what could happen with $10 gas

TexasArtist · #1 05/21/08, 01:24 PM

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com...rsAGallon.aspx

here's a little article about what is possible with $10 gas. I find it odd the guy doesn't mention bicycles becoming more widely used.

Cygnet · #2 05/21/08, 01:32 PM

I strongly suspect that before we ever got to $10 a gallon gas, telecommuting would become commonplace. There is very little reason that most office type jobs couldn't be done in a home office.

It would save employees gas and employers the overhead needed to have a central office filled every day by staff. If telecommuting became common, there would be significantly less need for gas.

Also, it will be technologically feasible to manufacture gasoline from carbon-based refuse rather than pump it long before the $10 a gallon level. The technology exists, and last I heard, cost significantly less than $130 for a barrel of crude. It's just ramping it up to production levels and clearing legal hurdles that is the challenge.

Truckinguy · #3 05/21/08, 02:41 PM

Quote:

I strongly suspect that before we ever got to $10 a gallon gas, telecommuting would become commonplace. There is very little reason that most office type jobs couldn't be done in a home office.

That's a very good idea and should have been done a long time ago. Unfortunately, I would think that it's just a matter of time until the internet and telecommunication companies would get together and start doing what the oil companies are doing to us now. Whatever things we need or decide to use, whoever controls that will find some way to get their piece of flesh from us.

There is no oil crisis now, no matter what they tell us. The oil compaines only produce enough to keep the price high and people speculating on the market are causing prices to rise. There is more oil undiscovered on this planet than has ever been discovered to date. The cost of a barrel of oil today has no real affect on the price of oil coming out of the pump today. It takes weeks or months for the oil to go through the refining/storage/distribution process so what you are buying at the pump now was bought by the oil companies six months ago. Makes me sick to my stomach watching oil companies continue in their criminal ways and nobody stops them. Money talks, I guess.

Cygnet · #4 05/21/08, 02:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Truckinguy

That's a very good idea and should have been done a long time ago. Unfortunately, I would think that it's just a matter of time until the internet and telecommunication companies would get together and start doing what the oil companies are doing to us now. Whatever things we need or decide to use, whoever controls that will find some way to get their piece of flesh from us.

Eh. The difference between the oil companies and telecom companies is there is a lot more competition, and telecom is a lot more open to new ideas and new small businesses that will keep price low.

There ARE some real issues out there with telecom and in some ways it's kinda the wild wild west, but an economy based on office workers who work from home would be entirely technology doable. (And it would be better for the workers, too.)

Truckinguy · #5 05/21/08, 03:10 PM

Quote:

Eh. The difference between the oil companies and telecom companies is there is a lot more competition, and telecom is a lot more open to new ideas and new small businesses that will keep price low.

Yes, I agree, that's less likely to happen than the oil situation. My point that I was trying to make is that if we begin to rely on something too much (eg. oil) it increases the chances of people being taken advantage of.

I agree that working from home is a great idea. I'm attempting to do that myself. Being as independant as possible means you can do something because you choose to, not because you have to.

Gas here has just gone up to $1.26 a litre (x4 for a gallon, approx.) so if I can make a living from home, that's what I'm going to do.

Kmac15 · #6 05/21/08, 03:24 PM

DH will still have to commute, working at a hospital does not work well with telecommuting.

We have talked about what price gas would have to be for us to REALLY cut back on errands, such as him doing the grocery shopping and banking. $10 would do it.

hillsidedigger · #7 05/21/08, 03:37 PM

A sudden rise to $10 per gallon gasoline would result in a complete meltdown of American society with very high unemployment, very depressed level of business activity, even more foreclosures and defaults, the end of the electric grid, greatly lowered food production so ultimately many/most people will freeze due to lack of fuel (or have heat-stroke due to a lack of AC), die from a lack of drinking water or be taken out by crime, famine and a street fight to the finish over that last remaining Oscar Meyer's weinee.

michiganfarmer · #8 05/21/08, 03:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kmac15

DH will still have to commute, working at a hospital does not work well with telecommuting.

We have talked about what price gas would have to be for us to REALLY cut back on errands, such as him doing the grocery shopping and banking. $10 would do it.

what gas price would it take for you to move to a house near the hospital so he could walk?

TexasArtist · #9 05/21/08, 05:48 PM

well shoot that dream of 10 buck didn't last long. Here's a lovely article predicting 12.............what is this an auction, I wonder if Rose2005 will join in (hehe sorry Rose just had to tease you

)

rickd203 · #10 05/22/08, 03:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hillsidedigger

A sudden rise to $10 per gallon gasoline would result in a complete meltdown of American society with very high unemployment, very depressed level of business activity, even more foreclosures and defaults, the end of the electric grid, greatly lowered food production so ultimately many/most people will freeze due to lack of fuel (or have heat-stroke due to a lack of AC), die from a lack of drinking water or be taken out by crime, famine and a street fight to the finish over that last remaining Oscar Meyer's weinee.

Who is going to want to move to the city if you risk being killed over a bag of groceries? I am living in a city and I'm ready to bug out when the rioting and looting starts. Any money that I have left after buying gasoline and paying bills goes into buying the types of supplies and equipment for living self sufficiently.

piglady · #11 05/22/08, 04:52 PM

I drive two hours a day with a company car (they pay the gas) so I can sit at a desk and use a lap top computer and a phone. I could save them a ton of money and save me 10 hours a week if they would let me do the same thing from my house. But no, it's not in the policy! I suspect the day will come that it will become the policy.

I was reading how the rising oil will change our lives. They predicted we cannot afford food shipped in but will need to buy local. They also predicted everyone would move to the downtown city to use public transportation or walk. So, how are we going to move to the city AND raise our own food?

RiverPines · #12 05/22/08, 04:56 PM

10 dollar gas would mean total economic failure, and mass starvation in the USA! Every single thing you buy would shoot up to unbelievable prices.
The great depression would have a rival.

Unless payrolls keep up...and thats wouldn't happen, heck, its not happening now!

Kmac15 · #13 05/22/08, 05:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by michiganfarmer

what gas price would it take for you to move to a house near the hospital so he could walk?

I am not sure, we would have other options to try first. He could try 3 12 hour days a week, or maybe other transportation like a motorcycle.

We grow a lot of our own food and living in the city would mean that would not be as easy to do, and if it gets that bad I am not sure we could get anyone to buy our place so we could move to town.

I think that if it gets as bad as it could a lot of people will be making hard decisions.

Cygnet · #14 05/22/08, 05:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kmac15

I am not sure, we would have other options to try first. He could try 3 12 hour days a week, or maybe other transportation like a motorcycle.

We grow a lot of our own food and living in the city would mean that would not be as easy to do, and if it gets that bad I am not sure we could get anyone to buy our place so we could move to town.

I think that if it gets as bad as it could a lot of people will be making hard decisions.

When I was a kid, during the recession in the 1980's, my father had to take a job out of town to support us. I'm not sure what his living arrangements were; probably an el cheapo hotel or a shared apartment.

Expect that sort of thing might be a solution for a lot of homesteaders. Sad, but might become necessary. Lots of other countries do it that way.

-- Leva

mnn2501 · #15 05/22/08, 06:02 PM

I only drive about 10 minutes to work, but all I do is sit on a computer and phone all day - nothing I couldn't do from home, but again, my company insists on having everyone together in an air conditioned office building they pay a ton of money for.
Luckily my wife can work from home whenever she wants to, unfortunatly she's the type that needs to get out of the house 3 or 4 days a week and drives 30 minutes to her office - says she'd go nuts if she had to stay in the house all the time. If gas keeps going up she may loose her choice.

Ninn · #16 05/22/08, 07:54 PM

I'm already trying to find ways to work from home. I live in a small town and work has been scarce here for some time. I may switch my college major to Physician's Assistant or Medical Office, just to be sure of work. There is a hospital less than a mile away. I can walk that far.

soulsurvivor · #17 05/22/08, 08:32 PM

I've switched to working from a home office instead of a central office building. I'm the first one in my organization to get approval to do this. My change of office was due to health considerations and that they can't accomodate my physical limitations at the present site. They don't have any office space available on the ground floor and my office is upstairs via a long staircase. I don't know how long it'll last, but so far it's been ok, other than a few tech glitches here and there. I'm set to do remote access from here to my office computer. I'm on a laptop and sometimes take it into the office for maintenance and updates, but mostly the laptop stays here at home and I use a USB stick to download everything and take to the office. It's been trial and error, but I'm not complaining.

I don't live that far away, so gas usage wasn't a problem or a reason for the change.

simplefarmgirl · #18 05/22/08, 08:57 PM

our gas today jumped .17cent,, this is way to much,, not sure how much longer we'll be able to keep the farm trucks on the road,,we are at 3.89 tonight, wow,, how can people sleep at night??/Some of simple farmers are going to have to make choices everyday,, do i cut hay, to feed my animals, feed my family,, what gets shut off next,, no more trips off the mountain unless every trip is combined with something else.No more trips off mtn to take ds to baseball practice if that the only trip he will have to stay with his mother, she lives in town. we wont starve so thats not a choice. , but money from the farm is all we have for incomes, and now with gas so high looking for extra work isnt an option to off set prices cuz it will cost more to get back and forth, so we wont gain,, I feel bad for the people on smaller incomes than ours

hotzcatz · #19 05/23/08, 05:03 AM

That news article is way behind the times. We've already had airlines go bankrupt. The airline which handles the mail here went bankrupt and our mail wasn't delivered for several days until they found another air carrier to handle it. Two airlines have already gone bankrupt and a third is getting ready to go under. Our economy is fueled by tourists who arrive by airplane and the airline tickets have been skyrocketing lately. That means we will have less tourists so our economy is going to drop.

We've already stopped about forty percent of our driving and are getting more fuel efficient cars. We now share rides to town with our neighbors and consolidate errands. I don't go to town without taking at least one other shopping list or a neighbor with me.

DH is working on an electric car as well as a wind generator to power it with. Building an electric car and plugging it into the electric grid which is powered by oil doesn't help so the wind generator or more solar panels will be required.

ginnie5 · #20 05/23/08, 07:15 AM

dh is seriously looking at the smart cars for him to go back and forth to work in. Gas here was 3.70 last night. I've already told the kids that once this month is over and sports are done we will have one day a week we're out. DD#3 will have art on Wednesdays thru June and everything will have to be done then. that's the only time other than Sunday that my van will leave the yard.