill some time. It’s apparent to me that many hospitals, though declared a non profit organization, are making, what most of us would consider to be, huge profits. (e) I do think the government made a huge error by allowing and nurturing public and corporate welfare to a point of uncontrollability. Actually, it probably was a discovery of a very effective way for politicians to buy votes with public monies. Additionally, I think that social, business and political ethics have declined over the years and that compounds many of our problems. …You can complain about our government but you can't do so while milking taxpayers because of a government program you happen to embrace…Who’s being milked—the taxpayers who are bailing out greedy businesses and a relative few stupid homeowners? What programs are “we” embracing?243Views0likes0CommentsRe: RV Fuel Issues & Prices - Post 'Em Here!
The infrastructure is starting to take a hit too. Asphalt cost rose $8/ton in the last month and it now costs $30,000 MORE to pave a mile of road than it did last year. As a result, road repairs are being cut by 50%, yet material costs are still increasing. In conjunction with that, the low bid salt last year was $38.67/ton and it could be $87.67/ton this year (apparently, the current low bid). On top of that heating oil is approaching $5/gallon and kerosene is well above that. In many ways, it's going to be a back-busting winter.:E291Views0likes0CommentsRe: RV Fuel Issues & Prices - Post 'Em Here!
Increasing taxes would continue to strangle the economy unless there are viable, affordable, immediately and readily available alternatives to oil consumption. Conservation et. al. only go so far and we're in heavy duty trouble. It'll take another year for any political action and both parties will sit on the energy issue until after elections. Meanwhile, speculators will continue to rape and pillage. Our government is "out of control" because it shows no control-- and I'm afraid that it will be "the same game" after elections, regardless of who wins.332Views0likes0CommentsRe: RV Fuel Issues & Prices - Post 'Em Here!
SusiDave: Even though this is "RVNet", it's really not about RVing. It's about our country's survival and our lifestyle. Almost evertyhing you can think of is directly or indirectly connected with oil -- food, clothing, shelter, medicine... Personally, if our economy could be strong and stable; and the only sacrifice that had to be made to achieve that goal FROM OUR CURRENT POSITION would be to eliminate RV'ing, I'd do it in a heart beat. The ability to "RV" is the least of our country's problems. Edit: fixed a typo and eliminated two commas306Views0likes0CommentsRe: RV Fuel Issues & Prices - Post 'Em Here!
topflite51 wrote: Getting to the market or work by car is not an essential function. Ever hear of walking, riding a bicycle, etc.Of course but to use that as a broad justification that vehicles aren’t essential is ridiculous. Ever hear of people with bad knees, bad backs, asthma, heart problems, hemorrhoids etc.? Don’t they get eat or do they have to depend on someone else to get their grub? I want to see you pedal to the grocery store when it’s minus 20, the wind’s blowing at 20 MPH and the road shoulders are covered with snow or invisible. You’d have to be an idiot to ride a bike on snow covered highways when the roads are narrow and shoulders icy. If you fell on the shoulder by the time someone found you, you’d be frozen like a rock. Of course, they wouldn’t have to dig a grave, they could pound you into the ground. Wouldn't a lot of Americans be in a lot better shape if they tried it?Maybe not. Ambulances wouldn’t be essential either. The medics could ride bikes and make little saddle bags to hold batteries for the siren, oxygen cylinders and medical equipment. Maybe some people would be healthier but it has no real bearing on your introductory statement and bicycle ambulances are out of the question. Or how about mass transit or ride sharing?I think, when possible, that’s being done more than you may think. We haven’t developed mass transit because we relied on cheap gas and never saw a need for an extensive mass transit system until now. As to the utilities, their infrastructure is in horrendous shape, asking for price increases after the fact is not getting it done. It worked in the beginning, but it is slowly failing. "20 -30 years of using oil utilities, that may give enough time to make necessary transitions." What is that? Is that your idea of an energy policy for the nation? No. It was an alternative to windfall profits taxes. We need a workable, nonpartisan energy plan but we must also buy the time to implement it. That is a plan doomed to failure.It wasn’t an energy plan, it was a suggestion to contain greed. The reason I can that is simple, even you used the words "that may".You know the adage, “never say never”. Do we risk our children's and their children's future on those words? I think not.I don’t know what you’re driving at here. We have to do something better than that… edit: changed "energy play" to "energy plan"208Views0likes0CommentsRe: RV Fuel Issues & Prices - Post 'Em Here!
topflite51 wrote: Is gasoline and diesel "essential", maybe for commercial applications, but for private? There is no "commerce" without "private". Once the truck gets the food to market (commercial), "private" (people) must have the ability to travel to the stores, go to work, etc. Commerce wouldn't exist without "private's" participation. As to being a "public utility" best look at those, they are in serious need of capital for upgrading. The system for applying for a price increase is not working for those utilities.They seem to have worked for decades and if we can eek out 20-30 years using oil utilities, that may give us enough time to make the necessary transitions. ...Rationing fuel, may have worked where you were, but... In today's ME FIRST society, I sincerely doubt it would work...I don't think so either. I think in WWII the common ration was 4 gallons/week and 8 if you were working in an industry necessary for the war effort. Our population is much too diverse and spread out for similiar rationing. For instance, a local company is considering four day work weeks because the average distance driven by their 500 employees is 43 miles to work (I may have my numbers wrong but you get the idea). The gas savings are substantial to say the least and any rationing program would have to be sophisticated.207Views0likes0CommentsRe: RV Fuel Issues & Prices - Post 'Em Here!
I've read several articles suggested in this and similar posts. It comes back to the same questions posted above. My question is not how the market works but is it necessary, especially in its present form. If I read the book, I'd likely get another "tatical answer" to read another book and still not have my questions addressed. If wing_zealot's descriptions and examples are accurate, it would seem that knowledgable people could address my questions with reasonable, logical answers.258Views0likes0Comments
Groups
