what happened?

This president has had nothing to do with low gas prices!! Certainly not his policies on freezing drilling in the gulf or vetoing the Keystone pipeline. He is shutting down the coal industry, so the gas prices have happened in spite of him!!!

This president has had nothing to do with low gas prices!! Certainly not his policies on freezing drilling in the gulf or vetoing the Keystone pipeline. He is shutting down the coal industry, so the gas prices have happened in spite of him!!!

We could have a bigger supply if it were not for the idiot in the white house! The keystone pipeline should be up and running by now! We still need to keep the price around $80 a barrel to keep the investment in drilling. I would rather pay $80 for our oil than $100 for Middle East oil. That is what will happen again if we stop investing in drilling. The supply will tighten and the Arabs will stick it to us again.

The coal industry needs to be revitalized. The coal producing states should have learned how to vote. Many of those states helped put this clown in office! Your vote counts.

How much do you guys think the drop in gas prices is helping the economy honestly?  Not to sound like a smart A** but what are your honest thoughts? 


 


Me personally, I drive a diesel 4000 miles per month, i get about 13.5 MPG so it doesn't save me more than a couple hundred dollars a month... I assume that most people drive less than me and get better mileage than me.. Honestly diesel has only went down about $0.75/gallon so realistically I'd have to drive 9,000 miles per month to save $500/month.  Not many people put 108,000 miles per year on a vehicle.  If numbers like that effect the bottom line then you shouldn't be paying in any income taxes to think of.  I don't see where the average person saving less than $5/day effects the economy in a positive manor that outweighs the billions being taken out of the economy due to the price drop.   ***If you are a farmer or trucking company going through thousands of gallons of fuel yes I understand it makes a difference, but I'm just wondering if this has really effected any average Joe American? 


 


There is no cap on what I would love to see oil at, if it were $10/gallon I'd be so happy I would probably just buy random people's fuel at the station! But, realistically if you look back historically the economy has done well around $100/bbl... Below that drilling will continue but it is not enough to encourage economic growth, above that there is a boom and the economy improves until OPEC comes in and screws us (this happens roughly every 3 years).   OPEC has always controlled the market but at these prices even Saudi is loosing money but they have $900 Billion surplus unlike our however many Trillion dollar deficit.  They are hurting the global economy everywhere from Asia to South America.  I don't see how they can push prices past mid summer without ending up at war over there.  If they keep pushing it more than a year everyone worldwide is going to be in a world of hurt.  The only positive from the lower prices in my opinion is that ISIS fund's itself on black market oil so their $30mil/mo budget should be cut in about half.

Low gas prices affect all kinds of things! All of the produce that needs to be trucked, any materials that are moved from one side of the country to the next, farmers with their tractors and machines, and on and on. Just look at everything on the road, all machines, boats and trains!! When shipping costs go down, whether it is a package or a load of steel, it makes a big difference. We buy off road diesel for our farm equipment and just had our tank filled. It was about $250 less than last time. Multiply that over a year and it definitely matters.

It has all kind of positive and negative effects. One bad one for me is a lot of my hunting clientele is oil field workers, mostly drilling rigs. They are being laid off in high numbers. We need a happy medium, not too high and not too low. Oil funds a lot of jobs in this country. To high and the economic suffers, to low the economy suffers.

Yes that's exactly what I was saying Wild Rivers.  Farmers and Truckers will save but not the average person.  I don't know what percentage of Americans are farmers or truckers but I imagine it is a relatively low percentage.  Maybe cost of groceries will go down but usually the store prices are constant only the prices in the field fluctuate... I come from a commercial fishing family and prices we were paid varied from week to week but the prices in the store front never changed from January 1st to December 31st unless it was increased.


 


I know I'm biased because my pay cut is coming very soon (get to evaluate how bad it is in 2 months before they decide how deep to cut, but I've never seen them cut less than 40%) so there will be absolutely no growth of my deer farm this year and it won't see any growth until oil is above $90/bbl.  Is no one worried about interest rates skyrocketing? 


 


Brett,


I feel for you most of the working hands on the rigs come from Alabama, Mississippi or Texas... Could be worse 100% of our work in California has already shut down.  Gotta be jealous of Texas though because it's going to slow down the least... No state taxes and strongest economy of any state in America.  Imagine if they could close their border!

This is an interesting article in our local paper.  This kind of says it all.


___________________________________________________________________________________________

24pxThe energy boom in America: Who gets the credit?
(51,51,51);; 
(51,51,51);; By Jeff Erding

 
(51,51,51);; Mon, Jan 5th, 2015

 
1.2em;(51,51,51); 1.3em;text-align:justify“Great Depression� of the 1930’s. These years have been terribly painful for millions of Americans, and according to the non-partisan Congressional Research Service, the recovery has been slower and more anemic by far than the average of the last 10 recoveries. The last two months, there has been evidence of a light at the end of the tunnel: fuel prices have dropped dramatically, giving Americans much more money left in their pockets after filling their fuel tanks. This means the folks have funds to use for debt reduction, to go to the movies, to buy durable goods, to take on a mortgage; in short, more disposal income. This situation will be a definite boost for the economy in the long run.
text-align:justify;1.3em;(51,51,51);
merica is on the verge of energy independence, now producing within our borders 85% of the fossil fuels needed to run the country. Oil production has risen an astonishing 80% in America since 2008. Because of recent innovations to reduce emissions from coal fired power plants and the substantial uptick in availability of extremely clean burning natural gas, America is the world leader in emission reductions. Green Energy (wind,solar), although certain to be extremely important in the future, has very little to do with either our emission reductions or our looming independence from foreign oil and is at least a generation away from being a significant part of the energy picture. So who do Americans have to thank for the ray of hope provided by the energy boom?


T he White House has been quick to claim the credit. A visit to the official White House website will reveal a plethora of material taking credit for any and all improvements in domestic energy production and the sure to follow improved economy. In November, Mr. Obama waxed eloquent during a visit to a steel mill in Ohio, touting administration policies that have created thousands of jobs, claiming his policies are “Building a new foundation for economic growth in America.â€� White House spokesman Jay Carney often refers to Administration policies on emission control and more stringent federal automotive mileage standards as being the keys to our improved energy situation. 

So who deserves the credit? Can Mr. Obama and the Liberal, Secular Progressive crowd rightfully claim the accolades? Fact checking again with the Congressional Research Service and the Western Energy Alliance, it turns out not so much. In reality, the huge economy- boosting increase in energy and jobs related to the oil boom has taken place not BECAUSE of administration policies, but IN SPITE of them!! The administration, far from encouraging increased exploration, production, and energy refining, has done everything in its power to block any increase in the availability of fossil fuel products including the cleanest burning of all, natural gas. That’s right folks; while production on private and state held lands has jumped over 80% in six years, is has actually dropped on federally controlled land from 1.7 million barrels a day to 1.6 million barrels. The administration has actively opposed any and all pipeline construction or drilling permits, choking off thousands of high paying jobs and forcing oil transport by barge, ship, and rail, which is much less efficient and more dangerous. (Ever seen a train derailment involving tanker cars? It ain’t pretty!) Many recent attempts have been made to upgrade the capacity of America to refine petroleum products; all neatly blocked by Mr. Obama and his minions in the Senate. 


Evan Paul Krugman, a syndicated columnist and liberal professor of economics, has publicly urged the administration to get on board with increased energy production. Krugman recognized months ago that energy production in America should be increased as much as possible in an effort to break the strangle hold Vladimir Putin and Russia have on Europe. Turns out he is correct (and believe me folks, I hate to admit Krugman is right about anything!) as the ruble has dropped 50% in value in the past three months and Mr. Putin has a triple extra strength Excedrin headache! It also means less money for middle east terrorist organizations, certainly an added benefit.


Remarkable, when you think about it. The most anti-fossil fuel Administration and American President in history has presided over an oil industry that has allowed us to achieve oil production in excess of imports for the first time in 15 years! In the year 2015, America will be the WORLD’S LARGEST oil producer, and at the same time, the world leader in emissions reduction because of the increased use of cheap, clean natural gas, all produced by fracking and all with the same presiding administration doing everything possible to cripple production!

So who really deserves credit? More than anyone, oilman Harold Hamm, who is responsible for development of the huge Bakken Oil Field in North Dakota. In 2008, Mr. Hamm visited Mr. Obama to break the exciting news that America, with the help of the new administration, could achieve the holy grail of “ Energy Independenceâ€� so long sought by every United States President. 


Mr. Obama’s reaction? Quote from billionaire Harold Hamm, “He barely listened to me. He didn’t want anything to do with any of it!â€� That’s OK Mr. Hamm. Turns out you did pretty well without him anyway! 


The next time I fill up my tractor, car, or truck, I’m going to tip my hat to the hard working Americans in the oil industry. They didn’t wait around for any government handouts: they rolled up their sleeves and went to work in a tough, dirty business. They helped out their fellow Americans and at the same time weakened our enemies, and for that I salute them!  


God Bless until next time, Jeff