$80 a barrel.

[born_bad]

Re: $80 a barrel.

When you are used to having something for so long it feels like a necessity. The word necessity seems to cover a large umbrella of things nowadays, much more than it actually should.

I agree. That's what I was talking about in my long post. Most people in this country are now able to easily obtain actual necessities and we now work for luxuries and improved "quality of life." People now blur the line between luxury and necessity. Just because you've become accustomed to something doesn't make it a necessity. People like to believe their car is a necessity when it's clearly not. You may feel like you have to have one, but you'd be able to stay alive without one, trust me. So, as I said, the cost of gas is simply making a luxury item cost a little more. People have to adjust and move on or decide that luxury is no longer worth it for them and go without.

[dkgojackets]

Re: $80 a barrel.

born_bad is simply looking at it from the pure economics definition. Others in the thread look at is as "a necessity in order to maintain my current lifestyle."

[born_bad]

Re: $80 a barrel.

born_bad is simply looking at it from the pure economics definition. Others in the thread look at is as "a necessity in order to maintain my current lifestyle."

Right. And it's mainly because corporate American and marketing have convinced people that luxuries are necessities, so it's no wonder there is confusion. People have honestly tried to tell me their cell-phone is a necessity. I haven't had one for years and am doing just fine.

I'm in no way suggesting it's wrong to have luxuries (as I said, we're on a videogame message board, mainly discussing videogames seriously, so we all have luxuries), but it's important to at least recognize those luxuries as such and not throw a ****-fit if it suddenly gets a little more costly. We're all living very spoiled lives (so many luxuries we confuse them for necessities), so keep the complaining in check is my opinion.

[Holic]

Re: $80 a barrel.

Not driving is not an option for me. There is no public transportation in the county I live in. I do however drive a 4 cyliner to save as much gas as possible. We also traded in my wifes gas guzzlin' 6 cylinder for a 4 cylinder about a year ago.

[Dice]

Re: $80 a barrel.

Right. And it's mainly because corporate American and marketing have convinced people that luxuries are necessities, so it's no wonder there is confusion. People have honestly tried to tell me their cell-phone is a necessity. I haven't had one for years and am doing just fine.

I'm in no way suggesting it's wrong to have luxuries (as I said, we're on a videogame message board, mainly discussing videogames seriously, so we all have luxuries), but it's important to at least recognize those luxuries as such and not throw a ****-fit if it suddenly gets a little more costly. We're all living very spoiled lives (so many luxuries we confuse them for necessities), so keep the complaining in check is my opinion.

Necessities and luxuries are defined by each individual based on various scenarios. Some people might think that having a car is a necessity and others don't. Doesn't make it right or wrong. One could live without a car and another can't. Having an absolute idea that having a car is a luxury and defining it for everybody is not true. A farmer might feel that having a cow is a necessity. Just because I can live without having a cow doesn't prompt me to feel that the farmer is frivolously spending unnecessary resources in taking care of that cow. That farmer might need that cow for his buisness. And if he looses that cow then his farm might be in trouble because he needs that cow to provide milk to keep his farm open.

YES, we all have luxuires and we all have necessities and each one is defined by the individual. Personally, having a car is a necessity to me because I live in an area where the nearest public transportation is about 5 miles away and is very unreliable. Also, for the time being I cannot share automobiles with my wife because she needs her own car right now. She's currently 5 months pregnant. So she needs to have something available just in case I don't get to her in time to take her to the hospital. SO she has a car and I have one and we both need them.

And not to complain about gas prices is my God-given right. **** the oil companies who raise and lower these prices because it's all a joke. Exxon Mobile made a $10 billion dollar profit last quarter. Read that sentence again and notice the word PROFIT! That means after all the cost have been factored out(refinery cost, employee wages, transportation cost, etc) they had $10 billion dollars extra...IN FOUR MONTHS!

[Dice]

Re: $80 a barrel.

Adding to my original thought...there was a point in my life where I didn't need a car. AT that time I was single with my own place and I lived right next to public transportation which got me to work and back. That's all I needed at that time. BUT since my situation and living conditions have changed I have to adjust to it. Trust me on this...if I didn't need a car I wouldn't have one.

[dales]

Re: $80 a barrel.

I saw gasoline for $2.39 today. Easily the lowest I've seen it in a looooong time.

[PdiddyPop]

Re: $80 a barrel.

I saw gasoline for $2.39 today. Easily the lowest I've seen it in a looooong time.

Man!!!! It's 2.89 here.

[ODogg]

Re: $80 a barrel.

I agree. That's what I was talking about in my long post. Most people in this country are now able to easily obtain actual necessities and we now work for luxuries and improved "quality of life." People now blur the line between luxury and necessity. Just because you've become accustomed to something doesn't make it a necessity. People like to believe their car is a necessity when it's clearly not. You may feel like you have to have one, but you'd be able to stay alive without one, trust me. So, as I said, the cost of gas is simply making a luxury item cost a little more. People have to adjust and move on or decide that luxury is no longer worth it for them and go without.

I agree with you, it's not a necessity. If your car breaks down for two weeks you can figure out how to live without it. In fact I know several people who don't even own cars and they do just fine by friends, family, cabs, buses, etc. It certainly makes life a lot easier but it's a luxury not a necessity.

[TarHeelMan]

Re: $80 a barrel.

It's $2.73 across the road... Starting to creep up, though; it had been at 2.69 for just about the whole summer until about a week or two ago.

[vinny]

Re: $80 a barrel.

It's $2.73 across the road... Starting to creep up, though; it had been at 2.69 for just about the whole summer until about a week or two ago.

Wow, it jumps around where I live so much its not even funny. In the last 5 days its gone from $2.95 to $2.75. Changes nearly every day.

[bkrich83]

Re: $80 a barrel.

How ignorant and sad.

Tell people that live like this every day that your car is not a luxury:

Not relevant they don't live in our society, and are in a complete different set of circumstances. Neccesity for them is not the same as it is for people living in the US.

Fact of the matter is for me to be employed and to feed and house my family a car is a necessity for my job. You can call it a luxury you can call it whatever you want, but in my region I need to make the wage I do, so I don't live in a cardboard box. A car is a necessity for that employment.

You can call me ignorant, you can try to confuse things with semantics, but it's quite simple no car, no job. No job, no food, and no housing.

350z. Gas tank is huge so that is one reason it was so much. Think it's 20.

Same boat as you. Yup it's a 20 gallon tank, and it requires supreme.

[bkrich83]

Re: $80 a barrel.

Some people just get annoyed because $3+ a gallon is an inconvenience to their plan of riding their fat, out of shape butts around in their SUV from strip mall to strip mall, maxing out their credit cards on thousand dollar TVs to keep up with the Joneses.

Ughh.

Tell you what, I am annoyed by it. It's my right to be as I feel there is definitely price fixing and the consumers are being gouged. That's the beauty of a free society, I am free to have an opinion and voice it.

As far as the other stuff. I am 6'2" and weigh 190 lbs so I am hardly fat. I have a 4wd SUV, which I use for it's intended purchase. I don't have a single credit card anywhere near max, actually have probably $100 in debt.

I do have a $2000 TV, it ain't to keep up with the Jonses, it's for entertainment. Haven't been to strip mall in years.

But feel free to continue looking down your nose at everyone and telling them why they can and can't be annoyed with things.

You're looking at it very subjectively and relatively. It's like the millionare trying to convince you that his yacht is a necessity that he can't do without. Just because it *feels* like a necessity to you, doesn't mean it is.

That would only be true if he had to drive his yacht to work.

[elicoleman]

Re: $80 a barrel.

Prices are still around $2.60 here in Memphis. It takes me about $60 to fill up my 25 gallon tank. I can normally go about 400 miles off that.

And I saw people mention 'they remember when gas was below $2'. My God, when I started driving back in 2001, it was under a dollar. It took nothing to fill up my tank. Back then, I could cruise around and not be bothered or worried about gas expenses. I could go on a road trip and not think to myself, "It'd actually be cheaper to fly".

I remember when I was 13 years old riding with my grandparents through Georgia and seeing gas at $0.79.

Right now, I'd kill to have it back the way it was.

[NYJets]

Re: $80 a barrel.

Doesn't bother me right now.

I never really need to drive anywhere at school. Everything is right here.