SHOCKING POLL: High Gas Prices Not Popular

What would we ever do without polls?

Here I thought people enjoyed paying an arm and a leg for gasoline. Not true! Turns out even seniors and upper-income households are now feeling the pinch.

Imagine that.

WASHINGTON — As high gasoline prices become commonplace, drivers have made tough choices: scaling back vacations, driving less or ditching the car altogether. And a new Associated Press-GfK poll shows the impact of sustained high prices is spreading among seniors and higher-income Americans.

According to the poll, the share of all Americans who say increases in the price of gasoline will cause serious financial hardship for them or their families in the next six months now tops 4 in 10.

Overall, 71 percent said rising prices will cause some hardship for them and their families, including 41 percent who called it a “serious” hardship. Just 29 percent said rising prices are not causing a negative impact on their finances.

While those with household incomes less than $50,000 were already feeling strained in March, the new poll shows financial pain is increasingly spreading to those with higher incomes. Among those with annual household incomes more than $50,000, 63 percent now say rising prices are causing them financial hardship, up from 55 percent in March.

For older Americans, it’s worse.

The share of seniors expressing financial hardship over gas prices hit 76 percent; it was 68 percent in March.

Nettie Cash, 65, of Dallas, Ga., is cutting back on her medicine because of the cost of fueling up her Buick. Cash is still taking her heart pills but is forgoing her inhaler and ulcer medicine for now.

“It’s not easy,” she said. “You have to do what you have to do.”

Ms. Cash drives a Buick? I bet it's one of those ginormous gas-guzzlers. I'm guessing 8 MPG, tops.

Has she considered a trade-in, I wonder?

Cross-posted.

Party Time: Gas Prices Expected to Drop 50 Cents a Gallon. By Experts!

Before you pop the champagne, you may want to keep in mind that these same "experts" were quite concerned about continued rising prices just a couple of weeks ago.

In other words, they don't have a clue.

Even a 50-cent drop at this point would be nothing to write home about. Heck, that's only half the Kroger discount nowadays. Gas is currently up about $1.30-a-gallon since last August - including a 50-cent spike in just the last two months.

Wake me up when gas is in the $2.50 range again. That's still too high for my taste, but at least siphoning isn't much of an issue at those levels.

Some relief from suffocating gas prices will likely arrive just in time for summer vacation. Expect a drop of nearly 50 cents as early as June, analysts say.

After rocketing up 91 cents since January, including 44 straight days of increases, the national average this past week stopped just shy of $4 a gallon and has retreated to under $3.98. A steady decline is expected to follow.

It might not be enough to evoke cheers from people who recall gas stations charging less than $3 a gallon last year. But it would still ease the burden on drivers. And it might help lift consumer spending, which powers about 70 percent of the economy. A 50-cent drop in prices would save U.S. drivers about $189 million a day.

Typically, gas prices peak each spring, then fall into a summertime swoon that can last several weeks. This year’s decline should be gradual but steady, said Fred Rozell, the retail pricing director at the Oil Price Information Service.

We'll see if that "typical summertime swoon" can withstand OPEC choking off supply and Obama's stubborn refusal to drill.

Old and Depleted: IRA's. The New Hotness: Tax-Free Gas Accounts!

Maybe if this idea catches on, they can also create tax-free bread and milk savings accounts.

That's assuming we continue to use dollars to buy things going forward. With hyperinflation now pretty well baked into the cake, we could be just a few years away from a pure barter economy.

Workers would be able to divert a portion of their paychecks into an untaxed account that can be used to pay for gas and other fuels under new legislation set to be introduced in the Senate this week.

The legislation, authored by Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska), is aimed at lessening the burden of high gas prices on consumers. The bill comes as lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are scrambling to do something about gas prices, which are nearing $4 a gallon.

Begich, in a short interview with The Hill Tuesday, said he modeled the legislation on medical savings accounts, which allow the public to set aside a certain portion of money before taxes for medical expenses.

“You get to put aside pre-tax dollars and the result is you get to buy your fuel with pre-tax dollars,” Begich said.

Cross-posted.

Brilliant: Connecticut Governor Wants to Raise Gas Tax

Hey, the poor schlubs in this wall-to-wall Democrat state just aren't paying their fair share, I guess. I mean, all he wants is a mere three extra cents a gallon on top of the 25 cents they're already hitting the people up for. This is such a brilliant plan I'm surprised Obama and his merry band of Congressional idiots haven't come up with this idea on the national level. So the governor is scratching his pointy head wondering how anyone could object.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy often defends his proposal to raise Connecticut's gas tax amid skyrocketing prices at the pumps by arguing the extra money is needed to fix the state's roads and bridges.

But the idea of tacking on another three cents to the state's 25-cent-per-gallon excise tax isn't sitting well with members of the Democratic governor's own party, or with many motorists.

"This is not the time, that's for sure," said Fred Smith of Columbia, after spending more than $28 to buy just seven gallons of gasoline for his pick-up truck last week. "The roads aren't going to get any better by hiking the gas three cents. ... There are so many people on unemployment right now. What are you going to do?"

What are you going to do? Go to Rhode Island to buy gas.

Right now the national average for a gallon of regular gas is $3.91, up two cents from yesterday.

In Connecticut the average is $4.20 a gallon.

The high gas prices in the state has people living along Connecticut's border traveling to Rhode Island for cheaper gas.

The price difference is significant. Compared to a nearby Connecticut station, a station in Westerly Rhode Island is 23 cents cheaper and offers a twenty cents savings. It's enough to get Conor Gleason to cross the state line for fill ups.

"It's definitely cheaper than my town I know, I was at the gas station in my town today and I went by and it was $4.25, so it's saving a quarter over here, so it gives me another reason to come," says Gleason of North Stonington.

Update: Apparently the madness has spread to Maryland. Gee, these Democrats are really in touch with reality.

Obama on April 6: Get Used to High Gas Prices; Obama Today: Let's Go After Price Gougers

Amazing how quickly he can change his tune as he watches his approval ratings evaporate. A mere 17 days ago he told us to get used to living with $4 a gallon gas. Now he's singing another tune.

He said there are some steps the U.S. can take to improve the situation such as ramping up domestic oil production and ending subsidies for oil and gas firms.

"That’s $4 billion of your money going to these companies when they’re making record profits and you’re paying near record prices at the pump. It has to stop," Obama said.

"Instead of subsidizing yesterday’s energy sources, we need to invest in tomorrow’s," he added, voicing his opposition to a proposal before Congress that would cut the government's clean energy investments by 70 percent.

Obama also pointed to a Justice Department task force launched Thursday with the sole aim of discovering fraud or manipulation in the oil markets, such as illegal trading or speculators, that may impact prices.

"We’re going to make sure that no one is taking advantage of the American people for their own short-term gain," Obama said.

The president acknowledged the added hardship of rising gas prices while the country is still recovering from a prolonged recession but said there are no quick solutions. Obama suggested Thursday that his lagging poll numbers are due to high gas prices nationwide.

Forget the fact people cannot afford gas much longer. It's all about The O.

Meanwhile, after burning up over 53,000 gallons of jet fuel on a grueling West Coast fundraising blitz this week, he'll be jetting to Chicago this week to tape an appearance with Oprah Winfrey before heading to New York City for more fundraisers. So remember, keep your tires properly inflated so we can conserve enough fuel for Obama's fundraising jaunts.

Great News: Gas Pump "Drive-Offs" On the Rise

We'll probably be seeing a lot more of this around the country as gas prices hit $4, $5, or even $6 per gallon as summer approaches.

So don't be alarmed when the guy in front of you at the pump peels out like a NASCAR driver coming out of a pit stop the second he's done filling up.

That's perfectly normal.

MURFREESBORO — Gas thefts are on the rise locally as gas prices near the $4 range at some Murfreesboro convenience stores, according to Murfreesboro Police.

MPD spokesman Kyle Evans said police expect to see even more gas drive-offs as gas prices continue to rise throughout the city and rest of the state.

"As gas goes up, we typically see increases in gas drive-offs," Evans said. "It's something we warn store clerks to be on the lookout for. It's best for gas station owners to implement prepaid policies to avoid such theft."

Lest we forget, the national average price for a gallon of regular gas was around $1.79 when Barack Obama took office - practically free compared to today's prices. I'm just sayin'. But of course that was back when we were on the verge of the Next Great Depression™, thanks to the evil George W. Bush.

Who would ever want to go back to that?

Don't all raise your hands at once.

But let's not go around blaming Obama for today's lofty gas prices. Why would we? What, just because he has all but shut down domestic drilling and oil exploration? Or because the Middle East has devolved into an unpredictable disaster on his watch? Or because he's sinking hundreds of billions if not trillions of dollars into inefficient, impractical energy sources like solar and wind?

Clearly, none of that has anything at all to do with gas prices.

Nah, Obama's off the hook here. It's the shadowy, greedy speculators who are driving gas prices through the roof. Or something. At least that's what Bill O'Reilly keeps telling me every night.

He's super-smart too, so he must be right.

Cross-posted.

Necessarily Skyrocketing: $4 Gas Spreads to the Beltway & Five States

I blame George W. Bush and his Big Oil cronies.

NEW YORK – NEW YORK (AP) — Drivers in Washington, D.C., on Saturday joined motorists in five states who are paying more than $4 per gallon for gasoline.

The average price for gas in New York could top $4 by early next week. Hawaii, Alaska, California, Illinois and Connecticut already have pump prices above that mark, according to AAA's Daily Fuel Gauge. Hawaii has the highest price in the U.S. at $4.47 per gallon.

The national average for gas has increased for 25 straight days, and is now $3.82 per gallon. Retail surveys suggest motorists are reacting to higher prices now by buying less fuel. Still, the government expects pump prices to keep climbing this summer as vacationers take to the highways.

The average price of gas rose to $4.003 per gallon in the nation's capital Saturday. The New York average is $3.996.

You might think this means that Barack Obama will finally be feeling the pinch like the rest of us. But considering his preferred mode of transportation, my guess is he'll be blissfully unaffected.

Cross-posted.

High Energy Costs Lead to Higher Wholesale Prices ... for Everything

Our fearless leader called Wednesday for "wealthy" Americans to "give a bit more back" as he seeks to further redistribute income. Well, in this miserable economy, it appears everyone is giving more than a bit back.

More expensive gas pushed wholesale prices higher last month, although pricier cars and furniture also contributed to increase.

The Producer Price Index, which measures price changes before they reach the consumer, rose 0.7 percent in March, the Labor Department said Thursday. That's down from 1.6 percent in February. The index has increased 5.8 percent in the past year.

Excluding volatile food and energy costs, prices rose 0.3 percent — the second-highest increase in the past year. The price of new cars rose by the most in nearly two years, while the cost of some types of furniture jumped 6.5 percent. Still, core prices are only up 1.9 percent over the past year, a relatively tame rate of inflation.

In Obama own home town, everyone's giving more than a bit back since gas prices are now at their highest in nearly three years.

Gas prices across Illinois and Indiana continued to climb in April from continuing unrest in the Middle East and the annual switchover to a more expensive summer blend of gasoline, according to AAA Chicago. It marked the first time the monthly average has been above $4 a gallon since July 2008.

Monthly average prices in Illinois and northern Indiana reached $4.02 and $3.90 respectively, AAA said this morning in its Fuel Gauge Report. In Illinois, regular unleaded gasoline has increased 39 cents during the past month and per-gallon prices are $1.02 higher than last year.

Of course Obama would just say "hey, why don't you just trade in your vehicle" for something more fuel-efficient. That would be all well and good except now the prices of fuel-efficient cars is rapidly rising.

"Gas prices are definitely starting to ripple in the used car market right now," says Bill Visnic, analyst and senior editor at Edmunds' autoobserver.com. Visnic notes that in addition to the gas situation, the shortage of parts in Japan because of the earthquake and tsunami have added to pressure on car prices. In addition, the fact that the economy is improving is sending all used car prices higher, not just for small cars.

The economy is improving? Really?

But smaller cars are taking the biggest hit. According to Edmunds' proprietary measure of car prices, a three-year-old Honda Accord has soared in value by 24% since last September. A similarly aged Hyundai Sonata is up 22%, the Honda Civic is up 13% and the Nissan Sentra has risen 12%.

Poll: Public Bracing for $4 Gasoline By July

I don't know who the GOP nominee for President is going to be in 2012, but I have a hunch "Drill, Baby, Drill!" will resonate with a public that resigning itself to $4/gallon gasoline by this summer.

Can you imagine what the price at the pump might be by summer 2012? $5? $6?

Do I hear $7?

Forget Dick Cheney and Big Oil. We now know who the real price gouger is.

Nearly nine-out-of-10 Americans say they are paying more for gas than they were last summer and expect to pay even more six months from now. Most say $4-a-gallon gas is likely by July 1.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 87% of Adults say they are paying more for gas than they were six months ago. At the end of August, just 40% said the same. Only one percent (1%) say they are paying less for gas now, while nine percent (9%) say they’re spending about the same amount.

The number of adults who expect gas prices to increase even more has reached its highest level since March of last year. Eighty-seven percent (87%) say it is at least somewhat likely they will be paying more for gas in six months, including an overwhelming 75% who say it is Very Likely. Just seven percent (7%) do not expect to spend more for gas in six months’ time.

Seventy percent (70%) say it’s also at least somewhat likely that gas prices will rise above $4-a-gallon by July 1, with 40% who believe it is Very Likely. Twenty-four percent (24%) say it’s not very or not at all likely. A year ago, Americans were evenly divided over whether gas would increase to over $4-a-gallon.

h/t: Weasel Zippers. Cross-posted.

Where Is the Media Hysteria On Rising Gas Prices?

Just a rhetorical question, of course. Recall two years ago when prices hit around $4 a gallon nationwide and there was absolute hysteria in the media. Every day, all day, top of the hour newscasts we were inundated with stories on how people had to sacrifice food to buy gas. Little old ladies couldn't afford medicine due to gas prices. It was hammered home relentlessly. And, of course, the evil Bush and "greedy" oil companies making a paltry eight cents on the gallon were held responsible. Then when prices dropped precipitously the media hand wringing vanished, Bush wasn't give credit and the sob stories disappeared as fast as an Obama college transcript.

Cut to today and we're seeing prices rise precipitously and when was the last time a national newscast even mentioned gas prices?

The numbers keep ticking up. Nationwide the price of a gallon of gas hit two eighty three this week.

That’s up eight cents over the past month.

It’s up eighty cents from a year ago.

CNBC’s Sharon Epperson said, “If we continue to climb like we’re doing here, for the price of crude oil, we could likely get to that four dollar mark.“

Analysts call it a perfect storm of factors.

More drivers on the road in warmer weather, refineries switching fuel blends for the summer and what could be the biggest driver; futures traders betting on a growing economy.

Former Associate Deputy Secretary of Energy Randa Fahmy Hudome said, “People who are trading the oil futures in the speculation market who are rallying and predicting that the economy is going to increase tremendously.“

They’ve bid up the price of oil to a five month high.

If that trend continues, “That could take the wind out of this economic recovery that we’ve seen, that could starve the economic recovery,“ said Epperson.

Just wait until we're whacked with carbon and energy taxes. Of course the media will spin that as doing our part to save the planet.

Oil Prices Surge, Media Yawns

Granted, this prediction of $250 for a barrel of oil may be a little wild, but have you noticed the media is no longer obsessed with oil and gasoline prices?

At this time last year you could not go five minutes without a breaking news story about the price of gas.

Why is the media no longer interested?

The price of oil burst through the $71 a barrel mark today amid revelations that proven reserves had fallen for the first time in 10 years and predictions that the price could eventually hit $250.

The latest high – from lows of $30 only four months ago – came on the New York Mercantile Exchange, where the cost of July deliveries rose by $1.35 to $71.36.

This comes on top of a $2 rise the day before as investors rushed into the market on the back of lower stockpile figures, higher demand estimates and speculation against further falls in the dollar.

"I wouldn't be surprised if we're testing $80 in a week or two," said one analyst, while BP's chief executive, Tony Hayward, questioned whether $90 could be the "right" value.

Kuwait's oil minister, Sheikh Ahmad al-Abdullah al-Sabah, put some of the rise down to signs of recovery in Asia but warned that overall demand was still weaker than last year. Opec would not raise supply at current oil prices but did not rule it out "if it reached $100", he said.

Alexei Miller, chairman of the Russian energy group Gazprom, raised the stakes further when he reiterated last year's estimates of $250 a barrel. "This forecast has not become reality yet, given that the [credit] crisis gained momentum and exerted a powerful impact on the global energy market. But does this mean that our forecast was unrealistic? Not at all."

Maybe if prices at the pump return to the $4 a gallon level we'll see the press return for 24/7 coverage. Somehow I doubt it, though.

They don't have Bush to blame any longer.

Instapundit links. Thanks.

Drill Here, Drill Now, Bury Chavez

Drilling for oil on our own soil and offshore has a plethora of potential benefits, but none could be more sweeter than to bury the clown Hugo Chavez once and for all.

To win allies and forge an anti-American front, Mr Chavez sells oil to friendly countries at low prices. Ironically, the only big customer buying Venezuelan oil at the full market price is the United States, which the president routinely denounces as the "Empire".

"As production falls, the sales to the US become more important," said Pietro Donatello, an oil analyst from Latin Petroleum in the capital, Caracas. "Only the US is paying the full amount for Venezuelan oil and in cash, the rest are in some kind of barter agreements."

The state oil company, PDVSA, produced 3.2 million barrels per day in 1998, the year before Mr Chavez won the presidency. After a decade of rising corruption and inefficiency, daily output has now fallen to 2.4 million barrels, according to OPEC figures. About half of this oil is now delivered at a discount to Mr Chavez's friends around Latin America. The 18 nations in his "Petrocaribe" club, founded in 2005, pay Venezuela only 30 per cent of the market price within 90 days, with rest in instalments [sic] spread over 25 years.

The other half - 1.2 million barrels per day - goes to America, Venezuela's only genuinely paying customer.
...
"There is a bottleneck in the Venezuelan production system," said Mazhar al-Sheridah, 68, an oil expert at the Central University of Venezuela. "It will cost at least $32 billion to build another three upgrading units and take some five years, meaning that Venezuelan production is stuck at current levels for a while yet."

All this means that Venezuela has missed much of the benefit from the oil boom and, now that prices are falling, Mr Chavez faces huge financial problems. Nobody is sure at what point his government would be unable to pay its bills, but most sources consulted believe this would probably happen if oil falls to $80 a barrel. Yesterday, oil was trading at $79.80.

Of course it may be too late to take advantage of this Bill Ayers comrade since the push for drilling seems to have eased up along with gas prices, which now has recorded its largest drop ever.

The average price of a gallon of gasoline in the United States recorded its largest drop ever as consumer demand continued to wane and oil prices slid, a prominent industry analyst said on Sunday.

The national average price for self-serve, regular unleaded gas fell 35.03 cents to $3.3079 a gallon on Oct. 10 from $3.6582 two weeks earlier, according to the nationwide Lundberg Survey.

It was the lowest national average price since March 21, 2008. Since peaking at $4.1124 on July 11, the average cost of a gallon of gas has receded by 80.45 cents. Diesel fuel fell 21 cents to $3.95 a gallon, the first time since March that it has been below $4.00 a gallon.

I paid $2.95 a gallon this weekend. I'd still prefer it at half that price.

I noticed with the price plummeting there are no longer stories from the gas pumps about people being forced to choose between food and gas. Maybe the media should do stories on what people are now doing with the money saved at the pump.

Americans Drive 12.2 Billion Fewer Miles in June, Greedy Politicians Hardest Hit

You'll notice this trend will likely continue as people struggle to pay exorbitant gas prices caused by Democrats and their refusal to drill for our own oil.

Though you'd think so many fewer miles driven would be cause for celebration that Americans are being forced to drive less, hence less pollution, more people drivings hybrids and so forth.

No, the worst thing? Less tax revenue, of course.

The downside for the government is less money to pay for highway projects and public transportation, which is funded by an 18.4 cent-per-gallon gasoline tax and a 24.4 cent-per-gallon diesel fuel tax.

"Advances in higher fuel-efficiency vehicles and alternative fuels are making the gas tax an even less sustainable support for funding roads, bridges and transit systems," said Transportation Secretary Mary Peters.

Hmm. So the federal government gets 18.4 cents a gallon for gas and 24.4 cents for diesel.

Why isn't that considered windfall profits for the government?

The evil oil companies aren't even making 10 cents profit on the gallon and are demonized daily by the Democrats. Yet the federal government is raking in 18.4 cents on the gallon for doing nothing and nobody utters a peep.

I'm sure you've all notice a steady decline in gas prices the past couple of months as demand has decreased. How come this isn't reported as much as when prices go up?

Creating a New Generation of Sniveling Moonbats: Parents Cut Cable, Spoiled Brats Protest Gas Prices

Nothing like exploiting children to make some lame point about gas prices.

Of course the parents are eager for the attention and the media is willing to comply.

When a daily dose of Hannah Montana became impossible, the Vance sisters knew it was time to take to the streets.

Sadie, 9, and her sister Pyper, 7, marched around downtown Salt Lake City chanting, "Lower the gas prices," while carrying homemade signs. The sisters decided to protest after losing their favorite cable TV shows when their mother, Michelle, had to sacrifice cable TV to pay for her daily commute.

"Gas prices are too high," Sadie said. "I just decided to come and protest so they'd go down."

The average price of regular unleaded gasoline in Utah was $4.07 on Monday, up 24 cents since one month ago, according to www.fuelgaugereport.com.

The Vances were inspired after marching with their parents in several protests led by former Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson. Their father, Randy Doyle, who accompanied them Monday, was "very proud" to see his daughters find a cause of their own.

"This is the way to get involved," Doyle said. "If you see something that you don't like, stand up and say something."

Though Doyle was supportive of his daughters' efforts, he gives them complete credit for the protest. The girls recycled old campaign signs and wrote their own messages. "All of my mom's monny[sic] goes to the gas tank!" proclaimed Pyper's.

Maybe instead of watching so much television and getting their daily dose of Hannah Montana these brats could spend more time learning how to spell basic words.

These parents should be ashamed of themselves. Children that age shouldn't be marching in protests to begin with. Let them enjoy their childhood and stop exploiting them to make score cheap political points. And if you're going to allow them to be exploited, at least help them with their spelling.

Update: Michelle Malkin has Whiners of the Day.

Rising Gas Prices Affecting Housing

As the cost of gasoline continues to rise, the housing market in outlying areas is impacted.

Rising gas prices may be the latest ailment afflicting the housing market, as figures released Monday showed Southern California home prices plunging 27% in May from a year ago and falling even more precipitously in distant suburbs.

Outlying areas like the Antelope Valley and the Inland Empire have long appealed to people who were willing to accept a burdensome commute for the chance to own a better house. But buyers are increasingly factoring gasoline costs into their purchase decisions, said Dan Griffith, a Rancho Cucamonga-based real estate agent.

This 27% drop in prices has nothing to do with mortgages or the banking industry. It has everything to do with fuel prices and how people make consumer decisions.

In economics, we say that people make buying decisions "at the margin." That means that the consumer looks at the facts presenting them at the moment and makes the best decision in their favor at that time. Applying this reality to the housing situation, when gas was cheaper folks were willing to trade a long commute for a bigger, cheaper house in the outlying areas. That decision made sense when fuel was much cheaper.

But now that fuel prices have doubled in the last year or so, the dynamics of those decisions have changed. Since it costs a lot more now to make that long commute, housing closer to the employment centers to cut the commute cost is now more affordable. So demand has dropped for the outlying areas and the housing prices drop accordingly.

Overall, you have a re-evaluation going on in the economy due to fuel prices. As fuel prices have increased the dynamics have changed on other consumer goods and services and that will continue to happen for a while. Consumers are re-evaluating how much things are worth to them and trying to save cost. I think you will see further changes in the types of vehicles people buy, for example. I just returned from Ireland and gasoline there is approximately $10 a gallon (adjusting for currency differences and liter versus gallon measurements). The average car in Ireland is much smaller than in the US (also because the roads are also much narrower), almost all cars are stick shift (which is more fuel efficient than automatic transmissions) and most of them have at least six forward gears. I rented a Renault for several days with six forward gears and got about 48 mpg over several days of driving. A relative I visited had a Ford station wagon with stick shift and six forward gears as well and was getting about 38 mpg.

The upshot of all this is I expect to see a shifting of demand for housing closer to employment centers with a corresponding shift in pricing.

Socialists at Reuters Baffled by Economics

Well, the socialists at Reuters are demonstrating their economic ignorance again.

Americans would hit brakes if gas hits $3.50: poll

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Some 40 percent of Americans would curb their driving habits if retail gasoline prices shot up to $3.50 a gallon, according to a Reuters/Zogby poll released on Wednesday.

Hey Reuters editors, put down the Das Kapital for a minute and try reading Milton Friedman for once in your life.

In the real world, people make their purchasing decisions "at the margin", which means we consider our options relative to our income and the strength of need, and buy accordingly. Each of us has our own price break points. That means that there is no specific target price at which "people" will change their behavior. Folks are making purchase decisions all the time. That is called the "free market system" which I know sends shudders down your spine just at the sound of it.

So Reuters, try reading up on "elasticity of demand", have someone explain the words longer than two syllables to you, and then come play again.

Gas Prices and the Refinery Dilemma

Refining woes, not crude, driving US fuel prices

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Record fuel prices in the midst of a U.S. oil supply glut have underscored the growing failure of domestic refiners to keep up with demand in the world's biggest energy consumer.

A crunch in spare refining capacity has left the United States vulnerable to supply disruptions from refinery accidents -- on the rise because of lingering damage from hurricanes and tough environmental regulations -- and bolstered the argument by oil cartel OPEC for keeping supply curbs in place.

As I point out repeatedly, the U.S. consumption of gasoline outgrew our capacity to refine it over 10 years ago. So there is a very thin supply margin. We bridge the gap by importing more and more refined gasoline from Europe. The future does not look very rosy either.

Refiners are also struggling to meet new greener U.S. specifications that require highly specialized processors to make fuel, analysts said.

"Having less latitude with very tight product specifications means that process glitches that would have been resolved without much trouble in the past, are causing big production losses," Jan Stuart, economist for UBS Securities LLC, said in a research note.

While no new refinery has been built in the United States since 1976, industry groups say companies have added the equivalent of a new refinery in additional capacity to existing U.S. plants each year for more than a decade.

But they warn that new U.S. government efforts to cut gasoline use by 20 percent by 2017 using renewable fuels may cause companies to scrap future expansion plans despite historic profits in recent years, tightening the refining market further."

You would not be very eager to invest hundreds of million so dollars in new refineries if the government was passing legislation to cut the consumption of your product, either.

Talk about your paradox of unintended consequences.

Heresy on the Continent

During the past two weeks, tax reform became the centerpiece of government reorganization in the now-heretic countries of the Czech Republic and . . . France.

In the Czech Republic,

The Finance Ministry has been asked to draft by next year a new law on income tax that should be part of the second stage of the public finance reform and enter into force in 2010 at the latest, Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek said after the cabinet meeting today.

Within the reform, the government plans a flat income tax at 15 percent that would be calculated from a "super gross wage" that includes social and health insurance.

But it gets even better.

Lower VAT is to be raised from 5 to 9 percent. Corporate tax is to be decreased from the 24 to 19 percent by 2010.

The government accepted the Greens' demand that households using gas for heating should be exempt from the environmental tax.

The tax will also not apply to the combined production of electricity and heat for household heating.

The tax changes are expected to simplify the business environment and reduce the tax burden on small businesses.

The minimum tax introduced in 2004 is to be cancelled and so are the monitored cash registers which businesses were to start using since January 2008.

Not surprisingly, such reform measures are vehemently opposed by the Social Democrats (CSSD) and the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (KSCM).

In France, the government of newly elected President Nikolas Sarkozy has wasted no time in acting on the president's agenda of reforming . . . France.

French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said on Wednesday his government aimed to boost French growth to 3.0 percent using tax reforms to "shock" the economy into a faster track.

"We are going to propose a set of fiscal and financial measures designed to bring about a shock that will create growth," he told French radio Europe 1.

One of the more significant reforms will be to

. . . put a 50-percent cap on overall individual taxation.

Sarkozy's electoral triumph has been described by French historian Max Gallo, as a Victory of Reality over Utopia.

The ideology of the left, which has influenced, if not dominated, public and intellectual life in France since World War II, is in a deep crisis. Marxism ended long ago, and yet the French socialists haven't discovered any new answers.

Meanwhile, our Cousins across the Pond are also engaged in tax reform.

The government will push ahead with its much-maligned road pricing policy this week when it publishes proposals for pay-as-you-drive trials.

A draft version of the road transport bill will give local authorities the power to introduce road pricing in towns and cities. Ten areas in England considering schemes include Manchester and Birmingham, although ministers say a national scheme is at least a decade away.

And here's the jaw-dropper:

The local schemes are seen as a precursor to a UK-wide network that would track the movement of cars by satellite or roadside gantries, charging about £1.30 a mile on the busiest roads.

At current exchange rates, £1 equals two bucks.

The potentially radical reforms were attacked by motoring groups and the voluntary sector and even alarmed the Church of England.

Details emerged as the Government prepares to introduce a Bill allowing for road pricing pilot schemes in several parts of the country.

At present, anyone who is reimbursed for using their own car is entitled to claim 40p a mile for the first 10,000 miles without facing tax. After that anything paid over 25p a mile is subject to both tax and national insurance.

Revenue and Customs confirmed that the tax penalty would apply to those using their own cars for work.

And that would be on top of UK gasoline prices, currently about $7.44 per gallon (£3.75).

Big Government Attacks Big Oil

The anti-capitalist Democrats are at it again. Build more refineries? Not on your life. Cut the taxes on gas? Forget about it. Take money from what the media now refers to as energy companies? Sure. But at the same time, they'll demagogue the rising gas prices and blame the dreaded Big Oil.

As Gas Prices Rise Again, Democrats Blame Big Oil

Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Congress would look into breaking up the giant companies. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) promoted her anti-price-gouging bill, which the Senate Commerce Committee adopted on Tuesday. And Sen. Bernard Sanders (I-Vt.) backed a windfall profits tax, pointing to $440 billion in profits over the past six years for the nation's five biggest oil companies.

"I think it's time to say to these people, 'Stop ripping off the American people,' " Sanders said.

Every year, it's the same nonsense from these clowns. They kvetch and moan about gas prices, yet do nothing to help alleviate the problem.

They love having it both ways, and a compliant media do little to expose their double standard.

Now in the minority, Republican lawmakers this week poked back at the Democrats' ideas. "I think it shows that they're either unbelievably naive about how markets work or unbelievably cynical," said Rep. Joe L. Barton (R-Tex.), former chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Barton said most Democrats opposed opening up new areas of Alaska or the Outer Continental Shelf for oil and gas drilling. "If you want to get prices down, you're going to have to have a supply component to energy," he said.

Here's a suggestion to get prices down. Waive the state and federal tax on gas for a week. Consumers will then realize just how much they're paying in taxes per gallon. Just don't wait around for that to happen.