OT: GAS!!!!

[brianw999]

A final note. We have an off topic forum Feel free to use and enjoy it HOWEVER and this is a strict rule that will be ruthlessly enforced, NO POLITICS and NO RELIGION. Take those posts somewhere else. We all have 'em. we all are entitled to 'em BUT don't talk about 'em here.

OOOOOPS, sorry Tom. I just saw this after my last post. I hope the reference to George W isn't seen as politics.

Oh, nuts, if it IS politics I just did it again

[binka]

That's just sick, when i use to commute into Chicago it was 120 miles round trip.

in my car at your prices it would cost me almost 50$ a day. That would have been, 3 1/2 hours of my work day just to pay for the gas to get me there.

7$ a gallon would never happen here (WOULD IT!?) half the country would quit their jobs because they'd be losing money on the commute.

now im only 10 miles from my work, much better for about 1000 reasons.

joe

[mattnw]

Binka, not likely, at least not immediately. The UK gets a lot more of their tax base from fuel sales while the US charges less tax on gas but more on other things. I don't have the exact breakdown but put simply it's this that makes their gas prices seem a lot higher. Either way the consumer gets shafted.

I wish however that someone would explain something to me. The oil companies say they are only passing on the added expense but when gas is high like this they make record profits. Now my understanding of economics may be lacking but from what I understand you cannot make extra profit if you just pass on expenses.

For example if I make a product and it costs $100 in materials and labor to create and I sell it for $200. I'm making $100 profit from the product. Now if the materials and labor doubles to $200 and I pass on the cost to the consumer and mark my prices up from $200 to $300. I'm still only making $100 profit. No extra profit because I'm only passing on the extra cost. Now how do the oil companies make extra profit when they say they are only passing on the cost.

It seems more like they were first making the product for $100 then the cost doubled to $200 so they doubled their prices to $400. This isn't just passing on extra expense it's a price increase and a profit increase. So how can they say they are only passing on the extra cost while still making more and more profit?

[Kofi]

I figure this; Here in the US, SUV sales took a BIG DIVE last month.....Finally perhaps, automakers will start taking miles/kilometers per gallon serious with their upcoming designs....

[blueeagle44]

Come on over Brian! Methinks you had some distant relatives do it back a few centuries ago! Still got some room in Texas. Then, you can complain about the rising gas prices, with an English accent. Come on down!, and welcome.