Would This Change People's Gasoline Buying Habits?

Buying stuff you don't need is different than buying stuff you don't need and can't afford to.

No I don't need a christmas tree, heck I am even anti-religious. But I like having a tree with lights so I bought one. But if it was a choice between an essential and a tree, I could live without. Many don't and then just get themselves in deeper and deeper.

 

I'm not sure I know where this thread is headed.

Many of the gas stations in this area remove the locking mechanisms for the pump handles to avoid spills, and (probably) at the behest of the bed-wetting attorneys for their insurance companies.
People have a habbit of doing dumb things......like going in for a head call while their vehicle is (over)filling.
In addition to being expensive and kinda hard on the environment, having tens of gallons of gas sloshing around in an area filled with running vehicles, and containing tanks with a LOT more gasoline is probably not something that most people would consider to be overly safe.

Me?
I just use my vehicle's gas cap to lock the handle open while I check the oil, and do other pre-flights. I always ensure that I remove said cap before my vehicle is (over)filled.

I'm not sure how this all of this impacts the purchasing habbits of people that are buying a product that they usually NEED, but it's an interesting topic, I guess.

 

bah humbug.
Have your pagan tree and light it on fire, or burn some coal to light the lights, see if i care Ok, I don't really care. Are you saying you are a wasteful and its ok because you have money. :welcome:

So guy on forum is complaining about family member spending too much money, but spouts off about wasting lots of cash on a car, then buying an even more expensive car. Pot let me introduce you to kettle, and it all takes resources.

 

what would happen if someone ran for office proposing to halve the gas tax?

 

They might get elected?

 

In all directions, like nearly every other thread.

Despite the name, 'christmas trees' aren't religious. Along with the lights, the feast, and the celebration, the greenery has been part of the Winter Solstice traditions that predate Christianity by thousands of years. Ironically, it's the gifts that are the religious part, going back to the three wise men with their gold, frankincense, and myrrh. The idea's been perverted and commercialised over the years, but my understanding is that's the origin. I have to wonder if those who say 'keep the christ in christmas' truly know their history, because they're essentially asking to keep the gifts part and discard the rest. eep:

 

Of course it's not okay to waste resources, just because we can afford to.

But on an individual level, one person's waste is another person's thrift.

So, what were we talking about...?

 

They couldn't afford to - certainly not at the moment. Each 1p of tax brings in about £1billion of revenue pa - or something like that.

Like someone said, you end up paying for things whatever. You all pay $thousands in health insurance each year, we don't but pay massive tax on petrol instead.

I would add that we are at the maximum fuel price people can afford without causing civil unrest though. There were proposed inflation rises on fuel duty due to come in but they have all been scrapped.

Or maybe we are just a bunch of whinging Poms? My colleagues all moan about the cost of fuel, yet they all drive diesels that get 40% less mpg than I do. Makes me laugh. When it's quiet we'll discuss fuel economy, One gets 28 mpg, another 37 mpg, another 32 mpg and then they ask me, "for the last 267 miles I've got 52.7 mpg" and they still need to see the trip computer for proof and yet I'm still the only Prius cab in town

 

not being able to afford things has never stopped our politicians from running on a tax cut platform. don't you understand? you cut the gas tax, people have more income to buy other things and economy shoots the moon. don't you guys run a deficit?

 

The Daily Show: John Burton, Democratic Party Chair, Explains How F**ked Up California Is - San Francisco News - The Snitch

cool video explaining how california has voted to spend but not pay for stuff. Burton is great when he doesn't understand what swearing more than a rapper means.

 

I lived very frugally most of my life. I've never borrowed money. We all buy stuff we don't need. My sister bought stuff she didn't need with money she didn't have.

Now that I have money, I spend it.

To take something most people reading this have in common: Nobody needs a Prius. A five-year-old used Corolla would be as reliable and much cheaper over the life of the car than a new Prius, But we bought our Priuses because we wanted (and most of us could afford) a nicer car than a Corolla, and many of us wanted to burn less gas and pollute less.

I could afford the Roadster, and I wanted a car that burns no gas and produces no emissions. (My local grid is hydro, with a very little wind power mixed in.) Maybe it's "wasteful" to buy an expensive car. But this is a car that uses 100% sustainable energy, puts out no pollution, and is somewhere between 2 and 3 times as energy-efficient (because it's electric) as a Prius.

If you wish to advocate communism and say that I should not be permitted to have enough money to own this car, or to travel as I do, I can offer no arguments against you. If you wish to argue (as did Jesus) that anybody who can afford more than one shirt should give all their money to the poor, I have no argument against that. Otherwise, my point was the folly of spending money you don't have. I have never bought anything I did not have the cash in the bank or in my pocket to pay for. Until a few years ago that meant I owned very little stuff, never traveled, almost never went out. And if you really want to argue that I have "too much money," most of the world's people could say the same of you.

Live within your means. That's always been my watchword. And that was the point of my post about my sister. That's what my sister could never do. And that's what gets most Americans into financial trouble, and what's gotten the nation into the present fiscal mess.

 

and the whole world.

 

I bought a used corolla as my first car with money I didn't have. I don't know or really care about your sister. You do seem quite judgemental and that was the reason for my post. I traded down to the prius after totaling a much nicer car. Your goals to burn less gas are laudable, but that does not make you look any better when your are calling out a family member. If she was a politician or something that would be something different.

It is a huge waste of resources, and that stuff going into it is not 100% sustainable. It is a really cool car and extremely efficient. Have fun with it. My point was using little gas is not a real justification of judging others. Hell she is your sister, and that may give you the right, but look in the mirror.

Those seem like personal problems. I don't remember during my travels hearing people say I had too much money. I quite happily went into debt to get an education. I spent money frivolously to see the world instead of pinching pennies and paying back my loans. I can't think that on my death bed I'll be saying if only I hadn't spent money to see everest, or learn to fly I could have payed off my loans faster. I never gavitated toward material things though. It sounds like you may be trying to fill a hole. Its ok, just cut your sister a break. Or maybe help her manage a little better. My brother is doing fine, so I tend to try to help those less fortunate.

Have fun with your tesla. I seem to have a very different opinion about government getting the country in the financial mess, but hey, your welcome to your opinion.

 

My sister was just an example of what I see as the fiscal folly of most Americans and the nation.

 

When the pump passes 15 gallons, it should begin adding a 15 cent per gallon "strategic energy defense" tax (or whatever type of tax you want) that will go to fund military operations in the Middle East. If people with SUVs want to game the system, they will have to hang up the pump, end the transaction and begin a new transaction for the next 15 gallons. That will get tedious after a while.

 

I'd rather see a device that can determine how many people are in the car, then impose a fine of $1 per mile for every empty seat below 1/2 the vehicle's capacity. An 8-passenger SUV with only one person in it would be charged $3 per mile driven. Rounding down, a 5-passenger car would be taken as half = 2, so a sedan with one person would pay $1 per mile. EVs, of course, would be exempt, and plug-ins would not be charged for EV miles. All cars, including EVs, would pay a road use tax: Multiply weight by miles driven and use that number to calculate a proportional charge that would cover actual cost of road building and maintenance.

 

That's a good start. "User fees" vary because of differing rates of gas tax and other charges, but revenues collected from drivers generally cover about half the cost of providing the service.

 

In addition to removing the device to hold the trigger, also remove the canopy so pumping has to be done in the rain and snow or the blazing hot sun and of course raise the price to $10.00 a gallon.

 

—We could also add an electric shock device to the handle, which slowly increases the voltage along with the number of gallons pumped.

—How about human powered gas pumps, where the customer has to pedal a stationary bicycle that powers the gas pump? That would save gas and make us more healthy.

—Or maybe we could decrease the rate at which the pump pumps. That way, it would be more uncomfortable to hold the pump lever for longer periods of time.

—Perhaps a mandate that oil companies station "energy advocates" at every pump, who counsel the owners of large, fuel consuming vehicles on the error of their ways.

—My favorite: The price per gallon goes up with the number of gallons pumped. There would also be a time lock on the gas tank, so folks couldn't stop for gas too frequently.

 

i'm old enough to remember hand crank pumps!