Am I the only one pissed off by $1.69 gasoline? - Page 5 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

John Doe · #61 11-21-2008, 11:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian Carlton

There is currently a federal excise tax on on fuel. If you raise the tax to ensure a $3.00 price on gasoline, nobody in the industry is going to suffer with it. The recent events show that they can make money with gasoline at $4.25........despite the slight drop in consumption.

Diesel fuel is used in production, refining and transporting of petroleum products.

Fulcrum525 · #62 11-21-2008, 11:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dee8go

I'm the last person to be in favor of taxing anything, but if Congress was to put a $.50 per gallon tax on gas which could ONLY be used to pay down the national debt and which would cease the day it reached zero, I might be in favor of that.

What in the hell have I been smoking . . . .right? Pfffft!

Well there is a sad part of that calculation that I left out. Even at $525,000,000 a day....it would still take 55 years to pay off....

The entire GDP of the US is around $13 trillion, the debt is $10 trillion.....how the **** did this happen?

Brian Carlton · #63 11-21-2008, 11:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Doe

Diesel fuel is used in production, refining and transporting of petroleum products.

I'm not sure of the point, but, I wouldn't put any additional tax on diesel fuel. It's gasoline consumption that needs to be curtailed in a serious way.

aklim · #64 11-21-2008, 11:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmac2012

We have to get tax monies from somewhere and that might be one of the best places, all in all.

Why? The road fund running out of money? Maybe they should stop spending on what they are spending on. I mean, 40 cents on the dollar is used for non road projects. Sorry. If you need more, show me you have spent every dollar you have on road projects and are in a shortfall still.

aklim · #65 11-21-2008, 11:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dannym

They have been setting records on profits,

I keep hearing that "record profits" thing. Care to define it in percentages because according to my calculation it is about 10% give or take. Do you consider that you are gouging your employer? What does it cost you to go to work vs what you are paid? What is your percentage of profit?

Botnst · #66 11-21-2008, 11:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fulcrum525

Well there is a sad part of that calculation that I left out. Even at $525,000,000 a day....it would still take 55 years to pay off....

The entire GDP of the US is around $13 trillion, the debt is $10 trillion.....how the **** did this happen?

Every election we put the same 2 parties into power and every election, we expect a different outcome.

Giving them more money will result in:
A) Complete change in their behavior pattern. They will wisely spend the money.

B) What they did the last time.

John Doe · #67 11-21-2008, 11:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian Carlton

I'm not sure of the point, but, I wouldn't put any additional tax on diesel fuel. It's gasoline consumption that needs to be curtailed in a serious way.

Whoa--diesel fuel is excise taxed. I thought your point was that the industry wouldn't be affected by additional excise tax.

I don't see any logic whatsoever in excepting diesel fuel from an additional consumption tax on fuel. Your "morons" will just buy diesel fuel "****boxes."

aklim · #68 11-21-2008, 11:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian Carlton

taxing gasoline to achieve a floor and using the funds to reduce the deficit has absolutely no downside.

I'd like the legislation to use the funds strictly on the deficit............it that's possible.

I think I have to revise my impression of you. You DO have a sense of humor which I never realized. They can't even use the road tax funds on road projects. Any funds they get from any tax is going to be used to on something else besides what they said. Remember that tobacco windfall? What happened to it? AFAIK, they told us that the settlement was to be used to pay for the expenses of getting in (legal fees) and the rest to be used to get people off tobacco and kids from starting. It is a fact that many states have used it for balancing the budget, paying for OTHER programs, etc, etc. Any tax is going to be Congress' personal slush fund and you know it as well as I do. IF you can assure me that it is going to the deficit ONLY and they won't use it in a "Borrow from Peter to pay Paul" or balance their budget so that they are ALSO paying down the deficit instead of using it as the only means, go for it.

Possible but not probable. I think it is more likely that we can graft wings onto a pig in your garage and make it fly.

Fulcrum525 · #69 11-21-2008, 11:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Doe

Whoa--diesel fuel is excise taxed. I thought your point was that the industry wouldn't be affected by additional excise tax.

I don't see any logic whatsoever in excepting diesel fuel from an additional consumption tax on fuel. Your "morons" will just buy diesel fuel "****boxes."

Its easy, everyone benifits from a lack of tax on diesel fuel. Put simply, shipping costs. All of those distribution trucks certainly do not have gasoline engines. If the prices rise on all products because of shipping costs its because of diesel taxes, not gasoline taxes.

aklim · #70 11-21-2008, 11:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fulcrum525

Some rough numbers.

25 million barrels a day(1,050,000,000 gallons) * .50 tax per gallon=$525,000,000 a day in tax revenue.

Not a bad idea, but I think someone will sit up and say "We need another aircraft carrier" and another will stand and say something about a highway being built....

Brian is right, it would be simple to impliment but in the end the funds probably wouldn't go to where they are most needed. I think as a whole people would be happy to pay and extra .50 per gallon if they knew it was going to benifit everyone in the long run.

I thought the road tax, aka fuel tax is for ROAD repair only?

aklim · #71 11-21-2008, 11:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian Carlton

The idea of the tax and the result of the tax is beneficial.

Unfortunately, the history of the DB's in Congress shows that they are just as fiscally irresponsible as the average moron in the street..........and, hence..........the reason we are in this predicament.

Unless these idiots wake up and pull their heads out of their asses, this country will continue to be headed in a very bad direction............and the absence of GWB won't change that outcome.

We both know what the road to hell is paved with. Good intentions.

But that is the problem, is it not? If we give them more tax money, what will they do with it? If it is something great like using it to reduce the deficit IN ADDITION to what they are doing, sure. Otherwise, all you are suggesting is giving the keys of the pharmacy to your local druggies for safe keeping.

No, the problem is not with Congress, per se. We told them to do what they did and we reward them. We have no right to get pissed when bad things happen. Basically, we rewarded them with a 6 yr term to make us happy. They did so by doling out money and pet projects to make you happy. During their term, you cannot fire them. They get paid irregardless. Now, if you paid them on commission calculated by how well the country does in prosperity terms with real penalties for failure, we might get better results. If I work at Best Buy and am paid $10 an hour whether I sell much or nothing, what makes me work hard? If I am paid $5 an hour but with commissions like other places, I might decide to work harder especially if I can get fired or in their case have to pay a fine if we run a deficit, I might do more to ensure the debt will be paid.

aklim · #72 11-21-2008, 11:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dee8go

I'm the last person to be in favor of taxing anything, but if Congress was to put a $.50 per gallon tax on gas which could ONLY be used to pay down the national debt and which would cease the day it reached zero, I might be in favor of that.

What in the hell have I been smoking . . . .right? Pfffft!

Only if it could be ON TOP of what we are doing to reduce the national debt. Otherwise, all they would do is use the tax to pay the debt and spend the new "windfall". These things will happen if we give them more money so why should we?

aklim · #73 11-21-2008, 12:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian Carlton

If you raise the tax to ensure a $3.00 price on gasoline, nobody in the industry is going to suffer with it. The recent events show that they can make money with gasoline at $4.25........despite the slight drop in consumption.

The oil companies can make money. What about the rest of the other industries? Will they be positively affected or not?

Fulcrum525 · #74 11-21-2008, 12:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aklim

I thought the road tax, aka fuel tax is for ROAD repair only?

Yes

, thats what they want you to think.

aklim · #75 11-21-2008, 12:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fulcrum525

Yes

, thats what they want you to think.

My point was that when they sold us the tax, that is what they said. However, reports show that 40 cents of every road tax dollar is spent on something else besides road projects. A couple years back, the good Gov Doyle raided the road tax fund to pay for some programs he wanted.