Lillen wrote: Your gas is cheap guys. Come to Sweden and pay 8,83 dollars per gallon of regular gas. A full tank of gas for my Volvo is a 175$.Most of it is tax. Darn government.Magnus
Your gas is cheap guys. Come to Sweden and pay 8,83 dollars per gallon of regular gas. A full tank of gas for my Volvo is a 175$.
Most of it is tax. Darn government.
Magnus
Where the demand for gasoline is rising the fastest are countries like China, India, and Indonesia where the governments subsidize the cost to make gasoline more affordable to the consumer. This increases demand and increases the price of gas for consumers who aren't subsidized.
I thought the purpose of Europe's high taxes was in effect to inflict a very high import tax (paid directly by the consumer) to fund government programs and to reduce imports, and a general attitude disparaging the use of private vehicles. What is the Europeans' point of view on this?
Mark
It's funny how people always like to compare finances to a time that makes it look like these are the good times.
20 years ago includes Bush 41 and Clinton administrations. How does your financial picture look when you compare it to March 19th, 2003?
That's the day before somebody, I won't mention any names, decided he had the moral and legal authority to invade and occupy a foreign country and replace it's government with one he liked better.
I don't know about you, but my lot in life hasn't improved since then.
My wife and I have cell phones, but we do not have a hard wired phone. We use the cell phones primarily to stay in contact with each other. We do not own an SUV and never have. Bottled water is just tap water that tastes like plastic. I have no idea why anybody buys it. I tried Starbucks coffee once. I wouldn't drink that stuff if it was free.
I guess all that extra disposable income everyone has explains the thousands of airline employees who have recently lost their jobs, the housing industry in freefall, the 6 automobile factories that have just announced closings, etc.
Yes, I guess it's just time for the oil companies to make a little money.
Dave
Lackawanna Route of the Phoebe Snow
I feel that gas prices are indirectly controlled by the government. I think of it as a way of manipulating the economy while keeping our foreign oil parties profitable.
With that said, note how the average American's disposable income has increased over the last 20 years. I can say that overall my income has increased, yet the amount of money I save has not increased much either over this period. Why? Lots of things, like a house, car, a child, are the main factors, but at the same time, I'm spending my money on quite a few luxuries that I don't really need. Here are a few:
Cell phone? What's wrong with my regular land based phone? Seems that people have decided somewhere that it was *required* to own one of these things. All I can say is, I don't necessarily want to be bothered anywhere at any time, plus the reception sucks. Yeah, it has some positive qualities, like if I get stranded or I need to meet someone at a bar, but how did we manage before? We did. Get rid of it.
Satellite/Cable TV. Incredible waste of money. I can barely find anything on, and if I do, I have to sit through an inordinate amount of commercialism. It never seemed this bad when I just had my local channels. It's gone when my contract expires.
Large gas wasting vehicles. A couple posts mentioned they hate small vechicles. Well, I hate large ones. They are difficult to see around, no matter whether your driving, biking, running or walking. I understand if you need your truck for your business or you're hauling something around regularly, but who on earth needs an F-150 or an Avalanche to commute to work by themselves? It's excessive and a waste. Downsize.
Bottled water: I don't buy any, but if you do, consider this: It's more expensive by the gallon than gasoline. Think about that the next time you're at your local convenience store.
Personal internet access: Agreed, I would miss this if I were to cancel it, but once again, most of us didn't have this 10 years ago, so how on earth did we survive? Yeah, things took a while to get, but it's another expenditure we didn't have just a short while ago.
Fancy coffee houses: Don't get me started.
What I'm trying to say is, the majority of us average folk are better off than we were 15 years ago EVEN with the rising gas prices in my opinion. We spend our money on a lot of things we didn't just a short time ago. All the while, gas prices stayed pretty constant and CHEAP. With that in mind, perhaps it's the oil companies turn to make a buck. All this time we've been spending our cash on other things making other people rich, they (the oil companies) have been stuck making their same profits. Like I mentioned before, the price we see at the pump is indirectly controlled by the government. I think of it as a way of determining the strength of the economy. For instance, we've heard about $4 gas by Memorial day for a year now. Well, what happened? Exactly that. Meanwhile, the government collects data and watches the economy. If the economy slips too far due to lack of consumer spending, they will back off on the price. If they think people will still spend their money even if they push the price of gas to $5, they'll do just that; raise the price to $5. It all depends on that "disposable income" we talk about.
OK, whew, that was a lot.
As far as model railroading an higher prices...
The higher prices have made me want to get back into the hobby. Since I usually go between railfan photography and modeling, the high prices are driving me back into the basement. I can't justify driving all over the state as much (or at all) chasing trains, so it's made me want to get my layout up and running again. So I could say that high prices have actually helped my modeling, just as long as the prices of model trains don't skyrocket, but I'm not holding my breath.
I always have to watch my expenditures, and now with the rising cost of fuel and food things are even tighter. The Greenberg show is tomorrow, but I'll probably just be window shopping, unless I can find some inexpensive parts.
About the only silver lining on the skyrocketing price of oil is that they might have to replace all of those dismals with coal burners.
Nelson
Ex-Southern 385 Being Hoisted
Now dont be down in the dumps. Just start taking orders at that hobby shop that is hurting and have the customers come down once a month to pay it all for that month's orders. Half the stuff takes a few weeks to arrive anyhow.
I still go to my store because I LIKE to go. Yes that gas bites. But a durn sight better than feeding a Kittycat with 300 gallons of 5 dollar go go juice. Ugh.
Every week it seems to go up. I went to the local hobby store today, and he was saying how it has hurt his business. Its sad when it happens. Not much we can do abou it.
"Rust, whats not to love?"
all of this diesel fuel, in one little locomotive, gosh. sure adds up.
I had a early 90's Colt one of those 4 cylinder commuter bombs, it turned in 42 mpg no matter what situation I threw at it. Fighting BMW's on the Wash DC area roads knocked it down to about 38 or so. Not bad. But Brake replacements and tires ate into the savings and there was the difference between a little car that tries versus those UK Big cars that can.
It hasn't affected by purchases. I budget about 500.00-1000.00 for this year for models and supplies. I spend most of my time driving my F150 to Little Russia and the BNSF Topeka yards and sit and watch the trains. The better of the two LHS's is in KC and I get there about once a month. It costs 80.00 to fill up my F150 but, I prefer versatility over gas milage.
Charlie
MP 53 on the BNSF Topeka Sub
Phoebe Vet wrote: Don't they make baskets for bicycles anymore?That was what I used when I delivered newspapers on mine.
Don't they make baskets for bicycles anymore?
That was what I used when I delivered newspapers on mine.
I took saddle bags, cut a hole in the middle for my head to go through and then rode my bike rolling, rubber banding and tossing newspapers out of the bags. If I tried that now I'd be in the hosiptal.
Engineer Jeff NS Nut Visit my layout at: http://www.thebinks.com/trains/
Texas Zepher wrote: Midnight Railroader wrote: jeffrey-wimberly wrote: kenkal wrote:Uh, Jeffrey, maybe you want to check he calculations again? The difference is a lot less than calculated. Was gas really around 95 cents a gallon in 2005? ;o) KenIt was here.Maybe in 1995, but not 2005. Not even close.I believe it was 2002 or 2003 when, here in Denver, fuel jumped from a decade low of $0.85 to $1.48 almost over night. It was right at Memorial Day.I really liked my 1993 GEO Metro Convertible. I could get close to 50 mpg with it. I only had it for about 6 months before my daughter totalled it.
Midnight Railroader wrote: jeffrey-wimberly wrote: kenkal wrote:Uh, Jeffrey, maybe you want to check he calculations again? The difference is a lot less than calculated. Was gas really around 95 cents a gallon in 2005? ;o) KenIt was here.Maybe in 1995, but not 2005. Not even close.
jeffrey-wimberly wrote: kenkal wrote:Uh, Jeffrey, maybe you want to check he calculations again? The difference is a lot less than calculated. Was gas really around 95 cents a gallon in 2005? ;o) KenIt was here.
kenkal wrote:Uh, Jeffrey, maybe you want to check he calculations again? The difference is a lot less than calculated. Was gas really around 95 cents a gallon in 2005? ;o) Ken
I really liked my 1993 GEO Metro Convertible. I could get close to 50 mpg with it. I only had it for about 6 months before my daughter totalled it.
DavidH wrote: loathar wrote:It's making high shipping charges seem more reasonable. I wish I had my brothers old 1983 Honda Civic that got 35 mpg.25 YEARS AGO!!! It's costing me $20/week just to mow my grass. (anybody got a herd of goats they want to sell??)These things also had a 0 - 60 time that you needed a calendar to measure! An astounding 68 horsepower! David
loathar wrote:It's making high shipping charges seem more reasonable. I wish I had my brothers old 1983 Honda Civic that got 35 mpg.25 YEARS AGO!!! It's costing me $20/week just to mow my grass. (anybody got a herd of goats they want to sell??)
These things also had a 0 - 60 time that you needed a calendar to measure! An astounding 68 horsepower!
David
Not at all. It sure cut my cell phone use though. I order via the 'Net. I save a lot by not using my cell phone.
Ford F150 4 X 4 gets 13mpg with twin tanks, I am retired, single and living on S.S. income. Just ordered a Spectrum 4-6-0, decoder and speakers. It is all based on establishing priorities.
Rich
If you ever fall over in public, pick yourself up and say “sorry it’s been a while since I inhabited a body.” And just walk away.
jktrains wrote: PFS is quite correct. The weakened dollar has been a major factor in the increase in the price of oil. The Federal Reserve's lowered of interest rates, especially in quick succession, in an attempt to stop inflation and in response to the credit crunch caused by the collapse of the mortgage markets. The idea was that it would make borrowers more likely to lend and consumers more likely borrow and spend which would in turn get (or keep) the economy moving again. What it has ended up doing is created instability in the credit markets and has caused a weakening of the dollar. Which has lead to record prices for oil.
PFS is quite correct. The weakened dollar has been a major factor in the increase in the price of oil. The Federal Reserve's lowered of interest rates, especially in quick succession, in an attempt to stop inflation and in response to the credit crunch caused by the collapse of the mortgage markets. The idea was that it would make borrowers more likely to lend and consumers more likely borrow and spend which would in turn get (or keep) the economy moving again. What it has ended up doing is created instability in the credit markets and has caused a weakening of the dollar. Which has lead to record prices for oil.
And the weakened dollar is a side effect of excessive government spending. For years, the Republicans told us they were the party of limited government. When they finally got control of Congress we found out what they were against was big Democrat government. Apparently, they have no problem with big Republican government. This is the reason I have become disillusioned with both major parties. The Democrats like to tax and spend. The Republicans like to borrow and spend. Both approaches have a negative effect on the economy. I used to think both parties stood for different things. I have come to realize they both stand for the same thing. RE-ELECTION!!! The only difference between the two parties is which group of voters they lie to in order to get re-elected.
Allow me now to step down from my soap box and go run my trains.
Well, I dont take the drive with my dad to the hobby shop as much anymore, but I have been using up my materials and when i go to the store i buy in bulk not just what i need. We are heading to the beach which is 3 hours away, my parents aren't happy with the prices but it wont stop my family from getting away from home for a week. I dont plan on buying anything i dont need, and planning helps alot.
Tjsingle
It's hard to say. Naturally, the money needed to spend for gas means less money for discretionary spending but that is spread over many categories, not just model railroading. The ripple effect of higher fuel costs is probably at least as big a factor. Costs of everything that requires transportation gets passed on the consumer. I live in a rural area and even the company that picks up my trash passes on a fuel surcharge to their customers.
Another side effect is the push for ethanol. More corn being used for fuel means less is available for food, livestock feed, and other corn byproducts. Less supply means higher prices so again, the ripple effect is present but difficult to judge.
Fortunately, in my case, I have done most of the big ticket spending for my layout. My locomotive fleet is just about complete. I have already acquired most of the structure kits I will need to complete my layout. There is still more lumber, track, and scenic materials that will need to be purchased, but I believe I have already done most of the big spending for my layout.
galaxy wrote: SO, how has/will the price of gas affected your hobby??
loathar wrote: DavidH wrote: loathar wrote:It's making high shipping charges seem more reasonable. I wish I had my brothers old 1983 Honda Civic that got 35 mpg.25 YEARS AGO!!! It's costing me $20/week just to mow my grass. (anybody got a herd of goats they want to sell??)These things also had a 0 - 60 time that you needed a calendar to measure! An astounding 68 horsepower! DavidThis wasn't one of the 2 cylinder beer cans from the 70's. The 83/84 model Civics were actually pretty nice cars. 4 cylinder/5 speed. Had twice the pick up of my 82 Chevette. Thing had 200,000 miles on it and still ran great when he sold it.
This wasn't one of the 2 cylinder beer cans from the 70's. The 83/84 model Civics were actually pretty nice cars. 4 cylinder/5 speed. Had twice the pick up of my 82 Chevette. Thing had 200,000 miles on it and still ran great when he sold it.
Dr. Frankendiesel aka Scott Running BearSpace Mouse for president!15 year veteran fire fighterCollector of Apple //e'sRunning Bear EnterprisesHistory Channel Club life member.beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam
Acutally gas has not gone up as much as 'our' currency has degraded. The dollar has been the "oil trading standard" for some time, as the dollar weakens everything, especially oil rises in cost (dollars). Volitality due to current conflict(s) was factored into the price of crude long ago. The lastest price gains have much more to do with failing currency than crude cost.
With that said, it has effected railfan activities and overall I drive less. I wish I could say I had more time to model but I am lucky as work keeps me very busy of late.
Gasoline prices hasn't effected my modeling to much as I do most of my shopping online. My nearest Hobby Shop is in Okla. City, around 150 miles one way and have been there only once. There is a hobby Lobby in Lawton and is about 45 miles one way and they have a very limited assortment of train items.
What is stopping me now is the heat. My trainroom is in the upstairs part of my house and although it is completly finished, and has an AC mounted in the wall, It cost so much in electricity to keep it cool enough to do anything. I do have a bad back and am on limited income and cannot do much bending over the layout for very long at a time.
I do crank up the AC now and then in the evenings and manage to do some work on the layout and run some trains. This may have to stop next month when I get the elect. bill. I can do some kits and such in the basement, as it it somewhat cooler, when my back will let me. So far this week all I have done is lay around and hurt all day and take Lorta. Mike
MisterBeasley wrote: My layout is approaching "completion," which, as we all know, is something that never really happens. However, for the sake of argument, let's define "completion" as "covering over the last visible pink foam."I've been thinking of joining a club once I don't have as much to do on my own layout, but now, besides travel time, I've got to factor in travel cost as well.I've always tried to combine trips, so going to the LHS is still something I do on the way home from work (saves a few miles) or in combination with other shopping at the beer/wine store and the Oriental grocery. This summer, though, I may ride my bicycle to the LHS when the purchases are small enough to fit in a pocket.
My layout is approaching "completion," which, as we all know, is something that never really happens. However, for the sake of argument, let's define "completion" as "covering over the last visible pink foam."
I've been thinking of joining a club once I don't have as much to do on my own layout, but now, besides travel time, I've got to factor in travel cost as well.
I've always tried to combine trips, so going to the LHS is still something I do on the way home from work (saves a few miles) or in combination with other shopping at the beer/wine store and the Oriental grocery. This summer, though, I may ride my bicycle to the LHS when the purchases are small enough to fit in a pocket.
A sinch bag or a small backpack might prove light enough on you as you ride and can hold 5 or so small cars in boxes.
-Morgan