Cost comparison of 1950 gas prices to today

[charlie1]

Read this in yesterdays parade magazine. I guess we don't have it so bad after all! We get more value from our gas, despite the cost being high, than people did in 1950.

[MartinSE]

True, it is easy to fall into the "I remember when" syndrome. When wasn't as good as most remember. But, at this age I think a lot like to complain as much as possible.

[Keefelane66]

It’s 70’s years later and Dr would actually make house calls for $10 way back when.

[MartinSE]

It’s 70’s years later and Dr would actually make house calls for $10 way back when.

And the Doctors degree cost $3,000 or something silly back then, so they could afford to make house calls for $10.

Here is an idea, lets just divide all salaries by 20 - anyone making $100/hr will tomorrow be making $5/hr ($10k/year) and divide all prices by 20, so a car costing $80K will cost $4K. That is about what they cost back then.

Then we can stop with the dreamy memories of paying $0.10 for a cup of coffee. As I tell my wife often, it's all just zeros tagged on the end. The cost is about the same today - just with zeros added, and wages are about the same today, just with zeros added.

[Rapscallion St Croix]

True, it is easy to fall into the "I remember when" syndrome. When wasn't as good as most remember. But, at this age I think a lot like to complain as much as possible.

Ah, 1950.....my father cracked the $100.00 a week barrier and we bought an Admiral TV and joined the Country Club. Also, two classmates moved into iron lungs, my grandfather died from a simple gall bladder procedure, and every kid who came to my birthday party had to take a series of rabies shots because I got a rabid puppy as a gift. The good old days.

[Tvflguy]

More current comparison to gas prices of 2020 is actually a more valuable and cause/effect lesson. Parade is a typical Mass Media publication, attempting to dilute and avoid actualities of the current issue.

[davem4616]

back in the day, on a Sunday afternoon my buddies and I would all chip in, pull into a gas station get $2 of gas and drive around all afternoon, trying to be seen in all the right places LOL

[fdpaq0580]

Read this in yesterdays parade magazine. I guess we don't have it so bad after all! We get more value from our gas, despite the cost being high, than people did in 1950.

19 cents per gallon in 1964 in Los Angeles.

[fdpaq0580]

And the Doctors degree cost $3,000 or something silly back then, so they could afford to make house calls for $10.

Here is an idea, lets just divide all salaries by 20 - anyone making $100/hr will tomorrow be making $5/hr ($10k/year) and divide all prices by 20, so a car costing $80K will cost $4K. That is about what they cost back then.

Then we can stop with the dreamy memories of paying $0.10 for a cup of coffee. As I tell my wife often, it's all just zeros tagged on the end. The cost is about the same today - just with zeros added, and wages are about the same today, just with zeros added.

Divide by 20. How does that work for my cellphone, computer, tablet, and thousands of other things that didn't exist? Things are better now, in many ways. We have immense number of choices, opportunities and options in all aspects of life. We have so much more now. So why do we not appreciate what we do have like we did when we had so much less?
😶

[kfierle]

CPI Inflation Calculator (https://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm)

[Villages Kahuna]

I can remember “gas wars” in Detroit in the early ’60’s when for short times has sold for 15-20 cents a gallon.

[thevillages2013]

Pretty miopic but if it makes you feel better then whatever As left logic is next to no logic, it's missing all other economic factors in it's reasoning.

Why compare today to 72 years ago ? Compare to just three years ago and we are literally paying double the price. Yes before the pandemic. Telling me inflation drove that? Horse puckey

[Byte1]

Interesting how some can make excuses for anything that humans hose up. Avoid responsibility at all cost.

[Love2Swim]

Why compare today to 72 years ago ? Compare to just three years ago and we are literally paying double the price. Yes before the pandemic. Telling me inflation drove that? Horse puckey

According to the experts, there are three factors at play:

1. Post Pandemic demand. During the pandemic people sheltered at home so the typical driver cut their demand for gas in half. That sharp decline caused gas prices to plummet to a low of $1.94/gallon in April 2020.

2. Cuts to Oil Production. As the global economy recovered from the pandemic, OPEC was slow to ramp up production. The demand was far higher than the supply, causing higher prices.

3. War on Ukraine and global sanctions make it difficult for Russian oil to flow to the global market causing a 20% spike in oil and gas prices in just weeks.

Experts say oil and gas drilling in the US has increased but companies in the U.S. are constrained by tight supplies of rigs, trucks and labor that they need to supply more oil.

Even so, when adjusted for inflation, today's fuel prices are still below their peak in 2008.

[nn0wheremann]

A Perspective from the Dismal Science of Economics.

As I recall, when gasoline topped $2.00 a gallon the first time, I really felt the pinch. It hurt. I think that was 1980. My Dodge convertible had a V8 motor.

In 1980 the Average Annual Wage was $12513. In 2019 (the last year available not influenced by the Pandemic) the AAW was $54100. That $2.00 gas that poked my pocket in 1980 cost, expressed in 2019 dollars, $8.65. {($54100 / $12513) * $2.00 = $8.65}

I paid $4.08 per gallon in 2022 dollars last night in Florida to fill my gas tank. So yes, inflation is real, it is here, but take a step back, gain some perspective, and quit complaining.

I think that in comparing consumer prices we should use as an inflation index the Average Annual Wage Index. AAW measures changes in wage earners' income, and it is generally income that consumers use to pay prices for everyday purchases. The measure is gathered from earnings records of all Americans who pay FICA tax, so is the broadest and most inclusive measure of income.

[NoMo50]

Unfortunately, our economy in the USA was built to thrive on cheap energy. When that energy suddenly becomes not-so-cheap, people start to feel all sorts of pain. Obviously, the level of pain felt is less for those of means...but pain is pain.

For example, minimum wage earners will suffer much more. In 1972, a minimum wage earner could buy 4.5 gallons of gas with one hour's wages. Today, that same person cannot even buy 2 gallons of gas.

[Jimmay]

Read this in yesterdays parade magazine. I guess we don't have it so bad after all! We get more value from our gas, despite the cost being high, than people did in 1950.
I remember when gas was $1.79 and that was only about a year ago.

[MandoMan]

And the Doctors degree cost $3,000 or something silly back then, so they could afford to make house calls for $10.

Here is an idea, lets just divide all salaries by 20 - anyone making $100/hr will tomorrow be making $5/hr ($10k/year) and divide all prices by 20, so a car costing $80K will cost $4K. That is about what they cost back then.

Then we can stop with the dreamy memories of paying $0.10 for a cup of coffee. As I tell my wife often, it's all just zeros tagged on the end. The cost is about the same today - just with zeros added, and wages are about the same today, just with zeros added.

It’s easy to cut the price of that $80,000 car by 2/3 by buying a decent, well made car for 1/3 the price. For much less than half you can buy a car that gets 50 mpg and just laugh when the cost of gas goes up.

[JMintzer]

According to the experts, there are three factors at play:

1. Post Pandemic demand. During the pandemic people sheltered at home so the typical driver cut their demand for gas in half. That sharp decline caused gas prices to plummet to a low of $1.94/gallon in April 2020.

So what was the cause of gas prices hovering around $2.00 in 2019, well before the pandemic?

[The Chipster]

Why compare today to 72 years ago ? Compare to just three years ago and we are literally paying double the price. Yes before the pandemic. Telling me inflation drove that? Horse puckey

Horse puckey? Really?

[toeser]

Read this in yesterdays parade magazine. I guess we don't have it so bad after all! We get more value from our gas, despite the cost being high, than people did in 1950.

I started college in 1962. My car at that time got 20 MPG (six cylinder stick shift Ford). My college town lived on gas wars, so I generally filled up at $0.25 - $0.30 per gallon. So compared with then, it is worse today.

[OhioBuckeye]

I’m not trying to start an argument but the $0.27 was in N. M. (New Mexico) I’m sure grandpa was a lot older than & he did live in a different part of the country. I grew up in Ohio & gas when I was 16 or 17 yrs. old I was paying $0.23 a gal. for a gal. of gas (1965) & yes cars didn’t get the great gas mileage like cars today. But to be paying $4. a gal. is punishing us because we get 3 to 4 times better gas mileage. But gas doesn’t have cost us more than a $1.00 a gal. We have enough oil in the ground here in the U. S. to last us 3 or 4 hundred yrs. we could be supplying the rest of the world instead of the other way around. All we have to do is drill but the environmental goof balls control what we can do. I see what grandpa is talking about but why aren’t other parts of the world having issues with drilling?

[Regorp]

Read this in yesterdays parade magazine. I guess we don't have it so bad after all! We get more value from our gas, despite the cost being high, than people did in 1950.

Gas price in 1970 in CT when I started driving was .35 cent per gallon, my Mercury got 13 miles to a gallon. High school was awesome!!

[PJackpot]

Read this in yesterdays parade magazine. I guess we don't have it so bad after all! We get more value from our gas, despite the cost being high, than people did in 1950.

According to the dept. of labor statistics, one dollar today only buys about 9% of what it could in 1950. Inflation was about 1.25%, and it was even less just two years ago. Inflation now is just under 8% and rising. I don't consider that "not so bad".

[airstreamingypsy]

I remember paying over $5.00 a gallon, for diesel fuel,, in 2008. What is the point of all these whiny fuel prices posts? If you can't afford to drive your car, then do what other people who can't afford to drive do.... walk or ride a bicycle. Stay home. We are all in this together, whining serves no purpose.

[Geodyssey]

Why compare today to 72 years ago ? Compare to just three years ago and we are literally paying double the price. Yes before the pandemic. Telling me inflation drove that? Horse puckey

The difference is today people are happy to pay up to double for gas and food items.

Just remember high prices mean you are "stickin' it to Putin". Pay with a smile, do it for Zeylynskyy.

[irishwonone]

Read this in yesterdays parade magazine. I guess we don't have it so bad after all! We get more value from our gas, despite the cost being high, than people did in 1950.
I feel so much better now.😂

[JMintzer]

I remember paying over $5.00 a gallon, for diesel fuel,, in 2008. What is the point of all these whiny fuel prices posts? If you can't afford to drive your car, then do what other people who can't afford to drive do.... walk or ride a bicycle. Stay home. We are all in this together, whining serves no purpose.

The (significantly) higher diesel prices today effect everything. Walking, biking or staying home won't change the fact that it now costs 2Xs the amount (in fuel costs) to deliver pretty much everything you use...

[MartinSE]

If a president can control, (through regulation, etc), the shipping, drilling, storing, refining, buying, selling, trading and taxing of oil, then he is setting gas prices.

There is this complaint about drilling leases that the president is not releasing, and yet, the oil companies already have many they are not drilling. In fact, drilling is up in the last 15 months, however, it takes a while for new wells to come online. So, the lack of producing wells, if there is in fact is one, is a result of the time or policies prior to the last 15 months.

Also, we are not alone, oil (hence gas) prices are high all over the world. Hmm. Power change happened 15 months ago. In the last 15 months the oil companies have been reporting massive historic level profits. Hmmm...

just saying., fun to point fingers, but it is not always so easy to figure out what is really going on.

[Taurus510]

There is this complaint about drilling leases that the president is not releasing, and yet, the oil companies already have many they are not drilling. In fact, drilling is up in the last 15 months, however, it takes a while for new wells to come online. So, the lack of producing wells, if there is in fact is one, is a result of the time or policies prior to the last 15 months.

Also, we are not alone, oil (hence gas) prices are high all over the world. Hmm. Power change happened 15 months ago. In the last 15 months the oil companies have been reporting massive historic level profits. Hmmm...

just saying., fun to point fingers, but it is not always so easy to figure out what is really going on.
Don’t forget the Keystone pipeline that was stopped. It wouldn’t have affected us in this run of prices, but it certainly would help us in the future.

[Wyseguy]

I’m not trying to start an argument but the $0.27 was in N. M. (New Mexico) I’m sure grandpa was a lot older than & he did live in a different part of the country. I grew up in Ohio & gas when I was 16 or 17 yrs. old I was paying $0.23 a gal. for a gal. of gas (1965) & yes cars didn’t get the great gas mileage like cars today. But to be paying $4. a gal. is punishing us because we get 3 to 4 times better gas mileage. But gas doesn’t have cost us more than a $1.00 a gal. We have enough oil in the ground here in the U. S. to last us 3 or 4 hundred yrs. we could be supplying the rest of the world instead of the other way around. All we have to do is drill but the environmental goof balls control what we can do. I see what grandpa is talking about but why aren’t other parts of the world having issues with drilling?

I have to ask, what is being gained by the US not having an all of the above gas policy? pumping a barrel of oil from Venezuela causes more pollution than one from the US. That is without even considering transporting it to here.

[MartinSE]

Don’t forget the Keystone pipeline that was stopped. It wouldn’t have affected us in this run of prices, but it certainly would help us in the future.

Well, yes, a little The part that was shut down was not complete. And the entire proposed pipeline would have have a very small effect on OUR oil needs, since the majority of that oil was/is destined to go to the Gulf of Mexico and from there be shipped over seas.

However, if/when leaks occurred in that pipeline, WE would be responsible for cleaning it up - and leaks DO occur in pipelines. Meanwhile Canada was only responsible for depositing the checks for shipping the dirtiest oil known across our land.

[JMintzer]

There is this complaint about drilling leases that the president is not releasing, and yet, the oil companies already have many they are not drilling. In fact, drilling is up in the last 15 months, however, it takes a while for new wells to come online. So, the lack of producing wells, if there is in fact is one, is a result of the time or policies prior to the last 15 months.

Also, we are not alone, oil (hence gas) prices are high all over the world. Hmm. Power change happened 15 months ago. In the last 15 months the oil companies have been reporting massive historic level profits. Hmmm...

just saying., fun to point fingers, but it is not always so easy to figure out what is really going on.

Well, the "drilling leases" line is easily debunked. A lease is not a "permit to drill". Those "permits" are being slow rolled. Many of the leases are on land with no oil. And... Once they do find oil, they have to pipe it off site. Oh, wait! No new pipeline permits!

How does that figure into your narrative?

[JMintzer]

Don’t forget the Keystone pipeline that was stopped. It wouldn’t have affected us in this run of prices, but it certainly would help us in the future.

And markets react to the future...

[JMintzer]

It is very sad when people make excuses and refuse to see the real problem. It is almost as if they do not care about the most vulnerable. People are hurting. Inflation, especially fuel costs, are causing real damage to middle and lower middle class families. First the virus, now this.

Then they should simply buy an EV. Problem solved!

And for those who need it...

https://c.tenor.com/DtZLhpsEu8wAAAAM/sarcasm-sarcasm-sign.gif

[JMintzer]

Well, yes, a little The part that was shut down was not complete. And the entire proposed pipeline would have have a very small effect on OUR oil needs, since the majority of that oil was/is destined to go to the Gulf of Mexico and from there be shipped over seas.

However, if/when leaks occurred in that pipeline, WE would be responsible for cleaning it up - and leaks DO occur in pipelines. Meanwhile Canada was only responsible for depositing the checks for shipping the dirtiest oil known across our land.

There is more danger in shipping the oil by rail or truck...

[thevillages2013]

According to the experts, there are three factors at play:

1. Post Pandemic demand. During the pandemic people sheltered at home so the typical driver cut their demand for gas in half. That sharp decline caused gas prices to plummet to a low of $1.94/gallon in April 2020.

2. Cuts to Oil Production. As the global economy recovered from the pandemic, OPEC was slow to ramp up production. The demand was far higher than the supply, causing higher prices.

3. War on Ukraine and global sanctions make it difficult for Russian oil to flow to the global market causing a 20% spike in oil and gas prices in just weeks.

Experts say oil and gas drilling in the US has increased but companies in the U.S. are constrained by tight supplies of rigs, trucks and labor that they need to supply more oil.

Even so, when adjusted for inflation, today's fuel prices are still below their peak in 2008.

$2.14 a gallon in January 2019 in Florida before Covid-19 became a household word

[thevillages2013]

I’m not trying to start an argument but the $0.27 was in N. M. (New Mexico) I’m sure grandpa was a lot older than & he did live in a different part of the country. I grew up in Ohio & gas when I was 16 or 17 yrs. old I was paying $0.23 a gal. for a gal. of gas (1965) & yes cars didn’t get the great gas mileage like cars today. But to be paying $4. a gal. is punishing us because we get 3 to 4 times better gas mileage. But gas doesn’t have cost us more than a $1.00 a gal. We have enough oil in the ground here in the U. S. to last us 3 or 4 hundred yrs. we could be supplying the rest of the world instead of the other way around. All we have to do is drill but the environmental goof balls control what we can do. I see what grandpa is talking about but why aren’t other parts of the world having issues with drilling?

I support this comment 100%

[thevillages2013]

Then they should simply buy an EV. Problem solved!

And for those who need it...

https://c.tenor.com/DtZLhpsEu8wAAAAM/sarcasm-sarcasm-sign.gif

Wait ! We got a big recall on batteries now for EV’s and plug in hybrids. Huge

[thevillages2013]

Horse puckey? Really?

Ok sorry if you happen to be an attorney specializing in plagiarism I stole that from Sherman T. Potter on MASH. That’s Colonel Potter to you:popcorn:

[thevillages2013]

I have to ask, what is being gained by the US not having an all of the above gas policy? pumping a barrel of oil from Venezuela causes more pollution than one from the US. That is without even considering transporting it to here.

Truth spoken here. 👍

[thevillages2013]

A Perspective from the Dismal Science of Economics.

As I recall, when gasoline topped $2.00 a gallon the first time, I really felt the pinch. It hurt. I think that was 1980. My Dodge convertible had a V8 motor.

In 1980 the Average Annual Wage was $12513. In 2019 (the last year available not influenced by the Pandemic) the AAW was $54100. That $2.00 gas that poked my pocket in 1980 cost, expressed in 2019 dollars, $8.65. {($54100 / $12513) * $2.00 = $8.65}

I paid $4.08 per gallon in 2022 dollars last night in Florida to fill my gas tank. So yes, inflation is real, it is here, but take a step back, gain some perspective, and quit complaining.

I think that in comparing consumer prices we should use as an inflation index the Average Annual Wage Index. AAW measures changes in wage earners' income, and it is generally income that consumers use to pay prices for everyday purchases. The measure is gathered from earnings records of all Americans who pay FICA tax, so is the broadest and most inclusive measure of income.
Why compare to 1980 when the real comparison is to 2018, 2019. I’m complaining and not going to quit until change happens

[Topspinmo]

Federal government makes more on gallon of gas than the oil companies producing. Where you buy gas the stations are lucky to 3 cents gallon. Bottom line the government policies and stock trading cause of high gas prices. IMO mainly wall street. And where price skyrockets the federal government representative’s want to put greed tax on profits when companies finely make good profits. Now, tell me who the greedy one? and yes I can have opinion.

IMO you cannot compare pass to today. EVERYTHING WAY better today. Today If you can’t pay for something there always program to help today. Majority of us have no control over it. Either pay up or stay home.


IMO about comparing today vs yesterday the numbers can always be manufactured one way or the other depending on the targeted population. Bottom line if you have money don’t affect you, if you broke everything affects you regardless what year, decade, or century was in.

[Topspinmo]

Well, yes, a little The part that was shut down was not complete. And the entire proposed pipeline would have have a very small effect on OUR oil needs, since the majority of that oil was/is destined to go to the Gulf of Mexico and from there be shipped over seas.

However, if/when leaks occurred in that pipeline, WE would be responsible for cleaning it up - and leaks DO occur in pipelines. Meanwhile Canada was only responsible for depositing the checks for shipping the dirtiest oil known across our land.

Wouldn’t any type of crud oil be dirty to clean up?

[Topspinmo]

I remember when gas was $1.79 and that was only about a year ago.

I remember it about 2 years ago and it wasn’t in state of Florida which have higher tax than 3/4s of states. But, everything costs more in Florida, so I can see why.

[joelfmi]

And the Doctors degree cost $3,000 or something silly back then, so they could afford to make house calls for $10.

Here is an idea, lets just divide all salaries by 20 - anyone making $100/hr will tomorrow be making $5/hr ($10k/year) and divide all prices by 20, so a car costing $80K will cost $4K. That is about what they cost back then.

Then we can stop with the dreamy memories of paying $0.10 for a cup of coffee. As I tell my wife often, it's all just zeros tagged on the end. The cost is about the same today - just with zeros added, and wages are about the same today, just with zeros added.
The egg of today is better than the hen of tomorrow.

[Andyb]

Not buying your positive comment on gas prices, while many Americans are suffering. It did not have to skyrocket, if we would have stayed energy independent.

[OhioBuckeye]

You’re missing our point it’s not the gas prices it’s why they’re 4 & $5.00 a gal. It’s not because Putin they’re high. THINK about why they’re high!

[MartinSE]

Sad, everything is a conspiracy - it just makes common sense.

[/sarcasm]

[airstreamingypsy]

Has it occurred to anyone that the pandemic has calmed down. People went back to work. To get there they drove their cars. So what does this do to demand for gas and oil? It goes up. What happens when the demand for something goes up and supply stays the same? Prices go up.

[Topspinmo]

Has it occurred to anyone that the pandemic has calmed down. People went back to work. To get there they drove their cars. So what does this do to demand for gas and oil? It goes up. What happens when the demand for something goes up and supply stays the same? Prices go up.

So, you’re saying there was no demand before the pandemic.

[haysus7]

Oil company’s still making huge profits

[Topspinmo]

Oil company’s still making huge profits

They are business in free country that’s oK.

[MartinSE]

So, you’re saying there was no demand before the pandemic.

No, and you know they are not saying that. They are saying there was less demand. Which results in the just in time inventory to ramp down. Once down it takes time to ramp back up.

And since the Oil companies are making historic level profits they don't have a lot of motivation to increase production.

[MartinSE]

They are business in free country that’s oK.

So, you are okay with $250/vial for insulin too? It's called predatory capitalism, and it sacrifices people for profits. So, I disagree with you, I do not believe that any amount of profit at any cost is acceptable.

[JMintzer]

Has it occurred to anyone that the pandemic has calmed down. People went back to work. To get there they drove their cars. So what does this do to demand for gas and oil? It goes up. What happens when the demand for something goes up and supply stays the same? Prices go up.

So why wasn't it well over $4.00/gallon BEFORE the pandemic, when people were actually driving MORE than they are now?

[JMintzer]

No, and you know they are not saying that. They are saying there was less demand. Which results in the just in time inventory to ramp down. Once down it takes time to ramp back up.

And since the Oil companies are making historic level profits they don't have a lot of motivation to increase production.

Why was there less demand? Your comment makes zero sense...

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

More current comparison to gas prices of 2020 is actually a more valuable and cause/effect lesson. Parade is a typical Mass Media publication, attempting to dilute and avoid actualities of the current issue.

If you think your math is superior to the syndicated columnist in that weekly publication, then let's see it. Do the same comparisons and show us how your answer is different.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

According to the experts, there are three factors at play:

1. Post Pandemic demand. During the pandemic people sheltered at home so the typical driver cut their demand for gas in half. That sharp decline caused gas prices to plummet to a low of $1.94/gallon in April 2020.

2. Cuts to Oil Production. As the global economy recovered from the pandemic, OPEC was slow to ramp up production. The demand was far higher than the supply, causing higher prices.

3. War on Ukraine and global sanctions make it difficult for Russian oil to flow to the global market causing a 20% spike in oil and gas prices in just weeks.

Experts say oil and gas drilling in the US has increased but companies in the U.S. are constrained by tight supplies of rigs, trucks and labor that they need to supply more oil.

Even so, when adjusted for inflation, today's fuel prices are still below their peak in 2008.

The conspiracies about the Keystone pipeline also play RIGHT into the hands of the oil companies, who are the only one who stand to benefit when the masses believe that the conspiracies are true.

Facts: the oil is still getting here, same as it always has. Nothing has changed in that regard. Not a single thing. There is no shortage coming from Keystone. At all. Zilch.

2. The pipeline being complained about would not be built until NEXT YEAR even if it was approved 100% and construction had begun on it last year. So it would have ZERO impact - zilch, nada, on TODAY's gas prices.

3. The main petroleum companies in the world have published record profits for 2020, before the price spikes began. They're not hurting for distribution. They're putting a choke-hold on it because it is in their best financial interest to do so. The rich folks running the show can afford $6/gallon gas, especially when they're earning several million dollars every year in profits.

Summary: Gas prices are going up because oil companies have CHOSEN to jack up the prices. It's as simple as that.

[JMintzer]

The conspiracies about the Keystone pipeline also play RIGHT into the hands of the oil companies, who are the only one who stand to benefit when the masses believe that the conspiracies are true.

Facts: the oil is still getting here, same as it always has. Nothing has changed in that regard. Not a single thing. There is no shortage coming from Keystone. At all. Zilch.

2. The pipeline being complained about would not be built until NEXT YEAR even if it was approved 100% and construction had begun on it last year. So it would have ZERO impact - zilch, nada, on TODAY's gas prices.

3. The main petroleum companies in the world have published record profits for 2020, before the price spikes began. They're not hurting for distribution. They're putting a choke-hold on it because it is in their best financial interest to do so. The rich folks running the show can afford $6/gallon gas, especially when they're earning several million dollars every year in profits.

Summary: Gas prices are going up because oil companies have CHOSEN to jack up the prices. It's as simple as that.

So YOUR conspiracy theories are correct and everyone else's are wrong? Cool...

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

I’m not trying to start an argument but the $0.27 was in N. M. (New Mexico) I’m sure grandpa was a lot older than & he did live in a different part of the country. I grew up in Ohio & gas when I was 16 or 17 yrs. old I was paying $0.23 a gal. for a gal. of gas (1965) & yes cars didn’t get the great gas mileage like cars today. But to be paying $4. a gal. is punishing us because we get 3 to 4 times better gas mileage. But gas doesn’t have cost us more than a $1.00 a gal. We have enough oil in the ground here in the U. S. to last us 3 or 4 hundred yrs. we could be supplying the rest of the world instead of the other way around. All we have to do is drill but the environmental goof balls control what we can do. I see what grandpa is talking about but why aren’t other parts of the world having issues with drilling?

Are you willing to have a drill operation within 5 miles of your house? Are you willing to tear down the areas surrounding the Villages, basically "landlocking" it and polluting the water, so that you can afford gas in your car, because there's a prime drilling spot RIGHT THERE?

Are you willing to tell your family "nope, can't come down, we're moving again" because yet another oil company has decided to drill and the CDD and the county has given all the appropriate permits (for a hefty profit)?

Are you willing to have more bobcats, alligators, bears, and wild boars hanging out on YOUR front porch because the oil companies had to clear out the wildlife preserves to get the drilling machines in there?

I know I'm not willing. I'm not willing to see people who live off the land that they love, be forced out by oil companies with their billion dollar budgets to buy themselves emanant domain papers and force the landowners out.

There is enough oil to last. There is no shortage. The oil companies are recording record profits, because they know they can. We refuse to stop using it, and so they will continue raking in the cash. If we reduce our use of it, then they'll have to lower the prices, or else they'll price themselves out of business.

[Two Bills]

Not buying your positive comment on gas prices, while many Americans are suffering. It did not have to skyrocket, if we would have stayed energy independent.

I haven't seen or heard of any US oil companies selling their product at a discount to the market price, in order to help its "suffering" population.
Ever.
Nothing to do with energy independence.
You honestly believe US oil would sell at $50 when the market is buying at $100?
Get real!

[jimjamuser]

According to the experts, there are three factors at play:

1. Post Pandemic demand. During the pandemic people sheltered at home so the typical driver cut their demand for gas in half. That sharp decline caused gas prices to plummet to a low of $1.94/gallon in April 2020.

2. Cuts to Oil Production. As the global economy recovered from the pandemic, OPEC was slow to ramp up production. The demand was far higher than the supply, causing higher prices.

3. War on Ukraine and global sanctions make it difficult for Russian oil to flow to the global market causing a 20% spike in oil and gas prices in just weeks.

Experts say oil and gas drilling in the US has increased but companies in the U.S. are constrained by tight supplies of rigs, trucks and labor that they need to supply more oil.

Even so, when adjusted for inflation, today's fuel prices are still below their peak in 2008.
Very informative post!

[jimjamuser]

I’m not trying to start an argument but the $0.27 was in N. M. (New Mexico) I’m sure grandpa was a lot older than & he did live in a different part of the country. I grew up in Ohio & gas when I was 16 or 17 yrs. old I was paying $0.23 a gal. for a gal. of gas (1965) & yes cars didn’t get the great gas mileage like cars today. But to be paying $4. a gal. is punishing us because we get 3 to 4 times better gas mileage. But gas doesn’t have cost us more than a $1.00 a gal. We have enough oil in the ground here in the U. S. to last us 3 or 4 hundred yrs. we could be supplying the rest of the world instead of the other way around. All we have to do is drill but the environmental goof balls control what we can do. I see what grandpa is talking about but why aren’t other parts of the world having issues with drilling?
Those environmental "goof balls" are the reason that people in the US are breathing better air and drinking cleaner water and living longer (just one of many reasons) than in say 1940.

[MartinSE]

There is more danger in shipping the oil by rail or truck...

Yes, it is, I never said it wasn't, but thank you.

What I said was pipelines have leaks and spills (Keystone already has) and if it happens in this country, WE get to pay for it.

[MartinSE]

Why was there less demand? Your comment makes zero sense...

Am I being unclear or are you just trying to be hard to get along with?

My reference to les demand was over the past 2 years when people were staying home because of the pandemic. Now, that people are starting to go back to work demand is picking up but slowly. It is estimated that demand was down to 1/2 of the pre-pandemic demand for the past two years. That resulted in gas price dropping a lot (down to around $2.00/gal or less). Now, demand is spicing up quickly, the sanctions on Russia are impacting supply (worldwide) and oil companies are making historic profits (so, not highly motivated to increase production).

[JMintzer]

Yes, it is, I never said it wasn't, but thank you.

What I said was pipelines have leaks and spills (Keystone already has) and if it happens in this country, WE get to pay for it.

The same way WE get to pay for it if there is a truck or rail accident (which happen more often)...

Personally, I'd want to go with the safer method of transporting the oil...

[jimjamuser]

The (significantly) higher diesel prices today effect everything. Walking, biking or staying home won't change the fact that it now costs 2Xs the amount (in fuel costs) to deliver pretty much everything you use...
The last part is true. But, if a significant % of working people commuted by bike or walked to work (not counting pleasure walking or biking) - then by the law of supply and demand.......demand for diesel or gasoline would go down and the price of fuel would decrease. Perhaps now would be a good time to devise a way to motivate commuters to commute by bike. Note that many think that there is some amount (who knows how big?) of "price gouging" going on in the final price of gas at the pump.

[JMintzer]

Am I being unclear or are you just trying to be hard to get along with?

My reference to les demand was over the past 2 years when people were staying home because of the pandemic. Now, that people are starting to go back to work demand is picking up but slowly. It is estimated that demand was down to 1/2 of the pre-pandemic demand for the past two years. That resulted in gas price dropping a lot (down to around $2.00/gal or less). Now, demand is spicing up quickly, the sanctions on Russia are impacting supply (worldwide) and oil companies are making historic profits (so, not highly motivated to increase production).

Yet prices rose over the past year+ (since November of 2020, well before Putin invaded Ukraine) even when there was less demand...

Gas prices in 2019 (before the pandemic and before the drop in demand) were about $2.50/gallon. Yet, once the pandemic hit, the only dropped a bit (to just over $2.20) during 2020. They did drop as the year progressed to under $2.00/gallon in late October/early November of 2020.

They went up over $1.00/gallon (during the peak of the pandemic and lockdowns) from November 2020 thru February 2022. (which is counter to your explanation that they should be lower due to less demand).

Once the Ukraine invasion began, they went up another $1.00+/gallon...

So to answer your question.. Your response was crystal clear. It was just incorrect...

[JMintzer]

The last part is true. But, if a significant % of working people commuted by bike or walked to work (not counting pleasure walking or biking) - then by the law of supply and demand.......demand for diesel or gasoline would go down and the price of fuel would decrease. Perhaps now would be a good time to devise a way to motivate commuters to commute by bike. Note that many think that there is some amount (who knows how big?) of "price gouging" going on in the final price of gas at the pump.

People biking/walking to work would not even show up as a blip on the radar of gas usage...

[MartinSE]

The same way WE get to pay for it if there is a truck or rail accident (which happen more often)...

Personally, I'd want to go with the safer method of transporting the oil...

Personally, I was charge Canada's oil company a fee to cover clean up expenses, since almost all of the oil intended to go through to pipeline is destined overseas - it will go to the gulf, and be loaded onto ships and sold elsewhere.

Even if we consumed 100% of the pipelines oil it would amount to about 3% of our consumption. So, we take all the risk, we enjoy virtually no benefits, and Canada laughs all the way to the bank.

[MartinSE]

People biking/walking to work would not even show up as a blip on the radar of gas usage...

I completely agree in the short term. In the long term (as in new cities, etc) then it can make a difference. Maybe. But American's LOVE their 1000 mile range SUVs getting 25mpg that they drive back and forth 15 miles to work, and are not likely to give them up.

[jimjamuser]

Not buying your positive comment on gas prices, while many Americans are suffering. It did not have to skyrocket, if we would have stayed energy independent.
Better battery technology is being developed right now so that in the near future solar, wind, and tide energy will make the US and much of the world....."energy independent". We just have to live long enough to see it.

[jimjamuser]

You’re missing our point it’s not the gas prices it’s why they’re 4 & $5.00 a gal. It’s not because Putin they’re high. THINK about why they’re high!
Fuel prices are high because of the law of supply and demand. Supply is now low so prices are high. Supply is low for many reasons. One is the purposeful keeping of supply low AKA "price gouging" at various points along the supply chain. Saudi Arabia is purposefully NOT raising supply. And Nato and Russia/China are virtually at war and possibly beginning WW3. Wars and the threat of wars always raise the price of a barrel of oil because of future supply unpredictability. Farmers are not able to plant wheat in the Ukraine so the future price of wheat is up. All goods must be transported, so there will be price increases in everything now and for the foreseeable future.

[jimjamuser]

So, you are okay with $250/vial for insulin too? It's called predatory capitalism, and it sacrifices people for profits. So, I disagree with you, I do not believe that any amount of profit at any cost is acceptable.
Correct, beware of "predatory capitalism". AKA price gouging.

[jimjamuser]

So why wasn't it well over $4.00/gallon BEFORE the pandemic, when people were actually driving MORE than they are now?
Before the Pandemic was a completely different period than today. Today the world is severely stressed by the threat of an ongoing war - that could conceivably drive the cost of gasoline to as much as $ 10.00 per gal in the US. All financial markets and oil futures HATE the unknown!

[MartinSE]

Yet prices rose over the past year+ (since November of 2020, well before Putin invaded Ukraine) even when there was less demand...

Gas prices in 2019 (before the pandemic and before the drop in demand) were about $2.50/gallon. Yet, once the pandemic hit, the only dropped a bit (to just over $2.20) during 2020. They did drop as the year progressed to under $2.00/gallon in late October/early November of 2020.

They went up over $1.00/gallon (during the peak of the pandemic and lockdowns) from November 2020 thru February 2022. (which is counter to your explanation that they should be lower due to less demand).

Once the Ukraine invasion began, they went up another $1.00+/gallon...

So to answer your question.. Your response was crystal clear. It was just incorrect...

Sorry, its appears you are not interested. So, we will need to agree to disagree.

I am certain I don't know what all the causes are, but I am equally certain that your saying because two things did not happen simultaneously means they did not affect each other is also wrong. Seems somewhere back there you said Oil (actually big business) hates uncertainty, and that was based on futures - so, anyway.

Have fun, try reading some about global economics, the impact of the pandemic, and how just in time economics work.

[Topspinmo]

Am I being unclear or are you just trying to be hard to get along with?

My reference to les demand was over the past 2 years when people were staying home because of the pandemic. Now, that people are starting to go back to work demand is picking up but slowly. It is estimated that demand was down to 1/2 of the pre-pandemic demand for the past two years. That resulted in gas price dropping a lot (down to around $2.00/gal or less). Now, demand is spicing up quickly, the sanctions on Russia are impacting supply (worldwide) and oil companies are making historic profits (so, not highly motivated to increase production).


So, you’re blaming wall-street, there the ones driving market. Oil companies sell on commodities stock exchange what ever the price is. So, all people buy/selling oil stock are also making historical profit’s. But, that’s ok for them, but not oil company actually producing it.

And another thing, you never responded to “ isn’t all crud oil dirty and hard to clean up”?

[Topspinmo]

Before the Pandemic was a completely different period than today. Today the world is severely stressed by the threat of an ongoing war - that could conceivably drive the cost of gasoline to as much as $ 10.00 per gal in the US. All financial markets and oil futures HATE the unknown!

Don’t you mean the stock market severely stressing the world?

[MartinSE]

So, you’re blaming wall-street, there the ones driving market. Oil companies sell on commodities stock exchange what ever the price is. So, all people buy/selling oil stock are also making historical profit’s. But, that’s ok for them, but not oil company actually producing it.

And another thing, you never responded to “ isn’t all crud oil dirty and hard to clean up”?

I don't think I said anything about the stock market. But, thank you for misunderstanding.

And I missed the comment about crud (did you mean crude?) oil. And some is worse than others, but I don't see your point, oil is expensive to clean and causes serious ecological damage, especially if it is spilt over an aquifer.

[JMintzer]

I completely agree in the short term. In the long term (as in new cities, etc) then it can make a difference. Maybe. But American's LOVE their 1000 mile range SUVs getting 25mpg that they drive back and forth 15 miles to work, and are not likely to give them up.

"Maybe"... :1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

[JMintzer]

Better battery technology is being developed right now so that in the near future solar, wind, and tide energy will make the US and much of the world....."energy independent". We just have to live long enough to see it.

Define "near future"...

[JMintzer]

Fuel prices are high because of the law of supply and demand. Supply is now low so prices are high. Supply is low for many reasons. One is the purposeful keeping of supply low AKA "price gouging" at various points along the supply chain. Saudi Arabia is purposefully NOT raising supply. And Nato and Russia/China are virtually at war and possibly beginning WW3. Wars and the threat of wars always raise the price of a barrel of oil because of future supply unpredictability. Farmers are not able to plant wheat in the Ukraine so the future price of wheat is up. All goods must be transported, so there will be price increases in everything now and for the foreseeable future.

So why were they up over a $1.00/gallon BEFORE all of that happened?

[JMintzer]

Before the Pandemic was a completely different period than today. Today the world is severely stressed by the threat of an ongoing war - that could conceivably drive the cost of gasoline to as much as $ 10.00 per gal in the US. All financial markets and oil futures HATE the unknown!

You continue to ignore the rise in priced BEFORE the ongoing war...

I'm beginning to think you're doing it on purpose... :popcorn:

[JMintzer]

Sorry, its appears you are not interested. So, we will need to agree to disagree.

I am certain I don't know what all the causes are, but I am equally certain that your saying because two things did not happen simultaneously means they did not affect each other is also wrong. Seems somewhere back there you said Oil (actually big business) hates uncertainty, and that was based on futures - so, anyway.

Have fun, try reading some about global economics, the impact of the pandemic, and how just in time economics work.

I am quite interested. That is why I continue to ask questions and challenge answers I find to be incorrect...

[JMintzer]

So, you’re blaming wall-street, there the ones driving market. Oil companies sell on commodities stock exchange what ever the price is. So, all people buy/selling oil stock are also making historical profit’s. But, that’s ok for them, but not oil company actually producing it.

And another thing, you never responded to “ isn’t all crud oil dirty and hard to clean up”?

The market reacts to uncertainty by raising prices.

The $64,000 question is: What was the uncertainty that caused prices to go up?

We know about the recent uncertainty, but what was the uncertainty that caused them to go up over $1.00/gallon BEFORE the recent problem?

Methinks many know the answer but won't admit it...

[MrFlorida]

When you went to a gas station then, they checked your oil, water, air in your tires, and washed your windshield.

[Taurus510]

The market reacts to uncertainty by raining prices.

The $64,000 question is: What was the uncertainty that caused prices to go up?

We know about the recent uncertainty, but what was the uncertainty that caused them to go up over $1.00/gallon BEFORE the recent problem?

Methinks many know the answer but won't admit it...
“ It’s easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled.”
(Possibly) Mark Twain

[MartinSE]

Rising oil prices before the Ukraine war - why did they?

https://www.forbes.com/how-much-of-the-gasoline-price-surge-is-president-bidens-fault (https://www.forbes.com/sites/rrapier/2022/03/13/how-much-of-the-gasoline-price-surge-is-president-bidens-fault/?sh=2bfbfc3f7c8b)

Following the production collapse of 2020, the U.S. has been playing catch up as demand recovered. Rising oil prices — in response to insufficient supplies — are the predominant reason for the surge in gasoline prices.

In the last three months of the Trump Administration, oil prices rose by 32% as demand bounced back. From a monthly average of $39.40/bbl in October 2020 (source), the price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) averaged $52.00/bbl in January 2021 — Trump’s last month in office.

In the first three months of the Biden Administration, the average monthly price of WTI rose by another 19% to $61.72/bbl. In the three months after that, prices rose another 17% to $72.49/bbl. Prices then bounced between $70/bbl and $80/bbl until January 2022. More on that below.

Many people attributed the entire price rise to President Biden, but in reality it began before Biden took office. Further, it was neither primarily President Trump nor President Biden’s fault — and these price surges were taking place all over the world.

[JMintzer]

Rising oil prices before the Ukraine war - why did they?

https://www.forbes.com/how-much-of-the-gasoline-price-surge-is-president-bidens-fault (https://www.forbes.com/sites/rrapier/2022/03/13/how-much-of-the-gasoline-price-surge-is-president-bidens-fault/?sh=2bfbfc3f7c8b)

Following the production collapse of 2020, the U.S. has been playing catch up as demand recovered. Rising oil prices — in response to insufficient supplies — are the predominant reason for the surge in gasoline prices.

In the last three months of the Trump Administration, oil prices rose by 32% as demand bounced back. From a monthly average of $39.40/bbl in October 2020 (source), the price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) averaged $52.00/bbl in January 2021 — Trump’s last month in office.

In the first three months of the Biden Administration, the average monthly price of WTI rose by another 19% to $61.72/bbl. In the three months after that, prices rose another 17% to $72.49/bbl. Prices then bounced between $70/bbl and $80/bbl until January 2022. More on that below.

Many people attributed the entire price rise to President Biden, but in reality it began before Biden took office. Further, it was neither primarily President Trump nor President Biden’s fault — and these price surges were taking place all over the world.

The article completely ignores what happened in November of 2020 that just might have had a tiny impact on the future markets in November thru January...

Oh, and just in case you missed it...

https://media2.giphy.com/media/j3HQ1zWosr1NS/giphy.gif

[MartinSE]

The article completely ignores what happened in November of 2020 that just might have had a tiny impact on the future markets in November thru January...

Oh, and just in case you missed it...

https://media2.giphy.com/media/j3HQ1zWosr1NS/giphy.gif

Actually, I assume you are referring to Biden winning the election, but, we all know what assume means. If so it does address it

[JMintzer]

Actually, I assume you are referring to Biden winning the election, but, we all know what assume means. If so it does address it

Assume away...

I don't feel like taking a vacation...