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$2 gas is the worst thing to happen to America


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2014 Dec 9, 4:59pm   9,100 views  26 comments

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Flush times! Economy fully recovered, unemployment down, jobs finally on the rise, housing crisis over, all wars sort of mostly concluded, Wall Street shamelessly gorging, racial tensions aflame, wealth more unevenly divided than ever, consumer spending up, that awful socialist Obama obviously hurling us deeper and deeper into a hellpit of, uh, shocking stability and (messy, flawed, still sort of miraculous) success.

And wow, those gas prices! Well below $3 a gallon in most areas, and dropping fast. For a variety of reasons – Libya, OPEC, record-high US production (thanks again, hippie Obama, for encouraging so much new domestic oil output) – oil is right now so amazingly cheap as to be, well, sort of disastrous.

Is it not true? Let’s just say it outright: There is nothing good about cheap gas in America. All the wrong corporations ultimately benefit: big oil (shares dip, but influence surges), big auto, plastic manufacturers, the same heartless PTB that have lorded over the American economy since just about forever. Worse, all the right ideas – alternative energy, efficiency, conservation, the environment, the general social good – get re-shunned and scoffed at anew.

Automakers are, naturally, thrilled by tumbling oil prices. Cheap gas means not only are people driving more, it means fickle, short-term memory Americans are buying gas-guzzling SUVs and large trucks all over again (at a far higher profit margin for the automakers), and the pressure to produce really good small, efficient cars slackens – at least until 2025 (damn you yet again, Obama. Such a mixed blessing you are).

It’s a shame, really. Such a positive direction we were heading! Such constructive changes were afoot when oil was double or triple its current price! And, let’s be fair – compared to Europe and most of the developed world, we’ve never paid much for gas (Currently in Japan: $6/gallon; Turkey: $8/gallon; Italy: $9.50/gallon; Norway pays more than $10 a gallon, and they’re one of the happiest nations on Earth). Even at $4/gallon, we get a downright bargain. We pay more for bottled water.

When oil prices peaked in 2008, changing our car-obsessed culture was no fun, at first, especially during a recession. But we quickly got used to it, and we did what we always do in times of scarcity: We adapt. We change our wasteful behaviors. We pay more attention to how we (quite literally) move through the world. We get less lazy and more creative, plan more carefully, choose our travels more diligently, figured out what’s really important.

In other words, when gas prices skyrocket, we adapt in all the right ways: Drive less, ride-share more, telecommute, walk to work, get out of our cars and back into the more connected social flow. Alternative transportation (bikes, buses, trains) gain tremendous support. People begin to think differently, for the better.

Communities benefit, too. I remember plenty of stories, circa mid-2008 when oil prices were peaking, about people shopping more locally and patronizing small businesses again, as “Free shipping!” disappeared from e-commerce and lazily ordering your every rubber band ball and toothbrush on Amazon wasn’t quite the slothful steal it once was.

And of course, high gas prices meant automakers were forced out of their creative stupors, spurred into finally designing truly desirable, efficient small cars – which many actually did. Not to mention the advent of Tesla, the BMW i Series, et al.

Of course, this current low-price blip will not, cannot last. Oil prices are not merely seasonal, viciously political and globally unpredictable, they are environmentally unsustainable. More so than ever.

And what about that huge, 50% increase in US oil production? Obama has, quite weirdly, become the “oil president,” and much of the surge in US output of it is the result of fracking in Texas and North Dakota; fracking, of course, being one of the most environmentally harmful, water-intensive extraction practice we know, next to the frightening techniques required to suck bitumen from tar sands up in Canada. Can we keep fracking endlessly? Do we have any idea how dangerous it might actually be, down the road? Shall we ask Mother Nature?

Meanwhile, some suggest now would be a great time to increase the gas tax – which hasn’t been touched in 20 years – by 15 cents or so, primarily to help the fiscally broke Highway Trust Fund.

But here’s even more awesomely helpful and radical idea: a five dollar per gallon tax increase – hell make it $6 – all of it earmarked for alternative energy and transport, environmental protections, our busted educational system, our multi-trillion debt.

Can you imagine? The dramatic upheaval? The wild spurts of innovation? The furious new trends toward super efficiency? More public transport. Less sprawl. More efficient verticality. Local businesses flourish. Improved air quality. Electric mopeds and bikes and Harley Davidson LiveWires for all. And, as Telsa and BMW have already proved, “car culture” could adapt brilliantly. What’s not to like?

Bonus: Less foreign oil. No Libya, Venezuela, Iraq, Saudi Arabia. A staggering cultural and political cataclysm in one fell and easy swoop.

Could it happen? Or course not – not via insane/brilliant tax hike, anyway. Few politicians have the nerve to propose even the 15 cent idea, much less push a $5 tax though an oil-soaked, Exxon-beloved Republican congress.

But Mother Nature? As always, all bets are off. And like it or not, she fixes everything, eventually.

http://blog.sfgate.com/morford/2014/12/09/2-gas-is-the-worse-thing/

#housing

Comments 1 - 26 of 26        Search these comments

1   MAGA   2014 Dec 9, 11:28pm  

I remember not that long ago when gas in the Bay Area was approaching $5 a gallon!

Just filled up here in San Antonio for $2.20 a gallon.

:-)

2   indigenous   2014 Dec 9, 11:38pm  

It is called malinvestment. It is part of the business cycle and will work out fine unless Paulson or similiar start some chicken little crap.

3   JH   2014 Dec 9, 11:40pm  

I remember when gas was $1.10 a gallon, the nation was running a budget surplus, and the economy was going through the roof. Gas under $3 is not a discount that will bring us to ruin. Rather it is a reversion to something we might be able to sustain in our geographically enormous country: air travel, shipping, jobs with travel, vacations, etc. Italy doesn't need $2 gasoline to survive...hell one of their cities uses boats! America needs cheap energy because it stretches from sea to shining sea. Expensive oil didn't do much for alternative energy. The fuel cell and battery cars today are prohibitively expensive without subsidies. It would be great to get off foreign and dirty energy. But America is America.

4   Rin   2014 Dec 9, 11:48pm  

This is why I never worried about a so-called peak oil or energy crisis type of scenario.

5   indigenous   2014 Dec 9, 11:51pm  

Make no mistake about it oil makes modern life possible, there is not one part of it that is not made possible by oil.

The lift caused by cheaper fuel costs is the equivalent to shrinking government.

6   Shaman   2014 Dec 9, 11:58pm  

Gas will be expensive again. I think people know this, after a decade and a half of radical price fluctuation. I doubt the green energy thing will drop off a cliff.
Your idea of a radical gas tax has some merit, if the jet kerosene prices are untouched. Making it too hard to fly is bad, and there are no "green" alternatives for efficient transportation over large distances.
High gas prices hurt little people the most, though, which kills the economy, as most of us are little people, and we make up most of the economy.
The only real good thing might be if the green energy actually was allowed to make major breakthroughs, which weaned us off Mideast oil and we could finally stop having wars over there. Let those people alone to praise Allah and blow each other up as they like. We don't need to be a part of it.
Green energy is the future, but any radical tech breakthrough will be savagely suppressed as "dangerous to the economy", read (dangerous to the oligarchs). Cold fusion? Probably already has existed for a decade, but is being suppressed. It will likely be invented ten times before it becomes available to the public, just because of how destabilizing it would be.

7   mell   2014 Dec 10, 12:37am  

Cheap gas is great - cheap house prices next. Let true price discovery begin.

8   Strategist   2014 Dec 10, 12:50am  

anonymous says

$2 gas is the worst thing to happen to America

It's not that bad. Here's why:
1. We have a law that requires 54.5mpg by 2025. Auto makers will be forced to make and sell high mileage cars wether they like it or not.
2. Other countries, especially Western Europe will continue innovating as their ultimate goal is to eliminate the fossil.
3. China and India are choking in pollution. If they want to continue their progress, cutting pollution will still be a priority.
4. Unfriendly nations of OPEC, Iran and Russia will lose political clout.
5. We can always make up for the negatives of low oil prices through taxation.

9   NDrLoR   2014 Dec 10, 1:00am  

anonymous says

sfgate

What else would you expect with "San Francisco" in its name?

"My gosh but don't Progressives hate it when the little guy gets a break and the rationale for increased government takeover of our lives (driving less, economically forced ride-sharing, public-union power enhancing dependence on public transit) gets kicked to the curb for a while in favor of freedom and economic independence. Imagine how much more quickly our economy would have recovered if cheap energy had been available five years ago. The true legacy of Progressivism is increased government control of our lives and increased, not decreased, income inequality and greater percentages of the public living below the poverty line."

anonymous says

Drive less, ride-share more, telecommute, walk to work, get out of our cars and back into the more connected social flow. Alternative transportation (bikes, buses, trains) gain tremendous support.

Boring.

10   JH   2014 Dec 10, 3:16am  

Strategist says

3. China and India are choking in pollution. If they want to continue their progress, cutting pollution will still be a priority.

I think we should re-title this thread.

$2 gas is the worst thing that could happen to China.

You and I both know they will not be cutting back on pollution. They have been active in trying to use alternative energy to reduce pollution and become a global supplier of items like solar panels. However, with oil prices crashing there will likely be less global demand for alternative energy. This makes it cost ineffective for China to develop it AND use it. They are so screwed. Without economic incentive, China has nothing. Thus begins their desperate return to global insignificance.

11   Peter P   2014 Dec 10, 3:21am  

Perhaps I can finally convince my wife to let me buy an SUV.

12   Strategist   2014 Dec 10, 3:44am  

Peter P says

Perhaps I can finally convince my wife to let me buy an SUV.

I hope she convinces you to buy a Prius.

JH says

Our lungs were not designed to inhale this. Nothing good can come from this.

13   mmmarvel   2014 Dec 10, 3:53am  

Strategist says

JH says

Our lungs were not designed to inhale this. Nothing good can come from this

Easy solution - don't live there.

14   JH   2014 Dec 10, 3:53am  

Strategist says

Peter P says

Perhaps I can finally convince my wife to let me buy an SUV.

I hope she convinces you to buy a Prius.

JH says

Our lungs were not designed to inhale this. Nothing good can come from this.

If this (see pic) is coming from a culture that rides bikes everywhere...imagine if they drove Navigators. Or even Priuses...or whatever is the plural of Prius.

15   Peter P   2014 Dec 10, 3:53am  

Strategist says

I hope she convinces you to buy a Prius.

She is not that fond of the Prius.

Subaru Forester looks good though.

16   JH   2014 Dec 10, 3:55am  

Peter P says

Strategist says

I hope she convinces you to buy a Prius.

She is not that fond of the Prius.

Subaru Forester looks good though.

Sufficiently weak engine to not pollute too much :)

I liked mine. Sold it but would've lasted 30 years longer than any American SUV!

17   turtledove   2014 Dec 10, 3:57am  

Strategist says

Our lungs were not designed to inhale this. Nothing good can come from this.

Perhaps it's somewhat self-correcting. Over time, you'll see an increase in lung disorders and a decrease in fertility rates.... thus reducing the population and, consequently, the pollution output.

18   Peter P   2014 Dec 10, 4:09am  

JH says

Peter P says

Strategist says

I hope she convinces you to buy a Prius.

She is not that fond of the Prius.

Subaru Forester looks good though.

Sufficiently weak engine to not pollute too much :)

I liked mine. Sold it but would've lasted 30 years longer than any American SUV!

We would only consider the turbocharged version. Until cars are full-automated I need lots of power to react to situations.

19   Peter P   2014 Dec 10, 4:10am  

turtledove says

Strategist says

Our lungs were not designed to inhale this. Nothing good can come from this.

Perhaps it's somewhat self-correcting. Over time, you'll see an increase in lung disorders and a decrease in fertility rates.... thus reducing the population and, consequently, the pollution output.

This is my philosophy.

20   Strategist   2014 Dec 10, 4:31am  

turtledove says

Strategist says

Our lungs were not designed to inhale this. Nothing good can come from this.

Perhaps it's somewhat self-correcting. Over time, you'll see an increase in lung disorders and a decrease in fertility rates.... thus reducing the population and, consequently, the pollution output.

Nature always self corrects, but it could take hundreds of years.
I'm in a little rush.

21   EBGuy   2014 Dec 10, 4:37am  

PeterP, If you want an SUV, how about a Porsche Cayenne Plug In Hybrid? The electric motor should give you plenty of power on demand.

22   🎂 Tenpoundbass   2014 Dec 10, 5:30am  

Cheap gas will either be a travesty for the Democrats or it can be their death knell.

If they want to sit on their ass while claiming chicken shit crap like "High gas prices will benefit working Americans" they are committing "Party Suicide" for the first time in American politics. A whole party committed collective political suicide.

People aren't stupid, they've been waiting for all of the bullshit excuses to play out and for Oil and Gas to naturally come down and the "Free Market Forces" to take over.

NOW that, that has happened. It now turns out, that the Democrats are having none of it, and are in fact actively seeking to thwart the return to financial normal. Where inflated energy prices aren't killing jobs, crushing profits, and driving up prices across the board for everything. People feel like it's starting to rain for the first time in a long fucking time. They are coming out feeling the rain fall on their face and tasting it on the tip of their tongue. People are starting to smile again.

Anything to alter that will be as transparent as a nude pope giving a Christmas sermon.

The Oil and Gas is going back down weather you shit birds like it or not. If you want to step on your dicks from now until 2016 trying to make that not happen. Then the Republicans will champion the booming economy that cheap energy affords the economy. They'll sell pipelines in ever state, and get the AMerican public approval. Of course we may not need all of the oil wells in wetlands and nature preserves and pipelines running through every state, but this is what will happen if you fumble this ball into the Republican's hands. you will be powerless to have any input from here on out.

Obasma is the worst thing to happen to this country and the world.

23   Peter P   2014 Dec 10, 5:33am  

EBGuy says

PeterP, If you want an SUV, how about a Porsche Cayenne Plug In Hybrid? The electric motor should give you plenty of power on demand.

It is outside of my price range. :-)

I don't necessarily need a fancy car. Just one with fancy safety features.

24   JH   2014 Dec 10, 5:59am  

APOCALYPSEFUCKisShostikovitch says

I cam buy a 1972 Electra 225 at a police auction for 39 bucks and with the price of gas still come out way ahead on a per mile cost basis

haha um, we are talking $2 gas not 36 cents!!! $2 still lets some shieks kid drive a mercedes through the desert.

25   Strategist   2014 Dec 10, 6:24am  

mmmarvel says

Strategist says

JH says

Our lungs were not designed to inhale this. Nothing good can come from this

Easy solution - don't live there.

The problem is it comes after you. I read 25% of the West coast pollution comes from China. The shit floats to California.

26   Strategist   2014 Dec 10, 6:30am  

JH says

APOCALYPSEFUCKisShostikovitch says

I cam buy a 1972 Electra 225 at a police auction for 39 bucks and with the price of gas still come out way ahead on a per mile cost basis

haha um, we are talking $2 gas not 36 cents!!! $2 still lets some shieks kid drive a mercedes through the desert.

A man with a gatling gun always gets to decide how much he will pay for gas. Ask any half eaten corpse.

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