Oils well that ends well..................at least until the next Republican President. I see the signs of production manipulation through shutdowns of wells and financial speculating recently that will raise prices again now that the Republicans safely won the Congress. Now consider the effects a President Jeb Bush would have.
Three thoughts on oil prices that approach what we saw in 2008. Yes, I checked, looked at 10 year charts. The charts showed lows of $1.85 in 2005; $1.59 in late 2008. Google it. The charts show the lows and the highs that follow.
First, what have politicians done with all the gasoline tax dollars? The Atlanta Journal had an opinion piece by Kyle Wingfield about Georgia's gasoline taxes. Georgia's government tells us taxes must be raised to take care of roads and bridges. Wingfield did the math and matched gasoline tax collections with road expenditures. Way, way off. What have the politicians been doing with all the money? They surely didn't spend it all on roads! Check your state, check the Feds.
Second, 100% of the gas burned when people are waiting in a drive-through is wasted; same for driving to restaurants. Cook at home.
Third, how about a series of studies of the impact of wealth on our waterways and oceans? Joe and Jane Middle-Working Class take stay-cations or drive to nearby parks. The 1% (which includes the majority of Washington DC elected and bureaucrats + college professors) rack up frequent flyer points or fly on taxpayer $$.
Most of the studies I've seen report on cumulative impacts on the earth. But surely the wealthiest among us have a greater impact. And surely many of those who are the wealthiest are the same people who tell us we must cut back to save the planet.
But while they preach to us, they don't practice what they preach.
First, what have politicians done with all the gasoline tax dollars? The Atlanta Journal had an opinion piece by Kyle Wingfield about Georgia's gasoline taxes. Georgia's government tells us taxes must be raised to take care of roads and bridges. Wingfield did the math and matched gasoline tax collections with road expenditures. Way, way off. What have the politicians been doing with all the money? They surely didn't spend it all on roads! Check your state, check the Feds.
Second, 100% of the gas burned when people are waiting in a drive-through is wasted; same for driving to restaurants. Cook at home.
Third, how about a series of studies of the impact of wealth on our waterways and oceans? Joe and Jane Middle-Working Class take stay-cations or drive to nearby parks. The 1% (which includes the majority of Washington DC elected and bureaucrats + college professors) rack up frequent flyer points or fly on taxpayer $$.
Most of the studies I've seen report on cumulative impacts on the earth. But surely the wealthiest among us have a greater impact. And surely many of those who are the wealthiest are the same people who tell us we must cut back to save the planet.
But while they preach to us, they don't practice what they preach.
1
wouldn't wealthy people with large home, or 2 homes, or SUVs or boats benefit just as much or more on an absolute basis (not a relative basis of course). It is good for many but not a redistribution at all
1
The savings in energy costs can go towards paying for higher health insurance premiums and copays.
3
To conclude that better food on the kitchen table is a reason to support (or promote) lower oil prices is as simplistic as saying that population growth (consumerism) is the answer to a sluggish economy. What we need to focus on is doing things that keep the biosphere healthy. More oil production, more people (eating meatloaf), more consumerism is going in the wrong direction. (We can't even redirect a small portion of this drop in energy prices to fixing infrastructure which will create jobs and above all sustain what economy we do have.)
2
Wall Street hates it that they aren't the ones getting a break.
5
Does our economy really need to be modeled after some sort of board game?
It seems to me that it might be more worthwhile to cooperate rather than compete.
Why can't an economy work for everyone rather than just the rich "winners"?
It seems obvious that the fittest in our culture feel that a "survival of the fittest" culture makes the most sense.
When you look around the world, it seems that the economies in most countries consist of a few at the top who have 99% of the wealth, and the remainder of the population splits the rest.
And we wonder why there is unrest?
People need to have their basic needs met, at least.
It seems to me that it might be more worthwhile to cooperate rather than compete.
Why can't an economy work for everyone rather than just the rich "winners"?
It seems obvious that the fittest in our culture feel that a "survival of the fittest" culture makes the most sense.
When you look around the world, it seems that the economies in most countries consist of a few at the top who have 99% of the wealth, and the remainder of the population splits the rest.
And we wonder why there is unrest?
People need to have their basic needs met, at least.
4
I love when Oil companies grow anxious. Welcome to the club.
6
"Just last week, the federal Energy Information Administration estimated that the typical American household would save $750 because of lower gasoline prices this year"
Well I just hope that whoever is managing a mutual fund with the energy sector as part of the portfolio made an adjustment so to minimize the loss.... Saving a bit now but losing a lot in the long run
Well I just hope that whoever is managing a mutual fund with the energy sector as part of the portfolio made an adjustment so to minimize the loss.... Saving a bit now but losing a lot in the long run
Many commenters here seem unaware that one big reason the cost of oil has plummeted more than 50 percent since mid-2014 is recent economic weakness in Europe, Latin America, and Asia. Demand is down significantly outside the U.S. Meanwhile supply has increased in recent years, not only from new sources in the U.S., but also in Iraq, Nigeria and Libya where there had been interruptions due to political unrest.
3
I hope that this doesn't stop research into alternative forms of energy. We cannot afford to stop researching this topic. Being environmentally conscious, safeguarding the planet we live on, limiting pollution, and cleaning up are not job killers, nor are the regulations that can be put into effect. They would create new jobs for people. We could leave this planet cleaner than it is now or was 50 or a hundred years ago. The drop in gas prices ought to be seen as a temporary reprieve, not a permanent change or permission to forget to be careful or to stop increasing mileage standards. No matter what the oil companies or coal companies say, the supply of these things is not limitless. If we don't act we will lose jobs, the environment, and the chance to keep our species and others alive.
I'm grateful for the extra money in my pocket. However, I would be even more grateful to see some understanding that this "gift" is not free or beneficial if it discourages continuing research into cleaner and better forms of energy. Unless I stop hearing how it's become unprofitable to continue the research I will feel that we are wasting this "gift". It may be our last chance to have our cake and eat it. Let's not waste it.
I'm grateful for the extra money in my pocket. However, I would be even more grateful to see some understanding that this "gift" is not free or beneficial if it discourages continuing research into cleaner and better forms of energy. Unless I stop hearing how it's become unprofitable to continue the research I will feel that we are wasting this "gift". It may be our last chance to have our cake and eat it. Let's not waste it.
5
Maybe I would make more sense if you relied more on historical facts instead of opinions.
I hope the big oil speculators that helped drive the price up take a huge hit. It's only fair in this unregulated free market system. They must not be complaining very loudly, haven't read any articles that even mention this. People benefit from competition but competition has become so twisted.
2
Speculators are busy buying crude at its low price and storing it at sea in outdated tankers.
Oil-at-Sea Storage Seen Raising Rates to Six-Year High
"Brent crude plunged 60 percent since June amid signs OPEC nations are unwilling to tackle a global oversupply they say was caused by U.S. drillers and other producers. The price of oil for delivery at later dates is so far above current costs, a market structure known as contango, that it can be profitable to store cargoes and lock in returns now in the futures market. "
“This is going to tighten the market and make the entire market move higher,” Fotis Giannakoulis, an analyst at Morgan Stanley in New York, said by phone Jan. 12
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2015-01-15/oil-at-sea-storage-seen-lifting...
Oil-at-Sea Storage Seen Raising Rates to Six-Year High
"Brent crude plunged 60 percent since June amid signs OPEC nations are unwilling to tackle a global oversupply they say was caused by U.S. drillers and other producers. The price of oil for delivery at later dates is so far above current costs, a market structure known as contango, that it can be profitable to store cargoes and lock in returns now in the futures market. "
“This is going to tighten the market and make the entire market move higher,” Fotis Giannakoulis, an analyst at Morgan Stanley in New York, said by phone Jan. 12
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2015-01-15/oil-at-sea-storage-seen-lifting...
2
This would be a good time for state and federal governments to provide low interest loans so people with leaky homes can insulate and people with gas hogs can buy a fuel efficient care. Then folks would really save while purchases services and goods in the economy.
1
Of course lower oil prices benefit the majority of people and will encourage consumer spending and increased employment.
After spending 4 days at the Detroit Auto Show it is encouraging that CAFE is driving greater fuel efficiency in our automobiles as is similar legislation in China and Europe despite lower oil prices .
It will continue to be this way and it is doubtful that oil prices will rise to the high levels we have seen in the past.
I would like to see similar rules applied to trucks ,for example, a certain percentage should run on natural gas, likewise utilities .This is the lesser of the environmental evils and utilizes USA gas and creates jobs .
In addition we should have legislation that energy companies have to produce a certain amount of renewable energy .
The point is that energy is a strategic necessity which cannot be left to supply and demand .taxation and speculation as bad as it sounds it has to be controlled by regulation .
After spending 4 days at the Detroit Auto Show it is encouraging that CAFE is driving greater fuel efficiency in our automobiles as is similar legislation in China and Europe despite lower oil prices .
It will continue to be this way and it is doubtful that oil prices will rise to the high levels we have seen in the past.
I would like to see similar rules applied to trucks ,for example, a certain percentage should run on natural gas, likewise utilities .This is the lesser of the environmental evils and utilizes USA gas and creates jobs .
In addition we should have legislation that energy companies have to produce a certain amount of renewable energy .
The point is that energy is a strategic necessity which cannot be left to supply and demand .taxation and speculation as bad as it sounds it has to be controlled by regulation .
2
Fall of oil price and financial media coverage of it is a symbol of how what is good for main street is bad for wall street and vice verse.
1
yeah, some help. i had to lock in my oil 'for the price' in july. and there's no rebate on THAT. i'm also in a place where i've already only been going out every several weeks to save on gas...so add THAT non-savings to my 2 oil stocks which i need the dividends to eat, which are about at 1/2 mast.
what needs to happen here for everyone is: tax the upper brackets at a rate commensurate with their 'earnings'; drop the outrageous, unwarranted food prices; pay people a living wage; stop taking a third of disability payments out to pay for medicare.
i'm old enough to remember when a real loaf of bread was 25 cents and nothing today compares.
what needs to happen here for everyone is: tax the upper brackets at a rate commensurate with their 'earnings'; drop the outrageous, unwarranted food prices; pay people a living wage; stop taking a third of disability payments out to pay for medicare.
i'm old enough to remember when a real loaf of bread was 25 cents and nothing today compares.
2
As far as your locked in price I suspect you benefited in the longer run. My sister and husband in rural MN have always bought their year supply of propane in the summer that way. I'm sure they are in the same boat as you but also realize they've probably saved more in the long run. If prices stay low you'll make out better next winter. And if a few single stock dividends determine if you can eat, especially oil stocks, you have bigger problems. And I can tell personal stories about that. Otherwise I agree with the rest of your comment and remember working 60 hrs a week for $1/hr and pumping gas that cost 36 cents. And buying 79 cent six packs of beer in college.
Might the more important question to consider be whether the falling price of crude oil--which in time will reverberate throughout the economy--coupled with declining interest rates on Treasuries signal deflationary pressures attributable to declining world wide consumer demand?
As drillers, refiners, and shippers detect slowing demand, capital investment and many jobs in energy companies will go away, at least temporarily. Wells may very well be capped in some places and restarting production is both expensive and time consuming. One current estimate places the cut in capital investment because of current low crude prices at around 50% of an estimated $200B. That amount of lost investment, as well as lost jobs in the onshore and offshore oil fields, will yield additional losses in jobs and investments, and tax revenues, in places are dependent on oil to fuel economic stability or growth. It will, most importantly, accelerate declining overall consumer demand.
In the past, less production and less refined product coming to market constricted supply and eventually crude and retail prices stabilized. Now, the circumstances are different: the US no longer is dependent on foreign oil. Time will give us the answer, but if declining worldwide demand is causing the crude price slide and deflationary pressures do not abate, then benefits to consumers from falling retail prices of fuel may not be enough to offset the damage that a rapid decrease in crude prices causes.
As drillers, refiners, and shippers detect slowing demand, capital investment and many jobs in energy companies will go away, at least temporarily. Wells may very well be capped in some places and restarting production is both expensive and time consuming. One current estimate places the cut in capital investment because of current low crude prices at around 50% of an estimated $200B. That amount of lost investment, as well as lost jobs in the onshore and offshore oil fields, will yield additional losses in jobs and investments, and tax revenues, in places are dependent on oil to fuel economic stability or growth. It will, most importantly, accelerate declining overall consumer demand.
In the past, less production and less refined product coming to market constricted supply and eventually crude and retail prices stabilized. Now, the circumstances are different: the US no longer is dependent on foreign oil. Time will give us the answer, but if declining worldwide demand is causing the crude price slide and deflationary pressures do not abate, then benefits to consumers from falling retail prices of fuel may not be enough to offset the damage that a rapid decrease in crude prices causes.
"Lower Oil Prices Provide Benefits to U.S. Workers"
So Obama, Democrats and RINO's immediate response is to raise taxes on the "rich" and to raise regressive gas taxes. All of this at a time when the Federal Government has had record high tax collections for three years or more and has been unable to cut a single penny of real spending (not budget gimmicks) or restrict the growth of the government or Fedeal employment.
With friends like American politicians and the American entertainment, corporate/statist news media, America and the truth don't need enemies.
So Obama, Democrats and RINO's immediate response is to raise taxes on the "rich" and to raise regressive gas taxes. All of this at a time when the Federal Government has had record high tax collections for three years or more and has been unable to cut a single penny of real spending (not budget gimmicks) or restrict the growth of the government or Fedeal employment.
With friends like American politicians and the American entertainment, corporate/statist news media, America and the truth don't need enemies.
3
Maxine, what growth of federal employees? Actual federal employees are at the lowest level since before Reagan. But there sure has been a lot of work outsourced to private companies. I'd guess that's where much of the increased costs come from. Federal employees haven't had a COLA in 3 yrs. Their retirement system since 84-85 has been based on SS/TSP (TSP is just a better managed 401k). Land management agencies that used to do environmental analysis in house now pay private consultant companies $120+/hr, including travel time to do it. And many of their highest paid employees are retired well experienced federal scientists that know how to do the work. Some even get paid $70/hr. It wasn't till the 80's that public employees at any level started getting bashed. Way worse now.
Yes---cheap oil provides economic benefits to the middle and lower classes....and probably provides a big stimulus to our economy. BUT---it masks the problem of the large division in wealth between the very wealthy and everyone else. As long as more taxes can be reaped by tracking enterprises....and with the cash in hand from lower gas/fuel oil costs...the working poor can limp along....there is no impetus to change the way the economic pie is divided.
3
On Monday Jan 12, Three of the largest U.S. oil refineries will be working to restore operations on Tuesday after a series of weekend glitches temporarily knocked out some 1 million barrels per day of processing capacity, the worse spate of outages in years. A fourth plant Jan 10th, Husky Energy Inc's 155,000-bpd Lima, Ohio, refinery, is not expected back online until the end of the week after a blast at its 25,000-bpd isocracker unit, which sources have said was extensively damaged.
While it's not uncommon for sporadic problems at refineries to have Glitches
at Four in a couple day span makes one wonder if if this was sabotage via foreign specialized hackers.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/01/13/oil-refineries-recovery-idUSL1...
2
"Lower Oil Prices Provide Benefits to U.S. Workers"
Low prices is bad for climate, health and halts a green shift. So its bad for workers of the future. Guess they dont count.
Low prices is bad for climate, health and halts a green shift. So its bad for workers of the future. Guess they dont count.
The Government should try to do everything possible to keep the price of oil low for as long as possible without hurting the oil. industry too much.
Maybe the construction of a second strategic-reserve-oil petroleum would help there..and then release oil into the market when the price gets too high...then buy oil into it from our shale oil producers when price gets too low, so to support them.
My guess is a Goldilocks fair price would be about $60..fair for consumers and producers..and use the SPR to manipulate oil price.
Maybe the construction of a second strategic-reserve-oil petroleum would help there..and then release oil into the market when the price gets too high...then buy oil into it from our shale oil producers when price gets too low, so to support them.
My guess is a Goldilocks fair price would be about $60..fair for consumers and producers..and use the SPR to manipulate oil price.
I honestly don't know if lower gasoline prices encourage wasteful driving but It does save money for those who must commute, regardless of the price of gasoline, using their own cars. However, I suspect that the low prices, albeit temporary, will encourage the purchase of large trucks and SUV's, saddling consumers with larger vehicle loan payments, higher insurance rates and ultimately much larger fuel bills when the price of gasoline inevitably rises. The smarter and more practical approach would be to buy a smaller fuel efficient vehicle which will no doubt be discounted due to the temporarily lower price of gasoline making larger vehicles more enticing.
While impossible to measure, much lower gasoline prices also improve consumer sentiment. Happy consumers will absolutely spend more freely on both luxury and non-luxury items which should help the economic recovery quicken its pace. The positive psychological impact of much lower gasoline should have a profound impact on the overall economy and be felt more quickly than any fiscal stimulus and lower taxes.
While impossible to measure, much lower gasoline prices also improve consumer sentiment. Happy consumers will absolutely spend more freely on both luxury and non-luxury items which should help the economic recovery quicken its pace. The positive psychological impact of much lower gasoline should have a profound impact on the overall economy and be felt more quickly than any fiscal stimulus and lower taxes.
6
The last time in my area when gas dropped significantly a few years ago I did see the uptick in enough big SUV and pickup drivers to notice. Some were driving like fuel was now free and some bought newer ones. They were noticeable and irritating, being the fools the majority of drivers called them. We'll see this again but by far most people know this is temporary. Even at $4/gal some kept driving like that but fewer. So far I haven't seen much uptick in that behavior but by spring when roads aren't slick if prices stay low I expect it.
1
It's almost better than a pay raise ... No taxes!
5
Not so fast on the 'no taxes'. I greatly suspect that we are being prepared, albeit slowly, for an increase in the federal gas tax which, by the way, hasn't been raised in decades. Not that our infrastructure isn't in need of upgrading, or that we need the jobs. We do.
2
How about of an accounting of trillions spent from the road fund in the last thirty years? Or the trillion spent by the Obama stimulus on shovel ready projects. Nah. Just give the same crooks more money. That will fix things. What was Einstein's definition of insanity.
1
Maxine, what documentation do you have that road improvement projects were not accounted for?
Please provide a listing of the shovel ready projects that Obama spent a trillion on.
If you can't, please stop trying to mislead us
Please provide a listing of the shovel ready projects that Obama spent a trillion on.
If you can't, please stop trying to mislead us
1
At this point in human history, we know the following:
* The price of oil is volatile and celebrating its fall today is a prelude to lamenting its rise tomorrow.
*While the price is low, we will act as if low prices are permanent and that no planning for higher prices is necessary. Once prices rise, we will act shocked as if we never believed it would rise again.
* A carbon tax is not an idea that there is any political will to enact. Even if there was, it would instantly be repealed when prices increase. Let's stop talking about it; it's a distraction.
*The middle class and the poor are disproportionately affected by rising and falling oil prices because A) they have less (or no) savings B) they have to live further away from their places of work C) public transport funding is generally determined by people who don't require, and don't believe in, public transport.
* Let's not punish anyone with a gas tax that's going to be unpopular. Let's rework zoning laws, and building codes to encourage middle class housing that's more accessible to commercial areas.
*Let's have a Marshall plan for public transport (and for our roads and bridges!) that ensures that people who have had to rely on cars, can, if nothing else, have choices.
*Capitalism and democracy are supposed to be about choice, but, when you have no other choice but to buy and use a car, that's a failure of the entire system.
* I'm not advocating the end of the car, just the end of its political preeminence.
* The price of oil is volatile and celebrating its fall today is a prelude to lamenting its rise tomorrow.
*While the price is low, we will act as if low prices are permanent and that no planning for higher prices is necessary. Once prices rise, we will act shocked as if we never believed it would rise again.
* A carbon tax is not an idea that there is any political will to enact. Even if there was, it would instantly be repealed when prices increase. Let's stop talking about it; it's a distraction.
*The middle class and the poor are disproportionately affected by rising and falling oil prices because A) they have less (or no) savings B) they have to live further away from their places of work C) public transport funding is generally determined by people who don't require, and don't believe in, public transport.
* Let's not punish anyone with a gas tax that's going to be unpopular. Let's rework zoning laws, and building codes to encourage middle class housing that's more accessible to commercial areas.
*Let's have a Marshall plan for public transport (and for our roads and bridges!) that ensures that people who have had to rely on cars, can, if nothing else, have choices.
*Capitalism and democracy are supposed to be about choice, but, when you have no other choice but to buy and use a car, that's a failure of the entire system.
* I'm not advocating the end of the car, just the end of its political preeminence.
11
Don't you know corporate profits and CEO bonuses are all that matters nowadays. The poor and middle class are voluntarily voting themselves out of existence.
1
"Stores employ 135 of American workers...less than 1% of Americans work in oil and gas extraction and related fields." How many retail employees are nonexempt employees with full time benefits as compared with those in the energy industries? Part-time and hourly employees rarely have 401k retirement savings or health care and other benefits. In other words the state of the economy is still lousy for those on the edge of the poverty line.
1
Energy corporations have produced huge gains for their stock holders for years. So many mutual funds have lots of these stocks in their portfolios. It's hard to find mutual funds that don't invest in fossil fuel companies.
I'm amazed the price of gas has been "allowed" to drop so far. The price should have been falling for a while now as fracking increased U.S. fossil fuel reserves. What changed? Part of the motivation may be for countries like Saudi Arabia to drive frackers out, but the frackers will figure out how to operate more efficiently. I wonder if it has to do with countries of the world understanding the need to decrease oil income to Russia and ISIL and Iran.
Who knows WHY the price went down or how long it will last. Stockholders deserve what they get when they place their bets on corporations that contribute to climate change and ocean acidification. I hope stockholder pressure will mount to get these corporations out of mutual fund portfolios.
I'm amazed the price of gas has been "allowed" to drop so far. The price should have been falling for a while now as fracking increased U.S. fossil fuel reserves. What changed? Part of the motivation may be for countries like Saudi Arabia to drive frackers out, but the frackers will figure out how to operate more efficiently. I wonder if it has to do with countries of the world understanding the need to decrease oil income to Russia and ISIL and Iran.
Who knows WHY the price went down or how long it will last. Stockholders deserve what they get when they place their bets on corporations that contribute to climate change and ocean acidification. I hope stockholder pressure will mount to get these corporations out of mutual fund portfolios.
Well, if our great allies, the Saudi princes hadn't been bankrolling so much of the world's terrorist, radical Islamists, for so long, you might have a point. Check out the history of Montana Power (it's employees and just about everyone that had stock in it) for another good example of greed by stupid republicans gone bonkers. Us ratepayers are now going to pay again for most of our hydroelectric dams for the 3rd time in a 100 years. And most are almost that old.
1
Remember, Obama's Energy Secretary wanted $6/gal gasoline. If his and Obama's policies would have been implemented, these same families would now be spending an extra $6000 per year.
3
Finally! First time since 2009 a genuine helping hand to boost the incomes of 90% of America! And trade book publishing thanks the oil gods as well since disposable income is the first thing to go with higher gas and heating fuel prices (and resulting price hikes in food), and since women's disposable income is the first to go in households, and American women are the primary driver of trade book purchases, it is no mystery why trade book publishing (including retailing) had been tanking until last November 2014! Too bad Borders and a few of the hundreds of indie bookstores that went under aren't around to welcome back buyers with re-found $20-$30 in their pockets! B & N's Christmas season might have surprised Wall Street but it is NO surprise to the rest of the country.
1
The real benefit for Americans is a lot let cash flows to the middle east
Less cash for them, less terror for us.
Or another way its like a free stimulus package for regular Americans.
And bonus we it costs less to go places.
Less cash for them, less terror for us.
Or another way its like a free stimulus package for regular Americans.
And bonus we it costs less to go places.
1
I remember a few years back when the Northeast was being hammered with high heating costs, people in Texas were driving around with bumper stickers that read "Let Them Freeze in the Dark".
8
Working class families certainly get a benefit here - they are going to save money but they aren't going to use the low prices to get a new 4WD extended cab pickup with the 10,000+ pound towing capacity and a bigger house more remotely located from their work since the cost of driving is lower. The middle class is going to do that, unfortunately. There's no way to deliver savings to the working class while preventing the middle class from digging their own graves by locking in high consumption via the purchase of durable goods and remote suburban real estate.
Our consumption habits won't change; every time we get a new vehicle, appliance, light, etc, it's more efficient than the previous. The country and world would be better off if everyone followed this path.
Our consumption habits won't change; every time we get a new vehicle, appliance, light, etc, it's more efficient than the previous. The country and world would be better off if everyone followed this path.
3
Why are you separating the working class from the middle class? That makes no sense. You must be thinking about the upper middle class that has usually been able to afford what you describe. We know who they are and the ones that actually help others. We know the who the ones that continue to take what they can. At least in Montana we know the difference. I even know a 'banker' who hangs out with the rest of us and is a good person. He does pretty good but he's been in the same modest house he bought well used for over a decade and grew up poor on a small ranch in WY. Not extravagant at all, actually pretty frugal but can pay for his kids college. One of his daughters works at Applebees.
1
That's better than a raise because the saver gets 100% of the benefit compared to an income hike where the government takes a big chunk of it back in taxes.
3
Don't understand why such controversy and gnashing of teeth over this information. This is simply supply and demand; the dynamics of capitalism. There is ultimately a finite amount of oil in the world. It's price will fluctuate up and down across time. It will be fully exploited and consumed until it is 100% gone. End of story.
6
Lower gasoline and heating fuel costs is unequivocal good news for the people in Maine and, indeed, for those who are in the lower 50% or so of the economy. It has nothing to do with the longer term need to switch to renewable sources and, indeed, might even help in that direction by providing a strong economic base generally. It might allow us to concentrate more on the true objective, switching to renewables.
It seems a lot of people posting here have been taught that any use of fossil fuels is "bad" and harms the necessary transition. Well, it is going to take at least the next 50 yrs. to get off that habit, along with a lot of concerted effort. Meanwhile, higher prices would mean dramatically more difficulty for those in the lower sections of the economy, which doesn't really help anyone or anything.
The overall good news is that a robust, prosperous economy is on the way. By one earlier estimate, lower gas prices would put 260 billion dollars in the hands of citizens if they last a yr. (this estimate was made prior to the greater drop in prices more recently). So, the Republicans who've been telling us for six years that everything is bad in America, and its all Obama's fault, are going to have to come up with some new myths. Get busy, Republicans.
Longer term, it makes little sense to heat houses in Maine with heating oil, but changing will cost billions of dollars. We should use this break to plan how those and other changes can be afforded.
Doug Terry
It seems a lot of people posting here have been taught that any use of fossil fuels is "bad" and harms the necessary transition. Well, it is going to take at least the next 50 yrs. to get off that habit, along with a lot of concerted effort. Meanwhile, higher prices would mean dramatically more difficulty for those in the lower sections of the economy, which doesn't really help anyone or anything.
The overall good news is that a robust, prosperous economy is on the way. By one earlier estimate, lower gas prices would put 260 billion dollars in the hands of citizens if they last a yr. (this estimate was made prior to the greater drop in prices more recently). So, the Republicans who've been telling us for six years that everything is bad in America, and its all Obama's fault, are going to have to come up with some new myths. Get busy, Republicans.
Longer term, it makes little sense to heat houses in Maine with heating oil, but changing will cost billions of dollars. We should use this break to plan how those and other changes can be afforded.
Doug Terry
4
Doesn't a falling oil price decrease the economic incentives for building the Keystone Pipeline or increase the capacity of the other Pipeline 61?
4
Really rather simple. The saved money provided by cheap oil will just go into a different distribution point. Instead of passing through the guts of the oil companies, it will now pass through Macy's, Safeway, Walmart, Costco, or other retail companies. Americans rarely pocket that "extra" cash into a savings account. The benefit of lower oil just shifts from oil companies to another sector in our economy.
18
When spending shifts from a capital intensive sector (oil) to labour intensive sectors (retail and other services) it means more jobs and more spending and more money in the pockets of working people. And that's because all of that money is spent, So your "no savings" complaint is hardly bad news. It's not a zero sum game, $1 saved on petroleum products adds say, $1.5 dollars to the overall economy and for a large part in more modest earners ' pockets instead of captured by a vertical industry ie shareholders and the overwhelmingly better off.
4
I don't see that $1.50 add on that you say will happen. I think that is overly optimistic. Basically, the money just goes into a different sector. It is true that some of that oil spending by consumers is for necessities (such as commute gasoline usage) but the saving will be totally into discretionary spending. I really don't think you will see that much of a boost to the total economy, just a different sector will benefit.
Fear not campers. The GOP will do everything in its power to jack up the oil prices. The very same Republicans who many in Maine have voted into office.
5
More moderate global economic growth, breakthrough technologies, increased efficiency of industrial production, optimized processing of recycling materials, improved public transit system, and Apps-boosted car sharing economy will drastically reduce the oil consumption. It is happening. With oil price high or low, the heavy dependence on oil will become history.
"High crude prices pose a particular threat here because almost two-thirds of Maine homes, which tend to be older and less efficient, rely on oil for heat. Officials have been urging residents to upgrade equipment and better insulate their houses, but the federal government gives the state only $1 million to promote insulation," According to that quote the cash flow problems faced by too many residents of Maine were caused to a large degree by a failure to modernize and update ancient heating systems as well as insulate their homes. That would seem to be obvious. What is also obvious is these prices will not remain at these low levels forever. As savings can amount to as much as $3,000 annually now is the ideal time to quickly mount a determined effort to bring modern HAVAC systems and insulation to thousands of homes thus making the current price benefits longer lasting. A failure to take advantage of this windfall leaves too many vulnerable to prices that will certainly soar once more. Postponing a few more meals of meat may assure many more good meals in the future. It's the responsibility of the people of Maine to act now. Three thousand dollars could easily insulate a home or mostly replace an ancient HVAC system or even both. That would save thousands in the future.
4
It is good to see benefits going to US workers, but let's look at the
big picture folks. These low oil prices may destroy the
alternative energy industry. It is essential that we kick the fossil
fuels habit to avoid major damage to our environment from climate
change. I am sick of hearing from the Republicans that we cannot
afford to deal with climate change now, because we CERTAINLY
cannot afford to deal with climate change in 20 years if we wait
and do nothing now.
big picture folks. These low oil prices may destroy the
alternative energy industry. It is essential that we kick the fossil
fuels habit to avoid major damage to our environment from climate
change. I am sick of hearing from the Republicans that we cannot
afford to deal with climate change now, because we CERTAINLY
cannot afford to deal with climate change in 20 years if we wait
and do nothing now.
6
Last week watching at the price at the gas station at $1.90 a gallon was the closest I ever got to time travel- very surreal. Had this late 80's/early 90's flashback feel to it, like I was back again in the rear seat of my dad's station wagon getting nauseous as I traveled backward up Route 80. Waiting for that kid from "back to the future" to go flying by on his hover skateboard. The wide shoulder suits. Bad music. Kind of awesome.
Thanks for the memories Mr. Saud.
Thanks for the memories Mr. Saud.
3
Jack M, Last night driving into town was a time travel experience here as well.
I was amazed at all the brand new Cadillac Escalades, black of course, being driven. These people live in myopic worlds. Gas prices WILL rise and perhaps sooner rather then later and perhaps even higher prices then we saw before this back to the future trend. I am sure in this area the Hummers will be coming out of storage in full force again!
Alternative Alternative Alternative!!!
We must work hard to save our air, water and soil.
I was amazed at all the brand new Cadillac Escalades, black of course, being driven. These people live in myopic worlds. Gas prices WILL rise and perhaps sooner rather then later and perhaps even higher prices then we saw before this back to the future trend. I am sure in this area the Hummers will be coming out of storage in full force again!
Alternative Alternative Alternative!!!
We must work hard to save our air, water and soil.
1
@ Tony:
I don't work on Wall Street and when someone calls me a "liberal do-gooder" I know I must be doing something right. It's not really a question of letting average Americans "enjoy" low gas prices now, is it? It's really about how much pain you're willing to inflict on them down the road when gas prices inevitably bounce back and beyond, and they are still driving oversize vehicles and living in draughty homes. Is that really what you want for your fellow Americans?
I don't work on Wall Street and when someone calls me a "liberal do-gooder" I know I must be doing something right. It's not really a question of letting average Americans "enjoy" low gas prices now, is it? It's really about how much pain you're willing to inflict on them down the road when gas prices inevitably bounce back and beyond, and they are still driving oversize vehicles and living in draughty homes. Is that really what you want for your fellow Americans?
4
Sad to say but this latest consumer gas price point decline has less to do with our politicians and media types bull-horning the voters about 'energy independence' and large 'stockpiles' of crude resources, and everything to do with behind the scenes collaboration and maneuvers by insider energy corporations and our government to address fixing a crumbling, outdated and downright dangerous fossil fuel driven road and interstate system which of course is to increase a decades long federal gas tax hike drought.
They know they'll never garner favor when prices are hovering in the $4 gallon category. They also are well aware of the latest uptick in conversation at states levels considering high speed rail corridors; that could seriously squeeze theirs and their counterpart auto manufacturers profits.
So, this is how we get lower gas prices. When the Feds and the oil producers have an ulterior agenda. Feds need the jobs; the oil producers need fixed highways and by ways. I just wish for once, they'd be honest with us.
They know they'll never garner favor when prices are hovering in the $4 gallon category. They also are well aware of the latest uptick in conversation at states levels considering high speed rail corridors; that could seriously squeeze theirs and their counterpart auto manufacturers profits.
So, this is how we get lower gas prices. When the Feds and the oil producers have an ulterior agenda. Feds need the jobs; the oil producers need fixed highways and by ways. I just wish for once, they'd be honest with us.
3
Over previous prices I now am saving about $65 a month, that's substantial? That wouldn't even pay for a lunch on Wall Street.
4
It is always amazing to me the disconnect between the working man and the media, politicians and upper income people. Are you just figuring out that the plung in oil prices is a huge shot in the pocketbook for the average guy. You want to talk about putting money directly into the economy. This affects the attitudes of Americans as far as spending and investment. Wakeup Congress. You want to get the economy moving cut gas and oil prices.
Lets hope the corporations led by their front people(Republicans) don't find a way to end it.
Lets hope the corporations led by their front people(Republicans) don't find a way to end it.
3
The article could just as easily have led with, "Environmentalists may be growing anxious about the negative impact of falling oil prices on alternative fuel investment, but the steep declines of recent weeks are delivering substantial benefits to American working-class families and retirees who have largely missed out on the fruits of the five-and-a-half-year economic recovery." Instead, the Times, as usual, chose an angle that frames the issue as one of Wall St. vs. Main St. You can't have it both ways.
2
Reading all of the cynical comments here, I am reminded somehow of the old proverb that "no good deed goes unpunished".
3
Interesting how many comments have been negative. Since no one knows how long the low oil prices will continue, the best thing would be to continue to maintain domestic oil and gas production at current levels while continuing alternative energy R&D and products production in earnest. Clearly the more oil and gas we produce domestically, the better off we are economically, with CO2 emissions being a concern that we can address via conservation and alternative energy sources-simultaneously. Meanwhile Americans like Ms Smith and millions of others, myself included, can better allocate our financial resources to far better things than the bloated, tax-payer subsidized, clearly evil Big Oil corporations, who have been pummeling the country for over 40 years.
1
You have a point. The problem is that oil prices will go up. The price of oil is set by a cartel, it is not truly regulated by free market forces. It is only a matter of time before we see the prices go up. Yes some of the price decline may be due to increased automobile efficiencies, but by and large the price of oil is artificially maintained, much like the South African diamond cartel maintains the price of diamonds.
I don't suppose we are going to see many comments up here today regretting lower oil company profits or the likelihood of reduced dividend payments to shareowners.
3
While the oil companies may well have to reduce dividends, those who hold Macy's, Walmart, Costco, and other retailers, may see an increase in dividends. Americans do not save, that "extra" money will merely be diverted to other goods and services.
If people without assets expect their incomes to decline too, they often deleverage when they can.
We have been fantasizing about one dollar per gallon gasoline since it went away in our youth. We have talked about national security, not relying on others, not funding our enemies exploits against us, american jobs, american ingenuity and now that it has FINALLY happened and we have some relief and our enemies are unstable and our economy is off and running, Im sorry, WHO is complaining?? Big OIL???? The Russians, the Saudis, the Venezualans, the Iranians??? The ultimate Capitalists??? The supply and demand Gurus??? Well, deep in my heart, Im glad and I BET you are too! Smiley face goes here.
7
Well! Well! Well! All of us are delighted with these news! And there is nothing bad about it! But! At the same time, there is no guarantee that this price is forever, or at least, that this price will stay the same during at least half of the year. That is the game of the richest people of the world, this is the game of Saudi Arabia.
2
This article starts off by making sound like the energy producers are giving "benefits" to the consumer. Actually the energy companies don't really have much of a choice about what to charge right now. Due to all their greed we are now awash in petroleum products. We are both energy dependent and independent of foreign oil. Also we are a extremely large exporter of oil.
A word of caution. These prices will not stay where they are now. As soon as the price of a barrel of oil rises watch how fast gas and other related items prices will rise.
A word of caution. These prices will not stay where they are now. As soon as the price of a barrel of oil rises watch how fast gas and other related items prices will rise.
2
“We throw a party when it’s down — but not too much of a party because we know it’s going up.
Yup. That's the best outlook, Throwing a party is more desirable than railing against a deaf Obama and Co.
Yup. That's the best outlook, Throwing a party is more desirable than railing against a deaf Obama and Co.
The Saudis are driving the new competition out of business. Once that is achieved, oil prices will swing up as fast as they fell. Let's double down on efficiency and clean, alternative energy during this temporary windfall.
13
It seems that anything that is good for American working-class families and retirees is bad for Wall Street.
4
Well no - they are just less likely to confuse and unexpected shocks to a macroeconomic system with a windfall of free money.
The same folks that think government programs are free will also look on the sudden demise of oil pricing as "free" money.
Others of us will look on it as a possible disastrous slowing of the world economy or a lack of confidence in the short term world economy and run our affairs accordingly.
The same folks that think government programs are free will also look on the sudden demise of oil pricing as "free" money.
Others of us will look on it as a possible disastrous slowing of the world economy or a lack of confidence in the short term world economy and run our affairs accordingly.
Sorry Steve it's the Saudis.
While I agree that the drop in oil prices is a very good thing for the majority of U.S. households, I can’t help but wonder how sever the repercussions are as well. The article mentioned Texas and North Dakota taking a hit, but I imagine declining oil prices around the world are not an indicator o a bustling economy and could result in future trouble. Especially, since oil is such a controversial issue in global affairs. I guess I am just concerned how this affects politics and not just American households. Also, it's understandable why people are tentative about this drop in price as who knows when it will skyrocket again?
It's absurd to unequivocally conflate low gas prices with wasted energy and greater environmental impact. It need not be so.
Pass strong environmental legislation, starting with a veto of the new planned pipelines. Then everyone is better off except oil companies and medieval countries like Saudi Arabia. What could be better than that?
Pass strong environmental legislation, starting with a veto of the new planned pipelines. Then everyone is better off except oil companies and medieval countries like Saudi Arabia. What could be better than that?
3
Lets see: the oil industry will be (already started) laying off workers and closing down wells and drilling platforms! Unemployment up! The regular people will have more money to spend, pay off a bill or two, buy a new couch, refrigerator, new roof or storm windows= more jobs. all this concern that the stock and bond brokers will loose some money on lower stock and bond trades need not worry, those guys get your money coming and going. They never lose. And this will all even out in the end, all the yelling and screaming is just hyperbole!
2
Cheap carbon fuel is like crack - ultimately it will hit hard at the poor.
The not so calculating, will use any extra bucks that come their way, to obtain a new gas guzzling SUV - purchased, no doubt, with a "no money down" scheme. It will be equipped with showy, dark tinted glass, and also, a very discreet, fine-printed maze of complex escalator clauses controlling the time payments.
They will not realize, that the funds provided by their temporary "wind fall" would have been far better put to work improving the insulation in their homes. They will not comprehend that, in the revolving gravity world of the calculating, "what goes down, must go up", is just as certain as the proverbial, "what goes up, must go down". There is a Wall Street term for the whole process; it's called, "Whipping and Driving".
The victims will soon see a reversal of their illusory good fortune, as they find themselves sinking deeper into the hole that the manipulators have provided for them; it's all part of the plan, because, in the self-serving eco-system of big business, many men's tears are one man's manna.
The not so calculating, will use any extra bucks that come their way, to obtain a new gas guzzling SUV - purchased, no doubt, with a "no money down" scheme. It will be equipped with showy, dark tinted glass, and also, a very discreet, fine-printed maze of complex escalator clauses controlling the time payments.
They will not realize, that the funds provided by their temporary "wind fall" would have been far better put to work improving the insulation in their homes. They will not comprehend that, in the revolving gravity world of the calculating, "what goes down, must go up", is just as certain as the proverbial, "what goes up, must go down". There is a Wall Street term for the whole process; it's called, "Whipping and Driving".
The victims will soon see a reversal of their illusory good fortune, as they find themselves sinking deeper into the hole that the manipulators have provided for them; it's all part of the plan, because, in the self-serving eco-system of big business, many men's tears are one man's manna.
4
Since Wall Street no longer produces anything of value to society, only massive profits for the select few, it's no surprise that what's "bad" for Wall Street, is very "good" for everyone else...
2
This article is such a mixed bag of facts and factoids that it is difficult to figure our the real benefits. We have heard forever that the consumer part of the GDP is 70%--now all of a sudden it is 65--proof please! So much of the "savings" depends on this lasting at least a year and it probably won't so too bad for all those people who went out to buy SUVs based on the price of gasoline. If this lasts a whole year, I'll save about $270, or $27/month, but food here in California continue to go up so in the end there is no real saving.
In the East driving to work is probably not the same as here where people can drive 60-70 miles to work ONE WAY. That's what eats up the wages, even if you have a gas-friendly car. Aside from the future Bullet train to nowhere, driving everywhere is basically the only option.
This isn't going to continue the entire year because at this rate how many thousands of workers in the oil patch will loose their jobs? And rehires probably make LESS. 9000+ jobs already gone and counting.
So, we have saved a few dollars but how much has been lost out of the economy with lost salaries which are considerably higher in the patch than at Walmart. I think we are counting our chickens way too soon. I'm so tired of "election campaigns" of which this seems to be part.
In the East driving to work is probably not the same as here where people can drive 60-70 miles to work ONE WAY. That's what eats up the wages, even if you have a gas-friendly car. Aside from the future Bullet train to nowhere, driving everywhere is basically the only option.
This isn't going to continue the entire year because at this rate how many thousands of workers in the oil patch will loose their jobs? And rehires probably make LESS. 9000+ jobs already gone and counting.
So, we have saved a few dollars but how much has been lost out of the economy with lost salaries which are considerably higher in the patch than at Walmart. I think we are counting our chickens way too soon. I'm so tired of "election campaigns" of which this seems to be part.
1
Yes...the low low gas prices is the greatest economic news to hit Americans in a long time. Thank god!
2
I'm tired of hearing about how low oil prices are bad for us. Sure, it may be disappointing in the short term for oil company execs hoping for another 10 million dollar annual bonus for all their hard work. Well, big company execs: do you believe in capitalism, free markets, etc. or not? Or only when it keeps you on the top of the economic heap?
4
Logical reason, why, when the price of crude is falling lower than when Nixon parlayed with Mao, that the very first thing a new Republican Congress can do for the American people is vote for the confiscation of Americans' private land so the Oil Barons can run their expensive Canadian tar-sand oil across the continent to ship to their offshore clients?
It can only be the very first thing the new Republican Congress can do because they answer to a higher authority than the American citizen - and it ain't their Maker.
It can only be the very first thing the new Republican Congress can do because they answer to a higher authority than the American citizen - and it ain't their Maker.
3
Sectors that benefit from cheap oil include manufacturing, forestry, agriculture, hospitality, and tourism. Some oil sector workers like truckers, equipment operators, welders, engineers, etc. can transfer their skills to these other sectors. Others have options like early retirement or living on savings for a while. Of course by the time labor and markets have fully adjusted, oil prices could be on the rise again. The invisible hand giveth and taketh away.
2
Supply and demand are only part of the equation, chiefly speculators Wall Street hedge funds are market manipulators. Hedge funds that hold oil futures use oil price benchmarks set by Platts, which can also be manipulated as was the LIBOR rate. Ultimately, it could be a combination of more US oil holding down demand, but it could be the fact European investigators are also investigating the Platts pricing process. Hopefully oil prices won't go soaring through the roof when when a truck is blown up by a terrorist land mine in Iraq, et al.
If Americans suddenly try to broaden their perspective and go beyond coastal regions of their land, they will suddenly realize that there are so many countries in the world that have to depend on high oil prices. Decrease in oil revenue will inevitably lead to a considerable deterioration of social and economic conditions in these places. Russia, as an example, is on the verge of economic collapse. Of course, it puts a lot of US neocon politicians in a mode of extreme, orgasmic gratification but, speaking from a human perspective, this situation subjects a lot of population to extreme poverty with all its gruesome consequences.
Well, anyway. I think the one and only lead that Americans should take is just keep sticking to their narcissistic stance, enjoy the savings and disregard other parts of this suffering planet.
Well, anyway. I think the one and only lead that Americans should take is just keep sticking to their narcissistic stance, enjoy the savings and disregard other parts of this suffering planet.
Lemme see if I understand your position, "vova in New Jersey": We should make certain we, all us, including the poor and the near poor, pay higher prices so Russia doesn't suffer? First, "we" have nothing to do with it. When the price is higher, we pay what we can. When the price is lower, maybe the people in Maine set their thermostats one degree higher in the winter. They should then sit down at the dinner table and say a prayer for the oil oligarchs in the middle east and the suffering they must endure? Good point. I will keep all of this in mind.
2
What about the flip side of all this?! Hiring managers, bosses, corporations, and the rest that pay salaries, now have a (legitimate?!) rationale to say, well we don't have to give them good starting salaries, or raises, etc.! Let's see how long this lasts!! I still can hear that sucking sound!!!
2
While I agree that the drop in oil prices is a very good thing for the majority of U.S. households, I can't help but wonder how severe the repercussions are as well. The article mentioned Texas and North Dakota taking a hit, but I imagine declining oil prices around the world are not an indicator of a bustling economy and could result in future trouble. Especially, since oil is such a controversial issue in global affairs. I guess I am just concerned how this affects politics and not just American households.
Lower oil prices are good for everyone except drillers. Wall Street loves to freak out about any unexpected event, but if oil prices stay down (I personally don't think they will) the markets will settle down, people will have more money to spend and the really dumb ones will run out chop-chop and buy a giant SUV.
4
good for the little guy..... how long can that last? could it be the message is that the oil people are making plenty of money at the lower prices but wall street isn't? not enough for the middle men to grab on the way through? no profit in tankers anchored off shore waiting for another spike?
3
"With oil prices down, at least for now, the aid that agencies dole out either as part of the federal low-income home energy assistance program, Liheap, or other efforts, goes much further."
Meanwhile, American economists are scattered to the far flung corners of the world in Asia, Eastern Europe, Africa and Latin America, advising various governments to slash or eliminate fuel subsidies. Joko Widodo did just that a few weeks ago in Indonesia. Whenever Venezuela comes around to their senses, fuel subsidies will be top on the agenda.
Reading this article and taking a step back to see the picture in whole pretty much says the population of Maine should be much lower than it already is. Most of these people should be living in less harsh climes if energy costs - -both in $ and in the environment (hottest year on record, etc) - dominate their lives so much. Why is the federal government taking money from others to keep them where they are? They should rather pay them to leave (I would put my tax money behind that).
Meanwhile, American economists are scattered to the far flung corners of the world in Asia, Eastern Europe, Africa and Latin America, advising various governments to slash or eliminate fuel subsidies. Joko Widodo did just that a few weeks ago in Indonesia. Whenever Venezuela comes around to their senses, fuel subsidies will be top on the agenda.
Reading this article and taking a step back to see the picture in whole pretty much says the population of Maine should be much lower than it already is. Most of these people should be living in less harsh climes if energy costs - -both in $ and in the environment (hottest year on record, etc) - dominate their lives so much. Why is the federal government taking money from others to keep them where they are? They should rather pay them to leave (I would put my tax money behind that).
3
Enjoy the low prices while they last, folks. Later on, you'll be paying through the nose to fill up your Subaru.
1
We have become such an unequal society that the New York Times declares a few hundred dollars saved by working and middle class Americans due to a temporary decline in oil prices a boom. Surely, there is a better way to put money into the hands of average American families, one that doesn't result in the burning of more fossil fuels and more global warming, one that won’t help make the planet unlivable for their descendants. The unfettered free market is killing us. The government must intervene to raise the price of carbon polluting energy so cleaner alternatives can compete. We can find other ways to help the poor and the middle class. We need to give up the false myth that the market is always good and the government is always bad.
4
We need to give up the false myth that the market is always good and the government is always bad.
It's not a myth it's a truth. But it's not market vs. government. The problem is bureaucracy. A few years ago Kodak went bankrupt. It had a very focused and single mission. Yet it completely missed digital photography because of bureaucracy.
It's not a myth it's a truth. But it's not market vs. government. The problem is bureaucracy. A few years ago Kodak went bankrupt. It had a very focused and single mission. Yet it completely missed digital photography because of bureaucracy.
1
The money is only "saved" if it isn't spent.
Certainly not the whole story. Does anyone really know the genesis of the oil market plummet and what lies beyond the short term affect of the sharp drop in oil prices? Seems not.
So for now its meatloaf instead of hotdogs, nice, but not very helpful in figuring out what is fundamentally going on and how volatile the oil market may become.
One upside should be a concurrent drop in the cost of anything that moves by rail, road or air -- that’s just about everything. It will be interesting to see if there are commensurate and timely price cuts at the retail level -- another wind fall for those struggling to make ends meet.
One certain downside is a strong disincentive to sustain efforts to deal with the basic liabilities of using fossil fuels through the aggressive development of alternative and renewable sources.
So for now its meatloaf instead of hotdogs, nice, but not very helpful in figuring out what is fundamentally going on and how volatile the oil market may become.
One upside should be a concurrent drop in the cost of anything that moves by rail, road or air -- that’s just about everything. It will be interesting to see if there are commensurate and timely price cuts at the retail level -- another wind fall for those struggling to make ends meet.
One certain downside is a strong disincentive to sustain efforts to deal with the basic liabilities of using fossil fuels through the aggressive development of alternative and renewable sources.
4
I hope that people who are getting the most benefit out of it are saving some for the rainy day. Everybody knows that this is not going to last.
3
"40% of American households earn less than $40k". That's because the census counts single mothers as households.
Why the Maine couple chose to have, or ended up with, 4 kids is not the point. But raising 4 kids on $42k is an impressive feat.
Finally, lower gas prices are because of the rich folk fracking.
Before going off on the dangers of fracking, consider the huge benefits for the many. Don't ban it. Make it safer.
Why the Maine couple chose to have, or ended up with, 4 kids is not the point. But raising 4 kids on $42k is an impressive feat.
Finally, lower gas prices are because of the rich folk fracking.
Before going off on the dangers of fracking, consider the huge benefits for the many. Don't ban it. Make it safer.
3
And what would you call a single mother in a census?
5
cheap saudi oil and opec driving frackers out of business by not cutting production is the reason for cheap oil. NOT expensive fracking
Does this mean that Sarah Palin will scream, "stop, baby, stop"? If she is silenced even a little bit, I'll take the hit to my 401k in favor of cheap oil every time.
3
Watch the yuppie overclass, ensconced in their expensive co-ops and condos, start cursing the 'great unwashed' (English translation: All the rest of us who live in houses or apartments all over the country, drive to work, and are more concerned with feeding our families and getting our kids educated than political correctness, fashion trends and the latest workouts) for living their lives and producing some carbon dioxide. As if everybody doesn't? It's good to see some sympathy for the empty suits' favourite 'devils' (and real victims) in the Times. I hope nobody starts screaming for the writers' heads on a silver platter (Tiffany, I suppose)!
1
American working-class families and retirees benefiting at the expense of Wall Street?
Outrageous! Despicable!
An abomination. Or perhaps to be more direct, an "Obama-nation!"
And unprecedented in all of American history.
But not surprising. For years they've tried to warn us about their vulnerable position in society. The persecution they had to endure. But who was there to defend them? Nobody! So now it's come to this! Oh how my heart bleeds for them...........not!
Outrageous! Despicable!
An abomination. Or perhaps to be more direct, an "Obama-nation!"
And unprecedented in all of American history.
But not surprising. For years they've tried to warn us about their vulnerable position in society. The persecution they had to endure. But who was there to defend them? Nobody! So now it's come to this! Oh how my heart bleeds for them...........not!
4
This trend is not sustainable, unfortunately. The government should have a program to provide alternative energy sources, such as solar panels, etc., to low-to-middle income families as the counterpart to the tax-deduction incentive to energy efficient purchases attractive mostly to those with relatively high incomes. With global warming coming to the forefront of policy making, and because most of us are concerned not only for our own futures, but for the well being, and, indeed, survival of future generations, we cannot afford to limit the use of energy-saving innovations to the well off.
My spouse and I will have lower income several years down the road, in retirement, so we plan to invest in energy-saving alternatives to fossil fuels and coal-generated electricity now, to enjoy a lower cost of living later. A penny saved is a penny earned, and without the taxes.... Think of the money saved, both in terms of personal income and in terms of cost-of-living driven government benefits, if the powers that be were to make the same sort of investment now, for those who cannot afford to do it themselves.
My spouse and I will have lower income several years down the road, in retirement, so we plan to invest in energy-saving alternatives to fossil fuels and coal-generated electricity now, to enjoy a lower cost of living later. A penny saved is a penny earned, and without the taxes.... Think of the money saved, both in terms of personal income and in terms of cost-of-living driven government benefits, if the powers that be were to make the same sort of investment now, for those who cannot afford to do it themselves.
4
Here in northern Ca, I used to count the humvees on the roads In the early 2000's, I was counting up to 6-7 humvees a day on my usual routes. I thought I was driving in a war zone with these combat vehicle look-alikes. In my energy efficient car, I would be a goner in any accident with these monsters.
As gas prices rose circa 2007, the number of humvees on my commute dropped to zero; I wondered what the owners did with their status symbols: were they stored in mega garages, were they still making payments?
One day last week I spotted 2 humvees on the road. So we're back to ostentatious, mindless consumption, apparently oblivious of any larger concepts. That's the sad part of cheap oil. But then, cheap oil really isn't.
As gas prices rose circa 2007, the number of humvees on my commute dropped to zero; I wondered what the owners did with their status symbols: were they stored in mega garages, were they still making payments?
One day last week I spotted 2 humvees on the road. So we're back to ostentatious, mindless consumption, apparently oblivious of any larger concepts. That's the sad part of cheap oil. But then, cheap oil really isn't.
10
OMG, wall street is getting rich more slowly! seriously, we all know that congress and the supreme court care only for the interests of the top few percent. the rest of us are just a drag upon them and anything that helps us and doesn't help them more is bad. Ask MItt and Jeb?
5
Everything that happens in economics is double-edged. One person's debit is another's credit.
1
Exactly. We have ways of mitigating this, however, like providing food stamps and other benefits to those most egregiously affected. Just now I wish the government would do more for pensioners who depend upon personal savings for a portion of their income, as Britain has, offering an above-market rate of return on some senior savings after recognizing that (artificial) monetary easing to stimulate their economy has had a disproportionately negative consequence for the elderly.
We seem to have gone through the looking glass just lately, with not only wage stagnation, but actual wage deflation, at least for younger people in the same job or industry.
We seem to have gone through the looking glass just lately, with not only wage stagnation, but actual wage deflation, at least for younger people in the same job or industry.
3
Credit created from savings or credit created out of thin air?
Public policy that drives people who lack substantial financial expertise into the arms of securities hucksters is governance of the grossest sort of venality.
1
I think that low oil prices are an opportunity and a problem at the same time. Though they may seem to be sweet and nice, we should not believe they are real. This is all about Saudi plays to drive out the frackers and oil shale producers. Once they achieve their goal, gas prices will return to about $4.00 + region they were in before. Lastly we have an opportunity once we are energy independent, to move away from a hydrocarbon based economy. Fusion for electricity and hydrogen for fuels is one possibility. We need to determine our own destiny not be tied to the Middle East and their insane politics.
2
One of the more interesting long term consequence of low oil prices will be the effect on plastics manufacturing. All sorts of plastics - from cars to grocery bags - use byproducts of the petroleum industry as raw materials. The two are quite connected. I'd be very curious to see how the prices of plastic consumer goods would react to a decreased oil supply (a wholly conceivable effort by the industry to control their bottom line, perhaps). I wouldn't complain if it gave us a good reason to take a hard look at the materials we choose to make consumer goods.
4
The two most common petrochemicals are olefins and aromatics. The first are byproducts of petroleum fractions and the second are from chemical reactions using natural gas or coal gas as feedstock.
Not just Garbage bags and plastic tubs are made from these. Fertilizer, solvents, adhesives, detergents and many more items essential to our lifestyles.
There is a tremendous amount of investment in the industry going on. It's good for the country.
Not just Garbage bags and plastic tubs are made from these. Fertilizer, solvents, adhesives, detergents and many more items essential to our lifestyles.
There is a tremendous amount of investment in the industry going on. It's good for the country.
Yep, there a definitely a huge range of things made from those derivatives. But there are other chemical routes to get to the same place. Investment in starting to make those routes cost competitive with petrochemical industry could be pretty good for the country too.
1
We certainly could use some changes to our "life style"
In northern New England, we are grateful for lower gasoline prices. Most of us however, have in recent years graduated to more energy efficient cars (I drive a Honda FIT). Unfortunately, most of us locked into heating oil prices prior to the drop in oil prices and I am, in fact, locked into heating oil prices higher than what I paid in the 2013/14 heating season. Our housing inventory is predominately of the late 19th and early 20th century variety. I keep reading articles about how people in this area are saving on heating oil and I can only say that will happen if we can lock into low prices for next season or take our chances paying street prices in heating season 2015/16. Not counting my chickens....
1
Here we are at a point where putting a floor price on energy and using the money generated by falling crude prices for investing in infrastructure and renewable sources of energy, and not one politician from either side is making noises about doing something really beneficial for ourselves and our posterity.
Instead, we act as though it's the 1950's and those "gas wars" of my youth have broken out everywhere. Just burn the fuel and enjoy the moment. No one seems to understand that this is not going to last forever.
We are a curious people indeed.
Instead, we act as though it's the 1950's and those "gas wars" of my youth have broken out everywhere. Just burn the fuel and enjoy the moment. No one seems to understand that this is not going to last forever.
We are a curious people indeed.
5
They get you either way oil prices are low gas prices even lower. My 401K keeps falling every day. The game is fixed we can't win!
2
The orderly return of capital to investors will have to be a key element of the transition to a post fossil fuel economy.
"return of capital" Now that's an understatement. Exactly how much equity actually exist anyway?
That depends on the value of the petroleum consumed during the transition period.
Now is the perfect time for a modest but needed gasoline surcharge of roughly 25 cents per gallon to be added. Money geared towards infrastructure improvements and green technology.
6
Love this comment. 25 cents a gallon? And, when the prices go up? Do you really think they would stop collecting that 25 cents?
Does money ever come back once its sent to the government? After every bridge, road, airport, and rail is rebuilt does that tax get reversed? Do taxes ever get reversed? No matter how much the government spend its never seem to be enough.
1
Its all well and good to worry about the future of the tax ten or twenty years from now. But today, the roads and bridges are being allowed to fall to rubble because we are all so fearful of taxes. Penny-wise and pound foolish, as my grandmother used to say.
1
Don't be surprised if some "too big to fail" bank is probably on the wrong side of the oil market and will soon be looking for a taxpayer bailout. This big bank will invariably have been complaining about "too much government regulation" for years,
5
Revealing article by Cardwell and Schwartz. In addition to the news about cheaper oil, you can also see some of the economic mechanics that drive the huge gap between the wealthy and the rest of us:
"In recent years, most of the other positive economic trends — things like efficiency gains driven by new technologies, higher corporate profits, rising home prices, lower borrowing rates and stronger demand for white-collar workers with advanced degrees — have also mostly benefited businesses and wealthier Americans."
I salute those folks who work 60-plus hours a week to try to support their families. Maine is the way life should be, and I'm glad that those fine folks are getting some sort so a break. But the way the economy works, those with portfolios in the financial markets, people and corporations, are worth less. You can really see the social dynamics come to life. Some other workers lose their jobs.
If we are going to play capitalism, then the best strategy is a diverse, plentiful jobs market that adequately compensates its workers. Having to look to the energy sector for a handout isn't the solution, as this article mentions. We need an effective energy policy in this nation.
"In recent years, most of the other positive economic trends — things like efficiency gains driven by new technologies, higher corporate profits, rising home prices, lower borrowing rates and stronger demand for white-collar workers with advanced degrees — have also mostly benefited businesses and wealthier Americans."
I salute those folks who work 60-plus hours a week to try to support their families. Maine is the way life should be, and I'm glad that those fine folks are getting some sort so a break. But the way the economy works, those with portfolios in the financial markets, people and corporations, are worth less. You can really see the social dynamics come to life. Some other workers lose their jobs.
If we are going to play capitalism, then the best strategy is a diverse, plentiful jobs market that adequately compensates its workers. Having to look to the energy sector for a handout isn't the solution, as this article mentions. We need an effective energy policy in this nation.
4
60 hour weeks at minimum wage/no benefit jobs isn't the way "life should be". Unions arose because of just such situations. I'm happy this person can breathe a bit easier due to oil price drops but she's right they weren't done for her benefit, which she clearly knows as she is on the short end of the stick. The OP may work a 60 hour week, but I'll bet it is at greater compensation OR they own the business.
1
Any temporary savings due to the fall in heating oil and gas prices is more than offset by the inexorable rise in the price of food. Been to a grocery store lately? Not only are prices going up relentlessly, but the size of the packaging for many products is shrinking. The consequence is much higher prices for less food. Anyone who tracks their food costs from year will confirm this sad fact.
8
Most folks don't track this or pay any attention, except maybe for a vague feeling that "I'm paying more and getting less!"
I actually do keep my receipts for all grocery purchases, and file them, and add up at the end of the year what I spent. It can be a shocker! If you really keep all the receipts, it is surprising how you spend and on what.
So I can tell you: my food costs are up almost double over 6 years ago with meat and dairy having more than doubled. In some cases, meat has tripled in cost. We eat less meat and not by choice, and I now stretch recipes that call for a pound of meat, by using 1/2 to 3/4's of a pound. But you can only do that so much.
I actually do keep my receipts for all grocery purchases, and file them, and add up at the end of the year what I spent. It can be a shocker! If you really keep all the receipts, it is surprising how you spend and on what.
So I can tell you: my food costs are up almost double over 6 years ago with meat and dairy having more than doubled. In some cases, meat has tripled in cost. We eat less meat and not by choice, and I now stretch recipes that call for a pound of meat, by using 1/2 to 3/4's of a pound. But you can only do that so much.
It will be interesting to see if the price of food goes down to reflect lower delivery/transport costs. I am not holding my breath.
Since fertilizer is petroleum based, food prices should drop next year.
This is all really funny and pathetic. I think I'll go out and buy a hummer.
For the moment lower oil prices may be good for consumers. That is because gas and heating costs less. However, this wreaks havoc in the investment community. Alternative energy sources have become competitive at the price levels oil has reached. Therefore investors were coming back to them. The lower prices will scare them away for years. Next time when we have a spike in oil prices there is nothing to check them because the investments in renewable energies have not been made.
This cycle has repeated itself over and over again. When oil prices are high everyone complains that we don't have alternatives. When the prices are low the investors are leaving the field.
This cycle has repeated itself over and over again. When oil prices are high everyone complains that we don't have alternatives. When the prices are low the investors are leaving the field.
5
Wall Street banksters and their pirate cartel in Dallas are in misery.
Americans who drive to earn a living (99%ers) are getting a long awaited break @ pump. It's now safe to say they ran the biggest grand larceny in history on all of us for the past 25 years (since Iraq War I). I remember in 1990 when gas was less than $1/gallon @ pump. How many Americans soldiers killed in Iraq War I &II? I also still remember how war mongers like Thomas Friedman telling us we need to invade Iraq so oil will be less than $1/gallon again. We all knew now it was a complete fraud.
Do we now-once and for all- know it’s never the oil producing Arabs behind our swindle @ pump? Wall Street and the cartel in Dallas financed a willing mouthpieces like Maria Bartiromo to keep pointing the finger @ Arabs whenever Goldman colluded with Dallas oil barons to scheme us @ pump.
Amazing it took a liberal/black president to bring us this relief. Simply by tuning down the belligerent, war mongering rhetoric against Iran, not to mention ending The Decider Iraq debacle.
Americans who drive to earn a living (99%ers) are getting a long awaited break @ pump. It's now safe to say they ran the biggest grand larceny in history on all of us for the past 25 years (since Iraq War I). I remember in 1990 when gas was less than $1/gallon @ pump. How many Americans soldiers killed in Iraq War I &II? I also still remember how war mongers like Thomas Friedman telling us we need to invade Iraq so oil will be less than $1/gallon again. We all knew now it was a complete fraud.
Do we now-once and for all- know it’s never the oil producing Arabs behind our swindle @ pump? Wall Street and the cartel in Dallas financed a willing mouthpieces like Maria Bartiromo to keep pointing the finger @ Arabs whenever Goldman colluded with Dallas oil barons to scheme us @ pump.
Amazing it took a liberal/black president to bring us this relief. Simply by tuning down the belligerent, war mongering rhetoric against Iran, not to mention ending The Decider Iraq debacle.
2
I remember that the promise of invading Iraq was that seizing their oil would both pay for the war AND give Americans low gasoline prices.
Now we see how false, evil and just plain lying that was. The cost of the war could have never been paid from oil revenues and has given us generations of debt to pay, and not only did we NOT get "cheap" gas, gas prices rose dramatically during the entire war, only dropping just recently.
Now we see how false, evil and just plain lying that was. The cost of the war could have never been paid from oil revenues and has given us generations of debt to pay, and not only did we NOT get "cheap" gas, gas prices rose dramatically during the entire war, only dropping just recently.
1
In response to "Concerned Citizen", I am not aware that there was ever any plan for America to seize the oil of Iraq. Who said that? Where and when?
American officials, including Darth Cheney, did say that the revenues from the oil stream would be used to pay for rebuilding Iraq and I believe there were indications that some of that revenue could be used to cover America's expenses in the war. This, of course, was a fiction, but the US did not go into Iraq to take the oil. In Europe and in the UK, they assigned America this presumed purpose, based in part on their long colonial history of stealing resources for their own benefit.
The exact motivation for America going into Iraq will be the subject of long study and careful examination by historians. It is my belief that one major impetus was a desire by the US to end the UN embargo of Iraq, which was created in large part by American insistence. Saddam had upset the fragile balance in the region with his prior invasion of Kuwait and, for ten yrs. thereafter, America had been guarding the skies over the northern and southern part of Iraq against Saddam at considerable cost.
It could be that US officials considered Iran the ultimate threat in the region and with the invasions of both Afghanistan and Iraq, the US was then set to either warn Iran or invade it as the next step, having military power on both sides. If this was the intention, it failed in spectacular fashion as Iran sent bombs and materials into Iraq.
American officials, including Darth Cheney, did say that the revenues from the oil stream would be used to pay for rebuilding Iraq and I believe there were indications that some of that revenue could be used to cover America's expenses in the war. This, of course, was a fiction, but the US did not go into Iraq to take the oil. In Europe and in the UK, they assigned America this presumed purpose, based in part on their long colonial history of stealing resources for their own benefit.
The exact motivation for America going into Iraq will be the subject of long study and careful examination by historians. It is my belief that one major impetus was a desire by the US to end the UN embargo of Iraq, which was created in large part by American insistence. Saddam had upset the fragile balance in the region with his prior invasion of Kuwait and, for ten yrs. thereafter, America had been guarding the skies over the northern and southern part of Iraq against Saddam at considerable cost.
It could be that US officials considered Iran the ultimate threat in the region and with the invasions of both Afghanistan and Iraq, the US was then set to either warn Iran or invade it as the next step, having military power on both sides. If this was the intention, it failed in spectacular fashion as Iran sent bombs and materials into Iraq.
1
So why did retail sales fall in December?
While lower gas prices are a break to Americans, it only amounts for most to $200 or so a month. Some, much less than that. If you live in a big urban area and use bus transportation, you might not see ANY savings at all.
Things are much bleaker for ordinary families than this rah-rah publication lets one -- sure, things are good for the financial industry (hence good for NYC) -- the wealthiest 1% is doing great as always -- stock market's been good for years. Housing prices have rebounded stunningly.
But for ordinary people, it is hard times. In my Midwestern city, the employment section of the newspaper is now down to 1.5 pages of jobs. As recently as 2003, this was a six to eight page spread. I am considering internet job sites as well; they are way, way down. There are fewer and fewer jobs, and what jobs there are tend to be service jobs -- what I call "McCrap McJobs" -- for minimum wage. Food prices are up, rents are up, local taxes are WAY up. Our water bills alone have increased 25% (and we live on the Great Lakes, the largest body of fresh water IN THE WORLD).
We know things are bad, and any recovery has totally passed us by. Our home prices still languish 70% off their peak, so many are underwater and still facing foreclosures.
Things are much bleaker for ordinary families than this rah-rah publication lets one -- sure, things are good for the financial industry (hence good for NYC) -- the wealthiest 1% is doing great as always -- stock market's been good for years. Housing prices have rebounded stunningly.
But for ordinary people, it is hard times. In my Midwestern city, the employment section of the newspaper is now down to 1.5 pages of jobs. As recently as 2003, this was a six to eight page spread. I am considering internet job sites as well; they are way, way down. There are fewer and fewer jobs, and what jobs there are tend to be service jobs -- what I call "McCrap McJobs" -- for minimum wage. Food prices are up, rents are up, local taxes are WAY up. Our water bills alone have increased 25% (and we live on the Great Lakes, the largest body of fresh water IN THE WORLD).
We know things are bad, and any recovery has totally passed us by. Our home prices still languish 70% off their peak, so many are underwater and still facing foreclosures.
1
When is the price of diesel fuel going down? Gasoline prices have plummeted, but diesel remains relatively the same.
1
Diesel refining capacity has been limited by industry consensus in the US.
1
“Ms. Smith’s fear, echoed by other still-cautious residents here, is that prices will turn back up, squeezing household budgets again. “Us small people, we just see it go up and down, up and down,” she said. “We throw a party when it’s down — but not too much of a party because we know it’s going up.” “
Here’s a tip for when gas does go back up: keep track of the cents per mile you pay to drive. Since 2012, we’ve been driving a nationally available electric car (of which many are coming off of leases and are available in the $10K-15K range), capable of a comfortable 80 miles, that we charge 98% of the time in our garage. We’ve never been stranded, we’ve never run out. If your commute is longer, you can get used plug-in hybrids for about the same cost, which routinely get 100-150 mpg. Both will blast off from stoplights. Our previous 1998 30mpg Saturn cost 12 cents/mile to drive. Our electric costs 3 cents/mile. That’s dollars paid for the electricity to travel from A to B.
We’re also helping American energy security and the environment, since, even on the current grid, EV’s have fewer emissions than gas cars. But, in terms of pure dollars it will cost you to drive around, 3 cents/mile is 3 cents/mile, and that would help any family in the future… no matter what happens to gas prices.
Ms. Smith, it’s a wonderful feeling to uncouple yourself from gasoline.
Here’s a tip for when gas does go back up: keep track of the cents per mile you pay to drive. Since 2012, we’ve been driving a nationally available electric car (of which many are coming off of leases and are available in the $10K-15K range), capable of a comfortable 80 miles, that we charge 98% of the time in our garage. We’ve never been stranded, we’ve never run out. If your commute is longer, you can get used plug-in hybrids for about the same cost, which routinely get 100-150 mpg. Both will blast off from stoplights. Our previous 1998 30mpg Saturn cost 12 cents/mile to drive. Our electric costs 3 cents/mile. That’s dollars paid for the electricity to travel from A to B.
We’re also helping American energy security and the environment, since, even on the current grid, EV’s have fewer emissions than gas cars. But, in terms of pure dollars it will cost you to drive around, 3 cents/mile is 3 cents/mile, and that would help any family in the future… no matter what happens to gas prices.
Ms. Smith, it’s a wonderful feeling to uncouple yourself from gasoline.
1
Economies of scale drive down costs. The bigger the electric car market gets, the cheaper batteries will get.
1
80 miles? My husband drives 40 miles each way to work. That means if he takes a minor side trip, he runs out of fuel! And god forbid you take a vacation or a spontaneous trip! and you can forget about "refueling on the road", as electric recharging takes time and isn't available at many places.
If YOU have never been stranded or run out, it's because you do not drive much -- are you retired? work at home? work VERY close to home? Then it works for you, but not for most other people.
Also you fail to consider the initial cost -- the electric or hybrid car that costs $45K to $65K, FAR more than most people can afford AND the need to put in a home charging station for thousands of dollars.
To discuss savings "per mile" without figuring in purchase costs is basically lying to people -- the cost of an energy-efficient car is priced cleverly to ensure that you will NOT recoup the cost of the car in fuel savings. You pay an enormous premium to get that Leaf or Tesla or Prius.
If YOU have never been stranded or run out, it's because you do not drive much -- are you retired? work at home? work VERY close to home? Then it works for you, but not for most other people.
Also you fail to consider the initial cost -- the electric or hybrid car that costs $45K to $65K, FAR more than most people can afford AND the need to put in a home charging station for thousands of dollars.
To discuss savings "per mile" without figuring in purchase costs is basically lying to people -- the cost of an energy-efficient car is priced cleverly to ensure that you will NOT recoup the cost of the car in fuel savings. You pay an enormous premium to get that Leaf or Tesla or Prius.
You delude yourself. Electric cars have a higher rate of emissions than internal combustion cars because they draw their energy from coal fired electric plants which pollute more than gasoline. So you not only pollute more but force me to pay higher taxes to subsidize your purchase.
I also think you might be trying to delude me as I doubt very much that the electric car is all you own. Most people with an electric car also have a gas car as they make many trips more than 20 miles. So now the have two cars when one would do.
Lastly I know a man who has an electric car and twice in the first year had to be towed home when he tried to visit the next town 20 miles away. He got rid of it
I also think you might be trying to delude me as I doubt very much that the electric car is all you own. Most people with an electric car also have a gas car as they make many trips more than 20 miles. So now the have two cars when one would do.
Lastly I know a man who has an electric car and twice in the first year had to be towed home when he tried to visit the next town 20 miles away. He got rid of it
We've gone back to the days where the few might be able to swing that $10 million apartment while the rest are eating and feeding their children gruel.
This is what happens when the country is run for only the few at the top thanks to unlimited legalized bribery known as "campaign contributions" and "lobbying".
Is this what many men and women in uniform have fought and died for? I don't think so.
This is what happens when the country is run for only the few at the top thanks to unlimited legalized bribery known as "campaign contributions" and "lobbying".
Is this what many men and women in uniform have fought and died for? I don't think so.
10
"My country, right or wrong" suggests that many did not think about it very much.
Interesting that the environmentalists here seem to feel this is a bad thing be because they want everyone to use less fossil fuels and assume that lower income folks will automatically use more of anything if it's cheaper than it was. Well, I am against an increase in fossil fuel use, though not a person who marches in the streets. But, I'm also on a pretty tight budget...and I am thrilled to see the price of gas go down at the local station. Those who think that people will run out and buy a monster car because gas costs less are kind of silly. You can't pay for a new $30,000 car with a $40 a month savings. And those mothers driving monster cars to take their 10 year old to school were never needy to begin with. I see the drop in gas prices as a sign that sometimes things can really get better in the USA. Not much of a sign, but something good for a change.
"...the federal government gives the state only $1 million to promote insulation, Mr. Woodcock said, compared with $35 million to $40 million annually on fuel assistance."
Why do we spend 40:1 on short vs. long term solutions? Maine should be leading the country on refitting buildings and houses to be more energy efficient.
Why do we spend 40:1 on short vs. long term solutions? Maine should be leading the country on refitting buildings and houses to be more energy efficient.
2
Not a chance with Maine's right wing governor and his cronies running the state.
1
The drop in oil prices is most certainly geopolitical. While my family and I are impacted positively from the lower energy prices, the surging unemployment, paranoia about job security and stagnant economic growth to follow this price collapse will reek havoc on many middle class families. We forget how many jobs have been created in the oil producing states in the last decade. Unemployment figures for December alone are climbng back up, highest since September. Not to mention the boom has drawn folks from every corner of the globe, to jobs with higher wages and benefits. Not just oil field jobs but jobs in the technology, transportation and banking sectors. I agree with some that a purging of the domestic market must take place for it to to reach long term sustainablity. My only hope is that it is relatively short lived. Artificially low oil prices are more dangerous than the alternative in my opinion. Lower inflation can be achieved by drastic changes to the cultural landscape without the loss of jobs this market decline is causing.
1
There is no such thing as deflation. It's a made up concept hoisted by Wall Street and certain professors who don't want to cut the average American any breaks. Deflation is a phoney concept.
1
It should be clear to all how oil prices are being manipulated. In 2008, I believe, oil prices approached close to $150 per barrel and we were told there was a shortage of oil. Now oil prices are under $50 per barrel and we are told there is a glut of oil. And this drastic drop in price just happened in the last approx. 6 - 8 months from around $110 per barrel. Is this lowering of the oil prices just to bring Russia, Iran, Venezuela, etc. to their knees as some have reported?
2
I am glad to read that the 1% on Wall Street are anxious about the decline in oil prices. It means less money for them. They have enough money as it. As for those who lament the rise in so-called greenhouse gases from exhaust fumes, I wonder how many of them own cars themselves. I imagine most of them do, or at least rent one when they vacation at lavish ski resorts. So until the liberal tree huggers refrain from modes of transportation that emit exhaust, I say quit complaining.
2
Wait a minute - liberal bashers. The article is saying that temporary lower oil prices mean people pay less for home heating oil and gasoline. For families that can barely make ends meet (and this is a large fraction of US households) this is a significant savings. It does not translate into burning more fossil fuels just paying less for what people must use anyway. The party consistently opposing legislation to decrease burning of fossil fuels is the Republican Party.
What strikes me (again) is that median household income in the US is just under 52,000. This measure fell during the entire Bush presidency from about 56K in 1999. If you look at the bottom 10 states, 9/10 are in the South which now vote predominantly Republican. What we need to help remedy stagnant wages are immediate measures to increase the minimum wage. We also need to increase taxation on the wealthy to finance large public investment in infrastructure and to create more access to education and skills training. This ultimately would create the jobs the country needs. We have plenty of money to do this. Republicans just oppose measures that would help average and below average income groups.
What strikes me (again) is that median household income in the US is just under 52,000. This measure fell during the entire Bush presidency from about 56K in 1999. If you look at the bottom 10 states, 9/10 are in the South which now vote predominantly Republican. What we need to help remedy stagnant wages are immediate measures to increase the minimum wage. We also need to increase taxation on the wealthy to finance large public investment in infrastructure and to create more access to education and skills training. This ultimately would create the jobs the country needs. We have plenty of money to do this. Republicans just oppose measures that would help average and below average income groups.
7
Different sources give different median incomes, but all just around $50K. My sources says it has declined from a high of $54,000 in 2006 to the current $48,500. But in real terms, we are not far apart.
It did not decline slowly, but very suddenly from 2007 to 2010. So you can't lay that at Bush's feet -- not entirely. Obama was POTUS during most of the drop.
Most workers are NOT minimum wage, so raising minimum wage won't help them and in some cases will hurt people as employers are forced to cut hours or lay off staff -- or automate. It also causes massive wage compression, because tens of millions of skilled, educated workers TODAY only earn $15 an hour -- are they really worth less than a burger flipper?
There are no "top or bottom" states. All states are worthy and equal in a "United" States of America. Try and remember that we in flyover country think very little of MA or Boston, and call your state "Taxachusetts" and have no desire to emulate you at all.
It did not decline slowly, but very suddenly from 2007 to 2010. So you can't lay that at Bush's feet -- not entirely. Obama was POTUS during most of the drop.
Most workers are NOT minimum wage, so raising minimum wage won't help them and in some cases will hurt people as employers are forced to cut hours or lay off staff -- or automate. It also causes massive wage compression, because tens of millions of skilled, educated workers TODAY only earn $15 an hour -- are they really worth less than a burger flipper?
There are no "top or bottom" states. All states are worthy and equal in a "United" States of America. Try and remember that we in flyover country think very little of MA or Boston, and call your state "Taxachusetts" and have no desire to emulate you at all.
1
The way capitalism is supposed to work is that the bigger the risk the bigger the reward. Wildcatters take big risks and reap big rewards. Risks means it doesn't always work and when the venture becomes economically infeasible the capitalists and his investors and lenders take a big hit.
Except now everyone is always concerned with losses incurred by the venturers and their banks and totally unconcerned with the collateral damage to the little guy. Now after all the pundits tried to tell us what a disaster cheap oil was going to be, they are totally shocked that cheap oil benefits the little guy!
I thought in 2008 we lost the delusion that what was good for Wall Street was good for Main Street. We certainly should have lost any delusions about the power of Wall Street money in Washington. If only the middle class's lost decade were as big news as the stock market's reaction to cheap oil.
Except now everyone is always concerned with losses incurred by the venturers and their banks and totally unconcerned with the collateral damage to the little guy. Now after all the pundits tried to tell us what a disaster cheap oil was going to be, they are totally shocked that cheap oil benefits the little guy!
I thought in 2008 we lost the delusion that what was good for Wall Street was good for Main Street. We certainly should have lost any delusions about the power of Wall Street money in Washington. If only the middle class's lost decade were as big news as the stock market's reaction to cheap oil.
14
The plutocrats who control government and the media abhor risk in their own portfolios.
I appreciate the New York Times' position as our country's paper of record, and they carry that distinction well. But, where do we draw the line between reporting for the record, and risking insulting the reader's intelligence by publishing what is common sense? Of course cheap oil helps the little guy... in the short term. What is not reported is the hidden cost of cheap oil... the part where we cash-advance on the future: higher emissions, loss of momentum in alternatives, bad habits, apathy, etc.
6
I haven't seen anyone mention the huge benefits we should receive in product costs because of lower transport costs all across the country - and of course, airline prices. It remains to be seen if these will be passed along. I remember back when the higher costs were passed along.
2
In spite of the momentary dip in oil prices, hideous political mistakes still get made which sooner or later impact our quality of life.
Case in point: Missouri's state legislature is pushing the idea of raising speed limits on rural highways/interstates to 75 mph. This defies logic--it contributes to wearing out the crumbling infrastructure even faster, makes global warming worse (which Missouri's hard-line Republicans deny anyway), makes us more dependent on fickle markets (thus feeding back even more to a "Drill-baby-drill" mentality"), and brings safety into question. The neighboring state of Kansas recently upped its speed limit, & auto fatalities in 2014 jumped accordingly, in spite of arguments that faster speeds make everyone safer (?!).
If we want to be self-sufficient as a country/economy, the best place to start is by slowing down; otherwise, we drive ourselves off the cliff that much faster.
Case in point: Missouri's state legislature is pushing the idea of raising speed limits on rural highways/interstates to 75 mph. This defies logic--it contributes to wearing out the crumbling infrastructure even faster, makes global warming worse (which Missouri's hard-line Republicans deny anyway), makes us more dependent on fickle markets (thus feeding back even more to a "Drill-baby-drill" mentality"), and brings safety into question. The neighboring state of Kansas recently upped its speed limit, & auto fatalities in 2014 jumped accordingly, in spite of arguments that faster speeds make everyone safer (?!).
If we want to be self-sufficient as a country/economy, the best place to start is by slowing down; otherwise, we drive ourselves off the cliff that much faster.
7
Wall Street has been wrong about virtually everything since before the housing bubble burst in 2007. It is also clear that Wall Street, and their lackeys on CNBC and the other business channels, care nothing about most Americans. There can be little doubt that the drop in oil prices is a great boon for the vast majority of Americans. We can't shut down the anti-America Wall Street but we can ignore it.
11
A bit surprising, Greynnie is not exposing the several hidden costs ($50 brl.: How?) of the cost savings. Lest she forget; such savings are likely to create anti-lefty-greenish behavior. Though, anything anti-Big Oil profits, understandably could create a euphorically-replenished Greying Gal.
Is the unexposed opacity of the hidden cost, along with the environmental contradictions, being conveniently swept under a politically-expedient rug? If so, Carlos may need to goad the burro ridden by that --- euphorically-replenished Gal. And he may have to re-replenish her.
Is the unexposed opacity of the hidden cost, along with the environmental contradictions, being conveniently swept under a politically-expedient rug? If so, Carlos may need to goad the burro ridden by that --- euphorically-replenished Gal. And he may have to re-replenish her.
What?
4
1) "Greynnie" (As in Grannie? I didn't use "a" in Greynnie, fearing meaning would be lost to West Coast, not finding the Gray in Grey) = Gray Old Lady = NYT.
2) "several hidden costs" = oil industry subsidies, new extraction incentives, geopolitical i.e. wars & rumors of wars -- lives and billions $, sanctions, suspension of Diplomatic Relations i.e. disrupting business alliances, generational hate.
3) "anti-lefty-greenish behavior" = more oil consumption i.e pollution, fears of climate, disregard for alternative energy.
4) "anti-Big Oil profits" = lower oil cost = less Bog Oil profits.
5) "euphorically-replenished Greying Gal" = Gray Old Lady = New York Times.
Euphorically, as delighted Big Oil not profiting as much. Replenished, as in replenishment offered by Replens to Greying Gals. Yes, a reference equating satisfaction of human intimations, with political victory -- for those engaged in such intimations.
6) "unexposed opacity" = NYT, not revealing to its lefty-greenish readers, the obvious (refer back to para 2).
7) "environmental contradictions" = refer back to para 3.
8) "conveniently swept" = hidden costs.
9) "politically-expedient rug" = in political time for '18.
10) "Carlos" = Carlos Slim, as the very rich conservative Mexican. Last week he increased his position in the NYT.
11) "goad the burro ridden" = as change the Democrat NYT attempts to influence politics.
12) "re-replenish her" = I'll leave something for Carole's imagination.
2) "several hidden costs" = oil industry subsidies, new extraction incentives, geopolitical i.e. wars & rumors of wars -- lives and billions $, sanctions, suspension of Diplomatic Relations i.e. disrupting business alliances, generational hate.
3) "anti-lefty-greenish behavior" = more oil consumption i.e pollution, fears of climate, disregard for alternative energy.
4) "anti-Big Oil profits" = lower oil cost = less Bog Oil profits.
5) "euphorically-replenished Greying Gal" = Gray Old Lady = New York Times.
Euphorically, as delighted Big Oil not profiting as much. Replenished, as in replenishment offered by Replens to Greying Gals. Yes, a reference equating satisfaction of human intimations, with political victory -- for those engaged in such intimations.
6) "unexposed opacity" = NYT, not revealing to its lefty-greenish readers, the obvious (refer back to para 2).
7) "environmental contradictions" = refer back to para 3.
8) "conveniently swept" = hidden costs.
9) "politically-expedient rug" = in political time for '18.
10) "Carlos" = Carlos Slim, as the very rich conservative Mexican. Last week he increased his position in the NYT.
11) "goad the burro ridden" = as change the Democrat NYT attempts to influence politics.
12) "re-replenish her" = I'll leave something for Carole's imagination.
Oh those poor oil companies. Those poor foreign producers. Will no one come forward to help them in this their hour of need? Think of the private jets that won't be flying, the Mercedes that won't get a tire change, the bathrooms that won't be remodeled in gold, can't we all agree to pay another 50 cents a gallon so another rich kid private school tuition can be paid?
19
Did you notice that the price of airfares has not come down?
Last I checked, there was still a fuel surcharge added to the price of all airfares.
Last I checked, there was still a fuel surcharge added to the price of all airfares.
6
Lower oil prices are benefiting everyday Americans at the expense of Wall Street?
We can't have that.
Time for the GOP to push for higher oil prices.
We can't have that.
Time for the GOP to push for higher oil prices.
13
I'm concerned about Big Oil executives' salaries and bonuses getting cut in the coming new year. I am also worried that international oil speculators, and Wall Street investors profits may be decreased by falling oil prices. Watching ordinary consumers benefit from a recent economic trend which won't last very long has been a painful experience.
Fortunately, my discomfort won't last long as Big Fossil Fuel lobbyists are working overtime on fixes for this situation, first by planting false stories on social media about possible war scenarios in the Middle East which will make oil production and shipping extremely expensive, and secondly, by convincing the U.S. military to threaten war with Russia over its problems with Ukraine.
When in doubt about economic problems, just remember that it was our military build-up for World War II which pulled America out of the Great Depression. This is why Islamic jihad is being promoted as the new Nazism by Western "democracies" like the U.S. and Israel. We need to increase our military budget from 40% of all expenditures to at least 55% of them, in order to ensure that every country around the world is free to become more like us. This is American exceptionalism at its finest.
7
Reduced cost of fossil fuels is a back door, temporary, unstable increase in minimum wage. If this is making such a difference for all the people who don't have money to burn-- pun intended-- just imagine what a long overdue increase in the national minimum wage would do.
10
The President's endeavor to raise taxes on the wealthy strikes me as normal.
Who else can he raise taxes on? Of course, the wealthy deride such a solution. Yet who can taxes be increased upon? No doubt, an army of accountants will spring up looking for loopholes. Maybe they will be forced to sell a house or two. Illinois' new governor owns more than a half dozen. He dresses like a farmer, drives a twenty year old pickup and wants the public to think he is just a regular guy. No doubt this guise will be adopted by others
with the new taxes laws being introduced--even public office? Watch the upper 1 and 2 per cent high incomers belabor such a shift. The truly rich will
see the benefit to all Americasn and the return of growth to our middle class.
Who else can he raise taxes on? Of course, the wealthy deride such a solution. Yet who can taxes be increased upon? No doubt, an army of accountants will spring up looking for loopholes. Maybe they will be forced to sell a house or two. Illinois' new governor owns more than a half dozen. He dresses like a farmer, drives a twenty year old pickup and wants the public to think he is just a regular guy. No doubt this guise will be adopted by others
with the new taxes laws being introduced--even public office? Watch the upper 1 and 2 per cent high incomers belabor such a shift. The truly rich will
see the benefit to all Americasn and the return of growth to our middle class.
2
I don't see how raising taxes of the 1% does anything but help the 1%. From what I read in the NYT the 1% now own our government.
The middle-class had to suffer for decades under the Republican "trickle-down" theory. Maybe the Democrats now can name their own economic theory to reassure those quaking Republicans: "trickle-up".
3
Here we will see the debunking of the myth of trickle-down economics, yet again, because after five and half years of the very rich doing very well while the rest squeak by and the economy had tepid growth, the little guys are finally getting the boost. These are those who have no choice but to spend it, flushing it through the economy, it will be interesting to see how this "trickle-up" the economy.
The sad irony is, since they just took over Congress the GOP will take credit for any improvement in the economy. Listen to Mitch McConnell and they are already taking credit for the economy's improvement. Despite the fact that they were wrong about demanding we take the same "austerity" route which has proven to be disastrous for Europe, and they were wrong about the effects of Fed Policy screaming it would cause run-away inflation, soaring interest rates, and the debasing of the dollar, none of which has occurred, yet they still insist they are right, creating a new definition of "Right Wing."
The sad irony is, since they just took over Congress the GOP will take credit for any improvement in the economy. Listen to Mitch McConnell and they are already taking credit for the economy's improvement. Despite the fact that they were wrong about demanding we take the same "austerity" route which has proven to be disastrous for Europe, and they were wrong about the effects of Fed Policy screaming it would cause run-away inflation, soaring interest rates, and the debasing of the dollar, none of which has occurred, yet they still insist they are right, creating a new definition of "Right Wing."
8
See that's the thing about Repubs all they have to do is deny, deny, deny or outright lie. And unfortunately the people that vote for them are too stupid to realize it
2
A good reason to vote.
Too bad people in the Northeast cannot figure out how to deliver less expensive housing and education, using technology. The resulting savings and boost to middle class incomes would easily be 4-5x that of the cheap oil thanks to the oil boom.
2
Get ready for the BIG FALL workers. Soon we won't be able to afford gasoline at any price because all the money will be with the top 1% global financial elite if they get their way. No drop in prices at the gasoline pump will make up for the Trillions of Dollars of bad oil derivatives losses that WE who actually pay taxes are back on the hook for. Those of us who understand what is going on must spread the truth because we are not getting it from the major media - they're busy trying to get us to vote for another Bush because the 40+ year financial coup against Democracy in America is working out very well for them.
http://www.econmatters.com/2014/12/russian-roulette-taxpayers-to-bail-ou...
http://www.econmatters.com/2014/12/russian-roulette-taxpayers-to-bail-ou...
3
Yes, but all we hear on TV is the rich crying about how bad lower energy prices are for the country. Actually, lower energy prices benefit the vast majority of Americans. Of course, the executives who work for the oil companies are whining about how allegedly bad this is for the economy. No, is is less beneficial for the energy companies and their stockholders, not for the vast majority of Americans.
19
Both the environmentalists and the energy companies are interested in keeping energy prices high. Makes you wonder whose side the political elite is on.
Who are these "rich" crying? Every industry's executives talk about the effects of the market on their companies. That's why they are on the news, so investors can hear what's happening to their companies.
And investors talk about the effects of the movement of prices, whether up or down, of every single commodity. They make their living on the movement of prices, some benefiting, some losing on every single uptick/downtick.
And investors talk about the effects of the movement of prices, whether up or down, of every single commodity. They make their living on the movement of prices, some benefiting, some losing on every single uptick/downtick.
1
Yes. A better headline for this would be: "Rich people don't like it when something helps those who don't make as much money as they do."
Or, "Disaster for the wealthy near as American incomes reach 1/256th of an inch closer to equality."
I look forward to the Fox News accusations of "persecution" of our "job creators" due to these lower oil price "entitlements" to "lazy moochers." Or perhaps these accusations have already been made.
In any case, thanks in large part to god's gift to man in the form of the Citizens United decision, guess who wields the power at the end of the day? I'll give you a hint: It isn't the April Smith's of the world.
Or, "Disaster for the wealthy near as American incomes reach 1/256th of an inch closer to equality."
I look forward to the Fox News accusations of "persecution" of our "job creators" due to these lower oil price "entitlements" to "lazy moochers." Or perhaps these accusations have already been made.
In any case, thanks in large part to god's gift to man in the form of the Citizens United decision, guess who wields the power at the end of the day? I'll give you a hint: It isn't the April Smith's of the world.
1
How is it that so-called intelligent people on the East Coast cannot analyze this issue? It can be reduced to a simple logical equation: When the stock market flourishes, workers and citizens are harmed; when the stock market tanks, people are helped and prosper.
Now what?
Now what?
2
You mean like...people who have no retirement funds, no 401K plan, no pension funds, no IRAs in a money market fund or investment account?
If you have none of these -- maybe. But most folks, yes even working class people, have SOMETHING invested for retirement and whatever it is, it is directly impacted by the stock market -- for better or for worse.
If you have none of these -- maybe. But most folks, yes even working class people, have SOMETHING invested for retirement and whatever it is, it is directly impacted by the stock market -- for better or for worse.
2
You're waiting for God to send in Jesus 2.0, aren't you?
the Saudis brought about the oil price crash ... they can just as quickly reverse it by cutting production, re-balancing the market and increasing their revenues... the important question is "why don't they ?"... a good guess would be that they're trying to further cripple arch-enemy Iran... US shale producers, along with Russia, Venezuela, etc. are just collateral damage... US consumers are just collateral (and temporarily very happy) collateral beneficiaries... once Iran agrees to the nuclear deal, gasoline will be going back up, so enjoy it while you can
8
I don't know if I can totally agree with you. It's also possible that the Saudis aren't raising their prices and cutting their production for fear of losing market share. With US energy production up and the slower world economy the greater supply of oil is meeting a lower demand and causing the market price to drop. The Saudis are concerned that if they increase their price other producers will still sell at lower prices and take their sales. Remember that the Saudi economy is dependent on oil for the government to subsidize the living standard of its people to maintain control. That is their primary concern. I agree that harming Iran is a secondary reason.
2
I disagree. This is a supply exceeds demand phenomena. The US is producing much more oil and Russia is selling more as it needs the $. Iraq has also upped production. The Saudis and others have stayed about the same. On the demand side, the US is the only major developed country that is growing at a good pace as Europe, China, Japan and others have slowed. In addition, we have become more efficient users (mileage standards) and are growing our base of renewables.
2
Your assumption is not correct the Saudis never take those decisions without the big brother's consent.
1
With 2014 being the warmest on record, oceans in peril of dying, and Congressional Republicans making the seemingly now unneeded Keystone XL pipeline their first legislative priority, I worry that the environment may also be the victim of "lower oil prices." We are rapidly running out of time to reshape our energy system from a carbon-based one to a green energy one, and unless we can somehow tap the massive savings in the cost of oil to finance the transition we'll all be paying a much higher price very soon. One idea is for President Obama to allocate the potentially significant savings in the Defense budget to such a national project similar to the Interstate Highway (and Defense) System that President Eisenhower persuaded Congress to fund.
8
Apparently there's an inverse relationship between what's good for U.S. workers and what's good for the stock market. And by the way, the mutual funds to which deferred compensation plans are limited are a total rip-off of U.S. Workers.
15
The fracking revolution has proven itself to be a low cost energy revolution to the people of the world. More benefits will flow to the American people from fracking than any other program, private or governmental, that has been put in place in the last 10 years. The people who benefit the most from low cost energy are the poor. Heating costs, electrical costs, transportation costs, that are not discretionary costs have and will continue to drop dramatically. Those saving end up going towards medical, food and betterment of life expenditures on part of the poor.
This also means that the tax burden that energy companies carry for all of us in high cost energy times is going to go poof, because profits have and are going to continue to decrease. However, the economic stimulus that the energy savings provide will more than make up the losses of taxes from energy companies. So the reality is, fracking is the most progressive program, indeed a program that aligns directly with liberal positions, more than any other program in the USA.
It is time for the people who have opposed the new energy industry in the USA to get behind it and support it, as this energy industry has proven the incredible amount of social value it brings to all of us.
This also means that the tax burden that energy companies carry for all of us in high cost energy times is going to go poof, because profits have and are going to continue to decrease. However, the economic stimulus that the energy savings provide will more than make up the losses of taxes from energy companies. So the reality is, fracking is the most progressive program, indeed a program that aligns directly with liberal positions, more than any other program in the USA.
It is time for the people who have opposed the new energy industry in the USA to get behind it and support it, as this energy industry has proven the incredible amount of social value it brings to all of us.
5
If your electrical rate is going down, you are lucky. We just were informed by our electric cooperative that rates are going up. Luckily for us gasoline is $1.81 per gallon, and propane is $1.50.
And what shall we drink when all the ground water is frackin polluted? Tea? Coffee? Beer? Wine? Nope- they all need water! Juice? Nope. No more trees - dead from frackin solvents. And still the sun waits, the only true source of energy to the earth, for our smarts to outpace our greed. So hoping we don't hold out till it's too late.
3
Yes that's if the earthquakes caused by fracking don't kill them first
It's about time "we the people" caught a break.
15
It is about time that this aspect of falling energy prices is openly discussed. The people who will benefit the most will find it difficult to have any sympathy for the institutions that benefit from high energy prices. They, the lower middle economic class, understand perfectly how the billions and trillions of dollars extracted from this economy by the energy industry came directly out of their pocketbooks. To say the average Joe will feel a little relief from absurdly high prices is an understatement for those who had no clue about the damage done to lower middle economic class pocketbooks. The squeeze was on and little people could do nothing about it.
2
Today I get up and it is the same America that I woke up in last year. We have a culture/system at odds with itself. Politics and economic theory that are at odds with the promise of America. Forget the dream .. the equality, the premise that we sing about at the begining of football games. Watch any business news wrap up or market report segment. The line between the corporate business community and the the citizen is still clear. One makes a living off the other ..or is it they thrive and succeed together? The disparity in income certainly doesn't exhibit any great love for the blue collar worker. I would say the only example of co existance in the American culture today is at the gas pump. We can all nood and smile as the new Lexus and the old Toyota sit, mouths open as the white collar guy or gal stands across from the blue plate special technician smiling, pumping fuel. One thinking.. Maybe we'll go out to Pacqual's tonite ..I'll buy a nice bottle of wine.. The other just happy they can turn the thermostat up a notch or 2.. I wouldn't call this a closing of the gap.. But temporary like a mid field fake.. as the corporate coffers see Wall street pull on it's quarterly eye shades .. leaning in, dissatisfied with its' shallower cut of the economy. Conjuring algorithms and outlooks that will only force the turning back of those thermostats..
9
One observation that is severely missing in both the article and the comments is the fact that in Maine the Federal assistance for fuel oil is 30 to 40 times greater than to promote energy efficiency, i.e. insulation. Supporting energy efficiency is where the assistance would have the greatest impact over the long term. And that would provide for more jobs in Maine to builders, insulators, etc., while making homes more comfortable and reduce the long term demand for oil. Also, the funding should go towards boiler conversions to wood pellets, heat pumps, solar hot water, etc.. A more energy efficient home coupled with renewable energy would go along ways toward lowering the cost of living in Maine and other cold climates and move us off a large part of our dependence on fossil fuels.
13
The $750 sounds like an understatement to me. Take the typical two car family. A small car is costing about $20 less to fill x usually (assuming a modest mileage) six times a month = $120 x 12 = $1440. Larger SUV's and trucks are nearly twice that. Heating oil is selling for about $2.30 a gallon versus almost $4 last winter. Looked at globally the fall in energy prices represents about $4 trillion transferred from producers to consumers and since we consume about 25% of the world supply that a $1 trillion tax cut to the US economy. This is immense. And there is a fair chance it will last at least throughout 2015.
7
Its a still zero sum game. What did these producers buy with that money? What American business and governments were selling them. Oil service machinery, parts, military equipment and US Treasuries. In a global economy this money is circulated and this especially true of our major oil exporting partners.
Already cut back in oil fields, rigs, and related industries in the US is dramatic. What was the biggest sources of high wage job growth and capex spending is evaporating in front of our eyes. To say that the 70% of Americans who can't find $500 in emergency money or can't put away a dime towards retirement or pay down debt is going to be jolted into spending is laughable.
Found money? Maybe if you mentally exclude the high debt burdens and higher cost of living. Have you seen milk, hamburger, and vegetable prices? There up over 400% in the last ten years while wages and household income are lower than they were 10 years ago. If any of this "found money" is going anywhere its to maybe bring there noses just above the water line.
Cheerio!
Already cut back in oil fields, rigs, and related industries in the US is dramatic. What was the biggest sources of high wage job growth and capex spending is evaporating in front of our eyes. To say that the 70% of Americans who can't find $500 in emergency money or can't put away a dime towards retirement or pay down debt is going to be jolted into spending is laughable.
Found money? Maybe if you mentally exclude the high debt burdens and higher cost of living. Have you seen milk, hamburger, and vegetable prices? There up over 400% in the last ten years while wages and household income are lower than they were 10 years ago. If any of this "found money" is going anywhere its to maybe bring there noses just above the water line.
Cheerio!
2
Actually it's not a zero sum game, it's a relativities game. Inflation is running at it's lowest level for decades and domestic oil exploration is not the largest area of US capital investment. Gretchen Morgenson has a column in this very newspaper today providing some useful perspective which you might benefit from although that's perhaps debatable.
If you believe the fiction of low inflation then your not obviously a consumer of goods and service in this economy. Must be great.
Remember that cartoon coyote when he ran off the cliff and was suspended in midair? That's what artificial price supports get you. Eventually the gravitational pull of the real economy wins and down you go. The exercise of central banks is to mitigate the damage by devaluation. Very soon you're going to get all "good" inflation your ilk thinks money printing gets you. Deflation/inflation leads to the same doorstep of poverty. Low inflation/no inflation? That used to be call price stability.
Remember that cartoon coyote when he ran off the cliff and was suspended in midair? That's what artificial price supports get you. Eventually the gravitational pull of the real economy wins and down you go. The exercise of central banks is to mitigate the damage by devaluation. Very soon you're going to get all "good" inflation your ilk thinks money printing gets you. Deflation/inflation leads to the same doorstep of poverty. Low inflation/no inflation? That used to be call price stability.
Short term this will be good, but long term it could lead to deflation. High energy prices prevented deflation during the Great Recession. It was deflation that was the true scourge of the Great Depression. A cycle of falling prices, which leads to less profitability and staff cuts. It took to the early 1960s for the US to total recover from the Great Depression. In the world economy, especially in Europe, we are already seeing deflation taking hold.
Also, energy prices were pushed to their high limits based on speculation, there were no market conditions to support triple digit oil prices. The drop, in oil price, are the result of speculators dropping out f the market. OPEC is keeping prices low, now, so more expensive means of extraction shuts down, so the can again control the price.
However, if deflation takes hold, OPEC will be the least of our worries. Imagine seeing wages cut, but what is owned remains the way it is? You $300,000 house, could drop to $200,000, but one would still owe $300,00. But, the means to pay for it, also dropped 1/3. This is the kind of danger inflation is.
Again, for the short term this will be beneficial, but if deflation takes hold, it would make the Great Recession look like a cake walk.
Also, energy prices were pushed to their high limits based on speculation, there were no market conditions to support triple digit oil prices. The drop, in oil price, are the result of speculators dropping out f the market. OPEC is keeping prices low, now, so more expensive means of extraction shuts down, so the can again control the price.
However, if deflation takes hold, OPEC will be the least of our worries. Imagine seeing wages cut, but what is owned remains the way it is? You $300,000 house, could drop to $200,000, but one would still owe $300,00. But, the means to pay for it, also dropped 1/3. This is the kind of danger inflation is.
Again, for the short term this will be beneficial, but if deflation takes hold, it would make the Great Recession look like a cake walk.
5
In late December of 2008, the price of WTI crude was just over $30 a barrel. The previous summer it was over $145 a barrel. So, energy prices were not high and were an example of deflation not a guard against hit. What did prevent inflation was the Fed's willingness to expand and to keep on expending the money supply, something requiring courage given the fierce political opposition.
3
People don't realize that deflation is a forgone conclusion that can not be stopped without hyperinflation from a massive devaluation of all currencies. Either way the results become the same...poverty.
When you bring in billions of new workers into the global economy that are willing to work for a bowl of rice and a fish head you're going deflation on a massive scale.
When you expand credit and leverage on an unprecedented scale over a short period of time building capacity that can not be used you're going deflation on massive scale.
When you expand the money supply on an unprecedented scale without an economy that can deploy it towards production you're going to get massive distortion in asset prices and malinvestments.
Itsl bubbles economics popping and being artificially reflating. Keynesianism isn't a bad idea when viewed as a temporary measure. What we have developed is a dependence on artificial stimulus. Its produces a ratchet effect wherein more and more is necessary to produce the same results. Along the way we drift farther and farther from underlying economic support and justification.
China is a grand example of this winding up and then the hangover from the eventual winding down. The global economy is awash in overcapacity, over investment, over leveraged, and over central bank color pieces of paper liquidity. Deflation has as much to do with a failure of economic policy as it has to do with prices falling to were the real economy is.
When you bring in billions of new workers into the global economy that are willing to work for a bowl of rice and a fish head you're going deflation on a massive scale.
When you expand credit and leverage on an unprecedented scale over a short period of time building capacity that can not be used you're going deflation on massive scale.
When you expand the money supply on an unprecedented scale without an economy that can deploy it towards production you're going to get massive distortion in asset prices and malinvestments.
Itsl bubbles economics popping and being artificially reflating. Keynesianism isn't a bad idea when viewed as a temporary measure. What we have developed is a dependence on artificial stimulus. Its produces a ratchet effect wherein more and more is necessary to produce the same results. Along the way we drift farther and farther from underlying economic support and justification.
China is a grand example of this winding up and then the hangover from the eventual winding down. The global economy is awash in overcapacity, over investment, over leveraged, and over central bank color pieces of paper liquidity. Deflation has as much to do with a failure of economic policy as it has to do with prices falling to were the real economy is.
Our National Highway fund still gets just 18cents per gallon. It's time to quadruple that.
Oil is finite. It will always be a commodity. It should be subject to long term planning and long-term extraction rules, instead of the glut/scarcity cycles we experience at the whims of the oil barons. That will never happen...
Oil is finite. It will always be a commodity. It should be subject to long term planning and long-term extraction rules, instead of the glut/scarcity cycles we experience at the whims of the oil barons. That will never happen...
20
Historically, during periods of rising oil prices increases, no one applauded the rising cost as a economic benefit with new jobs, investments, exploration, etc. Why are pundits now bemoaning the fall in prices now when it's clearly net positive for the economy??
14
The pundits and their employers own oil stocks.
7
The republicans were screaming, "Drill baby, Drill" six years ago and now they are screaming that all that drilling is cutting into their profits.
Americans need to learn that republicans are always wrong about everything and no one should listen to them, much less vote for them because they are never satisfied and they never will be.
Americans need to learn that republicans are always wrong about everything and no one should listen to them, much less vote for them because they are never satisfied and they never will be.
82
QE suppressed cost push inflation (wage pressure), and as a by product it triggered massive over investment in Commodities which caused the Commodity Markets to sky rocket and produce a bizarre period of demand pull inflation at a time when equity and bond markets were also soaring.
The most highly manipulated of all artificially inflated markets was the oil market, which was structurally prepared to inflate by the Market Modernization act of 2000 (signed by Clinton) which took the CFTC out of the supervision of electronic energy exchanges. Now we can see that the fundamentals have finally caught up with the manipulation in the resulting crash which should have been expected.
This oil market manipulation was interesting because W Bush provided the catalyst for the bubbles by legalizing the trade in ICE contracts in 2003, and also clearing the way for the fraud, and the subsequent bubble in the housing markets, by his administration's assertion of Federal Primacy in the mortgage origination market in that same year.
The motive for financializing commodity markets was to hedge against inflation which was anticipated because of the expansion of the monetary base; however, since the credit stayed in the Reserve System, it never circulated in the economy, and the anticipated cost push inflation never showed up to drive core inflation.
The oil market is now correcting to the degree that it was manipulated. And now some are telling us that we should feel rich: not ignored?
The most highly manipulated of all artificially inflated markets was the oil market, which was structurally prepared to inflate by the Market Modernization act of 2000 (signed by Clinton) which took the CFTC out of the supervision of electronic energy exchanges. Now we can see that the fundamentals have finally caught up with the manipulation in the resulting crash which should have been expected.
This oil market manipulation was interesting because W Bush provided the catalyst for the bubbles by legalizing the trade in ICE contracts in 2003, and also clearing the way for the fraud, and the subsequent bubble in the housing markets, by his administration's assertion of Federal Primacy in the mortgage origination market in that same year.
The motive for financializing commodity markets was to hedge against inflation which was anticipated because of the expansion of the monetary base; however, since the credit stayed in the Reserve System, it never circulated in the economy, and the anticipated cost push inflation never showed up to drive core inflation.
The oil market is now correcting to the degree that it was manipulated. And now some are telling us that we should feel rich: not ignored?
6
While oil tycoons suffer from falling oil prices, middle class all over the world rejoice. However, the rejoice is short-lived. Oil prices will bounce back within months as TYCOONS are not used to suffer from loss for so long.
12
I find it very interesting that when the Republicans were chanting “Drill, baby, drill.” to lower the cost of fuel and help the average consumer, Obama and the Democrats were mocking the slogan and also saying that they all were lies.
The reality is that the “Drill, baby, drill.” has lowered the cost of living for everyone and has created thousands of high paying jobs.
Now, Obama is going around saying that it is thanks to him that the oil is lower. But wait; now the Democrats want to increase the tax on gasoline thus hurting the consumer.
So I ask you, who does the talk and who does the walk in helping poor people.
The reality is that the “Drill, baby, drill.” has lowered the cost of living for everyone and has created thousands of high paying jobs.
Now, Obama is going around saying that it is thanks to him that the oil is lower. But wait; now the Democrats want to increase the tax on gasoline thus hurting the consumer.
So I ask you, who does the talk and who does the walk in helping poor people.
10
Mike - Yes - President Obama get the credit as your Republicans blame him for everything. Also, ask the 9000 cut by just Schlumberger about their high paying jobs. Either party desires credit or blame. Welcome to Economics 101.
3
Republicans and Democrats all seem to want to raise tax on gasoline for the highway trust. Perhaps it would be more CONSTRUCTIVE to raise taxes on new SUV's and other muscle vehicles, so the lower income drivers can keep this little break for a while. Use new-vehicle proceeds to shore up the highway trust fund.
1
Gas prices are really (for the most part) outside of the control of the President. It's dependent on lots of factors, including foreign economies like China -- politics like war in the Mideast -- technology and many other things.
Yet, people are simple about this and they blame the President when gasoline prices goes up and they credit him when gasoline prices goes down. That's because the cost off filling one's gas tank is real and personal and it hits you in the face EVERY WEEK when you fill up. It's not some vague theory, or rationalization. (This also goes for food costs.)
Part of being POTUS is the "buck stops here". That works both ways. Reagan got credit for the hostage negotiations in Iran that were mostly done by Carter. Clinton got credit for an economy mostly boosted on a tech bubble -- then luckily left office just as the bubble burst. Bush 43 got blamed for an economic meltdown that was YEARS in the making, a lot of by Clinton who signed Glass Steagall out of existence. And so it goes.
Yet, people are simple about this and they blame the President when gasoline prices goes up and they credit him when gasoline prices goes down. That's because the cost off filling one's gas tank is real and personal and it hits you in the face EVERY WEEK when you fill up. It's not some vague theory, or rationalization. (This also goes for food costs.)
Part of being POTUS is the "buck stops here". That works both ways. Reagan got credit for the hostage negotiations in Iran that were mostly done by Carter. Clinton got credit for an economy mostly boosted on a tech bubble -- then luckily left office just as the bubble burst. Bush 43 got blamed for an economic meltdown that was YEARS in the making, a lot of by Clinton who signed Glass Steagall out of existence. And so it goes.
2
In the long haul cheap gas is a disaster. The price of gas in no way reflects its true cost to us. When all scientific evidence tells us we absolutely have to reduce CO2 emissions, the economic gains from lower gas prices are ephemeral at best. Drive around rural New England and it'll be obvious that most homes you see are woefully underinsulated and people there don't usually have an alternative to filling the gas tank. They need long-term solutions and there is so much our federal, state, and local governments could do in concert to help lower income earners make their homes more efficient and provide them with alternatives to traveling by automobile. We just don't have the political will that will fund an agressive plan.
96
"- -provide them with alternatives to traveling by automobile- -" In rural Maine, should we build rail lines, make more bus routes? Not realistic, sorry.
2
Oh for heavens sake: what's the average American to do, caught between affluent liberal do gooders who want to jack up gas prices in name of climate change and Wall Street conservatives who want to see gas prices jacked up just because. Quit with your bellyaching and let the average American for once enjoy this great news about falling gas prices!
1
@nhhiker:
I take your point, but for many Americans reducing our use of fossil fuels is not "realistic" either. I don't expect to see electric vehicles any time soon in rural Maine and rail wouldn't make sense, but a coordinated network of small, alternative-energy shuttle bus routes might. It could never pay its way but in most advanced economies it's a given that public transportation has to be subsidized, for the common good. I don't have the answers but I bet with some suitably funded imagination and innovation (so desperately needed in all walks of public life in America) someone could.
I take your point, but for many Americans reducing our use of fossil fuels is not "realistic" either. I don't expect to see electric vehicles any time soon in rural Maine and rail wouldn't make sense, but a coordinated network of small, alternative-energy shuttle bus routes might. It could never pay its way but in most advanced economies it's a given that public transportation has to be subsidized, for the common good. I don't have the answers but I bet with some suitably funded imagination and innovation (so desperately needed in all walks of public life in America) someone could.
2
As usual, no mention from the nyt of the massive layoffs impending in the oil and steel industries. My employer issued a 60 day notice that effective March 8, we'll all be on indefinite layoff. The oil field workers are already on layoff with no return date available. We are the evil employees in an industry that works hard to keep America running so , of course, no empathy for us. Don't worry, we'll get by somehow. Thanks to community soup kitchens.
4
Don't be too fatalistic; this is a blip in oil prices. High gasoline prices are incredibly lucrative to the oil/gas industry, so they will be working overtime to do something -- anything, even ginning up a foreign war -- to get those prices nice and high again.
This is the sort of relief American workers need. Sure, Wall Street is crying, even as the market is at record high, but they've gotten a free ride these past 6+ years with money for nothing (QE) and a GOP that has continuously held a gun to the head of the American workers and the unemployed and threatened to pull the trigger unless the Bush tax cuts be extended. And now the new GOP "leadership" let Wall Street write the new deregulation bill letting Wall St again gamble using taxpayer-guaranteed funds. I say if there's another meltdown, we go Iceland and throw people in jail and let Sacks, BOA, and Chase go down in flames.
10
In deflationary times like these, you can expect a substantial portion of the money saved on fuel to go to retire debts rather than consumption.
6
quite the opposite... super-low interest rates - and a bit more unspent gasoline money jangling in the pocket - will have optimistic consumers borrowing and spending even more
1
Nope. You must not know a lot of ordinary US citizens in pricey NYC.
Extra money tends to go towards either bills or "fun times", and people are weak, so they like to spend any windfall not on retirements savings or insulation (for the next "hard times") but on stuff like a new iPhone or an even BIGGER flatscreen HDTV. Or they upgrade their cable to premium. Or a vacation!
Often, they totally overshoot their goal -- they have an extra $200 month due to low gas prices. So they spend $350. Now they are more broke than before.
Extra money tends to go towards either bills or "fun times", and people are weak, so they like to spend any windfall not on retirements savings or insulation (for the next "hard times") but on stuff like a new iPhone or an even BIGGER flatscreen HDTV. Or they upgrade their cable to premium. Or a vacation!
Often, they totally overshoot their goal -- they have an extra $200 month due to low gas prices. So they spend $350. Now they are more broke than before.
1
Get real, interest rates are sky-high for the demographic this article is about.
1
So it is the wealthy that benefits most from high gas prices.
I will take the small help that low prices provide as long as I can.
I will take the small help that low prices provide as long as I can.
6
Thank you New York Times for putting a positive story on the front page. The falling oil and gas prices will help the average person and business. The effect will be broadly felt and comes just in time for the winter. No matter how long it lasts everyone can appreciate a few extra dollars in the pocket!
9
Oil prices have been artificially high for some time now because of Geo-Political fear and the use of sanctions against oil producing countries. This artificial price may have spurred much more investment in US drilling then was warranted. That in turn may have lead to over-investment, oversupply and tumbling prices.
I suspect there is going to be massive layoffs in the US oil industry and investment slated for it is going to disappear. Investment in alternative energy is also likely to disappear. There are real wage paying jobs associated with stable energy prices that generate profits for American producers.
US workers may benefit from deflation but I suspect they will benefit more from a robust economy, stable commodity prices, predictable trading partners, and peace. In the meantime enjoy the windfall and hope this isn't the harbinger of massive deflation and layoffs.
There are always winners in booms and busts but long term I'm betting it will be investors not consumers. Consumers benefit from stability.
I suspect there is going to be massive layoffs in the US oil industry and investment slated for it is going to disappear. Investment in alternative energy is also likely to disappear. There are real wage paying jobs associated with stable energy prices that generate profits for American producers.
US workers may benefit from deflation but I suspect they will benefit more from a robust economy, stable commodity prices, predictable trading partners, and peace. In the meantime enjoy the windfall and hope this isn't the harbinger of massive deflation and layoffs.
There are always winners in booms and busts but long term I'm betting it will be investors not consumers. Consumers benefit from stability.
33
We absolutely need deflation. Deflation is good!
How can most members of Congress who are millionaires relate to the grandmother Ms. Smith, working 60 to 80 hours a week? The wealth is so out of balance in this country that it staggers me - people who work full time should be able to make it, but in the US, working 40 hours a week can still leave you qualifying for food stamps...call this what inequity: cruel, violent, unethical, immoral, and certainly un-Christian.
201
Well, here in the U.S. we just build more prisons for the poor instead of preventing poverty in the first place. The self-righteous Christian right can bear a great responsibility for these conditions. There is a judgment.
16
Mrs. Smith must be the most impractical and uneducated homemaker in existence, if she spends her grocery dollars on hot dogs and ramen noodles.
There are plenty of good, cheap, healthy foods you can make for the same cost -- whole wheat pasta, all types of soups, beans, frozen veggies of all types, fruit in season, oatmeal, etc.
A diet of salty ramen noodles is almost scary. That stuff is really pathetic junk food. Hot dogs are not much better; they should be an occasional ball park treat and not a diet mainstay.
Even at $8 an hour, a home health aide working an average 70 hours a week (I agree this is too much) would be making $560 a week -- that is more than enough to buy decent healthy food. At least one of their children is old enough to have kids of their own, meaning they are adults and can be contributing themselves to the food budget.
There are plenty of good, cheap, healthy foods you can make for the same cost -- whole wheat pasta, all types of soups, beans, frozen veggies of all types, fruit in season, oatmeal, etc.
A diet of salty ramen noodles is almost scary. That stuff is really pathetic junk food. Hot dogs are not much better; they should be an occasional ball park treat and not a diet mainstay.
Even at $8 an hour, a home health aide working an average 70 hours a week (I agree this is too much) would be making $560 a week -- that is more than enough to buy decent healthy food. At least one of their children is old enough to have kids of their own, meaning they are adults and can be contributing themselves to the food budget.
1
Welcome to America.
If saving $750 per year in fuel costs creates a significant improvement in the lives of so many people, that demonstrates how much people are struggling. I wouldn't call that a wealth effect. It's more like a reduced poverty effect. Every bit helps when there are few bits to go around.
We can all help to keep prices down by not using oil. Drive efficient cars. Drive less. Coordinate errands. Move back into the city. Work closer to where you live. Don't warm up the car, just start it and go. Use the car's AC when it is really hot or you are all dressed up. Roll down the windows in more moderate temperatures.
If we all use less, it will cost less for all. So use less.
We can all help to keep prices down by not using oil. Drive efficient cars. Drive less. Coordinate errands. Move back into the city. Work closer to where you live. Don't warm up the car, just start it and go. Use the car's AC when it is really hot or you are all dressed up. Roll down the windows in more moderate temperatures.
If we all use less, it will cost less for all. So use less.
196
Yea, all of that except the rolling down the windows, it causes drag on the cars because it is no longer aerodynamic when the windows are down. Leave the windows up and use the A/C, use the dishwasher instead of hand washing because it uses less power to heat the water and wastes less water, which is becoming more expensive than gas in some places.
If we had power plants that burned garbage we could solve lots of this country's problems. The technology has caught up now and the scrubbers can clean the discharge of over 95% of pollutants.
Sweden is one of the cleanest countries in the world and they have to ship in garbage from Europe to burn in their power plants. America already has enough landfills to supply energy for this country for the next 50 years if no new garbage was created.
Our government should use all the savings from low oil prices to build trash burning plants.
If we had power plants that burned garbage we could solve lots of this country's problems. The technology has caught up now and the scrubbers can clean the discharge of over 95% of pollutants.
Sweden is one of the cleanest countries in the world and they have to ship in garbage from Europe to burn in their power plants. America already has enough landfills to supply energy for this country for the next 50 years if no new garbage was created.
Our government should use all the savings from low oil prices to build trash burning plants.
5
Candide33,
I appreciate your response. You are correct about car windows, but only at highway speeds. In city driving at at 25 to 35 mph, the AC eats up much more gas than open window drag, and especially in stop and go traffic.
I appreciate your response. You are correct about car windows, but only at highway speeds. In city driving at at 25 to 35 mph, the AC eats up much more gas than open window drag, and especially in stop and go traffic.
2
We bought an electric car. LOVE it even more than we anticipated. No more gas station visits in all kinds of weather. No more trouble with fan belts, generators, fuel pumps, alternators, spark plugs.....Now we have freedom to shop further away from home, sometimes to our economic advantage. Just plug it in when you come home and be ready to go 170 miles next morning. We hardly notice the increase in our el bill. AND we contribute less to the overall pollution. :-)
5
Since the early 70 oil embargo I have witnessed many oil boom bust cycles and I view this much akin to getting free doses of heroin from the pusher and then paying the price when addicted. Energy independence should be a national security priority. If we were truly energy independent how many fallen soldiers would be alive today? How much money we could have saved We Laughed as a nation at Pres Carter warning about energy. It makes me wonder if its a planned conspiracy(opec) or just the cruel circumstance of market economics. Climate change makes it a biological necessity to wean quickly from fossil fuels. This down turn in prices again is much like the heroin addict given you some free doses so the exploitation can occur once you are on you knees begging. When will we ever learn…..when will we ever learn?
38
The way to make life really efficient, is for many people to live communally. And share vehicles. Some hippies did this, but as they grew older wanted "their own place", etc.
We will never learn. We never have. The only way non-fossil energy will become the norm is if the big oil/coal/gas monopoly decides to do it. Or some other huge corporate conglomerate does it. And they will still have to make tremendous profits from it. Or most of the people get desperate enough to demand it. Very wealthy people can afford just about anything.
How nice to have a little good news for once!
Though it's also concerning how we pendulum back and forth like this all the time in varying degrees of panic or complacency instead of calmly and rationally seeing the bigger picture. Which is that we're basically sawing through the branch on which we're sitting by continuing to rely so heavily on soon-to-be exhausted fossil fuels, even though we now know that there are plenty of far more efficient, cleaner, and inexhaustible energy sources out there that the world community should be pooling its cerebral, technical, and financial resources into developing in a way that can be easily scaled-up to serve all 7+ billion of us, instead of our spending so much of our time bickering with each other, at best, and slaughtering each other, at worst.
Though it's also concerning how we pendulum back and forth like this all the time in varying degrees of panic or complacency instead of calmly and rationally seeing the bigger picture. Which is that we're basically sawing through the branch on which we're sitting by continuing to rely so heavily on soon-to-be exhausted fossil fuels, even though we now know that there are plenty of far more efficient, cleaner, and inexhaustible energy sources out there that the world community should be pooling its cerebral, technical, and financial resources into developing in a way that can be easily scaled-up to serve all 7+ billion of us, instead of our spending so much of our time bickering with each other, at best, and slaughtering each other, at worst.
6
It is a sad day in our country when moving to meatloaf on the table from ramen noodles and hot dogs is considered an example of "substantial benefits" to the American working-class people.
191
Not to mention going to Dollar Stores rather than Walmart. Nothing says so much about our economy as the proliferation of Dollar Stores everywhere in America.
This is an example of the chained CPI, originally applied to incentivize seniors to switch from beef to cat food by undercutting Social Security COLAS, and then applied broadly by our beloved representatives to the National Economy. We aren't supposed to notice.
This is an example of the chained CPI, originally applied to incentivize seniors to switch from beef to cat food by undercutting Social Security COLAS, and then applied broadly by our beloved representatives to the National Economy. We aren't supposed to notice.
8
@Evan: Point well taken. In 1928, Herbert Hoover (a Republican) campaigned using the slogan "a chicken in every pot." Working class people are losing ground, and fast - and sadly, that seems to suit the top 1% just fine.
7
Only an ignorant fool (or someone exaggerating for effect, in a left-slanted story) would really feed their children ramen noodles and hot dogs on a daily basis. That's the worst of the worst crap junk food and very poor nutrition.
For the cost of a week's worth of ramen and hot dogs, you could ALSO have eaten whole wheat pasta, frozen veggies, in-season fruit, oatmeal, dried & canned beans, etc. Not a monastic diet, just normal fresh healthy stuff.
$42K is very close to the median US family income -- not poverty at all -- and I don't believe that meatloaf is any sort of rarity at that level. If made thoughtfully and stretched with some bread crumbs, you can use 1 lb of hamburger to make enough meatloaf for 6 people -- meaning $5-6 to feed the whole family at $1 or less a head.
For the cost of a week's worth of ramen and hot dogs, you could ALSO have eaten whole wheat pasta, frozen veggies, in-season fruit, oatmeal, dried & canned beans, etc. Not a monastic diet, just normal fresh healthy stuff.
$42K is very close to the median US family income -- not poverty at all -- and I don't believe that meatloaf is any sort of rarity at that level. If made thoughtfully and stretched with some bread crumbs, you can use 1 lb of hamburger to make enough meatloaf for 6 people -- meaning $5-6 to feed the whole family at $1 or less a head.
2
The trend is your friend in commodities. It's a perfect storm for some, a bonanza for others, with energy heading lower... in the short term. The Saudis and other major producers are caught. The glut builds as producers fight to maintain market share as global warming slowly, gradually lessons energy needs in winter, more drilling increases flow, and slowdown to recession in China, Japan, Russia, and Western Europe act to reduce demand. From the well head to the gas pump, they are losing money - as they gain in volume and the spread widens and they make far more. Meanwhile, they whine and kvetch about loses.
But this, too, will change. It may take two or three years - for the shift back to a tighter market and more of what we have seen in recent years.
But this, too, will change. It may take two or three years - for the shift back to a tighter market and more of what we have seen in recent years.
1
Oil Prices have dropped from $110 dollars a barrel to $48.00, in a very short period of time. And this article reminds me of a story about closing the barn door after the horse is gone, big news. Ask yourself, what is going on? The benefits of lower oil prices even dwarf this story. Remember the Hunt brothers cornering the copper market, Mr Green in todays NYTimes made $3,000,000,000 billion dollars predicting the collapse of mortgages.
This is a bubble in reverse and is most likely man made. I know, you think I am going to a conspiracy theory, but any sane person has got to ask why, and don't point out drop in demand. What if the stock market fell to 6,000 points, what if employment dropped 50%, what if the price of your house dropped 50%, what if you lost 50% of your body weight in the same time frame, your doctor would want to know how you did it! Another question has the Federal government filled the National Oil Deposit to brimming and if not is it the Republicans that won't vote the money to buy cheap oil for national security. This is all connected somehow, it will become clear when the next round of billionaires are born. Call me skeptical.
This is a bubble in reverse and is most likely man made. I know, you think I am going to a conspiracy theory, but any sane person has got to ask why, and don't point out drop in demand. What if the stock market fell to 6,000 points, what if employment dropped 50%, what if the price of your house dropped 50%, what if you lost 50% of your body weight in the same time frame, your doctor would want to know how you did it! Another question has the Federal government filled the National Oil Deposit to brimming and if not is it the Republicans that won't vote the money to buy cheap oil for national security. This is all connected somehow, it will become clear when the next round of billionaires are born. Call me skeptical.
3
Falling oil prices are the best thing that could happen to improve the lives of hard working struggling American families. It's not just the savings in fuel for the car but also the added savings on fuel used to heat ones home in the winter. Keep fossil fuels cheap until someone comes up with a better alternative. For nor there is not one.
24
Have you noticed any drop in food prices up there where you live?
Hubby was cheering about a drop in mayonnaise prices when he came back from the grocery store but he said meat and milk prices were even higher. You would think food prices would go down now that it is so much cheaper to ship them.
Hubby was cheering about a drop in mayonnaise prices when he came back from the grocery store but he said meat and milk prices were even higher. You would think food prices would go down now that it is so much cheaper to ship them.
2
If wee applied technology to make housing, education, and health care cheaper... think how how much better of people would be. Energy is about 10% of the consumer budget for the bottom 40%. Housing: 35%
4
Elon Musk is proving you wrong with his multi-billion dollar battery plant being built in Nevada. Solar is gaining ground; here in California it makes up a fair proportion of our energy supply and is solar energy production grown exponentially in just the past few years here. Drive down any street and see for yourself how many solar panels dot rooftops. by 2025 it will make up more than one-third of the residential energy supply. Our utilities have mandates to utilize solar and wind technology by x percentage, and the numbers keep growing as more progress is made. Wind energy is huge in Texas and Kansas, often powering entire towns. The technology is improving every day. The glass is half full and filling fast.
I'm eager for the press conference by Mitch McConnell in which he explains that it was the policies of the Republican Party to "help the middle class" that brought about the steep decline in energy prices.
11
not Republicans and certainly not our President... just a few daring geologists, petroleum engineers and drilling engineers, with the financial backing of some very heroic risk-takers, realizing that they could frack oil and gas from shale, previously considered to be a source rock rather than a reservoir rock
1
Why do we pursue such nonsense? The price of oil reflects the expectation of the future economy. So great... we all can now afford gasoline, oh but jobs start shrinking! Another excellent barometer of economic health, world wide, is the Baltic Dry Index, which reflects real prices paid for shipping. This index plummeted even when oil as over $100 a barrel. Shipping demand reflects transportation of raw materials and finished goods. Oh, a quick drop in the price of oil? Or the franc? Or any other financial instrument and asset, pretty much always indicates severe and serious financial trauma that is played out over months. While I hope middle class wage earners benefit from ANYTHING given how they have been raped and pillaged by the financial elite, it is doubtful that the "benefit" is a benefit; it is more likely to be counteracted by something much worse. I sincerely hope I am wrong, but doubt it.
4
For the average worker in America, they ones that have to commute to their jobs over a fair distance, this lower gas pricing is a godsend. They know, of course, that eventually those whose big pockets aren't getting filled enough will make sure that oil and gasoline prices again reach higher again.
For the first time in years, I can afford to pay my heating oil bills without tapping my meager savings.
I live in NH where the temperatures are never what they are in VT. or Maine, but bad enough that my sweater collection is quite large and my house temperature isn't as high as my old bones would really enjoy.
It won't last, will it.
For the first time in years, I can afford to pay my heating oil bills without tapping my meager savings.
I live in NH where the temperatures are never what they are in VT. or Maine, but bad enough that my sweater collection is quite large and my house temperature isn't as high as my old bones would really enjoy.
It won't last, will it.
8
The energy companies CAUSED the great recession with unconscionable (and now proven unnecessary) higher prices for fuel. When they killed us with those cost increases, people lost their home, and worse. The price of EVERYTHING went thru the roof since it all depends on fuel to get to market. You can't buy a can of beans for less then a dollar now. Should be 4 for a dollar. Hamburger is 4 to 5 dollars a pound. But the fuel mongers made RECORD profits. Yay.
5
Only prices are going exactly the wrong way in terms of global warming. Lower prices will only spur use of more fossil fuels. Poor Earth.
5
I don't think so, people made all sorts of modifications in their lives when things were so bad and most people are not going to trust the kings of the corporate world ever again. It is just like your parents and grandparents saving flour bags and Green Stamps well into the 70s because they grew up during the depression and they never trusted again.
2
If I thought that we would, indeed, save that $3000, I'd be more convinced that it's a good thing.
If low prices only encourage consumption, and reinforce the delusion of the unlimited-stuff economy, the working class will be no better off for this vaunted energy independence. And the producers (who have the financial resources to ride out the trough) will be more firmly in control than ever before.
If low prices only encourage consumption, and reinforce the delusion of the unlimited-stuff economy, the working class will be no better off for this vaunted energy independence. And the producers (who have the financial resources to ride out the trough) will be more firmly in control than ever before.
2
The article doesn't say it directly but clearly is implying a "wealth" effect for lower income consumers.
It is not.
There is no found money. They are not making one dime more than they did before the decline. All they are doing now, as the example of Ms. Smith states, is to spend money on something else like food. Or maybe an overdue electric, cable, cell phone bill, or even pay down some debt.
The effects are being grossly exaggerated to continue the media's rainbow propaganda about a recovery that never happened. The only thing that has happened is a re-inflation of asset prices that came crashing down the last time they did this when the real economy couldn't justify those valuations.
Oil wasn't the first to decline it was copper. Now oil and many other demand side commodities are declining because the real economy never recovered. The recovery, so to speak, was a fiction of a world flooded with government debt and central banks colored pieces of paper that was created out of thin air and is now returning back to the thin air it came from.
It is not.
There is no found money. They are not making one dime more than they did before the decline. All they are doing now, as the example of Ms. Smith states, is to spend money on something else like food. Or maybe an overdue electric, cable, cell phone bill, or even pay down some debt.
The effects are being grossly exaggerated to continue the media's rainbow propaganda about a recovery that never happened. The only thing that has happened is a re-inflation of asset prices that came crashing down the last time they did this when the real economy couldn't justify those valuations.
Oil wasn't the first to decline it was copper. Now oil and many other demand side commodities are declining because the real economy never recovered. The recovery, so to speak, was a fiction of a world flooded with government debt and central banks colored pieces of paper that was created out of thin air and is now returning back to the thin air it came from.
107
Government debt is a sole consequence of not taxing the rich for their share of our pie. You must have invested in futures, to be affected by this. The rest of us benefit, whether we invest our savings in SEPs, Roths, or simply a decent portfolio. Those who can save and do not use this opportunity to invest their savings are foolish, and those whose incomes are so meager that they still have no savings need to organize in unions to take on the Wall Street-Capitol Hill axis.
1
A clear example that there is no class differences in America and no class warfare either.
For 226 years, after the American Revolution was lost to the 53 white, slave and land owning rich men who created in secret a Constitution to protect their class, social, economic and political rights, the bulk of the wealth and income of this country has moved from the Native Americans, then slaves, then wage slaves and immigrants and women to the 1%.
The horror of it all is that the 1% live extremely well and idolized by the masses to the point that at almost any excuse the masses will willingly offer their sons, brothers and husbands (and now due to a false sense of equality and democracy) their daughters, wives and mothers to die in wars that give the masses no benefit.
And the coup de grace that is coming will be President Obama's surrender when he compromises to gain an insignificant tax oncrease on the 1% in exchange for destroying what is left of any responsibility of the government to its People.
So ask yourself, are America and those living in America better off than they were in 1980 when Reagan took the script written for him and as acting President got the middle class to vote for their own destruction?
And a second question is: "Why is the price of oil dropping when the demand has not changed in fact should be expected to increase and the mideast, a geographic area and large oil producer, is almost entirely engulfed in war and uncertainty?
Think 1%!
For 226 years, after the American Revolution was lost to the 53 white, slave and land owning rich men who created in secret a Constitution to protect their class, social, economic and political rights, the bulk of the wealth and income of this country has moved from the Native Americans, then slaves, then wage slaves and immigrants and women to the 1%.
The horror of it all is that the 1% live extremely well and idolized by the masses to the point that at almost any excuse the masses will willingly offer their sons, brothers and husbands (and now due to a false sense of equality and democracy) their daughters, wives and mothers to die in wars that give the masses no benefit.
And the coup de grace that is coming will be President Obama's surrender when he compromises to gain an insignificant tax oncrease on the 1% in exchange for destroying what is left of any responsibility of the government to its People.
So ask yourself, are America and those living in America better off than they were in 1980 when Reagan took the script written for him and as acting President got the middle class to vote for their own destruction?
And a second question is: "Why is the price of oil dropping when the demand has not changed in fact should be expected to increase and the mideast, a geographic area and large oil producer, is almost entirely engulfed in war and uncertainty?
Think 1%!
1
The scrappers have put themselves out of business by stealing too much copper, they flooded the market with copper and it crashed.
1
The reduction of the price of a gallon of gas is not a long-lasting benefit to workers. The price of oil fluctuates wildly as we have recently seen. The real permanent benefit to the U.S. worker will be in higher wages. The minimum wage must be increased substantially. This will truly benefit those who are now earning minimum wage and will cause demand for higher wages for earners at every level. That wage increase will bring workers longer-lasting benefits and improve prospects for the middle class.
58
What goes up will eventually go down .More effecent cars become like electric eventually gas will become absolete used generally if car needs recharge only. Its basically case of techolgy replacing old techolgy . an for good of us all our kids breath a lot better an healthier
Minimum wage must be raised to at least $14 for high school graduates. But fossil fuels are not infinite, and we should be using this respite to build out an alternative energy infrastructure so when the price of oil goes up past $200/Bbl we are not driven to civil war by a second Great Depression, starvation and death from exposure while at home with no fuel for the furnace.
1
I guess all of the speculators have gone on vacation. Perhaps, they only speculate in warm weather months and now they are on their yachts in the Caribbean. I'm sure fracking has nothing to do with it. When oil prices start up again Congress will be outraged and will call for investigations of the speculators who have magically reappeared. The dropping prices points out one of our great dilemmas, higher gas prices helps the environment, but hurts low earning Americans the most, lower prices the reverse.
1
Reality check I got order in for new chevy bolt 2016 favorit color blue
As far as car gasoline consumption goes, the heating of the interior of a car come from the heat of the coolant fluid which unlike air conditioner does nor use additional gasoline. Because the coolant is heated whether it is used in winter to heat the interior of the car, or escapes as waste heat in the summer. So for this reason, that more gasoline is needed for air conditioner of the car during the summer, and no additional gasoline is need to heat the interior of the car in the winter, we actually consume more gasoline in summer than in winter, and we drive the same distance in both seasons.
2
It will be most revealing to see how politicians use the lower energy costs to their own advantage. Will we see the gas and oil controlled "elected" leaders claim that lower energy costs for average Americans was always their grand plan? Will they say they created the boom markets of fracking and shaling because they knew the OPEC cartel would retaliate to make the US boom go bust? How many times has such a plan actually benefitted so many completely by accident and not necessarily benefitting the population intended to reap profits? This is a rare example of unintended consequences helping the unintended beneficiaries. Watching all the dancing around the global v local policies, benefits, etc. should end up with some leaders collapsing under their own fancy footwork. At least I sure hope so.
1
One year ago due to a work assignment I spent the months of Feb and March in the beautiful state of Maine. Prior to this my experience in the state had been vacationing on the Maine coast in July. During Feb and March of 2014 I toured the entire state, from Fort Kent down into York. The state is truely beautiful, the residents are hardworking US citizens that love their state. High unemployment is causing many of the young people to move away to states that are hundreds of miles away from their families. Many of the residents in the state of Maine are older, living on fixed wages. Some of the folks I met were struggling to pay bills, pay for food and pay high prices for fuel oil. This was quite a contrast to the Maine that I vaction in during the last two weeks in July. I've been to Lewiston, Waldo, Brunswick and Caribou. I suggest that our politicans go visit these cities/towns in the middle of winter, when the temperature is -22 below w/o the wind chill. See the reality these hardworking, Americans live with everyday.
78
We live here in Waldo County and our household income is slightly above the county average. If we didn't have a woodlot and woodstove, we'd be in trouble. 150 years ago there were in this town a hotel, dry-goods store, more than a dozen mills and little factories, a town doctor and a town lawyer, and over 150 working farms. Today there is one lumber mill and one small general store that barely squeaks by, and not a single working farm. The nearest groceries, medical help and dry goods are over ten miles away by crumbling roads that the state isn't willing to maintain and the towns can't afford to maintain. The School Administration District is in reality a mechanism for supporting varsity teams in the shire town. Capitalists from away have methodically destroyed the economic infrastructure of the state, buying up Maine's mills and factories, removing the machinery or selling it for scrap, and laying off the workers, while corporate agriculture in the Midwest, with heavy government (socialist) subsidies, has put New England's farms out of business. Maine would be far better off in a cooperative economy in which no employment venue could be owned by out-of-state capitalists, and in which both socialism and capitalism were local.
1
This describes the upper Peninsula of Michigan as well as a considerable part of the Northern Lower Peninsula. Except for the tourist and resort areas, of course.
1
Thanks for exploding the myth that "the Northeast is wealthy and only the red states of the Midwest and South are poor".
There is poverty all over. Rural Maine is just about as poor as rural West Virginia.
During the FDR administration, a lot of money was spent -- wisely & well -- to electrify rural parts of the US, and even to install sanitary outhouses. This saved countless lives, improved health and brought much of the modern world to what used to be remote isolated places. We've been repaid a thousand-fold for this.
Maybe it is time for similar projects to bring insulation and alternative energy to the rural NE. I have friends in Boston who told me that their mid-century and well insulated ranch home uses $700 worth of oil heat a month -- almost $8000 a year. They were proud of this, as many similar homes are uninsulated! They were shocked to hear that in Ohio, I am pay less than $100 a month for natural gas heat (and am pissed about that).
There has to be a way to retrofit these homes for better energy consumption, and do it affordably so that everyone can benefit. There would be long lasting benefits, including greatly increased income for working class folks.
There is poverty all over. Rural Maine is just about as poor as rural West Virginia.
During the FDR administration, a lot of money was spent -- wisely & well -- to electrify rural parts of the US, and even to install sanitary outhouses. This saved countless lives, improved health and brought much of the modern world to what used to be remote isolated places. We've been repaid a thousand-fold for this.
Maybe it is time for similar projects to bring insulation and alternative energy to the rural NE. I have friends in Boston who told me that their mid-century and well insulated ranch home uses $700 worth of oil heat a month -- almost $8000 a year. They were proud of this, as many similar homes are uninsulated! They were shocked to hear that in Ohio, I am pay less than $100 a month for natural gas heat (and am pissed about that).
There has to be a way to retrofit these homes for better energy consumption, and do it affordably so that everyone can benefit. There would be long lasting benefits, including greatly increased income for working class folks.
2
The comments on this thread are amusing, but predictable. Only the American left could view massive drops in gas prices as a negative or even worse, a time for lame partisan attacks and frenzied rhetoric as to the evils of corporations.
5
I wish we could somehow keep your comment in a file somewhere so that when those "evil corporations' find ways to make this a plus for them instead of the public, we could show you that our 'lame partisan attacks' were not just 'frenzied rhetoric'.
7
Maybe that is because "liberals" believe in science and understand the long-term consequences. I'm very happy that the poor and middle-class have more money in their pockets, but in the long run we are all worse off if we do not deal with climate change.
9
Your location explains your perspective. I've spent enough time in Atlanta to know we need to resurrect William Tecumseh Sherman and reconstruct his march.
1
Obviously working families appreciate anything that reduces financial pressure. However, to the extent that lower oil prices increase consumption, the negatives obviously vastly outweigh the positives. It's disturbing that at this late date an article in the NYT about oil prices can ignore the enormous historic threat posed by climate change. The effect is to contribute to the obvious and highly dangerous state of denial that, against all reason and morality manages to persistent.
6
Please do not extrapolate the British notion of class system intel the USA. The working class in The U.K. Has its own accent and what of life radically different from other classes. This has never been the case in the United State. If any of the two authors have British background they need to study American society more to realize that the notion of working class dos not apply to the American Society.
1
That's right, here we define class solely and exclusively by how much money we have to spend.
Values (such as thrift, deferred gratification, stable community, education for the sake of learning and not merely to afford more stuff) have nothing to do with middle vs working class.
So much the worse for us.
Values (such as thrift, deferred gratification, stable community, education for the sake of learning and not merely to afford more stuff) have nothing to do with middle vs working class.
So much the worse for us.
3
Really? I think you need to get out more often. Or better yet, go visit the state of Maine as another commenter experienced. Their lives have absolutely no relevance to the so called ".1 % ers" who are in fact the equivalent of the British upper class. The only difference is that in the UK they have more generations of wealth within the family. With our already low estate taxes, we'll be catching up pretty soon, even though the concept of estate taxes was put in place in order to avoid a permanent upper class. Unfortunately it has no teeth.
3
The article is referring to economic classes not cultural classes.
3
I have two college educated kids who travel to and from work - 50 and 100 miles a day. It is a blessing to them I'm not sure why the cheaper prices --- either demand is low, or they are pumping up production as a favor, in exchange for past or future favors.
2
I'm very happy with the low energy prices. For once, the majority of American People are getting a break, as opposed to just the weathy. Like millions of Americans, I have some retirement savings, and my investments are simply in index funds that track the market. After hitting an all time high, I haven't seen share price plunge, but rather just have a slight dip.
Another thing that has thrilled me is that the drop in oil prices, plus sanctions, has devastated the Russian economy. Putin has created a society addicted to conquest and desires for genocide of the LGBT population. Already, Russia is implementing its version of the Nuremberg Laws: LGBT persons are required to turn in their licenses. Next, of course, will be severe limitations on careers that LGBT persons can participate in. Perhaps the complete crash of their economy will show the Russian People they have been worshipping a false prophet.
Another thing that has thrilled me is that the drop in oil prices, plus sanctions, has devastated the Russian economy. Putin has created a society addicted to conquest and desires for genocide of the LGBT population. Already, Russia is implementing its version of the Nuremberg Laws: LGBT persons are required to turn in their licenses. Next, of course, will be severe limitations on careers that LGBT persons can participate in. Perhaps the complete crash of their economy will show the Russian People they have been worshipping a false prophet.
8
Apparently you don't know a single Russian citizen.
2
I wonder which economy has the most chance of a total collapse, ours or theirs. I have a feelling that it is ours.
It can also create more jobs at livable wages. That is the way to go. Ignore the economist that argue otherwise. They have failed.
2
We should not use the British notions of class in the United States. For someone who has lived in U.K., there no relation or likeness between the British Working class system and the US. The working class in Britain has its own accent and way of life completely separate from other classes in U.K.
So the extrapolation of the notion of class from U.K. Is completely wrong and like comparing apple and oranges. If the authors have a British-American background they should Kowloon this by now, that in America does not have a class system that is in anyway comparable to the British. All Americans speak almost with the same accents, unlike British working class. This mistaken notion of class could come from Broadcasting the BBC News in US, or British made movies on class system in U.K.
So the extrapolation of the notion of class from U.K. Is completely wrong and like comparing apple and oranges. If the authors have a British-American background they should Kowloon this by now, that in America does not have a class system that is in anyway comparable to the British. All Americans speak almost with the same accents, unlike British working class. This mistaken notion of class could come from Broadcasting the BBC News in US, or British made movies on class system in U.K.
2
Have you ever traveled outside of Atlanta? Or in Atlanta with your eyes open? Atlanta itself has a rigid class structure based on race and wealth, which in turn are hereditary. Your perception of American class structure is amusing as well as ignorant--you must not have gone to a good prep school or private college, or ever been down the Maine coast in summer or visited Vail in winter.
5
Hot dogs and macaroni and cheese for dinner. Set aside the fact that having four children would put a bit of a financial strain on most families. When a home health aid who works 60 to 80 hours a week and her husband who presumably works full time make $42,000.00 per year we see that part of the problem is wages. Having a carbon tax would be taking away with one hand what has been given by the other. Perhaps a dedicated carbon tax might work, but how much better it would be to raise the family's income. Yes, I am saying that working for slave wages is not what America should be about. For two working class people to be so close to poverty says volumes about our country. Eat hot dogs and macaroni while The Walton family are the richest in the world because they pay slave wages and fight organized labor tooth and nail eat caviar and drink imported Champagne? Is that America we can be proud of? Is that being number one?
225
America's current economic trajectory will end up with guillotines on the steps of every county courthouse, and stacks of oligarchic heads below them, as well as fully-occupied gibbets on the mall in DC and on Wall Street.
3
The only reason for eating such appalling foodstuffs is ignorance. There are many healthy but cheap foods available.
At least one of the Smith children is an adult, with a child of their own. So they could be contributing to the family economy, or just doing the homemaking and cooking.
$42K is not poverty, but close to the average US family income. You may not realize it in pricey NYC or NJ, but that is plenty enough money to buy normal food and groceries. It is a CHOICE to eat hot dogs and ramen and mac 'n cheese out of a box -- often laziness or ignorance.
I'm glad you asked about the wisdom of having four children when you KNOW your income is not high and has little potential of rising. Even 3 children violate Zero Population Growth. If you care about the planet, you should have no more than 2 children.
Note: while I sympathize with hard working home health aides, if their wages doubled (to $15 an hour), their services would be unaffordable for nearly all seniors on fixed incomes -- forcing many into Medicaid nursing homes. That's a lose-lose proposition.
At least one of the Smith children is an adult, with a child of their own. So they could be contributing to the family economy, or just doing the homemaking and cooking.
$42K is not poverty, but close to the average US family income. You may not realize it in pricey NYC or NJ, but that is plenty enough money to buy normal food and groceries. It is a CHOICE to eat hot dogs and ramen and mac 'n cheese out of a box -- often laziness or ignorance.
I'm glad you asked about the wisdom of having four children when you KNOW your income is not high and has little potential of rising. Even 3 children violate Zero Population Growth. If you care about the planet, you should have no more than 2 children.
Note: while I sympathize with hard working home health aides, if their wages doubled (to $15 an hour), their services would be unaffordable for nearly all seniors on fixed incomes -- forcing many into Medicaid nursing homes. That's a lose-lose proposition.
4
Have you factored in what they call "externalities" of carbon? Have you seen what China looks like? Ever notice that is always dusk in the pictures? That they had to shut down factories and plants for the Olympics because the air quality was so bad. How does an uninhabitable environment fit in with your agenda? I surmise it is profiting off of selling air to people.
The oligarch of Wall Street would get all the savings from the people who are saving on fuel to heat their homes and paying for gas to drive to their minimum wage jobs. These are the people who earn less than $50,000 per year, and have on an average 4 dependents.
Families earning about $50,000 per year account for almost half of all households in the US. The savings from less cost on fuel is being offset by the increased cost of medical care albeit a little less this year. These household marginal propensity to save is almost negative. The Wall Street recognizes that and is reflected in its bull run of recent.
The fear of reduction in overall prices is overblown. The only ones negatively affected would be the banks and payday loan lenders as the interest rates would stay low. If a median income family has some money saved from their expenses on transportation and food, they would spend it on other necessities and would not be saving it for future as they still would not have enough to meet their needs anyways.
With negative inflation workers would be getting a pay raise as it would cost less to buy food, clothing and shelter. The government would have to pay less to support the indigent families etc.
A little inflation may be good for the Bankers, but deflation is very good for fixed income people, their spending habits are tied to buying produced and manufactured products and not CDO’s and other paper transaction.
It is a win-win situation. Let us enjoy while it last.
Families earning about $50,000 per year account for almost half of all households in the US. The savings from less cost on fuel is being offset by the increased cost of medical care albeit a little less this year. These household marginal propensity to save is almost negative. The Wall Street recognizes that and is reflected in its bull run of recent.
The fear of reduction in overall prices is overblown. The only ones negatively affected would be the banks and payday loan lenders as the interest rates would stay low. If a median income family has some money saved from their expenses on transportation and food, they would spend it on other necessities and would not be saving it for future as they still would not have enough to meet their needs anyways.
With negative inflation workers would be getting a pay raise as it would cost less to buy food, clothing and shelter. The government would have to pay less to support the indigent families etc.
A little inflation may be good for the Bankers, but deflation is very good for fixed income people, their spending habits are tied to buying produced and manufactured products and not CDO’s and other paper transaction.
It is a win-win situation. Let us enjoy while it last.
1
This is why gasoline taxes are insidious. Gas taxes disproportionately harm the poor and the lower middle class.
Artificially raising gasoline prices slightly reduces fuel consumption but it is destructive to the lives of millions and harmful to the economy.
Artificially raising gasoline prices slightly reduces fuel consumption but it is destructive to the lives of millions and harmful to the economy.
4
This goes triple for sales taxes -- they fall the heaviest on the very people who can least afford it, the poor and working classes. The rich pay little in sales tax and can often get things free or at wholesale prices -- or barter with their rich friends -- or buy things in the duty free shops on vacation!
1
All taxes harm the poor contrary to populist theory.
So high oil prices are a boom for the economies of the sparsely populated southwest and mountain states, and a disaster for freezing working population in the northeastern states. I hope light bulbs are stating to come on in the brains of us all.
3
Meatloaf instead of hot dogs, more time with the kids. Put a few more dollars in the pockets of folks on the middle/lower rungs and we see real payoffs. A few more dollars in the pockets of the wealthy does what exactly?? Please don't talk about money trickling down.
61
Trickle-down is great if you like second-hand champagne.
2
This is the perfect time to double-down on fuel economy.
Tax the heck out of needless, gas-guzzling SUV, enforce the rule which bans all but passenger cars from using the parkways and the SUVs will disappear except in instances where people really need them, like contractors or people who need to drive off-road. (You don't need a macho SUVs to cruise the Miracle Mile in Manhasset or Park Avenue.) Offer tax credits for people to buy hybrid automobiles and people will drive hybrids. We'll import less oil, our balance of payment deficit will be reduced, and the oil producers, many of whom don't like us, can swim in their product. (I have two full-size, fully equipped Ford hybrids and I easily get over 40 MPGs in The City. If I push it I can get that up to 60 mpg's. Swim away oil producers!)
Tax the heck out of needless, gas-guzzling SUV, enforce the rule which bans all but passenger cars from using the parkways and the SUVs will disappear except in instances where people really need them, like contractors or people who need to drive off-road. (You don't need a macho SUVs to cruise the Miracle Mile in Manhasset or Park Avenue.) Offer tax credits for people to buy hybrid automobiles and people will drive hybrids. We'll import less oil, our balance of payment deficit will be reduced, and the oil producers, many of whom don't like us, can swim in their product. (I have two full-size, fully equipped Ford hybrids and I easily get over 40 MPGs in The City. If I push it I can get that up to 60 mpg's. Swim away oil producers!)
16
Mike, I kinda jumped on you in another comment. I apologize. I know your heart is in the right place. I bought a new car end of March 2013. First actual new one since 98. I really wanted a Prius V. I've lived in hills since 94 and in the winter it can become impossible to get up or down in a light weight front wheel drive safely. My 02 Odyssey van did fine with studless snow tires (Blizzack brand) because it was heavy enough. Problem is the Prius couldn't get over the hump from my street onto my downhill driveway, sits too low. But could get most cars over it without scraping. I got a CRV with an amazing AWD traction system. Still had to put Blizzacks on it to get it stop safely on slick roads. The 4 cyl engine just doesn't put enough weight on front tires. I only drive 8-9k miles a year so it doesn't really matter much what MPG I get. I still went with the highest MPG available for what I need. I'd love an AWD hybrid CRV. If I was rich I'd have got something else. I've owned multiple GM, Fords, Toyotas and a couple of Hondas. I don't doubt the American car makers are making as good of cars as the foreign now. I just got burned a whole lot more over 40 yrs with them. As late as 2003. And none of that was any union's fault.
What's wrong with this picture? The Federal government must provide subsidies to low income people to pay for oil rather than conservation while Wall Street speculators drive oil prices through the roof, through dark pools. This is the legacy of the Bush/Cheney regime that brought us ICE.
The Federal government then further subsidizes oil and gas exploration and encourages purchases of gas guzzling pickups through loose tax rules.
The result is price insanity, bearing no relation to market forces.
The Federal government then further subsidizes oil and gas exploration and encourages purchases of gas guzzling pickups through loose tax rules.
The result is price insanity, bearing no relation to market forces.
10
Finally. Someone other than big corporations and the wealthy get a break.
Now let's increase wages that have only gone up for the wealthy and give the middle class tax breaks that have only existed for the wealthy.
Now let's increase wages that have only gone up for the wealthy and give the middle class tax breaks that have only existed for the wealthy.
45
You may want to actually learn the tax code. The wealthy pay disproportionately higher absolute and relative taxes (It's why it's called a progressive system) and they do not consume government services at the rate of the rest of population. Is this wrong, no. What is wrong is pitchfork politics based on lies about the equity of the tax system
2
The wealthy also receive a disproportionate share of tax breaks! The progressive system is broken and rigged to benefit upper incomes.
8
Let's at least understand how the tax system works. If you have high earned income, you pay over 40 percent of what you make in various taxes. If your income is from municipal bonds, capital gains, dividends, or hedge fund earned income taxed as capital gains, you pay much less.
5
I'm not sure Ms. Smith can cheer when the volatility of world markets could reverse course in the blink of an eye. All it takes is a reversal of OPEC leaders, or some world disaster that impedes some part of the supply chain, and prices will soar again.
Helping the middle class and the poor can't depend on the whims of commodity prices. Real help for the long haul depends on building a national consensus for equitable tax reform and a reset of economic priorities. While I'm enjoying $2.31 per gallon heating oil versus the $3.59 price of last year, such savings are transient.
Even Ms. Smith knows that. She also knows where she lives and how Maine's state policies are keeping the poor, poor.
Helping the middle class and the poor can't depend on the whims of commodity prices. Real help for the long haul depends on building a national consensus for equitable tax reform and a reset of economic priorities. While I'm enjoying $2.31 per gallon heating oil versus the $3.59 price of last year, such savings are transient.
Even Ms. Smith knows that. She also knows where she lives and how Maine's state policies are keeping the poor, poor.
35
If decreasing oil prices was driven simply by the availability of new sources of oil, such as through fracking, that would be a good thing for our and the world's economy, notwithstanding global warming concerns, but that is not the case.
World oil prices are being driven down, as are other commodity prices, by the global slowing in economies. European and Asian economies are experiencing low growth and flirting with deflationary prospects all of which depresses commodity prices, including that of oil.
America, over the short term, is largely insulated from this global economic slowing because we are still mostly a closed economy depending on exports to the world for around 20% of our economy, whereas much of Europe and Asia is highly dependent on global trade for its economic health.
Gradually, through various ways, the economic malaise plaguing much of the world's major economies will be visited on us. So, enjoy your cheap oil while you can because it is coming at a price that could far outweigh those savings at the gas pump.
World oil prices are being driven down, as are other commodity prices, by the global slowing in economies. European and Asian economies are experiencing low growth and flirting with deflationary prospects all of which depresses commodity prices, including that of oil.
America, over the short term, is largely insulated from this global economic slowing because we are still mostly a closed economy depending on exports to the world for around 20% of our economy, whereas much of Europe and Asia is highly dependent on global trade for its economic health.
Gradually, through various ways, the economic malaise plaguing much of the world's major economies will be visited on us. So, enjoy your cheap oil while you can because it is coming at a price that could far outweigh those savings at the gas pump.
3
The current economic benefit of low gas prices allows Congress to continue to abdicate their duties. They consistently ignore their citizen constituents by refusing to invest government money into infrastructure & renewable energy which would create jobs. These reduced prices also allows corporations, which have reaped record profits, to continue to keep wages low. Unfortunately the vast majority of citizens will never understand this connection & will continue to vote against their economic self-interest.
32
The fact is that the gas stations, those who run them, and those who supply refined products to them are making a windfall right now. In the past when oil prices were high their profit margins were trimmed to the bone. Now they've jacked up their profit margins per gallon. No one notices and they're selling a lot more product because people are conserving less.
26
No....gas stations are not making a windfall. They operate on tight margin, squeezed by suppliers on the wholesale side of things and car drivers in their endless search for low retail prices. That's why stations are becoming convenience stores...that where they can eat out a bit more in profit.
2
Where do you get those oil industry data, Mike? By all accounts, the industry is getting killed. When prices were high, they were making money. Now their share values are plummeting.
1
Mike, do you really think most people are driving more and buying bigger vehicles? Sure SUV and pickup sales will increase. But those buying them pretty much already drive SUVs and pickups. I don't know anyone who's driving more than they used to. You're right about about the profit margins. If oil goes up gas goes up the next day no matter when the storage tank was filled. It never goes down that fast.
When oil prices climbed, Wall Street and speculator conspiracies were blamed.
So now who gets the credit for falling oil prices and its curtailing Iran, Russia, Venezuela?
Certainly not the oil industry, fracking, and those who are producing the decline in oil that is enriching the US!
So now who gets the credit for falling oil prices and its curtailing Iran, Russia, Venezuela?
Certainly not the oil industry, fracking, and those who are producing the decline in oil that is enriching the US!
6
Who should be getting the credit? OPEC. US oil production has cut their profits and the only way to get those profits back is to make it too expensive to extract oil from shale. The prices will stay low until the US oil production industry is out of business.
1
A little break for the true makers
At the expense of the real takers,
It's a comforting song,
It won't last too long,
For the one percent it's heartbreakers.
At the expense of the real takers,
It's a comforting song,
It won't last too long,
For the one percent it's heartbreakers.
9
This is the typical communist chant that ascribes evil to hard work and success and a halo around all those that earn less. If only one's ethical and moral center were simply a function of your bank account
1
Higher income does NOT equal working harder! Ms Smith definitely works harder than a Wall Street trader or a banker gambling with money not his own. Communist? Meh! Greed and corruption more like it!
5
I don't disagree with you that Ms Smith is working harder now, but that doesn't mean the traders and bankers didn't work hard at one time, too.
I put myself, with zero family support or help, through college. I struggled and suffered and waited tables until 1 am most nights of the week while carrying a full course load. Looking back, I can't believe I pulled it off.
I married and put my spouse through law school. So now it looks like we live on Easy Street, but a tremendous amount of sacrifice and deprivation went into what we have now.
When people tell me I am "lucky," I almost laugh. Luck had very little to do with it.
I put myself, with zero family support or help, through college. I struggled and suffered and waited tables until 1 am most nights of the week while carrying a full course load. Looking back, I can't believe I pulled it off.
I married and put my spouse through law school. So now it looks like we live on Easy Street, but a tremendous amount of sacrifice and deprivation went into what we have now.
When people tell me I am "lucky," I almost laugh. Luck had very little to do with it.
1
The bookends of this article -- Wall Street and a woman who works 60-80 hours at minimum wage jobs -- embody all that is wrong with this country. For whom does Washington work? Such a naïve question.
224
Minimum wage in Brunswick, Maine buys a bit more than it does in Chicago. Here's a current listing for a house in Brunswick. Owners are asking $189,000.
http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/88-Jordan-Ave_Brunswick...
What can you get for that it Chicago? This also demonstrates the fallacy of a single federal minimum wage. These people may actually lose their jobs if the Feds came in with a higher minimum wage.
http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/88-Jordan-Ave_Brunswick...
What can you get for that it Chicago? This also demonstrates the fallacy of a single federal minimum wage. These people may actually lose their jobs if the Feds came in with a higher minimum wage.
2
>
You really do not think low oil prices are the new normal do you? It is not, and that it is a good thing. When oil is cheap it hurts the renewable or alternative energy field, our only hope to cut down the CO2 loading into the atmosphere. Cheap oil is kind of like a Walmart coming into your town; things may be cheaper, but the life of the community is destroyed along with all sorts of jobs. Fool's gold.
There is no free lunch.
You really do not think low oil prices are the new normal do you? It is not, and that it is a good thing. When oil is cheap it hurts the renewable or alternative energy field, our only hope to cut down the CO2 loading into the atmosphere. Cheap oil is kind of like a Walmart coming into your town; things may be cheaper, but the life of the community is destroyed along with all sorts of jobs. Fool's gold.
There is no free lunch.
88
Fools Gold? You ever tried to put food on your table when you're paying eight hundred a month for heating your home?
Take a moment to thank the Green Party for of the eighties for closing down Maine Yankee in Wiscasset ME. They promised a nuclear bomb in their back yard and birth defects. Now their energy bill have tripled and there are no jobs.
Global warming like the anti-nuclear movement was about power. Look at what they did to the economy of Maine.
Take a moment to thank the Green Party for of the eighties for closing down Maine Yankee in Wiscasset ME. They promised a nuclear bomb in their back yard and birth defects. Now their energy bill have tripled and there are no jobs.
Global warming like the anti-nuclear movement was about power. Look at what they did to the economy of Maine.
2
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Joe G.,
Joe, I do not have any kids, but apparently you are willing to unload onto your kids a future world that could turnout to very unpleasant for them for a lower monthly fuel bill. Good luck with that.
The correlation between jobs and energy is very week. Your GOP buddies, the rich industrialists, shipped out the jobs years ago for cheap labor, nothing to do with energy.
Joe G.,
Joe, I do not have any kids, but apparently you are willing to unload onto your kids a future world that could turnout to very unpleasant for them for a lower monthly fuel bill. Good luck with that.
The correlation between jobs and energy is very week. Your GOP buddies, the rich industrialists, shipped out the jobs years ago for cheap labor, nothing to do with energy.
3
i'll take the meatloaf today.
1
My heart bleeds for those poor, poor, pitiful "energy producers". What's not to love about petro-tyrants?
6
Our improving economy is largely due to the decreased cost of gasoline. In just a few months the gas price will turn around and as it ascends the economy will lose momentum. The world is slowly slipping into recession and we are not immune to that condition. If it happens in 2016 the Dems will have little chance holding the White House. Now would be the time to increase the federal gas tax to finance infrastructure improvements but rest assured our GOP controlled Congress will never vote to do that. I can assure you that we will shortly hear the suggestion of privatizing roadways and bridges as a means of raising the money for those projects and once again the low and middle class will bear the brunt of regressive taxation through increasing or imposing tolls to pay the creditors/investors.
17
I'm for a modest increase in the gas tax with the money designated for the infrastructure bank. I do NOT support an increase with the money going into the "general fund" with a hand wave, vague "promise" to use it for infrastructure. A ten cent per gallon increase would raise gas prices in most parts of the U.S. to just below $2 a gallon. Gas would still be inexpensive, but the country could afford to start to make some much needed repairs during this windfall which will eventually end. Those repairs would also create jobs. Better than the Keystone XL pipeline - one project with mainly temporary jobs.
2
There are two corollaries to the trickle down theory at work.
The first is that of the invisible sponge of the self-described job creator class that sops up every drop of money that may trickle down to those who find themselves without bootstraps or who were still chasing the moving goal of economic security or prosperity.
The second is that the invisible choke chains around our necks are being loosened because our owners have determined that people are not buying goods or services because the realization that they are being had is now mixed with misery and pain. And bad things happen when it people who knew better times how much less optimism and believe a lot less of the nonsense and pap put out by those at the spigots.
To put it in happier terms that the economic pundits would relate to: The Invisible Hand of the Marketplace is now loosening the Invisible Choke Chains around our collective necks to create optimism as another sponge is being readied to sop up more money from people who work.
The first is that of the invisible sponge of the self-described job creator class that sops up every drop of money that may trickle down to those who find themselves without bootstraps or who were still chasing the moving goal of economic security or prosperity.
The second is that the invisible choke chains around our necks are being loosened because our owners have determined that people are not buying goods or services because the realization that they are being had is now mixed with misery and pain. And bad things happen when it people who knew better times how much less optimism and believe a lot less of the nonsense and pap put out by those at the spigots.
To put it in happier terms that the economic pundits would relate to: The Invisible Hand of the Marketplace is now loosening the Invisible Choke Chains around our collective necks to create optimism as another sponge is being readied to sop up more money from people who work.
4
There is an astute graphic I have seen that vividly portrays how 'trickle-down' is supposed to work and how it actually does. Wine poured into the topmost of a pyramidal stack of glasses, in theory, fills it and then overflows into the ones further down. But in reality, the topmost glass simply becomes larger and larger without cease, so not a drop hits the glasses beneath.
http://ntfw.ca/2014/10/how-trickle-down-economics-work/
http://ntfw.ca/2014/10/how-trickle-down-economics-work/
6
It's heartbreaking to see the fallout from cheap, domestically-produced oil. Families that might've once considered biking to work and cutting back on heavy meat diets are now contemplating purchases of big SUVs while increasing their intake of beef. And while the outgoing Congress might've passed legislation ensuring that increased taxes could've repurposed the revenue for global climate change education and awareness, it's doubtful the incoming one will.
So many missed opportunitities!
So many missed opportunitities!
78
This won't last forever. Families need to be using the drop in gas and heating oil costs to save.
I doubt that the folks in Maine, or in most places in the Northeast, can practically rely on biking to work in the winter.
I also think there are many, many places the government could be looking for revenue to fund global climate change education and awareness--like energy companies, coal companies, oil companies, frackers, etc.--rather than to repurpose the little bit of extra money ordinary people are able to have in their pocket as a result of falling gas prices.
I also think there are many, many places the government could be looking for revenue to fund global climate change education and awareness--like energy companies, coal companies, oil companies, frackers, etc.--rather than to repurpose the little bit of extra money ordinary people are able to have in their pocket as a result of falling gas prices.
10
The point is people don't make enough money to save! After a dinner of hot dogs or meatloaf, do you think there are dollars left on the table?
6
western politicians must choose. either support profitability or support wages. both cannot happen. profitability and wages are in an inverse relation.
4
Low fuel prices is good news for consumers worldwide. In the case of Brazil, the economy is stalled and beseted by rising inflation and twin budget and balance of payments deficits.
The only good news is the fall in oil prices for 2015. Despite offshore reserves of billions of barrels of oil, the country continues to be a net importer of fuels. BOP deficits of the last few years were caused by fuel imports mainly.
The state owned oil company Petrobras -- by incompetence and mismanagement -- is unable to increase crude and derivatives production.
To make matters worse, the company is engulfed in a corruption scandal caused by Dilma Rousseff's workers party scheme that diverted billions of dollars from the oil company to finance the Workers Party and allied parties.
Ironically, ten years ago --when huge offshore oil deposits were discovered -- President Lula used to proclaim his wish of Brazil becoming a member of OPEC. Today, a wasted state oil company Petrobras, no oil, no money and the Brazilian economy being rescued by lower oil prices. The South American giant is back in hibernation.
The only good news is the fall in oil prices for 2015. Despite offshore reserves of billions of barrels of oil, the country continues to be a net importer of fuels. BOP deficits of the last few years were caused by fuel imports mainly.
The state owned oil company Petrobras -- by incompetence and mismanagement -- is unable to increase crude and derivatives production.
To make matters worse, the company is engulfed in a corruption scandal caused by Dilma Rousseff's workers party scheme that diverted billions of dollars from the oil company to finance the Workers Party and allied parties.
Ironically, ten years ago --when huge offshore oil deposits were discovered -- President Lula used to proclaim his wish of Brazil becoming a member of OPEC. Today, a wasted state oil company Petrobras, no oil, no money and the Brazilian economy being rescued by lower oil prices. The South American giant is back in hibernation.
2
This article is very short sighted, stating that Americans should be happy for low oil prices when, as mentioned in another post, they are a ploy by OPEC to put drive out our competition. With oil so cheap, its extraction will be too expensvie for us to compete. We'll have to shut down businesses. When enough damage is done, the price of oil will climb back, possibly to new record high levels, where it will stay for quite a while.
7
What is amazing to me is that this untold story is the most important. Having spent years attempting to achieve energy independence, the US is squandering it all now as the Saudis are successfully forcing the independents in US and Canada to go out of business. Do you think this Saudi largesse will last forever or only until every North American independent has been driven out of business only to see oil prices soar once again.
3
Hope Maine's 99percenters enjoy that 750$ this winter, because the 1percenters are going to fight any long-overdue tax-fairness legislation with every fibre of their being.
86
Thanking Saudi Arabia, not congress, for this raise for the middle class. Who knew they were so Kensyian?
2
While cheaper fuel provides some relief for many Americans, it is temporary. The whole US should be enacting more expansive policies like California and Germany has for at least a decade, rehabbing housing to be more energy efficient, funding grants for solar, etc on individual homes, and updating outdated transportation and communication infrastructure. While some states have moved forward, the federal government programs have been weak, stalled by conservatives primarily, who represent the fossil fuel energy classes of business, from agri biz to defense..all of a cloth. Cheap oil will not last. Fossil fuels are essentially over consequently. Wells tapped out without expenisve measure to retrieve the fuel, difficult logistics, like deep water drilling and environmentally difficult and dangerous locations, are the future. NOW is the time to promote and sustain alternatives to provide our country with a firm basis for a sustainable future. Why wait for disaster? Common sense dictates we move to free ourselves ahead of time. The alternatives are affordable completely. They make total sense even without a hefty tax on carbons. But with it, it is so doable, it is almost laughable. Just a few cents tax, we could all have basically free energy and a lot of jobs provided doing it at the same time.
105
What do taxes have to do with the works of Ram Bux Singh (for instance) or the things that I can build? I do not see the connection because there isn't one.
What do taxes have to do with the works of Ram Bux Singh (for instance) or the things that I can build? Absolutely nothing.
1
Fossil fuels are essentially over. That is what you wrote. You are a Progressive malthusian lacking optimism about the future.
When the energy crisis first reared its head in the 1970s I can recall reading tracts on how our life would be changed and how the oil sheiks would control the world.
Instead the technological advances changed the productive equation and the world is awash with fuel. When the day comes that we actually do run out of carbon based product I am betting that human ingenuity will have concoted some way to solve the problem.
I love your idea about taxing carbon products. It is laughable. When oil was above $140 in 2008 I bet you were railing against the greedy energy companies for gouging the working class. Now you want to tax carbon and cause them the same pain. Higher energy prices are OK if the government Leviathan takes the money and bad if oil companies take the money. That Socialist/Progressive idea is your guiding light.
When the energy crisis first reared its head in the 1970s I can recall reading tracts on how our life would be changed and how the oil sheiks would control the world.
Instead the technological advances changed the productive equation and the world is awash with fuel. When the day comes that we actually do run out of carbon based product I am betting that human ingenuity will have concoted some way to solve the problem.
I love your idea about taxing carbon products. It is laughable. When oil was above $140 in 2008 I bet you were railing against the greedy energy companies for gouging the working class. Now you want to tax carbon and cause them the same pain. Higher energy prices are OK if the government Leviathan takes the money and bad if oil companies take the money. That Socialist/Progressive idea is your guiding light.
4
Not really, the cost of healthcare and generic drugs have risen significantly as well as housing, foods, transportation, taxes, etc. It is a clever political tactic to quote a drop in energy while the costof living remains masically the same or more
21
Now that the Republicans have been elected and gained the Government, which I thought they despised, the oil companies and financial investors are making moves to raise the price of oil. If not now, then certainly after they win the White House.......................Just like after Bush JR won.
23
1. The GOP has gained control of the legislature not the govt.
2. The USA is not a centrally planned economy.
2. The USA is not a centrally planned economy.
4
The naive, inexperienced and inept demand ridiculous "goals" like higher CAFE standards. Which makes cars more expensive to repair. Which then creates more problems.
They drag their heels on allowing nat-gas pipelines. Which would allow for lower-polluting fuels.
And despite other pipes being OK'd, they dig-in on Excel XL -- whose goal is to drive down energy prices. Does BHO not understand economics? Like higher taxes deter hiring?
The speed of the recent price drops have disrupted the world economy; rich Russians are bailing on NYC. The Saudis know their game is over, for a long time.
They drag their heels on allowing nat-gas pipelines. Which would allow for lower-polluting fuels.
And despite other pipes being OK'd, they dig-in on Excel XL -- whose goal is to drive down energy prices. Does BHO not understand economics? Like higher taxes deter hiring?
The speed of the recent price drops have disrupted the world economy; rich Russians are bailing on NYC. The Saudis know their game is over, for a long time.
2
The low oil prices are at the same time a problem a gift, and an opportunity.
They are a problem because no one should believe that they are real. This is a Saudi play to drive out the frackers and oil shale producers. Once that is done gas prices will return to the $4.00+ region they were in before.
They are a gift in that we should be using this time to finance research into technologies that will make up energy independent. Once we achieve that, the prices will collapse for real as America's demand is removed from the world oil market.
Lastly we have the opportunity once we are energy independent, to move away from a hydrocarbon based economy. Fusion for electricity and hydrogen for fuels is one possibility. We need to determine our own destiny not be tied to the Middle East and their insane politics.
Both for our planet and ourselves we need to seize this opportunity and get independent of the world for oil and off of oil in the long run.
They are a problem because no one should believe that they are real. This is a Saudi play to drive out the frackers and oil shale producers. Once that is done gas prices will return to the $4.00+ region they were in before.
They are a gift in that we should be using this time to finance research into technologies that will make up energy independent. Once we achieve that, the prices will collapse for real as America's demand is removed from the world oil market.
Lastly we have the opportunity once we are energy independent, to move away from a hydrocarbon based economy. Fusion for electricity and hydrogen for fuels is one possibility. We need to determine our own destiny not be tied to the Middle East and their insane politics.
Both for our planet and ourselves we need to seize this opportunity and get independent of the world for oil and off of oil in the long run.
342
Agree. But gasoline will be closer to $5/gal. to make up for the period of $2/gal. Besides, if the rest of western civilization pays $6/gal., why shouldn't we have to?
6
"Research"? Try the library. Wean yourself.
2
An important corollary to what you say, Bruce, is that if there is turmoil in our energy industry due to Saudi efforts to underprice it out of the market, all that "energy independence" related to the oil and shale boom isn't really energy independence after all, is it!
As many have pointed out regarding the pipeline, it's a world market.
As many have pointed out regarding the pipeline, it's a world market.
4
This article explains why policies to address global warming (oops, I mean climate change) will never go anywhere. The working class that the Democratic Party depends upon would revolt over policies that increased the cost of energy. You can propose whatever you want to allegedly "save" money for those being taxed, but it won't be believed. Politicians will have other uses for the money.
Has any Democrat introduced a bill to levy a tax on carbon? I didn't think so. They want to keep their jobs.
Has any Democrat introduced a bill to levy a tax on carbon? I didn't think so. They want to keep their jobs.
44
Actually a carbon bill was introduced in the '09-'10 Congress, but it went nowhere. Democrats preferred to focus on health care.
A good carbon tax policy will have rebates for the poor and lower to mid middle class. Also, what if the government used carbon tax money for spending more on direct aid to the poor for energy efficiency and insulation? It's somewhat outrageous that the federal government only gives Maine $1 million for insulation.
A good carbon tax policy will have rebates for the poor and lower to mid middle class. Also, what if the government used carbon tax money for spending more on direct aid to the poor for energy efficiency and insulation? It's somewhat outrageous that the federal government only gives Maine $1 million for insulation.
60
Jim, are you saying Republicans support a carbon tax? Which Republicans?
14
I believe you give way too much credit to the government. The government is just like a large SUV that get 10 miles to the gallon . You have to have a much larger tank (money) to get the same distance a fuel efficient car can get on a much smaller tank ( money). If you have ever done any work as a private contractor for the federal government you would know for certain that the government is the equivalent of a large gas guzzling SUV . More in less out. Stop looking to them for answers . A free and open market will find the solution to both global warming ,,,excuse me " climate change" and cheap renewal energy needs
2
"High crude prices pose a particular threat here because almost two-thirds of Maine homes, which tend to be older and less efficient, rely on oil for heat. "
Let's just retitle this article: "Low Oil Prices Encourage Wasteful Production of Greenhouse Gases".
Put simply, this is the breaks open the depth of the liberal hypocrisy. It pits the environmentalists against the middle class.
Let's just retitle this article: "Low Oil Prices Encourage Wasteful Production of Greenhouse Gases".
Put simply, this is the breaks open the depth of the liberal hypocrisy. It pits the environmentalists against the middle class.
66
Liberal hypocrisy? A liberal policy would levy carbon tax on oil and use the funds exclusively for making buildings and vehicles more energy efficient and helping needy families (including some in the middle class) to meet their energy needs. Where is the hypocrisy?
The real outrage is when Wall street cheers an increasing crude oil price, at the expense of Main St.
The real outrage is when Wall street cheers an increasing crude oil price, at the expense of Main St.
246
The stock market is at a near-record high, despite the plunge in oil prices. The only people on Wall Street who cheer increasing crude oil prices are speculators who bet on increasing oil prices. And with respect to the carbon tax, tell the average Maine voter that the extra one dollar gas tax is somehow going to get back to them with more energy efficient vehicles (already available) and more energy efficient buildings, and they will laugh in your face.
47
Not really Amy.
Maine folk are famous, actually, for frugality. Believe me, the caulk gun have been in use for decades, and the high-R rated insulation laid down in the attic long ago. But there are capital improvements, large ones, to move on from oil heat, and gas isn't a panacea either.
Like it or not, we are embedded in a milleau that in some ways keeps us in an older way of living. As photovoltaics get more affordable, and innovations in financing allow homeowners to sign on, as the grid shifts to renewables, as young families are afforded a chance to build new, the change in living that you refer to will occur. But it's the electric company resisting individual feeds into the grid, it's energy research in academia and start ups whose funding is resisted (OMG Solyndra one experiment didn't work!), and the refusal to apportion more of the value people create at work, and what they actually get from it, that stand as the largest obstacles.
Who are the hypocrites now??
Maine folk are famous, actually, for frugality. Believe me, the caulk gun have been in use for decades, and the high-R rated insulation laid down in the attic long ago. But there are capital improvements, large ones, to move on from oil heat, and gas isn't a panacea either.
Like it or not, we are embedded in a milleau that in some ways keeps us in an older way of living. As photovoltaics get more affordable, and innovations in financing allow homeowners to sign on, as the grid shifts to renewables, as young families are afforded a chance to build new, the change in living that you refer to will occur. But it's the electric company resisting individual feeds into the grid, it's energy research in academia and start ups whose funding is resisted (OMG Solyndra one experiment didn't work!), and the refusal to apportion more of the value people create at work, and what they actually get from it, that stand as the largest obstacles.
Who are the hypocrites now??
41
And poor people disproportionately don't own homes-- they're more likely to be renters, and heat is usually included in the rent. So a lot of the poor wouldn't be seeing lower costs at home either. (Again, correct me if tons of landlords are reducing rents due to lower heating costs this winter.)
So it seems to me that this benefit to low income workers doesn't really seem to be shared by all...