'You have to cut back when you have a $480 gas bill a month'

phantom power

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Sat May-28-11 07:06 PM
Original message

'You have to cut back when you have a $480 gas bill a month'

NEW YORK � There's less money this summer for hotel rooms, surfboards and bathing suits. It's all going into the gas tank.

High prices at the pump are putting a squeeze on the family budget as the traditional summer driving season begins. For every $10 the typical household earns before taxes, almost a full dollar now goes toward gas, a 40 percent bigger bite than normal.

Households spent an average of $369 on gas last month. In April 2009, they spent just $201. Families now spend more filling up than they spend on cars, clothes or recreation. Last year, they spent less on gasoline than each of those things.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43197904/ns/business-oil_and_energy/

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ClarkUSA

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Sat May-28-11 07:08 PM
Response to Original message

1. Fuel prices have dropped considerably in my area.

I have a diesel VW and the price of diesel has come down from $4.35 to $3.99 in the past two weeks where I live.

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peacefreak

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Sat May-28-11 08:00 PM
Response to Reply #1

2. Yeah, but

that's still $4.00 a gallon!

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ClarkUSA

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Sat May-28-11 10:01 PM
Response to Reply #2

3. Here's an action taken by President Obama that might well change things for the better -->

Edited on Sat May-28-11 10:02 PM by ClarkUSA

Good news: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=433x681076

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madokie

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Sat May-28-11 11:24 PM
Response to Original message

4. All the while the sob oil companies enjoy record profits

If every we need to nationalize our fuel companies the time is now. By their record profits they are admitting that they are gouging us. Isn't this part of what government is for to protect us from aholes who prey on us like this?

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The Croquist

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Tue May-31-11 09:54 PM
Response to Reply #4

7. Are you planning on nationalizing Aramco?

It's by far the worlds largest oil company. If so what are you planning on paying the owners for it?

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NYC_SKP

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Sat May-28-11 11:32 PM
Response to Original message

5. Ah but driving in style, with greater visibility and safe 6500 lb GVW and better Trucks and SUVs

So we can tow our boats and take the kids to soccer cuz nothing else will do.

And we were sucked into the ads and hype of the nineties, willfully negligent of the obvious coming shortage of petroleum.

Sad...

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lfairban

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Tue May-31-11 02:15 PM
Response to Original message

6. I'm not real sure about the statistics quoted here.

$480 a month @ $4.00/gal. would be 120 gallons. Even at 20 mpg that would be 2400 miles per month, or roughly 80 miles per day. That is an awful lot even for a family with several commuters.

The median household income in the U.S. before taxes is just below $50,000, or about $4,150 per month. The $369 that families spent last month on gas represented 8.9 percent of monthly household income, according to an analysis by Fred Rozell, retail pricing director at Oil Price Information Service. Since 2000, the average is about 5.7 percent. For the year, the figure is 7.9 percent.

I heard that gasoline is about 5% of disposable income, not pre-tax. Also, notice in the above quote that they are using median household income with average gasoline expenditures. I don't think you can really do that, even comparing median to median is iffy. I believe comparing average to average may be valid.

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Tue May 07th 2024, 12:06 AM
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