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OUstudent4life
4/19/2006, 03:08 PM
To continue to beat a dead horse, or to hit one with my car ;)...

So I sat down today and figured out exactly what both driving to/from work and just my general driving is costing me...making a whole bunch of assumptions, and erring on the cheap side of gas and less driving than I probably do...

It's costing me ~$480/year to just drive to and from work, and it's probably costing me ~$1300/year just in my general driving, which is ~6% of my income.

I bring this up because of an interesting conversation I heard on the radio this morning. There is a belief that the government won't REALLY do anything to mess with gas/energy prices for a while, because that hit on people's income is "most" felt by people on small fixed incomes (like grad students, to use a random example :D). People with larger incomes are better able to absorb the cost and continue with their same driving habits. The government isn't really going to care until major consumer groups start saying "Hey, wait a minute..."

...like the AARP. My bet is something gets done when the AARP realizes that a) drug prices are rising, and b) gas prices are rising, so even if they were able to afford the drugs, they won't be able to drive to get them.

Ok, rant over. Continue about your "normal" business.
yermom
4/19/2006, 03:27 PM
yeah, i just never really have had much sympathy for grad students either
OUstudent4life
4/19/2006, 03:35 PM
we are a whiny bunch...
royalfan5
4/19/2006, 03:47 PM
What we need is a Grad Student Union, or be like me a live close enough to school that I can walk there.
OUstudent4life
4/19/2006, 04:11 PM
living close enough to the Health Sciences Center is, well, not a good idea. There's one apartment complex that's decent (besides the new "dorms"), but those both cost so much more in rent than what I pay now that I'd be losing money.
royalfan5
4/19/2006, 04:19 PM
living close enough to the Health Sciences Center is, well, not a good idea. There's one apartment complex that's decent (besides the new "dorms"), but those both cost so much more in rent than what I pay now that I'd be losing money.
Good thing for me that UNL's east campus is in a cheap part of town then.
achiro
4/19/2006, 04:26 PM
I'm not sure who or where they got the info but the price of gas will effect everyone and not just at the pump. Delivery charges for EVERYTHING will be going up rapidly. I can assure you the the wal-marts of the world will not be absorbing those costs. The list goes on and on so you grad students can rest easy again, its not just you that are being picked on.;)
etouffee
4/19/2006, 04:27 PM
There is a belief that the government won't REALLY do anything to mess with gas/energy prices for a while

God I hope not. Under our system, the government isn't SUPPOSED to do anything to "mess with" gas/energy prices, or any other prices for that matter. You want to see a totally f'd up economy where things are one hell of a lot worse than you've got now? Check out any country where the government gets involved in the markets and controls prices.
etouffee
4/19/2006, 04:30 PM
I can assure you the the wal-marts of the world will not be absorbing those costs. That's not true, actually. They may not absorb 100% of the increased costs, but they certainly can NOT pass 100% of it on to their customers. If they did, their customers would buy a lot less merchandise (especially Walmart's lower income customer base) which would hurt the bottom line even more. It's a delicate balancing act, knowing how much of the increased cost to pass on to the consumer and how much of it to eat, but I assure you even Walmart is eating some of it.
MamaMia
4/19/2006, 05:11 PM
...like the AARP. My bet is something gets done when the AARP realizes that a) drug prices are rising, and b) gas prices are rising, so even if they were able to afford the drugs, they won't be able to drive to get them.

Ok, rant over. Continue about your "normal" business.I'm a member of AARP. Write up and email to whomever and I'll send it along. :D
jacru
4/19/2006, 05:21 PM
God I hope not. Under our system, the government isn't SUPPOSED to do anything to "mess with" gas/energy prices, or any other prices for that matter. You want to see a totally f'd up economy where things are one hell of a lot worse than you've got now? Check out any country where the government gets involved in the markets and controls prices.

God I hope not. Under our system, the government isn't SUPPOSED to do anything to "mess with" gas/energy prices, or any other prices for that matter. You want to see a totally f'd up economy where things are one hell of a lot worse than you've got now? Check out any country where the government gets involved in the markets and controls prices.

God I hope not. Under our system, the government isn't SUPPOSED to do anything to "mess with" gas/energy prices, or any other prices for that matter. You want to see a totally f'd up economy where things are one hell of a lot worse than you've got now? Check out any country where the government gets involved in the markets and controls prices.
Amen! Cannot be said enough!
Gubmint do too much already that raises prices.