$2 gas is the worst thing to happen to America

[fairlycrazy23]

$2 gas is the worst thing to happen to America

[busymom]

You're right. 99 cent gas would be so much better.

[ArchietheDragon]

It is worse for Russia. 

[Angel!]

I do agree this would be the perfect time to finally adjust the gas tax. People won't blink at a $.15 increase at these prices.

I saw gas for $2.09 this morning.  I can't remember the last time I saw a price that low.

[Value Buy]

Dec 16, 2014 11:03:55 GMT -5 Angel! said:

I do agree this would be the perfect time to finally adjust the gas tax. People won't blink at a $.15 increase at these prices.

I saw gas for $2.09 this morning.  I can't remember the last time I saw a price that low.

Hey, if everyone starts driving more, they will purchase more gallons of gas, making the federal tax revenue fund grow.

No need to raise the tax per gallon, especially when they waste the money on bike paths to no where.

[Angel!]

Dec 16, 2014 11:20:00 GMT -5 Value Buy said:

Dec 16, 2014 11:03:55 GMT -5 Angel! said:

I do agree this would be the perfect time to finally adjust the gas tax. People won't blink at a $.15 increase at these prices.

I saw gas for $2.09 this morning.  I can't remember the last time I saw a price that low.

Hey, if everyone starts driving more, they will purchase more gallons of gas, making the federal tax revenue fund grow.

No need to raise the tax per gallon, especially when they waste the money on bike paths to no where.

If they drive more, they tear up the roads faster so maintenance costs go up.  Plus congestion increases, which leads to roads needing to be widened and intersections improved for the additional traffic.

People driving more does nothing to help the issue because the costs go up as well.

[Value Buy]

Dec 16, 2014 11:22:17 GMT -5 Angel! said:

Dec 16, 2014 11:20:00 GMT -5 Value Buy said:

Hey, if everyone starts driving more, they will purchase more gallons of gas, making the federal tax revenue fund grow.

No need to raise the tax per gallon, especially when they waste the money on bike paths to no where.

If they drive more, they tear up the roads faster so maintenance costs go up.  Plus congestion increases, which leads to roads needing to be widened and intersections improved for the additional traffic.

People driving more does nothing to help the issue because the costs go up as well.

Roads might or might not get torn up.

The over loaded semi trucks are the main reason for this, not the small cars.

Asphalt will be half price this next year due to lower oil costs, so road replacement costs should come down

[Shooby]

Dec 16, 2014 11:03:55 GMT -5 Angel! said:

I do agree this would be the perfect time to finally adjust the gas tax. People won't blink at a $.15 increase at these prices.

I saw gas for $2.09 this morning.  I can't remember the last time I saw a price that low.

Yeah, let's confiscate more money from hard working Americans because the Govt HOG never has enough.  When is "enough" btw?  Govt is always bitching about Big Oil or Big this or big that but funny never looks in the mirror at itself which does NOTHING but take, take , take and produces nothing of value.

[Shooby]

Dec 16, 2014 11:22:17 GMT -5 Angel! said:

Dec 16, 2014 11:20:00 GMT -5 Value Buy said:

Hey, if everyone starts driving more, they will purchase more gallons of gas, making the federal tax revenue fund grow.

No need to raise the tax per gallon, especially when they waste the money on bike paths to no where.

If they drive more, they tear up the roads faster so maintenance costs go up.  Plus congestion increases, which leads to roads needing to be widened and intersections improved for the additional traffic.

People driving more does nothing to help the issue because the costs go up as well.

Yeah, let's all just stay home.

[Shooby]

  I am always amazed that when goods and services and anything becomes more available and cheaper to the WORKING Poor and everyone else, that liberals always have a problem with that.  

[Angel!]

Dec 16, 2014 11:26:57 GMT -5 Value Buy said:

Dec 16, 2014 11:22:17 GMT -5 Angel! said:

If they drive more, they tear up the roads faster so maintenance costs go up.  Plus congestion increases, which leads to roads needing to be widened and intersections improved for the additional traffic.

People driving more does nothing to help the issue because the costs go up as well.

Roads might or might not get torn up.

The over loaded semi trucks are the main reason for this, not the small cars.

Asphalt will be half price this next year due to lower oil costs, so road replacement costs should come down

Argh...I wrote a whole reply & it didn't post.

Basically this still doesn't get us near the funding level needed. Labor costs & equipment costs aren't going down. Plus the drop in asphalt prices, even if by 50 percent won't get us near to the levels they were in 1993 when the gas tax was set.  And the MPGs keep going up, so people keep driving farther & farther without collecting additional gas taxes.

And yes, even cars contribute to roads getting torn up.  Not as much as trucks, but they are a factor. I'm a traffic engineer, so I can tell you that with certainty.

[Shooby]

I hate when stuff gets lost in cyberspace!

[Angel!]

Dec 16, 2014 11:40:55 GMT -5 Shooby said:

Dec 16, 2014 11:03:55 GMT -5 Angel! said:

I do agree this would be the perfect time to finally adjust the gas tax. People won't blink at a $.15 increase at these prices.

I saw gas for $2.09 this morning.  I can't remember the last time I saw a price that low.

Yeah, let's confiscate more money from hard working Americans because the Govt HOG never has enough.  When is "enough" btw?  Govt is always bitching about Big Oil or Big this or big that but funny never looks in the mirror at itself which does NOTHING but take, take , take and produces nothing of value.

Who do you think builds & maintains roads & bridges?   How do you think they pay for it?  How do you suggest roads be funded?

Our infrastructure is literally crumbling & no one wants to pay to fix it.  People don't know it because it isn't really talked about, but so many bridges are structurally deficient in this country.  We have a few bridges that our bridge engineer won't even drive over because they are so bad.  General public has no idea.  People don't notice until something has to be closed or actually collapses.

[Shooby]

The more money people have to live and work and expand their lives, the more money is made all around. The more that progress happens, the more the govt will collect in taxes. Everyone sitting at home because they can barely afford to drive isn't progress. That is why it is so difficult to talk to those of the liberal persuasion. You seem to believe there is simply only one pie in life and everyone can get a tiny piece. Whereas conservatives think there are endless pies that can be made and that abundance can come through progress and innovation.

[Deleted]

I'm not sure how I feel about this. It's really nice to be paying less for gas. But from what I'm told it is because "they" are trying to put the smaller guys that can't produce/drill/whatever oil for less than $100/barrel out of business. I'm not sure less competition is good for us long term.

[Angel!]

Some data on the numbers of structurally deficient bridge:

t4america.org/maps-tools/bridges/

My state is one of the better ones & I can tell you that people here are concerned about the next 20-30 years.  There is no money being provided to do what needs to be done to maintain these bridges.  As a result they aren't going to last as long as they could.  Much like a car, maintenance allows a bridge to last longer, as long as it is done in a timely manner.  Which means, these bridges are going to need to be replaced even sooner at a much higher cost.  If we can't afford to maintain them, how the hell will we afford to replace them?

I'd hate to be in Pennsylvania where 25% of the bridges need to be replaced or very serious repair. 

[Blonde Granny]

We're having a little gas war this morning between our local Wine/liquor/beer store and the new Walmart that opened in August. Regular was @ 1.99 at McAdoodles and across the street at WMT it was still $2.05. Few cars at WMT, pumps were full at the other one.

Unfortunately both our vehicles take premium.

[Blonde Granny]

Dec 16, 2014 12:12:29 GMT -5 Angel! said:

Some data on the numbers of structurally deficient bridge:

t4america.org/maps-tools/bridges/

My state is one of the better ones & I can tell you that people here are concerned about the next 20-30 years.  There is no money being provided to do what needs to be done to maintain these bridges.  As a result they aren't going to last as long as they could.  Much like a car, maintenance allows a bridge to last longer, as long as it is done in a timely manner.  Which means, these bridges are going to need to be replaced even sooner at a much higher cost.  If we can't afford to maintain them, how the hell will we afford to replace them?

I'd hate to be in Pennsylvania where 25% of the bridges need to be replaced or very serious repair. 

Isn't infrastructure supposed to be where all the current and past money collected from state tax on gasoline goes? If not, why not, that's the bill of goods they sell us every time they want voters to pass an increase.  Why give them more money to do studies of why chickens cross the roads? Fix the darn roads and bridges, then ask us if we want to give you anymore!!

[Angel!]

Dec 16, 2014 12:16:12 GMT -5 Blonde Granny said:

Dec 16, 2014 12:12:29 GMT -5 Angel! said:

Some data on the numbers of structurally deficient bridge:

t4america.org/maps-tools/bridges/

My state is one of the better ones & I can tell you that people here are concerned about the next 20-30 years.  There is no money being provided to do what needs to be done to maintain these bridges.  As a result they aren't going to last as long as they could.  Much like a car, maintenance allows a bridge to last longer, as long as it is done in a timely manner.  Which means, these bridges are going to need to be replaced even sooner at a much higher cost.  If we can't afford to maintain them, how the hell will we afford to replace them?

I'd hate to be in Pennsylvania where 25% of the bridges need to be replaced or very serious repair. 

Isn't infrastructure supposed to be where all the current and past money collected from state tax on gasoline goes? If not, why not, that's the bill of goods they sell us every time they want voters to pass an increase.  Why give them more money to do studies of why chickens cross the roads? Fix the darn roads and bridges, then ask us if we want to give you anymore!!

Many states haven't raised the gas tax in ~20 years.  Feds haven't raised theirs in 21 years.  itep.org/itep_reports/2014/04/how-long-has-it-been-since-your-state-raised-its-gas-tax.php#.VJBq8Mt0yUk

In the mean time MPGs have gone up 30% meaning, roads are getting torn up faster & there is more congestion due to extra driving with no additional gas tax revenue.  And construction costs have skyrocketed in the last 20 years, yet again there is no extra revenue to cover the increased costs.

They can only stretch a dollar so far.  If your income hadn't increased in 20 years, wouldn't you find it very hard to keep covering living expenses due to inflation?

[Angel!]

Here is an interesting one...construction costs for the last 28 years

www.iowadot.gov/contracts/lettings/PriceTrendIndex.pdf

So compare costs in 1993 when the gas tax was set to today. 

Excavation 2.6 times higher

Asphalt 2.8 times higher

Concrete  2.3 times higher

Rebar 2.2 times higher

Steel  1.8 times higher

Prices have more than doubled on average, yet people are somehow surprised the same level of revenue set 20+ years ago isn't covering all the roadwork that is needed.

How is that surprising?

[ArchietheDragon]

Dec 16, 2014 12:42:06 GMT -5 Angel! said:

Here is an interesting one...construction costs for the last 28 years

www.iowadot.gov/contracts/lettings/PriceTrendIndex.pdf

So compare costs in 1993 when the gas tax was set to today. 

Excavation 2.6 times higher

Asphalt 2.8 times higher

Concrete  2.3 times higher

Rebar 2.2 times higher

Steel  1.8 times higher

Prices have slightly more than doubled, yet people are somehow surprised the same level of revenue set 20+ years ago isn't covering all the roadwork that is needed.

How is that surprising?

big labor, big corporate America and big government working together to screw the little guy, daily. 

[Value Buy]

Dec 16, 2014 12:04:53 GMT -5 laterbloomer said:

I'm not sure how I feel about this. It's really nice to be paying less for gas. But from what I'm told it is because "they" are trying to put the smaller guys that can't produce/drill/whatever oil for less than $100/barrel out of business. I'm not sure less competition is good for us long term.

There is also political chatter that Saudi Arabia is pushing oil prices down to hurt Russia and Iran over political issues in Syria and the Middle East.

If Iran and Russia lose the oil income, they can no longer back factions in the Middle East, that Saudi Arabia opposes.

Myself, I do not know if there is any truth in this, but the talk is out there.

[Shooby]

What? I thought Obama fixed all the infrastructure with his cash for clunkers, er...shovel ready projects? Odd.

[Deleted]

Dec 16, 2014 12:47:12 GMT -5 Value Buy said:

Dec 16, 2014 12:04:53 GMT -5 laterbloomer said:

I'm not sure how I feel about this. It's really nice to be paying less for gas. But from what I'm told it is because "they" are trying to put the smaller guys that can't produce/drill/whatever oil for less than $100/barrel out of business. I'm not sure less competition is good for us long term.

There is also political chatter that Saudi Arabia is pushing oil prices down to hurt Russia and Iran over political issues in Syria and the Middle East.

If Iran and Russia lose the oil income, they can no longer back factions in the Middle East, that Saudi Arabia opposes.

Myself, I do not know if there is any truth in this, but the talk is out there.

I think I could be happy with that.

[Deleted]

I remember when it was below a buck in 98 or 99, I felt so rich I was tossing premium in the grand am.

[busymom]

Dec 16, 2014 11:59:06 GMT -5 Angel! said:

Dec 16, 2014 11:40:55 GMT -5 Shooby said:

Yeah, let's confiscate more money from hard working Americans because the Govt HOG never has enough.  When is "enough" btw?  Govt is always bitching about Big Oil or Big this or big that but funny never looks in the mirror at itself which does NOTHING but take, take , take and produces nothing of value.

Who do you think builds & maintains roads & bridges?   How do you think they pay for it?  How do you suggest roads be funded?

Our infrastructure is literally crumbling & no one wants to pay to fix it.  People don't know it because it isn't really talked about, but so many bridges are structurally deficient in this country.  We have a few bridges that our bridge engineer won't even drive over because they are so bad.  General public has no idea.  People don't notice until something has to be closed or actually collapses.

  Some of you may remember the bridge collapse over the Mississippi River back in 2007.  One of my relatives knew one of the victims.  I agree that bridges & roads are deteriorating faster than anyone wants to pay for it.  I wonder how many more fatalities it will take until people get serious about replacing infrastructure.  I guess building new sports stadiums is more exciting than replacing bridges.