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Are gas prices fueling your pain?
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I ride occasionally and it's great for maintaining weight. I admire the people, too, who park at the far end of the shopping mall or Walmart lot and walk to the store. There's a reality that the cost of bike paths is often a nice plum for someone's friend or relative bidding on the project, they sometimes are located based on friendships or politics, but they actually serve many people well who can take advantage of them.
I believe the attempts to increase revenues for major road repairs, using the I-35 bridge collapse, will hurt the building of more bike trails out of auto tax streams.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Not directly it doesn't. People who own cars pay taxes and fees to support transportation. If all you own is a bike you don't pay taxes and fees into the Transportation fund.
The point I was making is that people who are whining about subsidizing subways, bike paths, mass transit, etc., that they will never use can sell their cars and they will not have to subsidize these things any further, just as you suggested that I sell my cars if I do not want to further subsidize road maintenance that my bike does not cause any wear and tear on.
I personally do not mind subsidizing road repair and maintenance that I do not contribute towards as long as I'm given a bit of respect when I travel the roads on my bike and have to share it with others.
I believe it is the deception on the part of our legislative bodies that all adds up. After paying $22,000 income tax, $8,000 in property tax, $3,200 sales tax on a new car, etc, etc, etc you would like to think the Road tax you paid would maintain the roads not be spent on other than it was collected for. It is kind of like the lottery scam in CA that was supposed to pump millions into schools. The dirty little secret is they used the lotto money for schools and deducted those expenditures from the general fund. So maybe it seems trivial that they would take $300 from every auto owner in the USA as a road tax then earmark it for bike paths and mass transit. When neither of these users are paying into the fund. If they want the money for a special bike trail, sidewalk in the country or new trolley system float a bond issue. Let the voters decide.
Our only option is to vote out of office the tax and spend legislators in the State and Federal government. I really do not have a problem with adding a bike lane to a new road or road expansion. I have watched as they let huge contracts to add two feet of asphalt and a white line on a road. Leaving the road with potholes. Poor use of public funds.
What would you do with all the empty offices then? Talk about ghost towns. :shades:
"Facing mounting diesel fuel costs and shrinking profits, truckers nationwide plan to protest next week by parking their semis or clogging traffic by driving slowly."
Truckers plan slowdown over fuel prices (IndyStar)
Meanwhile the Airlines Want to Tap Heating-Oil Reserves (WSJ).
And finally,
Gas prices gas have than doubled, to 75 cents a liter, in the past six years in China. The Middle Class Feels the Squeeze (Business Week)
Tomorrow is my last day of a 94 miles per day commute. Next monday starts 29 miles a day round trip after moving 60 miles. I might still buy a 30 mpg car one day but the pressure is off for now to sink $24k into a depreciating car to save $100 a month in gas. My 24 mpg car with a 20 gallon tank will now go over 3 weeks on a fill up. It used to go only 4 days.
I still bug my wife to move back to Cali occasionally. Maybe one of these years, unless she drags me back north first. (must not be too horrible in CA since 400,000 new residents get added to the rolls every year - link)
Gasahol gets a tax break at the pumps in Indiana btw. 29.6 cents a gallon tax vs 31.6 for gasoline. Gas tax in Cali is 44.4 cents a gallon (assuming this link is current).
While I'm sure your daughter will miss Cali, the cost of living in Evansville will be a welcome change for them. They'll hate the weather, but I guess you can't have everything. Hope it works out for them. Just visit from May to October, any other time and you might be able to test the 4wd capabilities of the Sequoia:)
But no matter how bad the weather gets, they'll still be better off than the endless stream of evacuees from Michigan!
I wonder how many of them are moving to CA for a fresh start?
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So you've already resigned yourself to not collecting Social Security and working until the day you die? You just feel the government can do as they wish, break their promises, and we shouldn't kick them out?
The point a lot of us are making is that we want a government that is honest, and those that aren't honest need to be identified and strung up. Why you say? It's only white collar crime. Well if the SS money is not there, there will be a lot of people with poorer diets and health care, which can lead to shorter lifespans.
Similarly with gasoline tax, I want the tax to be used completely for road repairs, so that there are not bridge collapses and such. We the citizens agree to a certain level of taxes to keep those roads and bridges fixed. If the money is diverted and people are killed as in that bridge collapse, I would like to see those involved with the diversion of the funds charged with Murder-1 and put on trial.
That's your choice of how much you want to drive on the roads, and to maintain a car. I'm fine with that, as long as you don't complain about your choice. Because you don't drive much, you don't pay much gas tax. You're paying proportional to your use, and you've chosen your use-level.
But also a person who rides a bus may pay $2 to go 0.5miles or $2 and go 3 miles. That is fair, no one is paying a subsidy. A bus-ride is $2.
I personally do not mind subsidizing road repair and maintenance that I do not contribute towards as long as I'm given a bit of respect when I travel the roads on my bike and have to share it with others.
Roads deteriorate mainly due to envirnonmental conditions not traffic. UV radiation, temperature changes including thaws, and rain are the main factors. The main issue with bridges is corrosion. So as a citizen who gets goods and services brought by trucks you should pay taxes towards the road. It is a rather narrow, narrow argument that you have that you shouldn't pay much tax towards the road, simply because your bike causes little wear.
But I will support that you should be respected, as long as you are like me - and respect drivers, and that the road's main use is for the transport of people and goods in cars and trucks. I've walked on railroad tracks before and even used to ride my bike on them, but the fact that I could be there does not mean that the train and I have equal rights to use the track.
In order to be subsidizing something, you must be paying for it without using it, or paying for more of it than you use.
Registration fees and licensing fees are not enough to even begin to cover the cost of road and bridge repair and construction. And, as I explained, revenues from the federal motor fuels tax are diverted to demonstration projects, including bike paths.
Plus, I assume that you are still driving on occasion (otherwise, why shoulder the expense of owning and maintaining a vehicle?). So you are still using the roads.
Those roads are also used to deliver goods to the city and town where you live. Including your bicycle and its related equipment, unless you live within walking distance of the bicycle factory.
As I explained before, I have no problem with bikes or bike paths. I ride bikes myself. But, when representatives of both major parties say that we need to repair and update our transportation infrastructure, and there are not enough funds to do so, one wonders about the wisdom of diverting any funds from road projects to bike paths. And there is no proof that bike riders are "saving" the road through less wear and tear.
Now, I have no problem if the bike path is incorporated into the road or bridge project from day one, as was done in Harrisburg recently when a major bridge linking the city to the western suburbs was rebuilt to include bike paths (while still being open to cars and trucks).
No, because being on the railroad tracks is called trespassing. They are not open to the public, unlike the majority of roads that any vehicles are welcome to use. A bicycle is defined as a vehicle by the DOT - look it up.
If the Fed.Gov-mint is working on helping restoring our freight to be moved on trains then that is some progress. If trucks were to cruise along at 55 or 60 mph it would be easier cruising on the freeways, but, as most all of us know that isn't the case. In a nutshell, why is this hell-bent on destruction pace required for semi-truck-trailering our nation's freight? With how many I see on the road it looks like the freight ain't gonna be late anytime soon, yet, the truckers are still keeping a steady and sure 75mph through Arizona. In lightly congested areas that's fine but they don't like it when approaching populated areas and push up on dinky cars. I remember my driver's guide saying to use the "4-second" following distance rule.
That ain't happening, boys. We saw one semi-trailer over on it's side heading eastbound as we approached south Tucson last night. Did he fall asleep? Was he driving like a moron, pushing it too much? Don't know, but I can guess.
Moving freight travel to the rails should happen, yet that no doubt has a laundry-list of negatory's, too.
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
Here in Illinois, vehicles towing a trailer have a speed limit of 55 mph. Rarely do you have a semi barrel past at 70+.
Maybe out west the majority of the trucks are independently owned. I know the large corporate trucking companies like Snyder do use owner-operated drivers also and they are not governed. I have no idea what the percentage of rigs on the road are governed.
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2015 Kia Soul, 2021 Subaru Forester (kirstie_h), 2024 GMC Sierra 1500 (mr. kirstie_h)
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I ride on the roads sometimes when there is no sidewalk. I know I'm a legal vehicle; but I do not let that get confused with the fact that the roads are mainly for cars and trucks, and that a lone bicycle rider or 2 should defer right-of-way, and get out of the way - even if just for your own safety.
If you are the type who wants to make a point that you have a legal right, ignoring the reality of the situation, well good luck to you. I'll ride my bike on the sidewalk, and you can keep up the lonely fight to have your bicycle treated like a car. Enough said.
I think that CA gas tax of 44 cents is plus sales tax. In my area that varies between 7.75% and 8.25%. That retirement website is a good one. I spent hours in there one day.
I think fuel is going to drive all our expenses up in time. Finding a place to live and a job that will support your family is going to get tougher. I think I will stick with retirement. It suits me very well.
Yes, I have resigned myself to that.
There is a fundamental flaw in a democratic system. Getting elected and staying in office is basically a popularity contest. Often times making the prudent decision will alienate you with your constituency. So you opt to make the irresponsible decision in order to remain popular and hopefully get re-elected. That's the system we live in and is why the inevitable Social Security/Medicaid crisis will not be dealt with.
I do agree that the actions of our legislators should sometimes be considered criminal. That's why I get such a kick out of these hearings they conduct that investigate things like steroid use in Major League Baseball. It's like having Ted Bundy as a judge imposing fines for jaywalking.
on the bike path subject, i look at it like i don't care if people want to bike, roller blade, or walk, as long as it gets used.
to me it is something that makes your community a better place to live.
it is like having good schools, indirectly they benefits everyone. jmo.
That is just not acceptable and legislators and Senators should earn their gravy money and work their hindquarters off immediately to ensure that those retiring in the 2020's get their full SS checks. Especially so since ghastly prices keep rising, food costs are going through the roof, etc. That just makes it all the more important to put forth legislation for assured SS payouts. Take about 5-10 years of bloated military expenditures and appropriate that money to the SS fund for American workers retiring in the 2010's and 2020's. It's only right, ya know?
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
At the rate the government is wasting money SS will be broke before long. Remember all that money you put into Medicare each month. Well they still take out money from your SS check as a premium when you reach 65. I just got a notice they will be taking $96 of my piddling SS check for Medicare coverage starting next month when I turn 65, Plus you need supplemental as Medicare covers very little. FDR sold us a bill of goods and JFK robbed the SS Pot and it has gone down hill from there. Good luck collecting. Don't count on it for more than beer money.
Reg Unleaded $3.35
Mid Grade..... $3.45
Premium....... $3.65
Diesel........... $4.05
Do you really think that the people who are STEALING the s.s. money now will magically quit, and leave our money for our retirement? In case you haven't figured it out yet, social security and medicare are scams. The gov't steals all the money the minute they receive it. There is no "trust fund."
Like all Ponzi schemes, the only thing that will end them is their financial collapse -- medicare in 2019, social security in 2041. In fact, s.s. will technically go broke in 2017; payouts will exceed collections. At that point, Congress will scramble to make it look solvent for a while longer, raising the "retirement" age, increasing taxes if they can. That'll be tough once the number of people who figure out they've been scammed reaches critical mass. But the D.C. con artists will come up with something that works just well enough to stifle revolt.
The reality of what will happen after that is that s.s. will continue to send out checks every month. They'll just be for less and less every year. If you retire in 2030, and you're supposed to get $1,000 a month from s.s., instead you'll get $700/mo. Then in a few years it'll be $500/mo. Then $400, and so on.
You can complain all you want at that point, but it won't matter. Your money will be gone, and the people who stole it will all be retired, enjoying taxpayer-funded pensions and free medical care. They'll live the good life while we struggle to survive.
Meanwhile, the system's failure will cause the dollar to be worth less and less every year, meaning the price of everything will be more and more. That $700/mo. today might cover rent on a small apartment, but in 2030, it'll only pay the utilities.
How much do you think gasoline will cost in 2030?
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I am not sure it will matter as the United Socialist Republic of America will have self destructed by then. Parts of Hawaii that I love have one out of every two citizens on some kind of welfare assistance. It is like a cancer spreading throughout our country. I read yesterday that 1 in 10 people in Columbus Ohio are on food stamps.
I think we are about where the average EU citizen is now. On average they get about double our MPG using diesel. They are paying close to double for fuel.
Regular . . . . $3.24
Mid . . . . . . . $3.45
Premium . . .. $3.65
Diesel . . . . . .$4.05
This pricing is typical around here :mad:
BUT I go into Jersey for my gas and I paid $3.05 last time I got gas, which was Tuesday.
Unfortanely, There's not much that I can do to cut-down on my driving. I pretty much only drive to and from work and that's a 26 mile commute round trip and I work 6 days a week. I would really like to drive my boy's Impreza but It's manual and I have yet to be taught how to drive it. Maybe one day
Politics is a better place for the Social Security stuff - just remember that the dollar has deflated so much it's lots cheaper today to pay back the funds diverted to the general fund. :P
I'm dog-sitting and had to take the walk to chase the dog when he gave me "the look" and bolted, leaving me holding the leash in my hand. I did use some gas driving to the end of the neighborhood looking for the beast. Naturally he had circled back home by the time I had wasted .50 cents of unleaded looking for him.
About ten more like him would be plenty to pull my Subaru down to the grocery and back, but the food and vet bills would make diesel prices look cheap.
Next time, use two collars and two leashes for safety. One collar must be "choke" type.
These last two trips, I've just doubled up my purchases, so I'll only have to go once per week. It'll work out in theory, just as long as we don't start drinking the beer faster, since there's more of it around! :P
This would represent a savings of 208 miles per year. Which is about 10-11 gallons with my Intrepid. Probably more like 18 with my old Silverado. Hey, I guess every little bit helps! :shades:
Mid . . . . . . . $3.45
Premium . . .. $3.65
Diesel . . . . . .$4.05"
LOL! Be thankful your prices are so low!
Shell by the freeway in San Francisco, day before yesterday:
Regular...$4.07
Mid.........$4.19
Premium....$4.31
don't know about diesel.
Now of course, that was Shell, UNIVERSALLY and BY FAR the most expensive gas there is. But still, I paid $3.67 this afternoon, out in the burbs. The very cheapest gas around here is over $3.50 now (and with the lines around the block that those few stations have, I will pay the extra dime a gallon to go to my usual place), and the folks buying premium are already paying $4/gallon in plenty of places.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
After that bit of excitement, I wound up driving to the grocery (miscalculated the bread supply here) and then drove half way to town to help my buddy move his portable shed.
I'm down an 1/8th of a tank already and haven't been anywhere. :sick:
I need an electric VW Bug like this guy built here. (Idaho Statesman - hopefully not a registration link).
I take it you've never been to a Mobil Station lately?
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
Back on topic...ghastly is about $3.22 here in the lowest station in town. And $4.00 gas prices looming ahead has me glad I get 31 mpg and more on the freeway. The fact that my work commute is one half of one mile each way that saves me big-time. It's those trips to "real" stores that get us-35 miles west to Benson to go to Wal*Mart, 70 miles west to go to Hasting's CD/DVD/book store, 80 miles west to head to any of probably one million stores available in Tucson. Those trips will need to become much more stretched out in between trips. Once a month instead of once every two weeks, for instance.
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
It has been years since I bought a book, CD or DVD in a retail store. Amazon is usually faster and has a much better selection. It takes about 5 minutes to find and order. Takes 2-3 days and it is in my mailbox. NO TAX or shipping on purchases over $25. I cannot tell you how many $100s it saves on gas over a year. My experience was not finding the book at Borders or Barnes Noble and buying something I really did not want. Same for CDs and DVDs at where ever. Just another way to save miles on your vehicle and dollars in your wallet.
Truckers Back a National 65-mph Speed Limit
http://www.usnews.com/blogs/beyond-the-barrel/2008/03/26/truckers-back-a-nationa- l-65-mph-speed-limit.html
55 mph here we come.....just like the good old days. (the 70s)
US petrol prices are not bad compared to Europe.
Date Belgium France Germany Italy Netherlands UK US
3/17/08 8.56 8.16 8.53 8.26 9.14 8.07 3.50
http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/international/gas1.html
All of us are going to be subsidizing SS payments out of the general fund soon. Another factor in the loss of income to the SS ponzi scheme is the underground economy doesn't pay taxes.
$3.19 throughout the area from DAyton to Cincy.
$2.99 in one pocket of low prices and $3.08 is in competitive areas.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
(87 octane gasoline remains at $3.499)
Later Caaz
Sounds like the daily operating costs of the truck exceed the amortized purchase price. In other words, it cost more to drive it than it did to buy it.
That's like paying a $1,000-per-month house payment, but paying $1,500/mo. for utilities.
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$3.259 is about the cheapest a gallon of gas is going to cost around here. I get about 20 mpg in mostly local driving if I keep my foot out of it. Well, that comes out to 16.3 cents per mile.
Incidentally, I ran the figures for my uncle's '03 Corolla. I think he has about 150,000 miles on it now. That car cost about $16K out the door when it was new, and probably averages about 35 mpg in mixed driving. The original cost of the car amortizes out to about 10.7 cents per mile, while the gas (35 mpg @ 3.259/gal) comes out to about 9.3. So even with an economy car, the gasoline can end up costing almost as much as the car!
That's like paying a $1,000-per-month house payment, but paying $1,500/mo. for utilities.
And with the way utility prices are going up, that could be a reality soon! Especially for people who have been in their houses for a long time, and purchased when prices were lower.