Fuel is much too cheap

Discussion in 'Business & Economics' started by alain, Aug 23, 2006.

  1. alain du hast mich Registered Senior Member

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    1,179
    Now that I've grabbed your attention with that title, think about it.

    In Australia at the moment, we pay approximately $1.40 a litre

    How much would you pay to buy a 600 ml bottle of water. In Australia it might be $2.40. That works out as $4 a litre - almost three times as much as the same amount of petrol.

    Surely, water would be cheaper. It is more abundant by an incredible factor, found in all countries instead of a few, can often be found pure, without the need for processing of any kind.

    Fuel, on the other hand, is very scarce, basically found only in the Middle East, Russia and America, is usually found deep underground, where extraction is costly, and, I would assume, needs processing before it is sold.

    Why is petrol so cheap, does anyone know?
     
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  3. madanthonywayne Morning in America Registered Senior Member

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    When you buy bottled water you're paying for packaging and image. Compare gasoline to tap water.
     
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  5. Nickelodeon Banned Banned

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    I wonder if the sheer volume of oil that is extracted and processed that makes it less expensive, when you think of just how many barrels of oil are produced and consumed each day. The economy of scale must be greater than for bottled water.
     
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  7. leopold Valued Senior Member

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    cheap?
    i can remember gasoline being sold here in america for 25 cents a gallon
     
  8. spuriousmonkey Banned Banned

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    Yes, it is too cheap. We are using up the resources too fast because they are too cheap. No alternatives are being researched (properly) because petrol is too cheap.

    Triple the price. Quadruple it. It's all fine.
     
  9. The Devil Inside Banned Banned

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    im sick of hearing my american friends bitch about fuel prices..it is nearly 7 dollars a gallon here in belgium (equivalent, of course). they are ALMOST paying 3 dollars per gallon in my hometown.


    waaaaaaah!!!!
     
  10. spuriousmonkey Banned Banned

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    American hater. Americans have the right to freemarket subsidized consumerism.
     
  11. The Devil Inside Banned Banned

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    all hail the mighty walmart!!!!

    fuck it..DAMN THE MAN!!
     
  12. spuriousmonkey Banned Banned

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    Stick it to the man!
     
  13. Nickelodeon Banned Banned

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    The man is not in at the moment, if you would like to leave a message please leave one right after the ****ing BEEP.
     
  14. DaleSpam TANSTAAFL Registered Senior Member

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    So why isn't your title "Bottled water is much too expensive"?

    -Dale
     
  15. DaleSpam TANSTAAFL Registered Senior Member

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    Hehe. That is a really funny oxymoron.

    -Dale
     
  16. alain du hast mich Registered Senior Member

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    1,179
    I'm sure they're both true to some extent, but I can't believe that they would have that much of an effect. I use more water then fuel, I don't know about other people. Even if some of that is tap water, that should still increase supply, lower demand and thus lower cost.

    I said cheap compared to the logical price, not compared to its historical price
     
  17. spuriousmonkey Banned Banned

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    Not if fresh water is a limited resource.
     
  18. Nasor Valued Senior Member

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    That's because Belgium has insane gasoline taxes. You pay $3.60/gallon in taxes on gasoline there. If you got rid of the taxes, the price would be about the same as in the U.S.

    http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/ohim/mmfr/dec05/mftrates.htm

    But do you use more bottled water than fuel?
    Like someone else said, the problem isn't that gas it too cheap - it's that bottled water is stupidly expensive. Tap water is so cheap that it's practically free.
     
  19. The Devil Inside Banned Banned

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    regardless of what the cost is, americans complain too much about prices. the money is still taken out of your wallet, wherever you are.

    and here in belgium they use the extra tax to actually pay for schools, roads, community projects, free health care, and taking care of the poor.

    this is a foreign concept for the american mind, as our taxes are used to kill people in other countries.

    i repeat: americans complain too much about the price of gasoline. and before you say anything, yes, i am american.
     
  20. DaleSpam TANSTAAFL Registered Senior Member

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    I can accept that, but what the hell does the "logical price" of gasoline have to do with the current market price of bottled water. It seems to me that the two are completely irrelevant. In the case of bottled water you have obscene profit margins and in the case of gasoline (in most parts of the world) you have obscene taxes, so neither really seem to be at what I would call a "logical price".


    I agree completely. The funny thing is that we complain and whine about how it is going to cut into our life style and someone should do something about it, and yet we buy the exact same amount. The price elasticity for gas is almost negligible.

    -Dale
     
  21. swivel Sci-Fi Author Valued Senior Member

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    Quoted for truth.
     
  22. Absane Rocket Surgeon Valued Senior Member

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    We will end up pricing ourselves out of the market before the oil is all used up. Who would pay $200 a gallon?
     
  23. Neildo Gone Registered Senior Member

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    Fuel is too cheap? Sure, maybe in countries that you can walk from one end of the country to the other in a few days.

    Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!



    Here in the U.S. which is about the size of all of Europe, lemme hear ya say that again when you have to take certain goods from one end of the country to the other. Or how about where you gotta drive 50 miles or more roundtrip to and from work each day? We don't have the excellent mass transportation system you guys have.

    Fuel has a bigger impact on the world than a gallon of milk, some purified water, orange juice or other expensive item if you compare per-gallon costs. Heck, with higher-priced fuel, that milk, orange juice, water, or any other item wouldn't even be able to reach you. You'd wind up paying even more for those products due to the increase in fuel price.

    - N
     

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