News: Tourism up despite gas prices

I pay over a dollar for a 20oz of Pepsi :) (2.50 at CP). When it costs them around 10 cents to make it.

I have not and will not complain about gas prices. For something so special and valuable, it's pretty cheap. *** Edited 7/31/2006 2:25:00 PM UTC by CP4eva'04***

A little off subject, but yet onto another that we have created, I found this to be very fitting for our discussion. Especially, the price of Coke around the world!

http://images.businessweek.com/ss/06/05/what_things_cost/index_01.htm?campaign_id=msn_money

You do NOT pay $2.50 for a bottle of Coke at CP. I guarantee it. ;)

Whats the charge at MI - Adventure? $2.60 to factor in the bottle return? :)

If oil companies were not posting record profits for business (not records for oil companies, but records for businesses in general), I would not feel so bad. If it were a simple case of supply vs demand, or a shortage, or an ACTUAL rise in the cost to produce, I would feel better. However, when these companies are raping the general public and swimming in unthinkable amounts of profit, I believe everybody has a right to complain.

<fantasy>
The government needs to step in, place a limit on the profit of these companies and generally be more agressive in curtailing their behavior.
</fantasy>

*** Edited 7/31/2006 1:28:37 PM UTC by djDaemon***

Gomez said:

I'm just extremely happy to have a gov't that is stepping in.

I'm sometimes embarrassed at the state our country is in. What happen between 2000 and 2006? (I know, I know!!) :)

*** Edited 7/31/2006 2:19:11 AM UTC by Gomez***

How can the government step into something that is a private enterprise? Perhaps if you want the government involved in every part of your life you should move to China. They would be more then happy to take over any free enterprise.

You are embarrassed at the state our country is in???? Our economy is the envy of the world. We are involved in Iraq, have high energy costs, and have the Middle East which is completely unstable yet our GDP keeps on growing. Our unemployment is 4.6% compared to other countries such as Germany's 12%.

And where do you get that it has gone down hill so much in the past 6 years just singling out the Bush Administration. Perhaps you should do a little history homework here. In the 1970's when countries had oil embargos and the United States was facing the same problems, thats when changes should have been made to the system. The Brazilian Government mandated that all motorized vehicles be able to run on ethonal, which is made from sugar (and just about anything else you can think of), and, it just so happens that Brazil is one of the worlds biggest exporters of sugar. Next year in 2007 because of precautions taken over 30 years ago, Brazil is forcasted to be completely free of any Mideast oil imports. This is Brazil we are talking about here folks. The United States with far better technology in everything, yet we are the ones paying the big bucks for big oil.

This problem hasn't happened over the past 6 years, it has happened through many administrations failing to crack our dependance on Mideast oil.

Our nation is strong and I am proud to live in America.

ejh1701 said:

How can the government step into something that is a private enterprise? Perhaps if you want the government involved in every part of your life you should move to China. They would be more then happy to take over any free enterprise.

There's a huge difference between government regulation on bread and regulation on a product that has become a necessary element in day-to-day operation in our country. If you don't want bread, buy some ingredients and make it at home. Don't want to pay $3.08 for gas? Too bad - you have to. So, leave your gross generalizations at the door.

You are embarrassed at the state our country is in???? Our economy is the envy of the world. We are involved in Iraq, have high energy costs, and have the Middle East which is completely unstable yet our GDP keeps on growing. Our unemployment is 4.6% compared to other countries such as Germany's 12%.

No, our economy was the envy of the World. Our failure to effectively position ourselves for long-term sustainability from an economical standpoint is not very attractive to many.

And where do you get that it has gone down hill so much in the past 6 years just singling out the Bush Administration. Perhaps you should do a little history homework here. In the 1970's when countries had oil embargos and the United States was facing the same problems, thats when changes should have been made to the system. The Brazilian Government mandated that all motorized vehicles be able to run on ethonal, which is made from sugar (and just about anything else you can think of), and, it just so happens that Brazil is one of the worlds biggest exporters of sugar. Next year in 2007 because of precautions taken over 30 years ago, Brazil is forcasted to be completely free of any Mideast oil imports. This is Brazil we are talking about here folks. The United States with far better technology in everything, yet we are the ones paying the big bucks for big oil.

I agree that steps should have been taken long ago, but that certainly does not excuse the current administration from intense scrutiny. Instead of taking those steps you mention now, we're taking steps backward.

I don't think its the government's responsibility to control the price of gasoline either. If gasoline becomes prohibitively expensive, someone will come up with a better solution in a free market. I'd much rather see the government investing in a nationwide mass transit system like Europe or encouraging the use of alternative fuels than controlling the price of gas. Didn't the same thing happen in the 70s in the US? Didn't the government step in and say gas was too high? Then once the price came down, car companies started building bigger cars and we kept consuming more and more gas. Instead of just reacting to the price of gas, I think we should work on controlling our addiction to it.

If consumers start using less gas, large oil companies will be forced to react to that change by coming up with better ideas to make profits. That's the beauty of a free market system.

Okay so, back on topic. I think Cedar Point has done a wonderful job this year making things more affordable for the people who come to the park. I know that this year I've spent more money on food at Cedar Point than I have in many years, mainly because the slight decrease in some food products has made it "less worth it" to walk out to the car and eat something there instead. Kudos to you, CP!

Its not that simple anymore. A free market policy works wonderfully when consumers have choices. That's not really the case with gas, unfortunately. While we can always choose a car that with superior economy, we all have to pay the same amount to fuel that car.

People aren't asking that the government regulate the price of gas directly - they're asking that they take measures to instill a sense of moral responsibility in the oil companies. This type of action is taken often enough, in the form of anti-monopolization measures and such. What people want is a cap placed on the profits of oil companies, simply so that price is more reflective of demand, as opposed to market speculation. Our economy has been structured around motor vehicle transportation, and to ignore that and simply toss the old "free market" crap is silly.

It is true that we've dug this hole ourselves. Its also true that a mass transit system would be great, but who is going to pay for it? Our children and grandchildren are already set to inherit a glorious financial mess, so do we make it even worse by spending several billion more dollars on an infrastructure that would likely span 2 decades before it even comes to partial fruition?

A much more effective use of that money would be to spend it on alternative fueling/powering methods for our existing system. If the Bush administration were legitamately concerned about the long-term problems our reliance on fossil fuels will cause, wouldn't they dump some money into research. And I mean some serious money. After all, its a very serious problem.

And no, if we used less gas, oil companies would just make less profits. The past year has been a financial orgasm for the big oil companies, who have seen gains that are unparalelled in the history of civilized man.

Its not a free market issue when every gas station has the same price, within $0.10 and I really have no legitimate alternative to get to my job, as is the case with most Americans.

But you do have a choice to buy cars that use less gas. You also have a choice on whether or not to carpool to work. You can consolidate your errnads into one trip. You could take a bus. You could walk. You could do any number of things to cut your usage of gasoline. Do Americans do that? Nope. They just use more and more gasoline because they can. Consume consume consume.

My point here is that Americans are lazy and always expect someone else to bail them out. If you can't afford the amount of gas you're using on a regular basis, USE LESS. Don't expect someone to lower the price just because you don't want to pay for it.

True - most American's are lazy. To the point they would expect a manufacture to make roller coasters to fit the ever expanding American - rather than the American shrinking to fit into the coaster.

The topic of gas prices goes way deeper than just that of politics. It is the American way right now to move manufacturing to other countries to have a higher profit, thus decreasing the American jobs, ultimately going to result in a depression.

When that comes, I'll still have CP. I'll be eating bread and butter but still make time to have fun. It's all about budgeting and priorities. :)

Right, because a bus actually runs where I live, and people I work with also live nearby. If you're not getting the sarcasm, those things are not viable solutions for me, and many others, I'm sure. But, I could walk, right? Yeah, I can easily make the 15 mile walk in under 4 hours, right? So, that would make my 8.5 hour day a 16.5 hour day. Once I eat dinner, I should have about 15 minutes to visit loved ones... oh, wait! I need to walk there, so no time for that unless I forfeit sleep, and that would just make my morning walk that much harder... You see where I'm going with this?

Our infrastructure has been designed around automobile transportation. To ask everyone to simply stop driving is completely ridiculous, and can't be suggested as a realistic solution.

So, I could use less, right? Okay, so lets say I have a car that gets 25mpg (above the industry average), okay? And, lets use $2.00 as a base cost for gas, which is about what it cost before Katrina and all the insane oil profiteering began. Gas now costs $3.08 near me. So, if I drive only to work (150 miles/week), I'm spending an extra $6.48 per week. Gadzooks, you say! That's nothing, right? Well, factor in that the higher gas prices influence everything we buy, including groceries. So, that $6.48 (which is a severely skewed minimum) can easily balloon into $10 or $15 more per week, and possibly more based on a larger family. If there are two people working in the household, that $15 goes up to $21.48 per week in EXTRA money that is going toward pure profit in some executive's (rather large capacity) pocket. That measely $21.48 is $93.08 per month and $1,116.96 per year, and could make or break it for a family, especially in Michigan's struggling economy.

You are making it sound like people can afford it, but choose not to. That's just silly.

All I'm saying is that if I can't afford something, I make changes in my life so I can afford it, I use less of it, or I don't use it at all. I lived in NYC for some time, and if you think its expensive in Ohio, try paying $1200 for rent on a 300sf studio apartment. Its all about creating a budget and making sacrifices for the things you NEED. As much as you say we NEED gasoline, I don't agree. You NEED food, water, and shelter. Does gasoline make your life ultra-convenient? Sure does. Are there people out there that truly can't afford gas, much less a car, and they still manage? Yip! That's really all I'm saying.

I'm working in a third world country right now and that's where my perspective is coming from. Gasoline here is $5.00 a gallon. The locals live in huts that don't have running water, much less A/C - and its HOT in the caribbean. So, needless to say, they literally CAN'T afford gas. People that have cars, carpool. People that can't afford cars/gas walk. I just think Americans (of which I am one) are greedy and lazy and that's why they consume so much gas.

Its just very hard for me to complain about gas prices in the US when we already have it so much better than other parts of the world. That's all I'm going to say on this topic since we've already strayed so much from the original posting. :)

edit - sorry, i assumed from your sig that your name was steve! :) *** Edited 7/31/2006 5:51:59 PM UTC by halltd***

Well, that's an easy solution then. We'll just live in huts.

I doubt that was his point dj.

*** Edited 7/31/2006 5:37:16 PM UTC by CP4eva'04***

My name never has been, nor ever will be Steve.

And, yeah, I know he wasn't explicitly saying we should live in huts. But, he was implying that our entire way of life must be scrapped in order to avoid having the government put a measely little profit cap on oil.

Time Out

Oil Companies don’t set the price of oil; they are set in trade and commodities markets all over the world. They are having record profits simply because the market price of there product is so high. You can blame an increase in world demand and crazy speculation in the markets for that. The notion that taxing them will decrease oil prices is absurd. If anything it will make prices go higher because there would be no point in them drilling as much if we are just going to garnish them.

Don’t believe me, Ben Stein will enlighten ;).
http://finance.yahoo.com/columnist/article/yourlife/4320

Joe E said:
Oil Companies don’t set the price of oil; they are set in trade and commodities markets all over the world.

You just go ahead and keep telling yourself that. When the price of a barrel goes up on the market goes up 2 dollars(and this is for oil that won't reach the pumps for another couple weeks AT LEAST) and the gas price jumps 20 cents there is a problem (that jump should cause a 10 cent increase).

Not to mention when the price drops considerably on the market, the price at the pump tends to trickle downward.

djDaemon said:

A much more effective use of that money would be to spend it on alternative fueling/powering methods for our existing system. If the Bush administration were legitamately concerned about the long-term problems our reliance on fossil fuels will cause, wouldn't they dump some money into research. And I mean some serious money. After all, its a very serious problem.

Let's take care of the more important stuff first. Iraq and gay marriage are far more important than the economy of the country.

djDaemon seems to know a lot on this subject and I'm fully agreeing with him. Something needs to be done.