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When did the election become about gas prices?
Maybe I am out of touch because I have a two-mile commute and make enough money that $4/gallon gasoline isn't a strain on my budget. But I am really sick of hearing about gas prices. I remember Newt campaigning in Georgia saying some insulting drivel like "I think that $2.50 gas would be good so you can fill up your pick-up trucks with a gun rack on top."
Now I'm watching Meet the Press and Michele Bachmann is harping on gas prices, saying Mitt Romney would get them lower, but they will continue to rise under Obama. I get that gas prices disproportionately affect the middle class and lower, but in what way has Romney indicated that he cares about the economic strife of these people?
I am typically a Republican voter but am getting really fed up with this election.
Re: When did the election become about gas prices?
Exactly. Also, it's a major expense for most Americans and probably one of the largest household expenses that fluctuates all the time so you constantly have to adjust your budget to factor in the increases. Sure, we can afford the increases but 1) we have just 1 car and only H drives, and 2) it's still annoying to see the costs creeping up all the damn time.
And the fact of the matter is, we are nowhere near any kind of long-term solution for these rising gas prices. That's the worst part of all. We will be dealing with this shiit forever.
<a href="http://www.thenest.com/?utm_source=ticker&utm_medium=HTML&utm_campaign=tickers" title="Home DIt's a simple issue that has personal relevance to almost everyone. Anything more complex about money/taxes is really more than the average voter is capable of understanding. But a lot of people remember filling a tank with $20 and now know it can be up near $100. That feels real.
Personally, promises of lowering gas prices now doesn't mean much to me. I take candidate's with long term ideas about oil/gas dependance much more seriously. I understand that no matter who is elected, gas will be more expensive five years from now, and even more expensive ten years from now, and possibly not available at all twenty years from now. That is the real problem. Little fluctuations here and there, especially around election season mean squat. And if having prices high mean people who think more seriously about mass transit, carpooling, better designed communities, alternative sources of energy, then I say keep prices high. $2.50 gas would mean people would just stick their heads back in the sand where they can pretend the consequences of limited resources aren't important anytime soon a little longer. Politicians who promise such things aren't doing people any favors, and in the long run may make our future worse.
Because it is simple and people don't like paying more for gas.
Real issues are complex and hard to explain and bore a lot of voters, so they pretend that their differences on oils drilling policy will make a big difference on gas priceswhen it won't.
Ditto all of this, and 2V. It's laughable to think that gas prices don't affect you if you're not driving an SUV or other gas guzzler. Consistently higher gas prices will hit you at the grocery store, shopping mall, even your favorite online retailer. So middle class workers that are already feeling the pinch from the pump will then have to figure out how to change their budgets for just about everything else. So yeah, it's simple. Gas prices affect everyone.
<a href="http://www.thenest.com/?utm_source=ticker&utm_medium=HTML&utm_campaign=tickers" title="Home D
rising gas prices doesn't just hurt our wallets for our gas/commutes- it will increase the price for everything.
it was a huge issue when Bush was pres - so it's gonna be one now... that's just how it goes. It's not a dem/gop issue to complain about- they both complain about it when the other party is in office.
i'm about done with the election all around - I just want it over.
I'm a wanderer, and ditto what everyone else said. Gas prices influence everything.
It's why air lines charge you for every suitcase, to choose a seat, to scratch your ass in flight, its why food prices rise because the gas that fuels the delivery trucks is well over $4 (for diesel), people wno are closely affected by gassing up their cars have to cut money somewhere which is usually discretionary spending which is what helps fuel the economy.
It is naive to think that gas prices are only about what you put in your car.
Also, our gas bill is greater than our mortgage bc DH drices for a living, so it definitely hurts us.
http://blog.equifax.com/retirement/how-rising-oil-and-gas-prices-might-affect-your-portfolio/
http://moneyland.time.com/2012/04/06/airlines-same-old-story-more-fees-higher-fares-fewer-perks-tougher-restrictions/
Manufacturing and everything produced needs to be transported, thus increasing the cost of all items you may purchase = inflation.
Obama wants to limit the production of oil and natural gas. The Republicans want to increase drilling as we are rich in supply of both. Although the actual increase in production is not immediate, the speculation will happen immediately and will influence the price in a downward direction.
Being energy independant is also a national security issue, limits our interest in going to war over oil/gas as well.
Anything you can achieve through hard work, you could also just buy.
Anything you can achieve through hard work, you could also just buy.
Zeus and Bubba
yeah- it's been rough - i was talking about this with our landscaper a few weeks ago. he said he's tried to raise prices on some of his customers- to cover his higher gas bill- but they all say they will stop using him if he does.
he says cutting lawns doesn't make them any money now... he needs bigger jobs (like we gave him clearning a bunch of our land of bushes, etc)... but they are not as easy to come by.
I'm totally fine with that, but I seem to recall Bush getting blamed for high gas prices.
Anything you can achieve through hard work, you could also just buy.
Isn't the fact that the US is now a major oil exporter a big part of the problem as well? I am a bit fuzzy on how this works, but don't we export domestic oil to the world market rather than keeping it in the US market and import more oil as a result? Which helps keep cost up on all sides?
Anything you can achieve through hard work, you could also just buy.
So, in other words, Bush was rightly blamed. Got it.
I think this is a big problem in the US. Many in the US think they pay too much for food, gas, and services in general. But we are paying much less than the rest of the world. If we were paying prices on par with other countries, maybe we would have those better planned communities, increased public transit, carpools, etc.
Sorry for the post-and-run yesterday. I didn't have a chance to get back online. But I should have clarified above--I am aware that increasing gas prices affect the prices of goods and services. I just don't see how $4 gas is Obama's fault, or was Bush's fault in 2006 for that matter. And I don't see how President Romney would fix the situation. I agree with MrsAxilla's articulately expressed point above.
*nods* I'm a card carrying Dem, but I sure as hell remember the grief Bush got over gas prices. This is why we are now a 2 hybrid vehicle household now. I bought my Insight in 2010 when gas prices stabilized. During that time, I had my pick of Prius(es?) and Insights. I chose the Insight because it was cheaper.
But what did I hear on the news earlier this week? Hybrid sales are up. http://www.manufacturing.net/news/2012/04/hybrids-electric-cars-see-record-sales-in-march
A la Hugo Chavez. Gas is subsidized in Venezuela (obviously, also an exporter), so it's like $.25/gallon.
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