Comments on: Despite Gas Prices, Americans Hit The Road

With Prices At The Pump Topping $4 A Gallon, More Than 38 Million Americans Are Traveling This Memorial Day Weekend

[dakotaclark]

Hmmm...

I do not plan on taking ''trips'' by car, plane or ship. I plan all our car''s use to include as many errands as possible. This Memorial Day weekend I will be driving less than three miles %u2013 to the store and back home.

I wonder what the "fuel mileage" is for the average commercial jetliner or oceangoing cruise ship.

The oil company profits, and executive salaries, are obscene, but like Grandpa used to say, %u201Cyou gotta make hay while the sun is shining.%u201D

Nearly all %u201Cexecutive compensation packages%u201D have connectivity to the company%u2019s financial performance, and the oil companies are part of that. If an executive receives eleventy zillion dollars based on company performance, it is part of a performance agreement.

The disturbing thing is the example set by the executives of Washington Mutual, who still are reaping big money despite a financial downturn for the company.

Still, I imagine that it is very difficult for these high paid oil company executives to appear before Congress; to try to explain how their companies have recorded $Billions$ in profits, all at the expense of consumers getting ripped off by higher fuel costs.

Good thing these oil company folks do not live in China, where they would be executed for profiteering.

[edward1975-2009]

Prices are being driven by investors, if the government truly wished to help the American public, they would pull oil off the trading blocks, freeze the price of gas at 2.50 and take the tax breaks away from the oil companies. These folks have been reaping record profits for near a decade now and haven''t built a new refinery in 30 yrs. While others lay in mouthballs. Time for this insanity to end.

[slim1h2o]

He should just do us a favor and the whole da@mn lot resign

Posted by starleo14672 at 11:37 AM : May 24, 2008

Or just hang himself. Like he is doing to us with these gas prices.

[nothappyatall]

"every high school kid above 16 has a car to drive to school, every household has more than 2 or 3 cars. We never had that in the 60s and 70.
Posted by blackwater66 "

Dont forget the big yellow diesel limosines that transport kids to/fro school. Seen them waiting here to get on the bus to be driven FOUR BLOCKS to the school! what? they cant walk FOUR BLOCKS???

People may have 2-3 cars but an individual can only drive ONE at a time, you could have 30 cars but you can only drive ONE at any given time.
People in the 1930''s era typically had houses that were under 1,000 sq ft, not today, man you have these 10,000 sq ft McMansions, hardly any new houses are less than 3500.
They call a $375,000 house a "bargain" in California geez

It all takes ENERGY to build and heat/cool/light those.

[nothappyatall]

Stop your griping. One gallon in Denmark costs $9.42
Posted by pleiku1

You cant compare gas in one country v/s another, Denmark, Canada etc have totally different economies and societies. You have national health care in Canada- taxes pay for that, we dont have that here. Here there are subsidies and tax breaks.
If you are Canadian and pay $60 in income tax per $100 income say, v/s $20 here with there being a $40 differential, that $40 is the difference between the two- the canadian gets free health care you dont, so you get sick that $40 goes to the doctor bill, the Canadian''s $40 goes to buy GAS because its higher priced because of no federal subsidies and tax breaks.

So in the end it works out fairly even, whether you pay higher or lower cost for gas isnt the issue, its your total INCOME v/s total expenses- and both are around the same proportions whether you live in Denmark, Canada or the USA
You might make $50K here and pay $35K in living expenses, while the Danes might make $125K and pay out $90K in expenses- its all relative.

[obama8years]

How can anyone defend Bush now?

Posted by salty1954

He should just do us a favor and the whole da@mn lot resign

-----------------------------
Your a complete idiot if you think Bush has anything to do with gas prices. Why dont you ask the Democrat Controled Congress How come gas prices Doubled when they said they were going to do something about the 2.00 gas prices. IDIOT!

[starleo146]

How can anyone defend Bush now?

Posted by salty1954

He should just do us a favor and the whole da@mn lot resign

[starleo146]

TIME TO QUIT TALKING AND ACT/ ACTION SPEAK LOUDER THAN COMPLAINING!

MIDDLE CLASS GASOLINE STRIKE/BOYCOTT! PASS THIS ON TO ALL BOARDS! AND DO!

If the middle class does not get together and start showing some unity, they will keep this up. It has nothing to do with how much gas we use, but if we remove that excuse, we can expose them! At a minimum we will have our money for ourselves instead of making these greedy *** richer!

Everyone stay home on this holiday (why do you really have to travel during Memorial Day anyway?). Let all the SPORT stadiums and STANDS go empty! (NO BASEBALL, FOOTBALL, HOCKEY, NASCAR, INDY 500) The news will have to report on this and we will show we can stand together! These rich people have enough of our money to get through this and since they are in the spot light they can stand up for us, when their profits are on the line. Maybe they can give the OIL BARRONS a blanket party also!

Posted by DH09 at 10:51 AM : May 24, 2008
+ re

Boy do I hope we the middle class will do this ,just imagine how it would stir it up and make a point thank you for your post

[salty1954]

When gas is $12 a gallon as predicted, we''ll look back at our indignation at $4 a gallon and laugh.

How can anyone defend Bush now?

[ubrew12]

andylance1 said: "No place should be off limits to oil exploration and drilling."

There''s enough ocean wave power in 100 miles of California''s 1200 mile long coastline to power the entire state, ALL OF IT. The technology to do this does NOT require splitting the atom, its simple mechanical engineering.

While I agree with you on oil exploration and nuke plants, the failure-of-will demonstrated on the alternative energy front is simply staggering.

What, for example, is the CHEAPEST form of energy available? Turns out to be wind power: CHEAPER than burning MidEast oil.

Its just a massive failure-of-will and, increasingly, a crime, to see how ''shut out'' of our options alternative energy is. Its ''always on the horizon, just a few more development bucks''. Bvllsh*t. These are simple mechanical devices that we DONT want to make and deploy, cuz our leadership''s in BED with the Saudi''s to rip us off.