by jlw61 » Thu 29 May 2008, 14:56:30
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('joelcolorado', 'N')ot talking bout TOMORROW, but there has to be an end to the consumption at current levels or we will have the long lines at the pump and just be OUT of gas some days. The world is lining up for the gas we used to get all of and we are going to pay so much you wont have to worry bout tourism.
If we're not talking about gas rationing soon, the point is moot, because right now we have the ability to make a difference which would provide some long term security for this country. If we could cut the amount of gasoline used in America by 50%, that would make a huge difference quickly. Waiting until there is too little is too late.
Now, I'm not advocating rationing, but I'm attempting to point out that the time to ration is
not after TSHTF.
I have outlined in a previous thread how to ration that would lower consumption
and allow those who need/want it to get what they need. While I eschew any form of government control on consumption, the process I outlined uses the private sector to run the rationing system.
You register a credit/debit/ration card which allows you to purchase a small amount of gas at what we'll call the market rate. You use that card to purchase gas each week, up to the rationed amount. Any gas that you purchase over that amount has a substantial tax added onto it. The tax could be flat or progressive (the more you use, the more you pay per gallon). This would give everyone the ability to purchase a certain number of gallons per week at a lower cost and help control the black market.
The weakness to this system is that all gasoline stations must have some form of real-time credit/debit card processing system in order to work. If the system can not communicate with the rationing system, you can't buy the fuel at the lower cost. This
can be gotten around, but that would require newer electronic money technologies which do not really exist in the US yet.
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'E')ating out is down 45% already. My friend in Branson said ppl are NOT coming. Vegas shows 60% decrease. Advertising for casinos and amusement parks is flooding the television like never before.
And this is a great example of market rationing. As costs rise, people self ration their consumption. This is the
system that works well. Can it cause problems? Hell yes! But when you are talking about a finite resource, you are going to have problems eventually! The fact that this finite resource comes with a hefty price tag in terms of society and mortality due to the world's inability to manage it properly is a crying shame.
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'I') think people are just about out of money and charging gas.
One day, it will crash because we cannot afford that kind of price and still maintain all we have known. there is only so much money to go around and with declining job market and pay scales, that money is going to gas.