As I said before, your assertions are sophomoric, and only deal in black and white.You have failed to dispute any of my points. Did you just read Atlas Shrugged for the first time.? You can write me when you start Utopia. The only thing more amazing than my fatigue with pointing out the flaws in your perceived reality, is YOUR PERCEIVED REALITY. What is the the air like in your world?
Spoken like a man who has never been told to evacuate in the face of a devastating hurricane. Again, you only see life in black and white. It is ridiculous for an intelligent adult to think in life along these simplified terms. I am borderline angry at your moronic assertions, as I actually lived through the REALITY(not theory) of that event. Perhaps you live for the abstract argument? Posting in reply to you you holds no purpose. You live in a fantasy land, and I wish you the best of luck. If you choose to assert my absence from any further discussion on this subject as a victory, than good luck with that. Whatever it takes to look yourself in the mirror.
yeah i get it, i am sophomoric, the utopia, blah blah. i am getting the sense that you dont have anything to say. no response to my question: also, i am curious to hear your response to my explanation of why price gouging isnt bad, i get the impression you simply have never really considered it. people who compplain abot gouging are generally television talking heads or ignorant politicians who dont understand the economics of it, they just react to high prices with emotion. of course you are. you are reacting emotionally. that is part of the reason you do not understand he economics of price gouging. you just react and take more shots at my "utopia", ignoring the reasoning. higher prices in emergencies help to properly allocate goods and prevent hoarding and shortages. thats just the way it is. when you are done calling me out, take a deep breath and think about it. another point you might consider it when things are dangerous and there is an evacuation, the owners and employees of stores want to leave as well, and they deserve massive pay bonuses for for dealing with the danger and staying open. if "price gouging" is illegal, then they become far more likely to hit the road and close up shop, and who can blame them? high prices give them a reason to stay open. price fixing and limited profit gives them anoher reason to go home, although it doesnt really matter because priced fixing also means they will sell out to hoarders early in the disaster anyway. futhermore, price gouging encourages consumers to move out the area and purchase goods where it is safer and cheaper, leaving the products in the dangerous areas intact for the most needy. a guy who has a half a tank will drive out of town to buy gas, leaving the stations in town for the guy with an empty tank. if the prices do not rise, every half-tank guy tops it off, running the station dry, leaving empty-tank guy in trouble.
But it doesn't say it's the fault of the oil companies. Africa has 2 countries with some of the largest oil reserves in the world, Nigeria and Algeria. Both nationalized their oil industry in the 70s and have been fighting over oil ever since. I suspect that's a larger problem for them than the oil companies they pay to extract the oil. But in the end, Senator Levin admitted their pricing strategy is legal. And not one person actually used the collusion word, that was the author of the article. Link didn't work for me, but I assume it's about the Shell/Texco Joint Venture in the late 90s. Neither companies did anything wrong. This is part of the government's due diligence prior to approving mergers and joint ventures. It was eventuallly approved by the Clinton Admin.
I bought my house close to where I work, so that I don't have to commute very far. It's a neighborhood that has a grocery store, four bar & grills, a hardware store, a barber, a drugstore, a laundry, and two restaurants all within walking distance. Before that, I lived just off campus for 19 years and walked to work and to all of the services available in Tigertown. Locating yourself cleverly is a prime conservation technique. I know people who commute in from Kentwood, New Orleans and Lafayette every day and gas is killing them. Not me. I don't do unneccessary driving. I own two vehicles, but I rarely drive the guzzler classic '60's sedan I inherited from my dad. My SUV is a smaller one, appropriate to what I have to haul. When its time to replace it, I'll consider a hybrid, if one is available with a small V-8. I must pull a couple of trailers from time to time and I go off-road with my canoe and on mountain roads on vacation, so I require power when I need it. I don't carry unneeded weight (toolbox, trailer hitch, etc.) unless I'll need it. I remove by luggage rack crossbars to improve aerodynamics, unless I need them. I ride my bicycle mostly for exercise rides these days. I either walk to the close businesses or I drive to ones further away. The bike is not practical for carrying much stuff, nor is it practical for commuting in the Louisiana summer unless I had a shower and changes of clothes at the office. And hear me now and believe me later, at 51 I'm not as willing to take the small spills and major crashes that come with intensive urban cycling, that I was when I was 21. Injuries pile up and they don't come around as fast, if ever. With a bad knee and a torn rotator cuff already limiting me, I can do without a broken collarbone or a shattered wrist right now. My gas usage is not high, so the prices really only hurt me at vacation time, expecially when I go west where prices are already over $4.00. But commuters, especially those with children that must also be delivered and picked up at various places around town are getting bitten hard. You are correct in that they should take measures to reduce consumption. But that doesn't change the fact that oil companies can take advantage of our seasonal driving habits to gouge us. The issues are not mutually exclusive! They are simply important and deserve discussion, that's what we are here for. Concern is not fear, you are just exaggerating and indulging in your peculiar need to get in the last post. I haven't ranted about government regulation regarding global warming or peak oil, that is 100% you. I just won't let someone deny that these issues exist. I haven't promoted Kyoto. You are trying to distract by making up what I think so you can ridicule it. Is it because your own ideas are so simplistic, idealistic, and non-viable?
given that you live close to work and most things you need, i don't see why you are concerned. why should be so concerned about those who have not chosen the short-commute lifestyle you have? wouldnt a smarter way for things to change be for more individuals to think like you, and not involve the government to regulate prices? change works best when it is done voluntarily by individuals. i think that with higher prices comes change, it manages itself. when people cant afford to live 40 miles from work in suburbia anymore, that is too bad, they start living like you or me, close to work, which is a perfectly nice way to do things. it isnt like these high prices are forcing people into something terrible. fine, i think you are a bit of a worrier. and like i have mentioned, i dont understand exactly what is the point of worrying about things that solve themselves. particularly problems that solve each other, like peak oil solves warming. hold on.. let me check. yes, yes it is.
Social changes like this will come as rising oil costs force higher gasoline prices, this we must accept. In fact, if you and I were smart, we'd find a way to make a buck off of the eventual suburban evolution into villages and the repopulation of the cities. Somebody on NASDAQ right now has a plan and a startup company and I'm going to find him. What I'm bitching about is the highest gasoline prices in history when the crude oil prices have fallen! This isn't supply-and-demand related, there is no crude shortage and prices are down. This is oil company pricing based on their own mismanagement of refining at best and at worst . . . upon collusion among them to profit during seasonal driving peaks.
of course they wil drive as much, because there is no problem, only another excuse for people to use the government to cripple their trading partner in an otherwise free exchange. it is like going to the 7/11, asking for slurpee, hearing the price, then putting a gun to the a-rab's head and asking for a new price. if you dont like the price, walk. "it's not that simple martin, we NEED gas!" - unsophisticated public. no you don't.
