Aren't high oil prices a great thing?

Question

- A lot less traffic on the roads

- A lot less of those big trucks and SUVs on the road

- People walking, cycling and getting in shape

- People actually thinking about when and where they drive.

- People forced to save, instead of spending like crazy

- Governments and large companies forced to "think about" alternate energy sources and cutting dependence on OPEC

- Companies actually trying to build energy efficient vehicles.

- Ultimate goal is to cut our dependence on Arab oil. Let the middle east start paying for our technology, water, and food.

The downside is that everything else (eg. food) has become a lot more expensive. A lot less of that paycheck is left over.

Answer 1

There can be blessings in disguise and you have pointed out many of them.

Some people may find motivation to quit cigarettes now. I quit many years ago and it was a financial motivation that did it for me, in spite of knowing all the health dangers. It's a decision I have never regretted.

I wonder how anyone can afford to smoke now. I was next to someone recently at the gas station who was paying for gas and cigarettes! Wow! That could empty your wallet fast!

Answer 2

Let me have some of what you're smoking.  Man, that is some powerful stuff.  

Our economy is going in the tank, due to high oil prices, people are losing jobs and homes, no one has cut back on driving, the only thing it has done is driven the price of EVERYTHING up.

Answer 3

There are things we can do in this country to help in that regard while stimulating our economy and getting people back to the American dream.

I live in China as a transplanted American.

Withiin a ten block radius I can get everything I need.

Farmers come into the city every day to sell their food on the streets to selling it to the super markets.  China does not have huge farm conglomerates, most of the food production is at the family level.

In the USA the fat cat has huge buying power which puts the little guy out of business.  Here in China, the local Wal-Mart sells at the same price or higher then the little guy.  All they can sell themselves on is convenience.  

We need to relax our zoning laws, encourage people to run small businesses, and thus get people out of their cars.

I can travel from one side of this city to the other for 7 cents by bus.  Public transportation in the USA needs to be dirt cheap.

Wouldn't it be great if you could walk out of your home to the end of the block and buy everything you need to feed your family from a farmer that profits from that and feeds his family, rather then lining the pocket of the fat cat?  Plus food here is dirt cheap.  For instance, I bought everything I need to feed two for three days for about $3.  Competition is alive and well in China and because there are so many farms owned by families, it keeps the prices low.

Think about it.

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Life is so simple, but we insist on making it complicated

Confucius

551 - 479 BC

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Peace

Jim

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Answer 4

Although some of the consquences to high gas prices are beneficial, I think that overall it is a bad thing. People need to drive in order to get to their jobs every day. For a great deal of people carpooling or using another form of transportation is not the option. I think that the consquences greatly outweigh the benefits when you consider the impact that gas has had on the price of food (which you mention) and how gas prices affect people who are on fixed incomes. It also hurts the entertainment and service industries because people are tighter with their money and therefore the economy tumbles.

Answer 5

How is it a good thing when people are paying $80 to fill up their cars?.

Answer 6

Yeah...all the poor b******s have to ride the bus or the subway. Gets them out of my way. I wish it was $10/gallon.

Answer 7

My problem isn't the oil prices...it's where that money goes.  It's why I support domestic drilling as well.  If oil is going to remain as high as it is now, I'd prefer to keep that money in the USA and not give it to governments that want to harm the USA.

Answer 8

Yeah- it is a bit of a two-edged sword isn't it?

Plastics and other such synthetic chemicals that use petro-chemicals have been effected by prices too.

In the UK we're now debating the merit of importing food versus growing our own, re investing in domestic manufacture etc to cut down on polluting and pricey "food-miles"

Also I notice your agricultural industry has picked up after years of almost terminal decline- always a good thing to have farmers working.

I don't view high prices as necessarily nett bad- although the collusion, price fixing and profiteering of Big Oil is disgusting. I hope your IRS gets involved.

I'm very much reminded of the 1973 and 1979 Oil Crises and Kissinger's and Carter's Energy Independence plans.

Answer 9

Sure, now I use less electricity as well, as do a vast majority of Americans, and so the electric company is losing revenue and has to raise their rates. So now I'm paying more for electricity all while using less.

I'm paying more for gas for my car, and I'm certainly using less.

I'm paying double for home heating oil, and using less.

Do you see how the liberal agenda has taken root here?

We use less, pay more, the money is taken and re-distributed to those who don't work, and those same people can stay home and use as much electricity as they want, because they don't pay for it. I do.  Those of us who work are subsidizing the fuel, food, healtchcare and social security of those who do not produce. If this is your ideal, is this socialist agenda is what you want more of, vote for Obama, vote for democrats in congress. if you want to pay higher taxes, vote for these socialist libs. if you want our constitution continually usurped by a socialist judge sitting somewhere in his/her ivory tower, vote liberal this election. Sooner or later we'll hit bottom and we'll all be there together, sharing our misery and wondering how we let these eloquent speakers and pervayors of the fraud of liberalism talk us into the most desparate of situations.  Ask this fraud what his definition of change is, and be sure you understand his words because if you think B. Clinton and H. Clinton could parse words, just wait and see how Obama puts them to shame.

Answer 10

...we need to get away from the Arabs completely and those associated with them>forever!