Good morning!
It’s Wednesday, February 23, and it is time to get out of bed!
No, I am not going to write about the war overseas involving Russia, but I will say that as long as it goes on, we should pretty much stay out of it.
And by staying out of it, I mean keep our troops out of it.
Period.
That being said, inflation is crippling us now more than the pandemic is, and I know that things are going to get a lot worse the longer this conflict goes on.
It is going to impact several major industries over here—including the oil industry—and we are going to be paying much more for the “privileges” of driving and heck, even going to the supermarket.
We can throw any sanctions we want at the Russians, but I truly wonder who is going to suffer the most here, the Russians or American taxpayers.
We are really in a bad situation here, and I mean here at home, and this conflict isn’t going to make things better here, they are going to make them worse, and I do mean much worse.
And the place that we get hit the most, the hardest and the most directly is at the pump, naturally.
Right now, the average price of gas in the country is in the $3.70 range, which actually means that depending on where you are and where you go to get your gas, the price is anywhere from about $3.40 to $4.00, a lot of it buttressed by state and local taxes that we must pay as part of what we pay at the pump.
I have heard forecasters state that by Memorial Day, we will be averaging $4 a gallon, again meaning that depending where you are and where you go for gas, you will be paying anywhere from about $3.70 to $4.30 per gallon of gas by May.
The problem is that I think that prognostication is off by about a month.
At least in my neck of the woods, I have seen prices increase by 10 cents a gallon a day, and sometimes, the gas increases occur a few times a day.
Due to this price fluctuation, I think we will see an average of $4 for a gallon of gas as early as late April.
It is already averaging in the $3.70s where I am, so adding 30 cents to the average shouldn’t surprise anyone.
And yes, there are places already charging $4 per gallon of gas, on the East End of Long Island and in California are two places that I know about, but you can bet that there are many more who have reached that level.
And if $4 is around the bend, is $5 a gallon out of the question?
No, for sure it is not.
I think what the states and the feds should do is temporarily suspend any taxes we pay on gas, or at least lessen them so that we can afford to even buy gas.
We are taxed at a ridiculous rate to begin with, but this is a time of crisis, and it would be nice if our legislators—who I dare say don’t drive as much as we peons do—think of the little guy and put taxes on hold for a while, until things can stabilize a bit.
And again the question must come up:
Why are we still depending on foreign entities for a good portion of our gas?
We haven’t learned a thing since the 1970s when there was a gas shortage, and 50 years later, we still rely on too many foreign entities for a majority of our gas and oil.
I really don’t get it, but I am sure that there is some explanation.
And no, the way to fight it is not to fully change over to electric cars or hybrids … the car companies, who you can bet are in bed with the oil companies on this, have priced these cars way above fuel-using cars, so most people are not going to rush out and buy an electric or hybrid car until the prices are about the same or even lower for these non- or partially-gassed vehicles.
But even getting ANY new car today is a crap shoot, because much of the metal that is used to construct these cars also comes from Russia … and you just know that this war is going to crimp our supply of that commodity, too.
So I will keep my nearly eight-year-old car, and just have to grin and bear it at the pump as it takes me over $40 for one fill up, and probably $50 for one fill up in the near future.
What can anyone do about it?
Nothing, nothing at all … and that is the rub here.
We are at the mercy of foreign countries and even our own country when it comes to such things, and we just have to roll with the flow with all of this stuff and try to do the best we can with what we have.
Not a nice prospect for the next several months, but what other solution is there?
It’s Wednesday, February 23, and it is time to get out of bed!
No, I am not going to write about the war overseas involving Russia, but I will say that as long as it goes on, we should pretty much stay out of it.
And by staying out of it, I mean keep our troops out of it.
Period.
That being said, inflation is crippling us now more than the pandemic is, and I know that things are going to get a lot worse the longer this conflict goes on.
It is going to impact several major industries over here—including the oil industry—and we are going to be paying much more for the “privileges” of driving and heck, even going to the supermarket.
We can throw any sanctions we want at the Russians, but I truly wonder who is going to suffer the most here, the Russians or American taxpayers.
We are really in a bad situation here, and I mean here at home, and this conflict isn’t going to make things better here, they are going to make them worse, and I do mean much worse.
And the place that we get hit the most, the hardest and the most directly is at the pump, naturally.
Right now, the average price of gas in the country is in the $3.70 range, which actually means that depending on where you are and where you go to get your gas, the price is anywhere from about $3.40 to $4.00, a lot of it buttressed by state and local taxes that we must pay as part of what we pay at the pump.
I have heard forecasters state that by Memorial Day, we will be averaging $4 a gallon, again meaning that depending where you are and where you go for gas, you will be paying anywhere from about $3.70 to $4.30 per gallon of gas by May.
The problem is that I think that prognostication is off by about a month.
At least in my neck of the woods, I have seen prices increase by 10 cents a gallon a day, and sometimes, the gas increases occur a few times a day.
Due to this price fluctuation, I think we will see an average of $4 for a gallon of gas as early as late April.
It is already averaging in the $3.70s where I am, so adding 30 cents to the average shouldn’t surprise anyone.
And yes, there are places already charging $4 per gallon of gas, on the East End of Long Island and in California are two places that I know about, but you can bet that there are many more who have reached that level.
And if $4 is around the bend, is $5 a gallon out of the question?
No, for sure it is not.
I think what the states and the feds should do is temporarily suspend any taxes we pay on gas, or at least lessen them so that we can afford to even buy gas.
We are taxed at a ridiculous rate to begin with, but this is a time of crisis, and it would be nice if our legislators—who I dare say don’t drive as much as we peons do—think of the little guy and put taxes on hold for a while, until things can stabilize a bit.
And again the question must come up:
Why are we still depending on foreign entities for a good portion of our gas?
We haven’t learned a thing since the 1970s when there was a gas shortage, and 50 years later, we still rely on too many foreign entities for a majority of our gas and oil.
I really don’t get it, but I am sure that there is some explanation.
And no, the way to fight it is not to fully change over to electric cars or hybrids … the car companies, who you can bet are in bed with the oil companies on this, have priced these cars way above fuel-using cars, so most people are not going to rush out and buy an electric or hybrid car until the prices are about the same or even lower for these non- or partially-gassed vehicles.
But even getting ANY new car today is a crap shoot, because much of the metal that is used to construct these cars also comes from Russia … and you just know that this war is going to crimp our supply of that commodity, too.
So I will keep my nearly eight-year-old car, and just have to grin and bear it at the pump as it takes me over $40 for one fill up, and probably $50 for one fill up in the near future.
What can anyone do about it?
Nothing, nothing at all … and that is the rub here.
We are at the mercy of foreign countries and even our own country when it comes to such things, and we just have to roll with the flow with all of this stuff and try to do the best we can with what we have.
Not a nice prospect for the next several months, but what other solution is there?
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