Stealing Gas.

**Battle Royale: Profiles** · May 14, 2008, 9:27 PM

The Story:
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localne...ered.html?imw=

The Issue:
I heard about this story when my brother went to a car parts store to fix something in his car. The guy at the register asked him if he had a locking gas cap, and suggested that my brother got one. The reason? That story there.

That crime took place about ten miles from my own home, in a suburban area. My county in general is comprised of rather wealthy business owners, polo players, and retirees. A crime like that was a real eye-opener to myself, and the residents here.

It was a preview of what could be in store for this country, with the continuous rise of gas prices, and no aid from the economy itself to balance it out. Right when I can, I'm going to buy a locking gas cap, to protect myself from people like that Ramirez, stealing gas out of my car, and then trying to hack my hand off for stopping him. Talk about biting the hand that feeds.

The Question:
What do you all think about this? Do you think that instances like this could become more commonplace as we get deeper and deeper into a recession? And, for those who live in countries where gas is around $8 a gallon, what is your take on this? Is the only solution improved public transportation, or investing in an a new electric car/motorcycle?

May 14, 2008, 9:47 PM

Oh great, we're going back to the 80's and gas siphoning

Saw something on CNN the other day, a guy was projecting gas to reach $7 a gallon within a year.

The little door that covers the gas cap is locking, and can only be opened from inside my car...but I suppose there's always the chance of someone prying it open, or breaking into my car and opening it that way. I should probably look into a locking gas cap.

On a final note...a Mexican? Trying to steal and then kill a guy? What a surprise

**Battle Royale: Profiles** · May 14, 2008, 9:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ARC-77

Oh great, we're going back to the 80's and gas siphoning

Saw something on CNN the other day, a guy was projecting gas to reach $7 a gallon within a year.

The little door that covers the gas cap is locking, and can only be opened from inside my car...but I suppose there's always the chance of someone prying it open, or breaking into my car and opening it that way. I should probably look into a locking gas cap.

On a final note...a Mexican? Trying to steal and then kill a guy? What a surprise

Well, I'd rather not make this a racial issue. Though, Ramirez does represent the immigrant and oppressed persona of this society, I suppose.

I spoke to Cerridwen about this, and she said the same thing about her car. My car is a Chevy Malibu, and mine is just unscrewed from the outside, no locking mechanism at all.

A locking gas cap is only about $20, so, I'd say it's a pretty sound investment.

As for the $7, I've heard that a lot of economists are projecting that it'll be $10. But, sometimes I wonder if these economists are just being paid off by car companies, that are planning to release ultra gas-efficient cars, as a way of scaring people into purchasing these new vehicles.

My Calculations:
Where I live, gas prices raise $0.10 every week, so, right now it's at $3.80. I'll see what it'd be at by 2009:
$7.10

I calculated about .10 x 33 weeks=$3.30
$3.30 + $3.80=
$7.10

This would be what gas would cost, if this continues, by January 2009. Guess there is some truth to it after all. Pretty disgusting, huh?

May 14, 2008, 10:01 PM

Quote:

What do you all think about this?

This is too much... I'm glad my car has a tight lock on the gas. It can only be opened by a button inside my car. People are desperately needing gas to go to work and what not. It was a jackass thing to do to steal someone else gas, but it worries me.

Quote:

Do you think that instances like this could become more commonplace as we get deeper and deeper into a recession?

Possibly, the U.S dollar keeps getting weaker and weaker. Everything is going up in price and gas is very expensive. The average American income is about 48-50k. People have children to feed and other expenses to take care of such as electrify, water etc. Those stimulus checks aren't going to do very much. Not to mention were in a mortgage crisis, people are loosing their homes. The gas prices are effecting truck drivers greatly as well and charging more for shipping. Everything is going down, our Airlines are absolute shit at the moment. We are getting into a deeper recession. Bah! We need another F.D.R or Reagan. :/

Quote:

Is the only solution improved public transportation, or investing in an a new electric car/motorcycle?

The problem with hybrid cars is that their value equal the same as buying a regular car and having a normal gas mileage. For example, a normal Honda Civic starting cost is about 15k. A hybrid Honda Civic starts at 22k. That is a 7,000 dollar difference. You're not saving any money unless you drive a lot. Also hybrid batteries cost a lot. Not everyone can afford a hybrid as well.

Let's say you fill up your regular Honda Civic 2 times a month. That costs to 120 a month, times 12 months is 1440 dollars. 1440 x 5 years is 7,200 dollars. Not too bad but in 5 years there will be a better car. Also to replace a hybrid battery costs about 3,000 dollars and that is replacing the batter every 80,000-100,000 miles.

Another problem with hybrids and these new fuel efficient cars is the lack of power. Yeah, sure, you might not care if you car accelerates fast but I do. My car accelerates pretty fast and it has helped me get out of tight situations were I would have almost crashed. Also it's safer to speed up fast while merging to keep up with the traffic.

Smart Cars are a great idea but the problem with them is there is not enough room to put stuff, especially when your doing grocery shopping. They're very small and there are still many SUVs on the road. Hell, mid-size and large sedans are pretty big as well compared to a Smart car.

May 15, 2008, 6:03 AM

One of the main reasons for the rise in the price of petrol, or as you americans affectionately call it, 'gas', is the fact that OPEC refuse to supply enough oil to reduce prices. Therefore there is a shortage of supply which leads to price increases. Plus the fact that Oil companies love their increased profits.

Also Cerri, FDR didn't fix the recession, the war did, the New Deal didn't work, it did improve the situation a bit, but not significantly, it was a good try.
A conventional war would be very good for the economy though

I think things like that will become more frequent, the poor get evn poorer, which gives them even more incentives to commit crimes to supplement their incomes.

May 15, 2008, 7:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frylock

I think things like that will become more frequent, the poor get evn poorer, which gives them even more incentives to commit crimes to supplement their incomes.

Funny you should mention that. I was watching The Daily Show yesterday, and John Stewart had Bill Moyers (White House press secretary in the 60's) as a guest on his show, and Bill was saying that the divide between the upper and lower class is growing larger. Vid is here, if anyone cares to watch.

Now on the note of locking gas caps...I spent a good half hour browsing message boards and looking at customer reviews on the things...and apparently most (if not all) can be opened WITHOUT the key, all you have to do is turn harder. On one board I came across, someone was saying how locking gas cap doors will do more good, which I have.

Plus, if someone wanted the gas badly enough they would just puncture the gas tank and drain it that way, the locking gas cap is really just a deterrent to the less-desperate.

And just for the hell of it, have another clip from yesterday's The Daily Show about high gas prices. "SHE'S A WITCH! BURN HER...using biofuels" I just love John Stewart

May 15, 2008, 2:55 PM

I believe the rise in oil prices has been due to over speculation. The OPEC has released reports and statements saying that it is producing enough oil and that there is certainly enough oil in the market. I Think, people are just panicking too much... and besides, the time of less oil usage must come too. With all the global warming and stuff, we have to start reducing our emissions...

May 15, 2008, 4:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frylock

Also Cerri, FDR didn't fix the recession, the war did, the New Deal didn't work, it did improve the situation a bit, but not significantly, it was a good try.
A conventional war would be very good for the economy though

He did help somewhat. FDR did about 40% of the work and WWII did 60% of the work to get the US out of the depression. FDR created the Triple AAA and the FDIC. The Triple AAA was to get rid of surplus or pay people such as farmers to stop growing stuff. In effect, this caused demand in supply so owners would have to hire people again. The FDIC was the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. It was the bank was guaranteed by the government. If a bank fails the government buys it and sells it to another bank company.

Also he created the NRA, the National Recovery Administration, helped people get their jobs back. The SEC as well, Security Exchange commission which controlled buying and selling. He fixed Wilson's fuck up by creating the Cash and Carry policy.

May 15, 2008, 5:15 PM

I think I'll just jump in here too. Now, admittedly, economics is reeeeaaaally not my subject at all. So take anything I say with a grain of salt :p That said....

When the dollar was doing very well, it was overvalued. When something is overvalued, it's obviously going to fall. What is happening now, I think, was inevitable.

The oil companies also do something called zone pricing. I'm sure everyone has noticed this. They charge according to what they believe people in an area will pay. The more affluent the area, the higher the gas prices. Ain't it charming? Gas doesn't actually have to be this expensive at all; they just know they can rape us with prices, and we have no other alternative but to bend over and take it. Here's a cute little excerpt from CNNmoney:

"Exxon Mobil made history on Friday by reporting the highest quarterly and annual profits ever for a U.S. company."

Isn't it lovely? And quite frankly, I think that we could definitely find an alternative to oil if we actually, y'know, tried. But the oil companies and the government are bffs, so why would the government want to put resources into looking for alternatives that could potentially render oil companies obsolete?

And I really don't think a conventional war would work. We're part of a global economy now. I don't think it would really stimulate the American economy in the way that WWII did. Back then, we didn't outsource everything to India and China.