http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24811000/

 At this rate these people(big oil) are going to price themselves right out of business when the common folk can no longer afford to drive AT ALL.

Yep, but by then they'll have such a nice little fortune tucked away they won't care.  Many will be going out of business when the oil dries up anyway, since they're not working on other renewable sources.  That's why they're cashing in while they can. Sad but true.

The article was gone when I went looking for it, so don't know what it said. According to some expert yesterday the oil prices are high because of the money that isn't going into housing as an investment and because the dollar is so weak. Why is the dollar weak? Because the Fed lowered the interest rates. Hedge funds, belonging to people that have way too much money to begin with and have to find something to do with it so they aren't taxed (fairly), are sinking those funds into oil and commodities, driving the prices up. The U.S. used billions of less gas in March, according to CNBC this morning, than in March last year, and the lowest amount used since 1940's. So demand has gone down, way down, and yet prices have gone up 70 cents in one month. So we the citizens aren't causing this, it's the greedy people with lots of excess funds to play with that are causing this. Edey

digginout:

when the common folk can no longer afford to drive AT ALL.

 

Hmmm. Maybe that is the desired final effect, after profits. If we do not pay for it at the pumps, we will pay for it in other areas. DH and I have been hit hard in this area, but we refuse to focus on it. We feel that with God, all things are possible. 

pardon my snarkiness, but I'd like to see how those mega rich people like it when they are in the hospital for something and I can't get to work to keep all the servers running and they can't get help when they need it.

arianasilver, I think you are right. I'm almost afraid to think about how bad things could get. I only drive twice a week as is, because I walk to my first job during the week and save up to drive to my other, farther off job on the weekend.

We're not all that worried about it because we've been through this before during the '70s and early '80s. Fuel prices doubled, then doubled again, then stayed relatively stable for a long time. We learned from it, lived within our means, so we are confident that we can deal with it. Other people will too.

I think that many of the people bidding up the prices on oil futures are going to lose their shirts eventually. Predicting the future is a very risky business to be in. While gasoline usage is not all that "elastic" in the short term people can and will make adjustments to use less of it. They drive less, they end up with smaller/more efficient cars or motorcycles/scooters (I've noticed more of them on the road lately) they move closer to their jobs or get jobs closer to home even if it pays less because the numbers come out better, and so on.

We've already made adjustments. While we will keep our full-size 4WD pickup, it hasn't been driven for almost a week now. We only drive it when we use the truck capabilities, otherwise we drive the 30 mpg car. If prices are similar 15 years from now when we replace the pickup we'll probably get a smaller one, or maybe none at all, since I don't know how much I'll be using a pickup truck when I'm 70+!

And I've pretty much given up on buying a travel trailer, the cost of hauling one around is now more than I'm willing to spend.