Current economic woes

[GT2000]

So how is everybody handling things with the jump in prices.. not just the gas, but with everything out there going up. Gas prices here are in the mid 3's, which I know isn't too bad compared to some places, but that's because the living costs are higher in those places, so it's basically the same as people in Cali paying $4+.

Driving less, walking/biking more? I can't, nothing is in walking distance for me, and work is in the next city over so biking would be.. dumb.

"Stimulus" checks are in the mail, I think we get ours this week or next, what are you using it on?

Ours is going into savings, it will be stimulating our personal economy.

[raublekick]

Gas seems about the same as you. Like you, there isn't much in walking distance. The grocery store is close enough, and I'll probably start walking there. Work is close enough that I probably could bike, but I need to stay fresh and clean which will NOT happen if I bike...

I've been spending money in ways that I probably shouldn't lately, but I'm kind of starting to slow down not just because we're in a slump, but because I spend too much god damned money on stupid stuff.

[thecreeper]

i noticed just prices of food in general are awful. i usually go to the grocery store once a month and buy most stuff at once and its been near 150+ bucks, and sure its a decent amount of stuff, but my god, i swear this cost half this price a year or so ago...

[Mr Biglesworth]

I bike or walk everywhere so gas prices don't affect me there. I recently payed into a community supported farm where I get a weekly share of their produce. You pay at the beginning of the summer and I understand it's a good amount of food, so I should be getting the majority of my groceries from there (gonna have to learn how to cook some different veggies). They use draft horses, not tractors, so they're not affected by fuel prices either.

[raditz]

if those tree huggin assholes would let us drill our own oil it wouldn't be so bad, and at least we wouldn't be supporting some shit country while ours is going down the tube

[Mr Biglesworth]

RADITZ '08: ASSHOLES BACK TO SHIT COUNTRY!

[johnny]

Originally Posted by raditz

if those tree huggin assholes would let us drill our own oil it wouldn't be so bad, and at least we wouldn't be supporting some shit country while ours is going down the tube

actually i think your country is the shit country now! sucks for you

[GT2000]

Yeah, but we're going to take everyone else down with us.. so sucks to be you! I've been saying, we need to start drilling in Alaska, fuck the national wildlife refuge, or whatever it is (besides, if we can drill oil from the bottom of the ocean without tooo many bad occurrences, I think we can drill through some ice).

[raublekick]

Really China is the asshole country that's taking everyone down. Sure, America made some pretty big mistakes. But we were pioneers and our mistakes are to be learned from, not emulated. China used to be filled with bikes, but now lots more people drive cars, and not good cars, old crappy cars. But China thinks they have every right to be an industrialized nation. Fair enough, but at least look at how fast we're sinking (all the good tech industries are moving away, take advantage of that rising nations uh durr!!!)

Our failing economy has a lot more to it than just our unwillingness to drill oil in our own backyard. We, more than ever, are stuck in our ways. How much innovation was born in the U.S.? LOTS! We could have had electric cars since the 70s, but people liked Camaros. And now it's SUVs. But now we see those industries moving to other countries. Japan has the car market down. Germany has the solar and wind power market down. The middle east as a whole has the oil market down. We let shit slip through our fingers because we take our personal liberties a little too seriously.

"But I have every right to drive an SUV!" Yeah? Well you're gonna be the demise of this country by keeping antiquated technology in fashion while other opportunities go right out the window, so fuck you!

[GT2000]

There's a sales contest going on at work this year, with names going into a drawing for an '08 mercury mariner hybrid. If I were to win, I plan on selling it to get the Mustang I've been wanting.

[Liss]

Cost of living in California means nothing for the unemployed, and right now there is no job to be found. They've laid off hundreds of teachers and professors despite 40+ classroom sizes, etc, and nobody in the state is hiring because they can't afford to. I couldn't even find a bartending/waitressing job! And with gas getting so high (I live in the suburbs and had to pay 3.99 last week...you should see the gas prices in downtown LA and San Fran), people are getting desperate. I'm moving back to Alabama for the summer, then hopefully out of the country...(although even then I'm screwed because of the worth of the dollar.)

I don't think the problem is with where we drill, necessarily. Alaska doesn't have enough oil to support this country for very long. I think the problem is more, yea, in personal choices. On any given day I drive into LA or Riverside or San Diego or Pasadena, there are hundreds and hundreds of Navigators, Explorers, Excursions, F150s, etc...with ONE person inside, driving to work. It takes a hundred bucks for these people to fill their tanks and they burn every gallon in three days. People drive their kids around the block to school instead of walking with them. People drive to the neighborhood gym. People drive three blocks to work. It's ridiculous.

[Mr Biglesworth]

Great doc if you get the chance:
http://www.radiantcitymovie.com/

[johnny]

Originally Posted by Donnie

Yeah, but we're going to take everyone else down with us.. so sucks to be you! I've been saying, we need to start drilling in Alaska, fuck the national wildlife refuge, or whatever it is (besides, if we can drill oil from the bottom of the ocean without tooo many bad occurrences, I think we can drill through some ice).

how about fuck drilling for oil in a national wildlife refuge, and find ways to be less dependent on nonrenewable resources? as raub has mentioned, there has been ample opportunity over the past few decades for major advancements and innovations -- better late than never, right? drilling for oil in alaska is nothing more than a band-aid solution. how long will it be good for? how many more years before there's more discussion of economic woes, oil/gasoline shortages, etc? and when that happens, what can you do? not a fucking lot!

(not that canadians are any better off. i'm just sayin'..)

[GT2000]

I'm pretty sure we won't see huge gains in Americans using "greener" technology until there is some sort of government enforcement, as dumb as it sounds, but you know most Americans aren't going to do that shit on their own. As a nation in whole, we hate change. Not to mention at the rate of the technology coming along, it's going to be a while before we see any big changes. The state power company here is in a project with other companies building wind farms in the mid-west to send power this way over the grid, ok, that helps a little. Not everyone wants to get hybrids, because they aren't saving that much on gas, and since they cost a couple/few grand, sometimes 5 grand plus more, that's something to stop a lot of people. Electric hybrids? I don't know too much about them since we don't have many around, not a fan of plugging in a car though, and I'm sure they still use a good bit of energy anyways, I don't know though on this one.

Here's a real hybrid for all you fuckers.

http://gas2.org/2008/05/14/a-truck-t...-with-garbage/

[raditz]

Originally Posted by Liss

I don't think the problem is with where we drill, necessarily. Alaska doesn't have enough oil to support this country for very long.

i heard them talking about this on the radio today at work and estimations right now are that there's enough oil and natural gas on U.S. land to last us for over 100 years without buying anything from a foreign market.

Venezuela owns the gas used in the Citgo chain of gas stations. They provide gasoline for their country at a whopping 12 cents a gallon - http://money.cnn.com/pf/features/lis...bal_gasprices/

Not only are we paying alot more to buy from foreign countries, we're supporting jerks like Hugo Chavez -

http://urbanlegends.about.com/librar...go_boycott.htm


btw... everyone in Venezuela drives SUV's and HUMMER's

[johnny]

Originally Posted by Donnie

I'm pretty sure we won't see huge gains in Americans using "greener" technology until there is some sort of government enforcement, as dumb as it sounds, but you know most Americans aren't going to do that shit on their own. As a nation in whole, we hate change. Not to mention at the rate of the technology coming along, it's going to be a while before we see any big changes.

what irritates me is that i think it's possible that these "big changes" could have already happened if the world (not just the u.s. and a.) had placed more of a focus on renewable resources a few decades ago. i mean, do we really have to wait until the last-minute-total-desperation sort of scenario to happen? :/

and rad, sure, if there are 100 years worth of oil and natural gas on u.s. land that's great! providing that that's accurate, it'll get you through your lifetime -- but then.. what? doesn't that feel really nearsighted to you? of course we could hope that those 100 years would buy time to continue developing alternate/green/renewable technologies, but if people don't feel any pressure to do anything about it now, can we be certain that that extra time won't just be squandered? or you could just move to venezuela and start paying 12 cents per gallon 8P

[Liss]

I think this hundred years you mention is our own oil reserve. There are a few hundred barrels of oil added to underground reserve areas every day. They are there in case of a catastrophe though, if history proves anything it's that we need reserves of natural resources, like clean water. Besides, you think if the government said, okay guys, we got enough to last 100 years, everyone use it carefully...there wouldn't be a mad scramble to stock-pile gas? The prices would shoot through the roof.

Johnny's right. Human beings are the most wasteful creatures. It goes beyond electric cars and solar energy though. I mean, come on, we just now figured out that we should recycle plastic bottles...in California, recycling is totally the new chic trend, you know.

I was in Los Angeles yesterday. Gas was at an average of 4.09, but I saw it as high as 4.16. I myself paid 3.99 in the suburbs. It's going to keep climbing. We've dug ourselves so deeply into this hole that there is no light for miles. Except the dim light from our natural gas powered lanterns, of course. I do hope though that we can do a better job for our (eventual) children than the generations before did for us.

[raditz]

1. the oil is in the ground

2. in 100 years i think we'll have figured out alternative energies .... you guys missed my point entirely heh

3. no i don't care about ppl 100 years from now

[heX]

liss, youre a cunt. johnny, who the fuck cares what you have to say. is canada even recognized by the UN?

[johnny]

Originally Posted by raditz

2. in 100 years i think we'll have figured out alternative energies .... you guys missed my point entirely heh

3. no i don't care about ppl 100 years from now

2: gee, that's reassuring (that you think everything will be figured out). no sense of urgency or anything though, right? more concerned about pinching pennies on a tank of gas for the near future.. why should we care if the fuel we're burning is actually sustainable?

3: i can't tell if you're being facetious :|