Fuel Prices

[henry33]

thank got you have yarises with very good consumption other wise we will use the rest of oil in few years ;)

[Altitude]

Originally Posted by why?

The fact that oil companies pay more money in taxes than they earn in profits is disgusting. It is not anybodies job to tell others what to do or drive.

Please stop putting this forth as fact. It's just someone playing fast and loose with the numbers to get the free-marketeers all lathered up.

Nevermind the most obvious fact that corporations don't pay taxes, we do, through the cost of the service or goods they provide. No company would last long if it didn't pass these types of expenses onto the consumer.

[KrazyDawg]

Originally Posted by Jitazuki

With the new Conservative Government looking to privatize the current health care, it will not be as "universal" as you think it is.

People are willing to travel from the US to Mexico for health care because it's better and cheaper. Article: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...al_tourism.DTL

[why?]

Originally Posted by Altitude

Please stop putting this forth as fact. It's just someone playing fast and loose with the numbers to get the free-marketeers all lathered up.

Nevermind the most obvious fact that corporations don't pay taxes, we do, through the cost of the service or goods they provide. No company would last long if it didn't pass these types of expenses onto the consumer.

it is the same thing, duh. In the end the product costs the consumer more. And it is a fact. Guess what? Most oil companies are publicly traded, so the real info is all out there.

While they were recording record profits last year, they were also writing checks to Uncle Sam to the tune of $100.7 billion -- two and a half times what they made in net profit. In fact, previous Tax Foundation research found that from 1977 to 2004, federal and state governments extracted $397 billion by taxing the profits of the largest oil companies and an additional $1.1 trillion in taxes at the pump. In today's dollars, that's $2.2 trillion.

So again, use whatever term you want to. Exxon pays more money in taxes than they earn in income.

Originally Posted by KrazyDawg

People are willing to travel from the US to Mexico for health care because it's better and cheaper. Article: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...al_tourism.DTL

Um, you got half of that right. They go to other countries because it is cheaper.

The rest of the planet comes to the USA because it is the best, by far. US medical tourism, from wikipedia.

So they come here for people with brains, and Americans go other places for cheap.

Also note Companies come here to sell medical necessities for profit, while selling the same products in foreign markets at a substantial discount.

We could fix a lot of the US cost problem by making it harder for idiots to sue anyone they please. Tort Reform in TX and CA.

[fmicle]

Originally Posted by why?

We are suppose to be a free country, tons of taxes was never suppose to be part of the equation.
...
Because we don't want the government to control anything, never mind everything, and we would rather be left alone to take care of ourselves.

So, who would be building the roads, the airports, the schools, the stadiums and pay for police, fire departments and the military?

A truly "free country" where everybody does what they want and "take care of themselves" is Afganistan to give you one example. The guy with the biggest gun makes the law, because there are no laws and if there are any, there is no government to enforce it. A second example that comes to mind is Somalia.

I'm surprise that many Americans don't realize that you can't have a strong country without a strong government. And the government must be financed with taxes, that's how these things work, that's how they've always worked...

The only things left for discussion in my mind are nuances...

Even conservatives know it and they'll tell you one thing (smaller government, blah blah blah) but will do exactly the opposite when in power. I mean come on, it's a no-brainer, why would I undermine my own power, once I get it?

[krolos]

make the rich pay the tax, they are suppose to pay in the first place,
in fact I think they should Pay more.

And look at european countries , higher taxes Yes,but way better health care ,education and overall
standard of living.

Free Country? maybe for the The Rich.

[henry33]

rich people can afford to pay people who can make their taxes lower then your are ! that is why rich people don't pay taxes

[krolos]

Originally Posted by henry33

rich people can afford to pay people who can make their taxes lower then your are ! that is why rich people don't pay taxes

That right, that why all the politicians/policies makers ,make em to favor
them " the rich" and not us the people.

[why?]

Originally Posted by fmicle

So, who would be building the roads, the airports, the schools, the stadiums and pay for police, fire departments and the military?

A truly "free country" where everybody does what they want and "take care of themselves" is Afganistan to give you one example. The guy with the biggest gun makes the law, because there are no laws and if there are any, there is no government to enforce it. A second example that comes to mind is Somalia.

I'm surprise that many Americans don't realize that you can't have a strong country without a strong government. And the government must be financed with taxes, that's how these things work, that's how they've always worked...

The only things left for discussion in my mind are nuances...

Even conservatives know it and they'll tell you one thing (smaller government, blah blah blah) but will do exactly the opposite when in power. I mean come on, it's a no-brainer, why would I undermine my own power, once I get it?

So the only thing with any power at all is the federal government? Everything else is inept? I don't think so.

The only thing you mentioned that should be payed for by the federal government is the military, in fact it is the main reason they exist, to protect the people.

The rest should be payed for by state and local governments, and private companies, not the federal government. Stadiums though should be payed for 100% by the owners and the teams. There should be 0 public funds to pay for stadiums, that is absurd.

The USA is unique, and it should remain so. We are the only country in the world where one state, Oregon, can have a communist health care system, and another state, Texas, can have a system that is completely free and they both work for their states.

The way we can remain the greatest country on the planet is to allow states like Oregon and Cali to be as socialist as they want, while allowing states like Texas and Florida to be as capitalist as they want.

The federal government is way too large, and is pretending we are a small european country of 50 million or so, which we are most definitely not. Our country is bankrupt because of this.

We were created as a two tier government, with the federal government only doing things the states themselves needed to cooperate on, while the states handling everything else, so they could go their own way. And it worked perfectly while it was allowed to. I mean there is a reason we are the most powerful country on the planet while only being around a few hundred years.

Anarchy is not freedom, anarchy is suicide.

Oh, and it is amazing you've met every conservative out their, I mean with the way you are talking it sounds like you have never even turned on the radio to learn from the people who know what they are talking about best.

And the last real conservative President was Ronald Reagan. Don't let anyone try and convince you either of the Bush's were conservative. They were large government progressive's who happened to also be in favor of the military.

The debate about government has been so twisted and contrived so people only see left and right, and that is not even scratching the surface. The entire premise has been redefined so much as to not allow the reality of what our government was founded on, as the founding fathers literally would not be anywhere on the left-right scale.

And a strong national government does not mean a hulking bureaucratic waste filled barge that we have now. Basically right now our government is the 800 lb guy that cannot even walk. What we want the feds to be is the CEO who only does the little cleaning up, while allowing the rest of the company, the states, to do the heavy lifting.

Originally Posted by krolos

make the rich pay the tax, they are suppose to pay in the first place,
in fact I think they should Pay more.

And look at european countries , higher taxes Yes,but way better health care ,education and overall
standard of living.

Free Country? maybe for the The Rich.

Um, worse health care, worse education, worse standard of living, and oh yeah, they are all bankrupt to boot.


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And now back to fuel prices, it really amazes me how they differ from place to place. I mean here in florida regular gas is about $2.50, while when I went back to Mass last week, they all averaged about $3 a gallon.

[fmicle]

Originally Posted by why?

And the last real conservative President was Ronald Reagan.

Didn't Reagan run huge deficits and quadrupled the US national debt? Just asking...

Originally Posted by why?

And a strong national government does not mean a hulking bureaucratic waste filled barge that we have now. Basically right now our government is the 800 lb guy that cannot even walk. What we want the feds to be is the CEO who only does the little cleaning up, while allowing the rest of the company, the states, to do the heavy lifting.

Now this is where I fully agree with you

[fmicle]

As for the rich people paying more taxes, in all fairness, they do pay more taxes. My issue is that they can actually afford to pay more taxes, because they have a lot more money (duh). A tax increase of $3k a year for me would mean that I may have to skip that planned vacation to Hawaii, a tax increase of $150k a year for Warren Buffet means what? He'll have a little less money to invest into a hedge fund? I really can't see how a tax increase for the rich would affect their lifestyle in the slightest.

But, as I said in the beginning, let's not forget that they already pay the biggest share, as it is described in this awesome article:

http://www.amazingposts.com/2008/07/...tem-works.html

[why?]

Originally Posted by fmicle

Didn't Reagan run huge deficits and quadrupled the US national debt? Just asking...



Now this is where I fully agree with you

You're funny.

Originally Posted by fmicle

As for the rich people paying more taxes, in all fairness, they do pay more taxes. My issue is that they can actually afford to pay more taxes, because they have a lot more money (duh). A tax increase of $3k a year for me would mean that I may have to skip that planned vacation to Hawaii, a tax increase of $150k a year for Warren Buffet means what? He'll have a little less money to invest into a hedge fund? I really can't see how a tax increase for the rich would affect their lifestyle in the slightest.

But, as I said in the beginning, let's not forget that they already pay the biggest share, as it is described in this awesome article:

http://www.amazingposts.com/2008/07/...tem-works.html

Um, a 150k tax increase on warren buffet would prolly means he fires a few people, of course with how cheap he is in paying his staff, he'd prolly have to fire 4 or 5 people or more to make up the difference.

But in regards to actual companies, every penny they pay in taxes is less money they can pay to employees, shareholders, and it also means their products have to be more expensive as well.

[krolos]

As far as % goes the rich pay less tax, anyone recall the 60 minutes interview
with WARREN Buffet, he said it himself, his staff pays around the the 28%
and himself only 17%, like I said earlier government by the Rich, For the Rich.

To give the rich tax breaks, republicans argue will trickle down to the people
and create more jobs better pay, yeah right? since when has that ever been the case, ship the jobs overseas and more money in their fat pockets, thanks to 8 years of The Bush/Cheney administration we are now at the brink of
the GREAT DEPRESSION # 2.

The concept of a a free Country {Live Free Or Die} has been brain washed into to The American People now for several Centuries, only the Rich has
reaped the the benifits of that concept.

[fmicle]

Originally Posted by krolos

As far as % goes the rich pay less tax, anyone recall the 60 minutes interview
with WARREN Buffet, he said it himself, his staff pays around the the 28%
and himself only 17%, like I said earlier government by the Rich, For the Rich.

To give the rich tax breaks, republicans argue will trickle down to the people
and create more jobs better pay, yeah right? since when has that ever been the case, ship the jobs overseas and more money in their fat pockets, thanks to 8 years of The Bush/Cheney administration we are now at the brink of
the GREAT DEPRESSION # 2.

The concept of a a free Country {Live Free Or Die} has been brain washed into to The American People now for several Centuries, only the Rich has
reaped the the benifits of that concept.

+ 1,000,000

[fmicle]

Originally Posted by why?

You're funny.

Hmm... let's see, under Reagan the debt raised from $997 billion to $2.85 trillion... Ooops, my bad, that's triple, not quadruple...

And I guess Reagan wasn't trying to be funny when he said that the debt was the "greatest disappointment" of his presidency.

[krolos]

The Forbes Fortune 400 wealthiest Americans now again got richer by a big
8%, thanks to the Courtesy of the Bush/Cheney Polices.
Look were the the middle class {what middle class?} working Americans are
today, well someone has to Pay right?.
when Reagan took office in 1981 the national dept was 997 billion, gave the rich big tax cuts, by the end of the Reagan/W.H.bush 12 years later it was a monstrous 4 Trillion,
Clinton took Office and reversed those policies, raised taxes on the rich and lowered them for the
middle class/ lower class, it resulted in one of the best economic times this country has ever seen,maybe the last.
When W.Bush took office Clinton had left a 236 Billion Surplus, when W. Bush left Office it was a
565 billion dept 150 billion of that got stolen out of Social Security.

[fmicle]

^ Yep, very sad. I have yet to see a true conservative leadership that will put their money where their mouth is. One can dream...

[walt101786]

man i wish its 2.50 in Los Angeles, CA....lol man right now its around 3.09-3.15 a gallon, and that's the cheapest that they have so far.....and that's only the average for well-branded gas like Shell, Cheveron, 76...but its hard to find anything that's lower than 3.09 for those branded gas...the only ones that i might know that might sell it cheaper are probably Arco or some other independent gas station....i wish that gas could go back to $2-$2.50 a gallon, which i don't think it'll happen anytime soon...and i know for a fact that some other states have gas like around $3.50 a gallon or so....