Friday, April 14, 2006

Was your economy better in the 90's, too?

I just got my car filled up.
44 bucks.
Ouch!
Gas in New Jersey is generally about the cheapest in the nation which means this even worse elsewhere!
I checked to see what a barrel of oil is going for and was shocked to learn that yesterday's price of $70.20 was only sixty cents off the post-Katrina record. Now if you're like me and don't have an economics degree, condider this: a barrel of oil was going for twenty bucks five years ago. Wasn't the Iraq war supposed to make gas cheaper?

And speaking of the Iraq war, do you think it's a coincidence that I have not gotten a substantive tax refund since the war began? This year I am getting $50 which is barely enough to fill up my Hummer. (just kidding) Looking back, i recall getting a pretty nice return every year since I was a 16-year-old working at Wendy's. It was always enought to look forward to. I guess no matter how you feel about Bush's Iraq war, we can all at least agree that it's damn expensive.

But put my liberal politics aside and consider this: if you and I managed our finances the way the republican- led govenment has done with the federal budget, we'd be such toxic credit risks that we'd need a co-signer to get a cell phone! It's a shameful legacy to leave for our children and grandkids.
(Image courtesy Clay Bennett)

3 comments:

Godwhacker said...

Good combination of narrative and graphics! The war in Iraq did make gas more available... for the oil companies. Now what good would that do (for them) if they passed that availability on to us? The whole thing is just a smokescreen. We can run cars on hydrogen and leave the middle east in peace.. but again what good would that do?

Elsa said...

I agree with you about the sad state of the federal budget and deficit. I'm amazed that the bond holders (debtors) don't require higher interest rates for lending us money, however, many of them (i.e. China) have a vested interest in keeping America's economy rolling along - we consume so much and they want to keep it that way. But this can't last forever.

Anonymous said...

Here in Sodom by the Sea, mid-grade unleaded has hit $3.19 / gallon. It costs me $13 bucks just to fill up my Triumph (motorcycle)! Fortunately my legs run on coffee, and I think that java is still a bit cheaper than petrol. :-)