President Romney

[Harleyquiiinn]

I always wondered why the US didn't have more trains.

Not for everything of course, I don't mean that their should be trains between New York and San Francisco but for short/middle distances, I always thought it was weird.

And when I say trains, I mean very fast trains, not the one you see in the Big Bang Theory that seems incredibly slow.

Also, I like fast trains.

[jacknife737]

^Because trains are for queers and foreigners!!!!


I'd love to have a high speed rail line linking all of Southern ontario all the way to Montreal, and another line linking the Western Provinces together. And it makes way too much sense to have a line going up and down each coast of the US.

I suspect the reason why it hasn't been introduced yet is the high cost of constructing high speed rail lines, and the fact that relatively speaking, airlines here are still somewhat reasonably priced and so potential investors aren't quite confident they'd be able to turn a profit.

[MOTO13]

.... Do you really think we're the only country that relies on trucking to move goods and get to work? The ugly American routine has got to stop. The UK and Europe do not ride fucking donkeys around just because you feel like your needs are superior.

Refinery issues, of which there have been MANY this year, also results in higher gas prices without a raise in the price of oil.

That's a lame excuse...refinery issues. There is no oil or gas shortage so why would the refineries be impacting the price? Record profits may have a bit to do with it. Possibly building new, more efficient refineries may help, but that's been impossible for the past 40 years. The whole oil industry is baffling to me. The price on a barrel of oil sometimes impacts the gas price and other times...nothing. But the oil companies seem to do ok either way.

[Llamas]

.... Do you really think we're the only country that relies on trucking to move goods and get to work? The ugly American routine has got to stop. The UK and Europe do not ride fucking donkeys around just because you feel like your needs are superior.

Refinery issues, of which there have been MANY this year, also results in higher gas prices without a raise in the price of oil.

Wrong. I'd be lost without my donkey. I'd have no way to get to work! I can't walk all the way there on those dirt roads without shoes!

That argument was hilarious. Right. Europe doesn't rely on trucking for anything. Looks like Wishomie has no idea what Europe is like. Maybe he should read a book.

I always wondered why the US didn't have more trains.

Because our country was built around cars. Europe has spent recent decades trying to incorporate cars more and more, while the US has been trying to build up more public transit infrastructure. It takes a lot of time, though, and now the economy sucks and there's no money to spend on it. If you compare the bigger cities in the US now to 30 years ago, you'll see how greatly improved the public transit is. If you just look at Minneapolis/St. Paul... 30 years ago, they had just a few buses. Now there are something like 20-30 bus lines, a light rail for which the county is building more and more stops for, and a new commuter train line out of the cities. Hopefully once the economy is back on track, things will continue to improve in that regard.

^Because trains are for queers and foreigners!!!!

You are right! That's exactly why I use them

[MOTO13]

Wrong. I'd be lost without my donkey. I'd have no way to get to work! I can't walk all the way there on those dirt roads without shoes!

That argument was hilarious. Right. Europe doesn't rely on trucking for anything. Looks like Wishomie has no idea what Europe is like. Maybe he should read a book.



Because our country was built around cars. Europe has spent recent decades trying to incorporate cars more and more, while the US has been trying to build up more public transit infrastructure. It takes a lot of time, though, and now the economy sucks and there's no money to spend on it. If you compare the bigger cities in the US now to 30 years ago, you'll see how greatly improved the public transit is. If you just look at Minneapolis/St. Paul... 30 years ago, they had just a few buses. Now there are something like 20-30 bus lines, a light rail for which the county is building more and more stops for, and a new commuter train line out of the cities. Hopefully once the economy is back on track, things will continue to improve in that regard.


You are right! That's exactly why I use them

Isn't the actual cost of gas less in Europe than the US? Just that the Europeans are stupid enough to have a 70% tax on every gallon.

In the US, cities are farther apart and people live farther from work than in europe. So trucking everyday goods and commuting is crucial here, plus it is longer distances for each. Also, americans wouldn't be stupid enough to to pay $8 for a gallon of gas and have the vast majority of that cost be taxes. One of the reason we waved bye-bye 250 years ago.

[MOTO13]

You are familiar with supply and demand, yes? You can't take a barrel of oil and plug it into your car. So when the refineries that can take those barrels of oil and turn it into car food, say, catch on fire, are flooded, or are otherwise rendered incapable of operation, the supply of available petroleum products is diminished. Less supply means higher price.

There is no shortage of oil or gasoline. Supply is immaterial if demand does not outweigh it. I am familiar with the supply and demand concept of economics.

Well, if refinery fires are the problem lately, we should see a spike in the price of gas in the states. Yet, there seems to be a price, no matter what happens, that the oil companies will not go above.

What started the Chevron refinery fire? Did they establish this yet?

[MOTO13]

We DID see a spike in the price of gasoline in the states following the refinery fire(s). That is the point I am trying to make. I've seen $5 / gallon gas at some stations along the freeway in LA so I'm not sure what you mean by "there's a level the oil companies won't go above."

If a determination of cause was made in the Chevron fire, I didn't hear about it.

We saw zero...price has dropped in the midwest. There is a magic number that the OC will not go above...or if they do only for a brief time. In the midwest it is $4...on the coasts it is $5.

Most business price goods based on replacement cost. If the refinery fire is making such a huge impact we should see oil futures kick. Yet we are hovering at $100/barrel and $4/$5 gas. When the barrel price was $150, we were at the same price level. Oil companies are colluding.

[MOTO13]

Of course they are; do you think they're in the business of doing the right thing by the American people?

Perhaps the midwest depends more on the refineries along the Lake Michigan coast and the gulf than the ones out here, but the Chevron fire (and the Portland refinery fires before that) completely fucked the price per gallon out here.

Maybe we need more refineries...more modern refineries. When was the last refinery built? 1974? Why aren't they being built?

Collusion is illegal...politicians are doing zero about this.

[Llamas]

Isn't the actual cost of gas less in Europe than the US? Just that the Europeans are stupid enough to have a 70% tax on every gallon.

In the US, cities are farther apart and people live farther from work than in europe. So trucking everyday goods and commuting is crucial here, plus it is longer distances for each. Also, americans wouldn't be stupid enough to to pay $8 for a gallon of gas and have the vast majority of that cost be taxes. One of the reason we waved bye-bye 250 years ago.

Without tax, gas in Germany is $5.16/gal. With tax, it's about $7/gal. Yep, the tax is higher. Is it "the vast majority" of the cost? Not even close to half, let alone majority. Is it 70%? Again, not even close. And gas in Europe is already more expensive WITHOUT tax than it is in the US WITH tax. So so much for your "the actual cost of gas" being "less in Europe than the US". How can you even take yourself seriously when you spout off with such unresearched nonsense?

We saw zero...price has dropped in the midwest. There is a magic number that the OC will not go above...or if they do only for a brief time. In the midwest it is $4...on the coasts it is $5.

Most business price goods based on replacement cost. If the refinery fire is making such a huge impact we should see oil futures kick. Yet we are hovering at $100/barrel and $4/$5 gas. When the barrel price was $150, we were at the same price level. Oil companies are colluding.

Oh really? Four years ago in Minnesota, gas was around $4.50 a gallon. So what happened to this "magic number" of 4 in the Midwest?

Also, Wishomie admits he's from the Midwest Wisconsin is such a shithole.

[Tiny Vessels]

Wisconsin is such a shithole.

Hey now! Come on, its not that bad of a place.