Are you grateful that a gallon of gas only costs about twice what it cost two years ago (when it actually cost less, in terms of what it cost to buy, when adjusted for 9.5 percent inflation) rather than nearly three times as much? The Biden Thing hopes you will be – in the manner of being grateful to the mobster who only breaks one leg rather than both.
For the time being.
That latter being important to bear in mind as we bear down on the midterms.
There are two reasons why the price of gas (and diesel) have temporarily stabilized at roughly twice what they cost two years ago, prior to the Biden Thing Tele-Prompter’ing itself into the White House.
The first is obviously – and superficially – short-term political necessity. Americans are disunited as never before but almost all of them agree that the recent near-tripling of the cost of fuel has not been good, for it affects them directly and obviously. Unlike, say, feigning worry about the “climate crisis.” Indulging in virtue signaling to indicate “concern” about the latter doesn’t cost anything – at least, not directly and obviously. One can smugly favor the Green New Deal as an abstract political position but when it costs $80 to fill up your vehicle that used to cost $40 it concentrates the mind wonderfully. 
Few things incite political – electoral – blowback more than rising gas prices and the price of gas has risen faster and higher than at any prior time in American history. This – far more so than probably any other issue is apt to be determinative in the upcoming mid-term elections and those changing the Biden Thing’s diaper know it.
Are worried about it.
Assuming there are midterm elections – and assuming they are not entirely banana-republic’d, it is – at this moment – a very safe bet that the Biden Thing’s diaper-changers will be voted out in the manner of a Japanese tsunami douching the coastline. If the elections were held right now – the probable margin of victory for anyone who hasn’t got a D beside his name is slimmer than the chances that taking one of Dr. Fauci’s “vaccines” will prevent you from getting or spreading the ‘Rona.
Thus, all the stops have been pulled – literally.
As in going as far as draining the strategic reserve to temporarily increase supply. In italics for a reason. That being nothing else has been done to maintain the increased supply, as for example re-opening closed by-the-Thing pipelines or allowing for increased drilling. Once the proverbial bathtub empties out, it’ll be back to where we were.
How could it possibly be otherwise? The Biden Thing is using “seed corn” to create a short-term bounty that will be consumed – and not replaced.
Just so long as it doesn’t happen until after the midterms.
It is just possible that there are enough people dumb enough to fall for this. You can tell who they are. They are the ones you see still wearing “masks.” But everyone else ought to keep in mind the open glee of the Biden Thing about the near-tripling of gas prices before it became a short-term political liability. How he Tele-Prompter’d openly about the “incredible transition,” as he styles it.
Which brings up the second reason why gas prices are temporarily leveling out at only twice what they were just two years ago:
This “electrification” business.
The things behind the Biden Thing know that electric cars aren’t going anywhere – until it costs so much to operate a gas-powered car that an electric car starts to look good . . . in the manner of being grateful that you’ve got one unbroken leg rather than two.
The Buttigieg Thing has openly said as much, as when he said that people struggling to pay $4 for a gallon of gas ought to consider buying a $40,000 electric car – or a now-almost-$50k electric truck. Never mind how they’ll be able to afford the car rather than the gas. 
He and the rest of these things know that if gas costs even $3 most people will continue to be able to afford to not buy an electric car – even when offered a $7,500 kickback to “buy” it. Because it’s a lot more affordable to drive a paid-for gas-powered car that only costs $40 to fill up than it is to – somehow – find the money to pay for a $40,000 electric car, even when the government kicks back $7,500 to “help” the “purchase.”
The difference is still $32,500 – not counting taxes and insurance. Not counting the wiring upgrades to one’s home. Not counting the cost of the time it takes to recharge and plan one’s life around recharging.
$32,500 not spent on an electric car buys a lot of gas.
Therefore, the cost of gas cannot be permitted more than an electorally necessary, temporary abatement.
It will last until November. Just long enough, these Things hope, to quiet a sufficiency of the people they intend to energy enserf, once their hold on power is secure. If they do hold onto power, the “incredible transition” will resume. People will soon forget that gas was ever about $2 a gallon.
And what it was like to own their own car and be able to afford to drive it anywhere they liked, anytime they liked.
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“Biden” will sign the Inflation Reduction [sic] Act tomorrow.
Thanks to its $80 billion windfall, the IRS will launch a new recruiting campaign.
Share this hard-hitting poster with friends and relatives who seek a prestigious, emotionally-rewarding position as an AGW.
https://ibb.co/FWYtwLs
Hi Jim,
The one bit of good news is that I expect the game will have played out before the EyeAreEss goons are sicced on us. Time is short – and der tag kommt…
‘der tag kommt …’ — eric
Yes. One need only review the shambolic history of the 2005 Real ID Act (thanks, GWB!), originally scheduled to take effect in 2008, but now extended (provisionally) to May 3, 2023 — fifteen years later.
Bureaucrats aren’t even capable of shuffling their own mandated Papiere.
Gross incompetence, and campaign-style enforcement of ‘laws’ which quickly fades, means the IRS never will achieve its delusional dreams of abject compliance at gunpoint.
But the mens rea (culpable intention of wrongdoing) of the dirty Manchin-Schumer deal means that we dwell under a government dedicated to our destruction.
We’re all kulaks now, with only a tenuous, provisional entitlement to exist at their sufferance.
Former IRS Whistleblower Henck Says Middle Class Americans and small businesses will be Targeted Under Inflation Reduction Act
Henck disputed claims by the IRS and other officials who have said that increased funding for the agency under the IRA, would only lead to more audits for wealthy millionaires and billionaires and large corporations.
“The idea that they’re going to open things up and go after these big billionaires and large corporations is quite frankly bs,” Henck said in the interview on Aug. 15. “It’s not going to happen. They’re going to give themselves bonuses and promotions and really nice conferences.”
“Henck also said he believes that the agency will go after small businesses that don’t have enough money to hire Washington lobbyists.
Unlimited Resources And No Accountability’
“There will be considerable incentive to basically to shake down taxpayers, and the advantage the IRS has is they have basically unlimited resources and no accountability, whereas a taxpayer has to weigh the cost of accountants, tax lawyers—fighting something in tax court,” he told Fox Business.
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/former-irs-whistleblower-says-middle-class-americans-will-be-targeted-under-inflation
The USA has operated largely under progressive economics since the 1930s. There’s little difference between progressive economics and fascist economics. Both aim for a few large corporations in every business sector regulated and partnered to government. So crushing small business is key and explains the form of covidian law where giant retail chains were left alone but small business forced to close. If this is indeed what the IRS is aiming for, the crushing of the small businesses that survived the covidian nightmare then “Demolition Man” will again be prophetic and all restaurants will be Taco Bell or something to that effect.
Butt Gig announces more pork to build bike lanes and pedestrian bridges, and to make existing highways narrower:
https://apnews.com/article/biden-arizona-tucson-transportation-pete-buttigieg-ac1035e3aab1d4c55d6ff0f8c7cd7d00
bike lanes….lol
NOTE: Re: speeding and safety
Speeding has nothing to do with safety, the problem is the unsafe road designs built by the government, they blame accidents on speeding, so nobody will figure out it is the government’s crappy road designs that causes accidents, that they should be sued over.
Adding bike lanes, with narrower roads and more concrete curbs and medians have made the roads more dangerous, have made them almost undriveable.
The other problem is the horrible drivers on the road, they make it very very unsafe, they should be banned from driving, they should be removed to improve safety.
F1 race cars have higher average speeds then any other cars, they are the quickest cars in the world on a race track. Driving on an F1 track is the safest place to drive but has the highest speeds.
The reason high speed F1 tracks are so safe is because they are designed for safety, public roads are the opposite, very dangerously designed, with added bike lanes they have become worse now.
The other reason F1 race tracks are so safe is because of the very very highly skilled drivers, this makes them very safe compared to driving down the street filled with morons texting….lol.
Fangio the greatest, best F1 race car driver in history, would not drive on public roads because they are very dangerous, he didn’t want to die, the horrible drivers on the road were the main reason. Fangio lived a long time, it worked.
Lewis Hamilton one of today’s best F1 drivers does not like to drive on the street.
The safest place to drive is a race track at very high speed, speed = dangerous is bs.
Re: safety
All they do is give expensive tickets to people going 10 mph over their stupid no science speed limit, to make it look like they are doing something…..lol…when the real problem is road design and bad drivers.
Anon, I’d say the main reason F1 is so safe in spite of the high speeds is that the drivers pay attention to what’s important: the track, their vehicles’ limitations, and what’s going on around them.
By contrast, highway drivers have been trained to constantly look for a sign to tell them what to do.
Hi Roland
The roads are poorly designed and the morons driving are all texting or constantly distracted watching their speedometer so they don’t get an expensive ticket, just another safety issue with speed limits people constantly distracted, checking the speedometer….. F1 cars have no speedometer.
The low skilled, bad drivers should be banned, Fangio wouldn’t drive on public roads……
The other problem is the horrible drivers on the road, they make it very very unsafe, they should be banned from driving, they should be removed to improve safety.
They just injected all of them with poisonous injections so they can have health emergencies (croak) at 70 mph….lol…made them even worse…..
They don’t care about safety really it is all about robbery, revenue, like traffic lights at intersections. Roundabouts flow 50% more traffic and are far safer. Traffic lights are for revenue generation, handing out tickets. Traffic lights are very dangerous, you can’t get T-boned in a traffic circle/roundabout. Traffic signals are very expensive to install and maintain, more wasted money….
Robbery, revenue, everything is set up as trap to rob you, traffic tickets, parking tickets, tax when you buy something, income tax when you work, plus 100’s of taxes, fees and surcharges on everything you do, !9% interest on credit cards, interest payments on everything.
To be fair Fangio was Argentine, have you been on the roads there? Lane markers are not even treated as suggestions.
Fangio raced a lot in Europe. wouldn’t drive on public roads…….
I have driven in Mexico city, it can’t be much better then Argentina.
Sounds like they are intending to narrow Calumet Ave.
This is one of the ways to avoid the horrors of 80-94 and either go pay the tolls on 90 or use US 30.
So instead of fixing the real problem they cut off the escape route. Typical government. What will happen is that traffic will find an escape route for the escape route. In this case probably different arterial roads for people who plan ahead. For those who still exit to Calumet they may end up filtering through neighborhoods.
New urbanist ‘design’ at its finest.
Hi BP
Speeding has nothing to do with safety, the problem is the unsafe road designs built by the government, they blame accidents on speeding, so nobody will figure out it is the government’s crappy road designs that causes accidents, that they should be sued over.
I’ve known speed doesn’t kill for 30 years now. But what I assume is the road narrowing plan isn’t about speeding. 80-94 is a nightmare. The backup starts in Homewood Illinois on 294 much of the time going east. It sounds like the real problem that is in play in Munster is people ditching the interstate to work their way around this backup that is practically always. It’s been like this for decades.
Hi Brent,
There is – well, there was – a two-lane (each way) secondary road in my area that has been reduced to one lane (southbound) to make room for a bike lane – painted green, of course. I have yet to see any bikes using it, but the traffic there is now terrible, which isn’t surprising given that all the traffic that used to have two lanes now has just the one.
And they ask me why I drink . . .
Hi Eric
the government keeps making roads more and more unsafe then they pretend they are concerned about safety by enforcing no science speed limits which have no connection to anything…..lol….they do though = more revenue, their only real interest…..robbery….
They painted the pavement for the bike lane?
Well that will keep all experienced bicyclists off it. That paint is hazard especially if it rains. I am sure motorcyclists loathe painted pavement for the same reason.
It’s repeated idiocy in these ‘bicycle infrastructure’ projects that make it clear it is simply an anti-motoring agenda. Everyone of their ideas is how can they best hurt motorists while making something that is garbage for bicyclists.
If anything both Ridge Rd and Calumet should be widened, not narrowed. Munster is getting stupider and stupider. Of course the South Shore RR expansion should be roads instead of a railroad few will use.
Look at the picture with this story. Who is stupid enough to build that close to the water?
The answer: people who are emboldened to do so via the idiotic National Flood Insurance Program, which loses money every year because in its “compassion” it charges rates that are too low to cover losses.
Now, because climate change, taxpayers have to bail them out again with “climate resilience funding.” In other words, pay them to reinforce the houses they shouldn’t have built in the first place, or relocate them.
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/biden-admin-announces-3-bln-fema-climate-resilience-funding-2022-08-12/
EV’s already cost a lot more to own and drive, it will get a lot worse as electricity prices go up….
Comparing fuel costs for 12,000 miles in an EV compared to an ice diesel
I saw rates somewhere at $0.14 per kwh at home, that is due to probably triple very soon.
I saw rates nation wide at chargers outside home at $0.40 per kwh
What test drivers are actually getting driving in the real world driving EV’s is they are getting 2.4 miles of range for every kwh
At 12,000 miles per year = 5000 kwh x $0.14 = $700.00 at home
At 12,000 miles per year = 5000 kwh x $0.40 = $2000.00 at chargers
An EV just sitting loses:
tesla says a daily 3%-5% stationary range consumption.” (just parked)
90 kwh x .05 = 4.5 kwh lost per day x 365 days = 1642.5 kwh x $0.14 = $229.95 per year just parked
So Tesla says it’s normal to fully discharge itself in under 3 weeks. Keep this in mind when parking it somewhere 90kwh @ $0.40 per kwh = another $36.00 per 3 weeks lost just parked…lol
Plus the cost of the battery, which is huge, you have to store the electricity in the very, very expensive battery, that is the killer for EV’s right there, the expensive, rapidly wearing out battery.
the tesla $22,000 battery is used up, worn out in 100,000 miles. In a very hot or cold climates the life is shorter.
ATTENTION: this works out to $22.00 per 100 miles it is costing you for the battery.
12,000 miles x $0.22 per mile = $2640.00 per year for the battery use
NOTE: If you use fast chargers a lot it will ruin the battery in your EV, it will lose 50% of it’s range, if you don’t use fast chargers it takes forever to recharge
NOTE: you can only use 60% of the battery capacity…… between 30% and 90%. using the battery below 30% you can damage the battery, charging above 90% can damage the battery and cause a fire. So you can only use 60% of the range advertised…..
Fast charging?…start a fire….lol
Extreme fast chargers, for example,can push battery pack temperatures to 270ºC/514ºF after just a few minutes of charging.
$2640.00 for the battery use plus $700.00 for the electricity = $3340.00 for 12,000 miles…….not including the electricity lost while sitting.
Ice diesel:
The 2014 Volkswagen Golf BlueMotion diesel, capable of a claimed 88.3 mpg imperial, or 73.5 mpg U.S. it has a 971 mile range, the perfect car.
Driving 12,000 miles in a 73.5 mpg diesel at $4.00 per gallon = $653.00
Driving 12,000 miles in an EV = 5000 kwh x $0.14 = $700.00 at home charger
Just in fuel costs alone the VW diesel is cheaper.
The total cost of driving the EV for 12,000 miles costs far more though
……$2640.00 for the battery use plus $700.00 for the electricity = $3340.00 for 12,000 miles…….not including the electricity lost while sitting. Plus In 12,000 miles the EV had an extra $636.00 in tire use costs.
Tire costs
The tires on EVs tend to wear out faster due to the additional weight and extra torque that hits the road. Plus, EV tires typically have less tread to improve range and decrease noise, they need special more expensive HL rated tires.
Tesla tire size 235 35 20 $391.00
VW Golf tire size 225 45 R17 $119.00
In 100,000 miles if the tesla needs 4 replacement sets = $391.00 x 16 tires = $6256.00
In 100,000 if the VW Golf needs 2 replacement sets = $119.00 x 8 tires = $952.00
EV tire cost for 12,000 miles $750.00
VW Golf tire cost for 12,000 miles $114.00
In 12,000 miles the EV had an extra $636.00 in tire use costs
Plus the EV costs $50,000 to $70,000, the VW diesel costs $24,355
The EV depreciates faster, there is another huge hidden cost and costs more for maintenance and repair (one example it weighs 40% more so it eats tires = more expense)
Pollution note………
NOTE: The biggest pollutant emitted from new cars because they have so low emissions are from tires wearing out while driving, tiny tire particles, polluting the air.
ATTENTION: Electric cars weigh 30% to 40% more than gas powered cars so have higher tire wear, so EV’s pollute more.
Fast charging?…start a fire….lol
Extreme fast chargers, for example,can push battery pack temperatures to 270ºC/514ºF after just a few minutes of charging.
think about that while sitting in your car, at a fast charger, in the middle of the night, in a remote parking lot, with no one around except criminals……lol
An EV just sitting loses:
these batteries leak like sieve….
tesla says a daily 3%-5% stationary range consumption.” (just parked)
90 kwh x .05 = 4.5 kwh lost per day x 365 days = 1642.5 kwh x $0.14 = $229.95 per year just parked
wait till rates go way up, people will be freaking out…..their bloody EV is burning money just parked in the driveway….lol
Tire costs
The tires on EVs tend to wear out faster due to the additional weight and extra torque that hits the road. Plus, EV tires typically have less tread to improve range and decrease noise, they need special more expensive HL rated tires.
If you use special wheels and expensive tires with less tread which have less grip in rain or snow and which have to be replaced more often because they have less tread, you get 10% more range in an EV. You also get worse handling with these wheels and tires. Another reason EV’s handle badly, plus they are way over weight. These tires have less tread so they wear out faster and cost more to buy, more expense with en EV.
To get better handling by spending 1000’s of dollars to replace the wheels and tires you get 10% less range.
In these EV’s you can only use 60% of the advertised range or you ruin the $22,000 battery and can start a fire, so they have a very short usable range to start with so losing another 10%, it gets to be a bad joke. The range is so bad they have tried every trick to get a bit more range, like expensive short life tires you pay to replace far more often, making EV ownership very expensive.
you ruin the $22,000 battery and can start a fire…..the main reason to not buy an EV.
Average EV range
What test drivers are actually getting driving in the real world driving EV’s is they are getting 2.4 miles of range for every kwh
For a 90 kwh battery the range is 2.4 miles x 90 kwh = 216 miles, but you can only use 60% of that range so the real range is 129 miles in ideal conditions, 30 mph, flat road, no wind, 70 degrees out, no accessories on, AC, etc…
Lots of these batteries are far less then 90 kwh so their range will be far worse. If it is 45 kwh battery divide these numbers by two.
In not ideal conditions, like when it is very cold out, the range drops 50% so the range is 65 miles now. 65 mile range forget about buying an EV….lol
AT WOT…wide open throttle the range drops 90%, on a race track a tesla at WOT used 80 miles range in 8 miles….lol…..if you tow something, the same problem.
NOTE: If you use fast chargers a lot it will ruin the battery in your EV, it will lose 50% of it’s range, if you don’t use fast chargers it takes forever to recharge
NOTE: you can only use 60% of the battery capacity…… between 30% and 90%. using the battery below 30% you can damage the battery, charging above 90% can damage the battery and cause a fire. So you can only use 60% of the range advertised…..
Fast charging?…start a fire….lol
Extreme fast chargers, for example,can push battery pack temperatures to 270ºC…514ºF after just a few minutes of charging. Charging times are so long they are putting in extreme fast chargers that ruin the battery and could start a fire….lol….these EV’s are so bad they are trying all sorts of dangerous crap to make them work.
So the only “reasonable” charge time appears to be out of the 480v three phase pipe of the “level 3” charger.
If one were to exclusively use such a monster charger is there any data for how much faster the heated to crispy battery banks in various cars would degrade?
Has to be a lot….
If you use fast chargers a lot it will ruin the battery in your EV, it will lose 50% of it’s range, if you don’t use fast chargers it takes forever to recharge
Anon,
As with lead/acid batteries, the only way to get a full charge is with a “trickle” charger. Which also is much better for the life of lead/acid batteries as well. Battery tech is SO advanced.
Hi John
if you don’t use fast chargers it takes forever to recharge……these EV’s are useless, with these lithium fire bomb batteries should be banned
People who still think major elections are a thing are soooo cute.
‘in the manner of being grateful to the mobster who only breaks one leg rather than both.’ — eric
Here is an absolutely masterful video (2 min 6 sec) providing perspective on the deadly risk of failing to protect classified documents:
https://twitter.com/i/status/1558848481158201344
Lesson: put a Kryptonite bike lock on your closet today, if you’re storing top secret nuclear codes at home.
p.s. Get a dog.
Don’t forget the price of electricity skyrocketing just as we’re supposed to spend twice as much on an EV to save on fuel expenses. The cost of electricity in New Hampshire DOUBLED starting in August from some of the already highest rates in the country. In addition yo the high electric how the hell is anybody in the northern tier going to afford oil or gas heat starting two months from now. Beef has easily doubled, if not tripled. All other foods cost more (or get downsized) with only garbage snacks creeping up slightly. Lets not even get into the outrageous jump in rent and home prices thats putting hardworking folks to the curb. Even if you already own your home outright Uncle Scams state, county and city minions are sure to jack up your property ransom payments due to the bogus “increase in value.” Might as well just have an unfortunate grease fire in the kitchen and run off to the woods with insurance cash. Election or none, fair and square or dirty as Cottoneye Joes britches, the midterms aren’t going to change jack shit. Wave upon wave of rank effluent are coming post election…and god help us if the orange savior gets back into office when that circus starts up. Batten down the hatches, there’s no avoiding the incoming storm.
‘The cost of electricity in New Hampshire DOUBLED starting in August from some of the already highest rates in the country.’ — EastboundAndDown
And in [Russian] energy-starved Europe, it’s trebled, quadrupled, quintupled.
If you can’t ‘vax’ ’em, starve and freeze ’em.
It’s all thanks to MMT, the 🤡 intellectual’s 🤡 choice for micromanaging the economy.
See, the central planners have to do something to mop up the mess they made when they dumped trillions of dollars into the world. The lizards in the banking system, who had first access, bought up the stuff like petroleum futures* cheap, converting all that M1 into M2 (leverage) and M3 (liquidation) money. Once prices skyrocketed (locking you and me out), it was time to pull it all back in before the pesky workers demand higher wages (too late). That tax increase on The Rich™ will pull that money back in, right? At the expense of jobs and productivity, sure, but someone’s got to pay. Won’t be The Rich™ since they’re slippery, so why not cripple the productive? Just redefine growth to be whatever sounds good and no one will notice.
Because public sector debt is what “we owe ourselves.” We’re just paying ourselves back anyway…
https://www.learcapital.com/news-blog/mmt-and-taxes/
* Remember when WTI futures dropped below $0? Sure you, back in April 2020. Did you get in on that trade? No? Well somene did, and they now own 20% of your future net earnings.
Hi RK
Catherine Austin Fitts interview:
getting rid of small businesses owned by conservatives…
First the control group voted for the reset, then they injected $5 trillion into the economy that went to the insiders
Then they used cv19 to shut down the economy run by the outsiders, destroying the small businesses
The insiders now have $5 trillion to buy up more assets, take all the business the small businesses had, this is part of the centralization of everything for control. The globalists own the big corporations,
why high interest rates? the small businesses, now the outsiders want cheap capital to get their businesses running again, so the control group raise rates to squeeze out the outsiders.
This isn’t a turndown it is war.
Did you come here to live or to be afraid? Fear being a transhuman slave.
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/its-not-turndownits-takedown-austin-fitts
99% of the $5 trillion bat germ emergency money went to big corporations belonging to the leftist/globalists, the general public got 0.001% of that money, in some places the government wants the 0.001% of the money back, because they say some people didn’t qualify….lol
99% of the $5 trillion bat germ emergency money was a big payday for the big corporations belonging to the leftist/globalists….was that the reason for the bat germ fantasy?
Biden is bad news. It’s every day.
“Steady losin’ means you ain’t using what you really think is right… you’ve got news for me, I’ve got nothing for you, don’t pin your blues on me, just go ahead do whatever you wish to.” – John Prine, Quiet Man
Where is the conspiracy theory from Brandon, Nancy, and Shumer to explain the price reduction? It’s always someone else who caused prices to go up: Putin, Evil Oil Producers gouging the public, Brandon even suggested it was Gas Station Owners who only make about $0.01 per gallon. Oh no, Brandon takes the credit when prices fall but evil capitalist cause increases. Anybody wearing a mask will buy this.
How is China doing enjoying our Stategic Oil reserve?
Meanwhile, the ever increasing inverted yield curve and multiple quarters of negative growth aren’t signs of a recession. Falling gasoline prices are seasonal at best, as summer vacations wind down. If the SPR release does anything it will probably cause a whipsaw in pricing as the DOE releases far longer than necessary, assuming the SPR drop in the bucket actually does influence prices at the pump. When we’re full-on recession and prices are falling because of demand collapse who do you think will be crowing about how gas prices are down?
I forget where I read it but the story was that fjb recently did, or is, cooking the books on demand to be lower than it actually is so the ‘market’ fictitiously lowers prices. And of course, when it is found out, prices would go up dramatically. I searched again but could find the article. The article also showed the people/groups that found the discrepancies.
Wow: I didnt know the strategic petroleum reserve was being tapped. I did notice the gas prices coming down and put two-and-two together w/o knowing the reserve was being drawn down. Look at the stock ticker “UGA” as a proxy for gas prices and where they are headed. UGA is currently $62 and that is the price it was when the Ukraine war broke out. So yes, the retail pump price being about what it was back then too, correlates.
Also, look at the Dow Jones. That is being pumped up too, just in time for November. Maybe should tiptoe back in…
Lastly, I get these (spam-ish) type of emails for investing: A recent one talking about investing in companies that make the charging stations for the EV cars. It’s actually a reasonable proposition when you think of it: The government forcing a market, so (regarding investing anyway) it *removes* the doubt-factor of investing. Perhaps the forced-market investment may not skyrocket, but the doubt is removed and you know it will go up – if only by a little. YMMV, of course: And I have *not* put my money where my mouth just went!
‘Look at the Dow Jones. That is being pumped up too, just in time for November.’ — Tom
Brandon, Chuck and Nancy would love this result. But the market is bigger than they are.
Besides being the weakest month of the year for stocks, September is also when the first frosts in northern Europe concentrate European minds as to just how comprehensively screwed they are by embargoing Russian energy.
Brennholz [firewood] is a trending search term in Germany. When the Brennholz runs out, freezing Germans can burn bank and brokerage statements in barrels to warm their chapped, bleeding hands.
Good points Eric,
The Biden thing could restart the Keystone XL pipeline, which is basically almost finished. Tapping the strategic petroleum reserve is incredibly irresponsible, since it’s there for an actual shortage emergency and not to manipulate the price. What if his buddy Mohammed Bone Saw decides to embargo sales to the US? What a total clusterf*k.
I just averaged mid-40s MPGs in a 2018 Camry on a long-distance road trip last week. Gas will have to get a *lot* more expensive to rationalize replacing that vehicle with a car featuring 1/3 of the range between recharges and 1/3 or less the service life assuming reasonable maintenance at more than twice the purchase price. And that is not even considering the build quality.
Only a ban on new IC vehicles will start to turn the fleet over in any reasonable numbers.
They’ll tax or regulate ICE-powered vehicles out of existence.
Something else I see: plain and simple demand destruction.
People I know have:
-Cut back or even cancelled vacations because gasoline costs too much
-Cut back on other purchases
-Pushed back against a return to the office/even quit jobs to take fully remote jobs/jobs closer to home (I took a job that’s less than a mile from my house, for one!)
-Bought more fuel efficient vehicles
-Combined errands
-Shopped online more
All of these individual decisions add up.
Should our economic growth slow down more, or even stop or shift into reverse, we’ll also see more demand destruction. It happened in 2008; the last time gas broke the $4 barrier…we shall see this time.
Speaking of which, one factor behind the 2008 Great Recession was oil hitting $150 a barrel and gasoline hitting $4 a gallon. Basically, it made all those McMansions and Country Condos unaffordable.
Bingo on demand destruction. But hey, with the the dollar debasement your $4/gallon is like $2.50/gallon from the highs of 2012.
I’m curious on whether the prevalence of high compression turbo motors means the average driver requires premium now. There used to be a 10 cent price laddering for each grade, now it’s 30. So the gas for those requiring 90+ octane is a buck more expensive per gallon.
Bryce,
Even the pundits on Bloomberg Radio are saying that the price of oil is decreasing thanks to decreasing demand!
I’m flying in September. What used to be a listed $159 flight is over $1000 today. Sure I could try to be more flexible in my travels and get it under a grand but still the number of hours I need to work to fly out to visit my mother increased by 7X.
Bryce,
But don’t you know? That’s the US Psychopaths In Charge preferred solution to inflation. Reduce demand by making you too poor to buy anything.
PennDOT has submitted their plan for 150 charging stations over 3 years, with 27 stations in the first year
150/27 is not 3 years. As with all govt boondoggles, it will be over budget & delayed.
Seems that they are also counting on private charging stations to fill the gaps.
Large gauge wire in sufficient quantities is hard to come by right now. Increased demand via charging stations will exacerbate this.
1/2 of all sales being EV by 2030 is a pipe dream. Does 1/2 the public even want an EV?
Automakers may well be hung out to dry with inventory, assuming they can even manufacture them.
EV chargers, another part of the EV nightmare being forced down your throat….
How do you charge your EV when half the chargers are broken?
EV Charging Station are using Liquid Cooling systems and are very complicated/fragile, these are maintenance intensive, which means lots of them won’t be working, repairs and maintenance will cost a lot, paid by taxpaying ice vehicle owners…lol
a Level 3 charger will cost between $30,000 and $80,000. plus installation costs, plus huge maintenance costs, so maybe $40,000 to $90,000 installed for one charger, plus huge ongoing maintenance costs, the ice vehicle owning taxpayer is forced to pay for this….lol
a Level 3 charger will cost between $30,000 and $80,000. plus installation costs, plus huge maintenance costs,….tell your local government you don’t want to pay for this……
a level 3 charger at home:
even worse they will eventually limit it’s use to 3 hr per week, your ration….lol
…and they want to install millions of these, at $90,000 x only one million chargers = 90 billion dollars, plus 100’s of millions of dollars in ongoing maintenance costs….lol
(what about the trillions of dollars to upgrade the electrical grid to supply the power?….lol)
the federal government prepares to begin doling out $5 billion allocated in last year’s bipartisan infrastructure bill so states can seed a coast-to-coast network of fast-charging stations.
Government guidelines say the taxpayer-funded chargers should be accessible to travelers, just off the interstate and have amenities like food and restrooms
with ice powered cars the gas station and pumps use is free…..lol….now they want to scrap that and make you pay trillions of dollars to replace it with a dangerous, expensive, maintenance intensive, mess/nightmare……
Mishaps involving overheating the use of equipment including EV chargers
There have been many plug-in vehicle fire incidents all over the world.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in the United States. Mentioned accidents such as thermal runaway incidents. Overheating or overcharging can lead to an accident.
These fast types of charging stations require liquid cooling so inverters don’t fail due to overheating and umbilicals are cool enough to handle.
Fast charging?…start a fire….lol
Extreme fast chargers, for example,can push battery pack temperatures to 270ºC/514ºF after just a few minutes of charging.
If you fast charge a lot, you wreck the battery, if you don’t…. you wait hours to charge….lol
The wires in EV chargers that are prone to aging cause the chargers to heat up. Fan lubrication exacerbates the temperature rise and gets out of control. Creating a vicious cycle that causes long-term damage to chargers. That can result in accidents.
In comparison gas and diesel pumps are 100% reliable, simple and trouble free and they don’t need a complicated cooling system. They are not paid for by taxpayers,
EV charging stations are another multi billion dollar bill for taxpayers, fire all politicians pushing them….lol
In Damascus, Maryland, on April 1, a fire started from an electric car charger in a garage and caused $350,000 in damages.
Watch This Severe Electric Car Fire And Explosion At A Charging Station
More than 40 firefighters and 8 fire trucks were involved at the site, and thanks to quick action, they managed to put out the fire. Watch the toxic smoke…
Tell your city they will need another 50 fire trucks….lol
An ice car fire only needs one fire truck….lol
Watch the video then think………What happens when 2200 Ev’s (a new complex in planning stage will have 2200 parking spaces)….imagine 2200 lithium fire bomb EV’s are parked in underground parking at an apartment block or office tower and they catch fire? You can’t take propane into underground parking, but you can take a fire bomb lithium battery car underground.
https://insideevs.com/news/423581/severe-electric-car-fire-explosion-charging/
https://wattlogic.com/blog/commercial-ev-charging-stations-cost/
Dan,
“1/2 of all sales being EV by 2030 is a pipe dream.”
Is it? If only the quite wealthy can afford a new car, they might opt for an EV, which could include half or more EV car purchases.
The difference between the two parties? Republicans show a little restraint, the Democrats show none at all. There is nothing the Democrats will not do to gain or retain power. It would not surprise me if they price controlled fuel to a lower point. Which would be even more temporary than liquidating the Strategic Oil Reserve, and end up with either much HIGHER prices when it ends, or destroying the supply, or both. Meanwhile reasons other than FedGov actions continue to be blamed for all our economic woes, even though they are directly and exclusively the cause of them.
There are only two things that will stop an economy from growing. Natural disaster, and government interference. One could argue the latter is included in the former.
‘There is nothing the Democrats will not do to gain or retain power.’ — John Kable
Build Back Better, illustrated:
https://ibb.co/Js5MvSx
‘It will last until November.’ — eric
They are so brazen about it:
‘This historic release of SPR crude has provided a record amount of crude oil supply to the U.S. economy and will continue until the end of October 2022. [midterm election: Nov 8, 2022]
‘The SPR has a long history of protecting the economy and American livelihoods in times of emergency oil shortages.‘
https://www.energy.gov/articles/doe-issues-fifth-emergency-notice-sale-crude-oil-strategic-petroleum-reserve
That bit about ’emergency oil shortages’ comes from the statute authorizing the SPR. One party potentially losing control of Clowngress is NOT an ’emergency oil shortage.’
It’s a violation of the law, plain and simple.
But do you really think Merrick ‘Hyena Snout’ Garland is going to enforce that law? HA HA HA HA …
Or the Recucklican party, whose incumbents also benefit from cheaper gas prices? HA HA HA HA …
Are you gonna cry
When I’m squeezin’ them dry?
Taking all I can get
No regrets
When I openly lie, ha
And live on their money
Believe me, honey
— The Animals, It’s My Life