$3 Gasoline This Summer

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Up another 3 cents. Where's MrRant to shake his fist in great anger when you need him?

[EdwardKnoxII 0]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4630191/

 

Bush, Kerry clash

over gas prices

 

President unveils ad; rival unveils plan to curb cost

 

The Associated Press

Updated: 7:52 p.m. ET March 30, 2004ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE - Americans would not be paying high prices for gasoline if the Congress had passed President Bush’s proposed energy package three years ago, a White House spokesman said Tuesday as the administration faced criticism from Democratic rival John Kerry.

 

In a thinly veiled criticism of Kerry, White House press secretary Scott McClellan said, “Some have advocated higher gas taxes. ... The president remains firmly opposed to increasing gas taxes.”

 

The Bush campaign has accused Kerry of proposing a 50-cent a gallon gas tax increase. Kerry was quoted once as mentioning the idea but has since repudiated it.

 

Kerry said Tuesday that as president he would stop pumping oil into the nation’s emergency stockpile until prices fell and would pursue new energy policies because “no young American in uniform ought to ever be held hostage to America’s dependence on oil from the Middle East.”

 

As Bush’s campaign unveiled a television ad that criticized the Massachusetts senator’s record on gas taxes, Kerry responded by portraying the White House as tied to the oil industry.

 

“Instead of revealing a new set of attack ads, I think Dick Cheney ought to reveal who the oil executives are that he met in secret with to set the oil policy of the United States,” Kerry said during a rally at the University of California, San Diego.

 

Kerry said he would pressure the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to provide more oil, simplify rules on gas to reduce costs, and develop more energy-efficient vehicles.

 

“We deserve an administration that doesn’t fake it to the American people and pretend that somehow by drilling in the Alaska Wildlife Refuge we can deal with the problems of America,” he said. “We can’t provide the supply of oil America needs from the Alaska Wildlife Refuge or from any other source in the United States because we only have 3 percent of the world’s oil reserves.”

 

Kerry called on Bush to halt filling the Strategic Petroleum Reserves, which some Democrats contend drives up the cost of fuel for U.S. consumers in an already tight market with record prices. Gasoline prices reached a national average of $1.80 a gallon in the past two weeks, according to the private Lundberg Survey.

 

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Tuesday the administration opposed using supplies from the reserve because independent analysts have concluded the impact on prices would be minor and that it is important to have necessary resources in case of a severe disruption in supplies.

McClellan blamed high prices on the failure of Congress to approve Bush’s energy proposals in 2001. At the time, Republicans from Bush’s party controlled the House and Democrats held a slim majority in the Senate.

 

New Bush ad

The Bush campaign released a television ad contending that Kerry has backed higher gasoline taxes 11 times and has supported a 50-cent-per-gallon tax increase that would cost the average family $657 a year. The ad, titled “Wacky,” casts Kerry’s policies as a silent-movie comedy recalling the antics of the Keystone Kops.

 

An examination of the votes shows that several were procedural Senate votes while others were cast for former President Clinton’s economic stimulus package that included a 4.3-cent per gallon gas tax increase that was meant to reduce the deficit.

 

Bush’s campaign argues that if Kerry had his way, gasoline prices would be even higher. Vice President Cheney said in a speech to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington on Monday that Kerry once supported a 50-cent-per-gallon increase in gasoline taxes. Kerry mentioned such an increase in a newspaper interview but has never offered legislation for such a tax. He has since rejected the idea.

 

Current gasoline prices are at record levels in constant dollars, but not when inflation is taken into account. Using today’s dollar, motorists paid the equivalent of $2.90 a gallon in March

1981, the government has said.

 

Typically high demand during summer could drive prices even higher, although they could drop as demand eases going into the fall when Americans are most paying attention to the election.

 

Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham told a Senate hearing last week that diverting 150,000 barrels of oil a day into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve “is fairly negligible” in a global oil market of 86 million barrels a day. Filling the oil reserve with 55 million barrels to reach its maximum 700 million barrels was “a critical national security objective,” he said.

 

OPEC meets Wednesday

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries are to meet in Vienna on Wednesday to reconsider a planned 1 million barrel cut in production scheduled to begin this week.

 

McClellan said the administration has been in regular contact with major oil producing countries to stress the importance of letting the market determine the prices of oil.

 

“What we need are comprehensive solutions, not patchwork crisis management,” the spokesman said.

 

“We wouldn’t be in this situation right now if Congress had acted on what the president had proposed three years ago,” he said.

 

When Bush took office, Republicans controlled both the House and Senate. By midyear, the Democrats had a narrow majority in the Senate, but the GOP was in charge in the House.

 

McClellan said the administration was “doing everything we can to address the issues that might contribute to rising gas prices.” The administration has said it is looking for price gouging and other improper price manipulation.

[MrRant 0]

Up another 3 cents.  Where's MrRant to shake his fist in great anger when you need him?

I was shaking my fist... IN ANGER~! while I was filling up my 23 gallons of gas at $1.73.

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

I think the citizens of the US should personally invade these OPEC fuckos' countries', and take every drop.

[EricMM 0]

I would support a fifty cent gas tax.

 

I'm sorry for all the truckers out there.

 

But I really really want to make idiots who don't even THINK about Miles Per Gallon pay. Literally.

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

Show me an affordable full-sized truck that gets good mileage and we'll talk.

[Spaceman Spiff 0]

Current gasoline prices are at record levels in constant dollars, but not when inflation is taken into account. Using today’s dollar, motorists paid the equivalent of $2.90 a gallon in March

1981, the government has said.

Well, in that case, I don't feel so bad

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

It was 1.58 yesterday. I jumped on it and filled the tank.

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

I would support a fifty cent gas tax.

Of course you would.

 

You're not an elected official...

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

I would support a fifty cent gas tax.

 

I'm sorry for all the truckers out there.

 

But I really really want to make idiots who don't even THINK about Miles Per Gallon pay. Literally.

Im guessing you don't buy much stuff do you?

A $.50 gas tax would cause prices for goods to skyrocket.

 

Gas here is now close to $1.75. At the rate its been going it will be about $1.90 at the end of this month and $2 early/middle May.

[EricMM 0]

No shit.

 

But maybe just maybe people would actually start conserving energy if it cost a little more.

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

I'd really rather it be cheaper. That way, I'm not getting wrung dry just to get back and forth to work. Hey, we could always drill Alaska..

[Slayer 0]

It was 1.58 yesterday. I jumped on it and filled the tank.

That's not where the pump goes

[Guest Choken One]

Something I can't stand

 

I'm driving around looking for a cheap gas station...

 

I come to this 4 way...and there's a gas station on all 4 corners...

 

A BP, Shell, Swifty and a Mobil. The Mobil is 1.79, The BP is 1.87, Shell is 1.68 and Swifty is 1.53.

 

And EVERYONE is at all the others except Swifty...DONT THESE FUCKERS READ THE SIGN?

[EricMM 0]

You're getting wrung dry because of what you drive.

 

Do you think Alaska will really help for long?

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

I drive what I drive because I have a bunch of crap to transport most of the time, and it's almost impossible to get around here in the winter. I'm not going to be the dumbass in the Neon in an icy ditch with a bunch of lumber and god knows what else sticking out of a bungee-strapped trunk.

 

Alaska will definitely last as long as I own a truck.

[The Czech Republic 0]

A BP, Shell, Swifty and a Mobil. The Mobil is 1.79, The BP is 1.87, Shell is 1.68 and Swifty is 1.53.

 

And EVERYONE is at all the others except Swifty...DONT THESE FUCKERS READ THE SIGN?

Face it, it doesn't matter if your gas is $1.87, people dig green stations.

[MrRant 0]

Some gas stations though sell gas cheap because it's close to going stale IIRC.

[the max 0]

You're getting wrung dry because of what you drive.

 

Do you think Alaska will really help for long?

Guess I'll just walk the 15 or so miles to work...Just to save money so some yahoo doesn't incorporate a 50 cent gas tax because I bought the car that I could afford.

[EricMM 0]

How long does it take you to drive to work?

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

A little over 20 minutes, the way I drive, so half an hour for everyone else. 24 miles exactly.

[the max 0]

Takes me about 20-25 minutes, depending on traffic, lights, etc.

 

I do the speed limit, or a little below.

[EricMM 0]

I guess I was just wondering how far y'all have to go. Many people I know drive a mile or three to work and it's all stop and go. That wastes gas like a mother. So I would recommend to them to get a fucking bike. A good fifteen miles an hour isn't too hard, and parking is a snap. Sure, the rain and cold can be a diversion, but these days when the weather is pleasant enough, a five mile bikeride in twentyfive minutes is far cheaper than the respective drive.

 

But if you're driving twenty miles, forgive my story. I do live in the city.

[Dr. Tom 0]

I drive about 16 miles to work everyday, and it usually takes me around 20 minutes. I'm able to make pretty good time going down Rt. 40, but once I get onto the base itself, things get a lot slower.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

I drive 22 miles to school, each day, 5 days a week. Work is 6 miles away, and I do that 5 times a week. The gal lives 30 miles away, but only 10 miles from the college. So gasoline adds up fast. And there is no practical public transportation.

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

I have exactly one blinking red traffic light between my house and my job. Everything is chip and seal country road.

 

Hell, if I lived a mile or two away from work, I'd just walk. That's what I did in college.