Should You Pay $6 Per Gallon?

[AJ]

http://www.newsweek.com/id/133994

Interesting article, and I can't honestly say I disagree. $6 a gallon would make a lot of dependancy go away. But it would also kill a lot of business's in the process. Discuss short and long term feelings if you woke up tomorrow to $6 a gallon.

[dmention7]

i would petition nanami that much harder to let me buy a motorcycle.

Honestly though, I don't know how much it would change my day-to-day life. I'd just continue on the road of conserving gas where possible and not making unecessary trips.

[mndsm]

Should I pay it? No

Would I pay it? Probably

I'd take the bus a lot more though.

[spek1098]

I guess it depends on how we get to $6 per gallon. It would be a horrible idea to wake up tomorrow to $6 gas. A shock like that would send the economy into a tail spin and would end up being hardest on the poor. A gradual rise over 5 to 10 years, allowing business, the government and individuals to adapt with smaller, more efficient cars, more mass transit, and to fix the horrible ethanol system we currently have, would be a very good thing.

[Picklz]

I'd be driving a lot less than I do now, less unecessary trips, perhaps car pool more etc.

I've tried to budget for $5/gallon already, I don't think $5-6 a gallon is all that far off. I hope I'm wrong.

[ZoomZoom Diva]

Any form of taxation that is specific to a particular good or behavior is unethical government intrusion into people's lives. Government's manipulation is already one cause of the current artificially high prices, both in poor fiscal responsibility and in preventing the markets from adding to the supply of fossil fuels.

Essentially, our pain would be most beneficial to China and India having access to a greater supply at a lower price rather than to our benefit in the short and moderate term. In the long run, gasoline substitutes may return the advantage to us.

I have substantially cut my driving as well, but the bottom line is I will insist on enjoying the driving I do make rather than getting some little shitbox that will make driving miserable... and will pay to do it. I might replace the RX-7 with an MX-5 for the summer, when I do most of my driving.

[mazdamn02]

I'm waiting for an E85 tune for the speed 3. 129 octane FTW.

[JustROLLIN]

I would pay it. I dont think much would change in my personal life. I dont drive enough for it stop me from driving. On the other hand, our economic status would continue to crumble... Nearly every industry suffers from high gas prices.

[JustROLLIN]

I'm waiting for an E85 tune for the speed 3. 129 octane FTW.

Yeah, but with the rising price of corn and needing nearly twice the amount of E85 to create the same amount of power as regular gasoline, it may not be an advantage in the near future.

[Picklz]

E85 is a whole nother' can of worms that is probably better suited to its own thread.

[deegee]

6.00 a gallon would be quite an increase. I am not one to watch prices at all, if its 3.30 somewhere vs. 3.50 I wont go out of my way to save five bucks but six dollars would put me at close to $100.

I guess that would justify buying an R6, stat. Then in the winter, get a bus pass or something.

[JustROLLIN]

Unless gasoline prices put me in a position where I can't put food in my mouth or pay my rent, I will not be riding the bus.

[cosmicspd3]

Ha id make my works driving reimbursement go up to cover it. Kind like not paying for gas....and I get decent hwy mileage so it usually covers the weeks gas :)

[LASERBLUE135]

$6 a gallon at the pump would suck, but yah everyone would pay it. But that's not where it would affect you. Almost every product that you buy uses gas. A jump from now to $6/gallon would be a crushing blow to our American way of life if business had to absorb the full cost (didn't get tax breaks). Won't happen. We'll pay 6/gal eventually, but that kind of dramatic jump isn't realistic.

[mazdamn02]

Luckily I live close enough to all the essentials I don't have to drive to the grocery store, liquor store, hw store, etc.. unless its a big load. I'd probably try to tele-commute to work twice a week if $6/gallon happened, Lakeville -> Mpls FTL.

[AJ]

Lets try to actually list out things in your daily life that would/could be affected.

Food - Delivery costs alone would drive up prices on all food. Grocery shopping and eating out would increase. This would drive less money into this business sector and would probably put some out of business pretty quick.

Home Buying - I see this as increasing house prices. The cost to get materials would go up (the timber industry is already hurting) and again, running generaly equipment would increase. So even with a potential housing market rebound, I could see the prices and cost now effecting those who want to buy even more.

[mazdamn02]

Plastic containers would cost more too because they're made of petroleum and other fun stuff.

[JustROLLIN]

Lets try to list something thats NOT effected by gasoline prices... You can't.. Or if you can, it would be one or two things.

[DrWebster]

If we instantly went to $6/gallon, I'd quit my job immediately. I'd end up breaking even working at a local McDonalds vs. keeping my current job but still driving 60 miles a day.

[dirtyd]

I got an idea...lets raise the taxes on all goods that are consumed...which will be purchased with money that has already been taxed...then we'll tax them again just because we want to...then we'll tax them again because we need more money to fund research into why we need more taxes...

Tax rates on consumer goods should not rise greater than the current rate of inflation...some people think it should...some people think it shouldn't...If prices increase to $6/gallon...whatever...I'll just ask Hartford for some more money. If they want to keep me, they'll pay me the extra $2k a year it will cost for the increase in gas. $2k a year is a lot cheaper than not having someone to work, and also trying to hire a new person (most likely at a higher rate including the $2k a year I would ask for).

For me...I would rather spend my time and energy doing the things I enjoy than worrying about how much gas costs...

By-the-way...BP Gas Card FOR THE WIN!!!!! 10% back for first 60 days, 5% thereafter on all BP gas station purchases. No annual fee, no hidden fees.

[Young Roids]

This is just depressing. Just when I was trying to come to terms with $4 prices you go and bring up $6.

[Z-licious]

Back in 1980 gas and oil expenditures accounted for 5 percent of our personal income. Today, even at these prices, gas accounts for just 3.5 percent of our personal income, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.



Did anyone else see this? I don't know about you guys I but I know spend way more than 3.5% of my income on gas! I'm underpaid!

[Bartron8000]

Honestly I'm not afraid to pay $6 a gallon, yeah it would suck a lot but honestly the rest of the world has been spending that on gas and they all seem to still be here. This would also make Auto manufactures to start importing more diesels and investing more into research of alternative fuels.

[01rx7]

This the most ridiculous thing I've heard in a while. Great idea, raise gas prices by almost 100% in a time where our country is in a recession. That's the number 1 rule in economics. Think about it, we're loosing jobs, our taxes are rising, spending is down. Great idea, let's make everything more expensive so that we spend even less, take less trips, and therefore put less and less money into the economy. Are we trying to start another great depression?!

[niterydr]

I think a price hike towards the Global average would help us to decrease our dependancy on foreign oil...if that is such a bad thing.

When it comes to global warming we are middle of the road, but we have a huge gasoline dependancy. That article is well put on trying to decrease our dependancy on gasoline by raising the pricing. The national road system is in need of a major overhaul and it would help pay for that adjustment.

I could care less if gasoline was $6 a gallon as I am fuel efficiency concious.

[Jesse MS3GT]

Only 3.5 percent of income? What kind of median wage did they base that off of? With gas at $4gal that accounts for about 10 percent of my income with driving 20k per year.

[dmention7]

If you figure 12,000 miles/year, 20mpg, and $3.60 gas (pretty average numbers), then if gas is 3.5% of your income, back-calcuating the average income gives about $60k/year.

That is a bit high, but if you weight it to the fact that those with lower incomes are going to likely drive less and drive more fuel-efficient vehicles, then the numbers probably mesh a bit more closely

[Big Nate]

I spent just over $3200 on gas last year. Based on that 3.5 % i should have only spent just over $1600 so that 3.5% is bs.

[Jesse MS3GT]

I based mine on a 26mpg average. I dont drive a gas hog and I classify under the "poor" bracket. Hell most people with I know with 4 year degrees dont make 60k per year. More like 45-50.

[Big Nate]

Ya Jay not everyone can drive trains for a living and make 60K.

[dmention7]

well that's the funny thing about averages.... some people are above them and some people are below them. ;)

I don't think you can declare a number quoted as a national average to be BS just because it doesn't match your situation.

[ZoomZoom Diva]

Considering it likely doesn't apply to anyone I know with a car that pays for their own gasoline, I consider the methodology behind computing the average to be flawed.

[niterydr]

I think the 3.5% is screwed a bit as well.

[Jesse MS3GT]

well that's the funny thing about averages.... some people are above them and some people are below them. ;)

I don't think you can declare a number quoted as a national average to be BS just because it doesn't match your situation.

The consensus on this site deems the 3.5% as a possible miscalculation. But of course we are a small amount of the whole populous. Im wrong basing this off of a select fews responses. :thetwins: