asmith555

I'm sure we have all seen the high gas prices at the pump. This is not a thread to assign blame but instead to give suggestions to lower fuel prices.

In my opinion there are only 2 ways to lower fuel prices, Increase Supply or Lower Demand. Thats it. Everything will revolve around those two premisis.

Alternative fuels will lower demand and drop the price of crude. The largest issue with alternative fuels is the lack of an infrastucture This is a viable long-term solution but will do nothing in the short term. Right now oil is still a cheaper fuel than other alternate energy sources except Nuclear which is a discussion for another day. As an alternate resource becomes readily available and reliable in avalibility at a lower cost it will enter the supply curve. Perhaps increasing oil prices will bring other forms of energy into play. Price per gallon Gasoline is still one of the cheapest substances on earth next to water.

Increasing oil exploration/Production will increase supply thus lowering prices. Like alternative sources this will not make an immediate impact on the market. The infrastucture is in place an would influence prices quicker but still could take several years.

I can only think of one way to immediatly lower prices at the pump and that is relieveing the taxes on gasoline. Right now gas tax accounts for about 25% of the cost of gasoline. Of course taking it from there would just mean it would have to come back from somewhere else. But that could be disributed out to enough to mask the phycological effect. Or better yet let the gvmt learn to live without the extra revenue.

Anyway chime in with your suggestions. Please leave out things such as: Make Bush stop selling all our oil to the same aliens who abducted Elvis.

gdalton

I think that is a pretty good idea, especially the part about letting the gvmt learn to live without the extra revenue. I also think people should just buck up, I mean if the prices are killing you then you need to sell your SUV that only gets 10mpg. If you can't live without your SUV then be willing to pay the extra price. I know it is not that clear cut but I do believe that a majority of people who own SUV’s, large trucks, or even fancy sports cars (my personal favorite) do not need them for their daily life’s, there are many alternatives for carrying around your kids, dogs and groceries. I know someone will say “but some people can’t afford to buy a more economical car” this is true and I can’t argue that, but if we could get the people who can afford it to find a more reasonable form of transportation we would decrease demand. But this is the real world and it will not happen that way.

vauge

Eliminate some of the "extra" enviormental requirements and supply will skyrocket because refineries can get it out the door faster.

HTColeman

This is not always possible, I live in a fairly well off area, in TX, and you see lots of huge SUV's and Trucks. (TX also has lower gas prices compared to most states...) In my area, a rather large area, there is no bus, no train, nothing, you have to drive. Alot of the more economic cars are very small, and don't accomodate our lifestyle, many people own livestock (not farmers, just a side source of money) and economic cars don't work for that. It also does not work with families, they are just too small. So you have to get a large car. I think the tax thing is the best idea for now, until we have more innovation on more efficient cars.

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