But with all joking aside, the root cause of our currency crisis is Ben Bernanke. As long as he continues to lower or hold the short term interest rates, the dollar will continue to weaken which in turn will affect us all with higher gas and food prices, and everything we buy at Walmart and Target since most items are made in China or outside of the United States. Consumers are getting squeezed from all directions and there is not much Americans can do about it. It's sad, but reality.
What do you think about our currency crisis? Is there a way out of this in the short-term? What are the gas prices in your area?
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Gas is around $4.85 for premium around LAX. Not sure what regular is at since I don't fill up often.
ReplyDeleteI just filled up your car 7/1/08 $4.55/gal. for Shell regular in South Bay. On the way home, I passed by at least 2-3 stations & prices were .02-.11/gal. more so I actually got a deal!
ReplyDelete2 - 2 1/2 wks. ago it was $4.53/gal. Shell regular.
I just did the calculation, and the current price for a US gallon of regular unleaded in the UK is $8.97. So, $5 for a gallon is still a bargain compared to other places in the world.
ReplyDeleteOn a positive note, I read today on Bloomberg.com that plunging sales of trucks are impacting GM, Toyota and Ford, while Honda and VW, who sell mostly smaller vehicles, are seeing growth.
Higher gas prices will help reduce consumption, though it would probably have been better if the extra cash was going into government monitored research projects rather than oil company profits.
Gas here in Tracy, CA is 4.54 a gallon.
ReplyDeleteBTW - let's try to remember that a large portion of corporate profits, including oil company profits, are directly reflected in the value of people's IRAs, 401ks, and other retirement investments.
Gas in the San Ramon area is around $4.50-55/gallon of regurlar this morning. I had to take BART out to SF (Civic Center) from Dublin/Pleasanton station recently and the fare was $5.25 one way plus $1.00 for parking making my total roundtrip fare $11.50. I usually commute by motorcycle to/from work, however, one of bikes was in the shop in SF, so I had to BART in. I get around 40-45/gallon on my bikes and don't have to pay toll during carpool hours. I save more money commuting on my bikes than BART. More and more people are opting for 2 wheels instead of 4, which is a good thing. We've also a hybrid that gets around 45mi/gal, but unfortunately, we were too late for the carpool sticker.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your detailed analysis of your commute! Seems like taking the bike or driving a hybrid is the way to go. But how do you feel about safety when commuting with your motorcycle? I think for most people, BART would be a logical choice to cope with these high gas prices.
ReplyDeleteWell it is now a new year, 2009. As of end of Dec. '08, gas fell to $1.77/gal. regular (high $1.83/gal.) vs. the $4.50+ highs in Spring/Summer '08 in South Bay. Oil prices fell $46 barrel compared to $150+ earlier in the year.
ReplyDeleteAn Assoc. Press energy writer said it was due to "a weaker dollar and expectations of OPEC embarking on its largest production cut ever to stem the historic price decline. Investors tend to buy commodities like oil to defend against dollar weakness and as a hedge against inflation".