So how was your day?

[shavedape]

It's obvious that we're neck-deep in inflation in this country but no one seems bothered, which is frightening in itself. From what I understand the core inflation rate eliminates food and fuel from the equation when calculating the numbers we hear. How nice.

What really concerns me is how the interest rates are being artificially held down. The fact that we have such obvious inflation without interest rates on our money rising also is shockingly fraudulent.

 

[Bluce Ree]

It's obvious that we're neck-deep in inflation in this country but no one seems bothered, which is frightening in itself. From what I understand the core inflation rate eliminates food and fuel from the equation when calculating the numbers we hear. How nice.

Well, yeah. How do you justify artificially controlled inflated pricing? Milk, grains ...

What really concerns me is how the interest rates are being artificially held down. The fact that we have such obvious inflation without interest rates on our money rising also is shockingly fraudulent.

Yep. With the fed lending rate practically at zero, I see no factor to justify inflation except maybe on imported goods due to our weak currency.

 

[YJ02]

i want to see a cross over show of 'hoarders' and 'american pickers'

it should be fairly interesting, comedy actually.

the pickers will praise the hoarder and their 'dedication', buy a couple bucks of junk and give the guy enough encouragement to REALLY hoard.
--- merged: Nov 28, 2012 at 7:00 PM ---
so today a local radio station was playing Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song". After, they played a recording of a younger caller who said "wow, you guys are really scraping bottom--now your playing cheap bands doing a cover of Trent Reznor"

also--finally--PA State Stores have recently started carrying Korean made Soju. Rice wine at 19% alcohol

 

[shavedape]

Well, yeah. How do you justify artificially controlled inflated pricing? Milk, grains ...



Yep. With the fed lending rate practically at zero, I see no factor to justify inflation except maybe on imported goods due to our weak currency.

It just concerns me as I'm old enough to remember the late 70's (even though I was a zygote) and they actually treated money more honestly back then. There was inflation on goods across the board but there was also a corresponding increase in the interest rate on money. Hell, the interest rate hit 13% back then. Compared to that there's obviously something hinky going on these days with our money and inflation.
--- merged: Nov 29, 2012 at 7:54 AM ---

finally--PA State Stores have recently started carrying Korean made Soju. Rice wine at 19% alcohol

As I understand it PA is weird with their liquor stores. Aren't they state run or something? That's just so odd to me. You can get liquor, wine and beer at just about any place you stop in my neck of the woods. Hell, I still remember when I was staying with a friend in NYC (Queens) and went to get some booze. I was aghast at the fact that I couldn't buy beer at the same place I bought a bottle of Jack. That's just dumb.

 

[Rac80]

Well, yeah. How do you justify artificially controlled inflated pricing? Milk, grains ...



Yep. With the fed lending rate practically at zero, I see no factor to justify inflation except maybe on imported goods due to our weak currency.

easy my friend- TRANSPORTATION costs- gas is more than twice what it was when the big "O" was inaugurated- that cost adds to the price of everything we buy. In the USA most shipping is via truck and that costs big $$! the cost of shipping anything has doubled and that gets translated to higher prices everywhere- in the stores, in the restaurants, in manufacturing, etc..

 

[YJ02]

It just concerns me as I'm old enough to remember the late 70's (even though I was a zygote) and they actually treated money more honestly back then. There was inflation on goods across the board but there was also a corresponding increase in the interest rate on money. Hell, the interest rate hit 13% back then. Compared to that there's obviously something hinky going on these days with our money and inflation.
--- merged: Nov 29, 2012 at 7:54 AM ---


As I understand it PA is weird with their liquor stores. Aren't they state run or something? That's just so odd to me. You can get liquor, wine and beer at just about any place you stop in my neck of the woods. Hell, I still remember when I was staying with a friend in NYC (Queens) and went to get some booze. I was aghast at the fact that I couldn't buy beer at the same place I bought a bottle of Jack. That's just dumb.

i think pa is like one of two states that still does this. though by now it has nothing to do with morals but with revenue.

though it is also a revenue suck that has to pay its state employees.

you buy beer, malted beverages at private distributors, and buy wine, liquor and wine coolers at the state store. local wineries can sell their own product at winery or in their outlet stores-they can not dist to a third party seller

they have recently allowed some convenience stores to sell beer though they need to have separate coolers, cash register and entrance/exit

at we call them what they are; in s carolina-though privately owned,they are called "a,b,c stores"

 

[Bluce Ree]

easy my friend- TRANSPORTATION costs- gas is more than twice what it was when the big "O" was inaugurated- that cost adds to the price of everything we buy. In the USA most shipping is via truck and that costs big $$! the cost of shipping anything has doubled and that gets translated to higher prices everywhere- in the stores, in the restaurants, in manufacturing, etc..

I get the cost of gas has doubled since 2008. However, the fuel cost of transportation is a negligible cost overall. It doesn't double the price of milk or bread. For example, take a 2700 mile run from Florida to California with a typical 18-wheeler (70-80ft) long-haul truck. If we low ball the average at 5 mpg, we're looking at 554 gallons of fuel. Average cost of diesel today is $4, bringing the total cost of fuel to about $2219. That's assuming the truck is loaded to its legal limit of 80,000 lbs.

There's nothing there that would justify the level of inflation we're seeing.

 

[YJ02]

I get the cost of gas has doubled since 2008. However, the fuel cost of transportation is a negligible cost overall. It doesn't double the price of milk or bread. For example, take a 2700 mile run from Florida to California with a typical 18-wheeler (70-80ft) long-haul truck. If we low ball the average at 5 mpg, we're looking at 554 gallons of fuel. Average cost of diesel today is $4, bringing the total cost of fuel to about $2219. That's assuming the truck is loaded to its legal limit of 80,000 lbs.

There's nothing there that would justify the level of inflation we're seeing.

your facts, i am sure, are indisputable. However you are not allowing for the opportunism of corporations and retailers who are adding in more to the price and blaming it on fuel costs. It is totally artificial, but they do it just the same.

look at how they jacked up the price on everything corn related based on speculation from the supposed bad harvest that was going to happen due to drought. As soon as the reports came out they raised prices. They did not take into acct that other areas of the country took advantage of their warmer spring and planted more corn earlier and thereby eased the "corn crisis". The prices have still not come down to what they were last summer.

 

[shavedape]

i think pa is like one of two states that still does this. though by now it has nothing to do with morals but with revenue.

though it is also a revenue suck that has to pay its state employees.

you buy beer, malted beverages at private distributors, and buy wine, liquor and wine coolers at the state store. local wineries can sell their own product at winery or in their outlet stores-they can not dist to a third party seller

they have recently allowed some convenience stores to sell beer though they need to have separate coolers, cash register and entrance/exit

at we call them what they are; in s carolina-though privately owned,they are called "a,b,c stores"

I still don't understand why you can't buy everything at one location? It really makes no sense. Now, I'm not arguing with you personally on this yongin, I'm just questioning the system. I simply can't find a logical, reasonable explanation as to why they need to segregate booze (and when things aren't logical it bugs me).

One thing we don't have where I live is the drive-thru liquor store thing. I can understand the reasoning that the retailers here want customers to come inside the store as that increases the odds of them purchasing more than what they intended (and it usually works). A friend down in Florida says they've got them there so yeehaw I getz to pick up mah hooch without having to turn off the car when I'm there! Cool beans!

 

[Bluce Ree]

your facts, i am sure, are indisputable. However you are not allowing for the opportunism of corporations and retailers who are adding in more to the price and blaming it on fuel costs. It is totally artificial, but they do it just the same.

look at how they jacked up the price on everything corn related based on speculation from the supposed bad harvest that was going to happen due to drought. As soon as the reports came out they raised prices. They did not take into acct that other areas of the country took advantage of their warmer spring and planted more corn earlier and thereby eased the "corn crisis". The prices have still not come down to what they were last summer.

If you read my two posts on the subject, that's exactly what I'm implying. The inflation is manufactured, not compelled.

When it comes to farmed foods such as wheat, milk, etc. these prices are artificially kept up by government imposed quota. They subsidize farmers for the disposal of overproduction to compensate their losses in order to maintain high market prices. They are literally forced to dump excess milk production into ditches to avoid flooding the market. I don't recall why this practice started but I believe the intent was most likely to avoid creating competition among farmers, which could eventually lead to a collapse of the farming industry by forced closures due to competition and market dominance by few. Don't quote me on this last part, though, as I need to refresh my memory on the origins of quota.

 

[shavedape]

If you read my two posts on the subject, that's exactly what I'm implying. The inflation is manufactured, not compelled.

This makes a lot of sense although I'd love to hear more regarding QE in this whole mess.

 

[Rac80]

then there is the issue that ALL engergy costs are up- accross the board- yes it might only cost X to transport those strawberries to Texas- but if theya re gown in a michigan hothouse you have to pay for the heat. and as to manufactured items- every item has energy costs attached. not saying there aren't some people taking advantage of it--- but still the inflation is there, it's real, and it sux! as to the corn prices- blame the gov't for encouraging the use of corn for fuel- how stupid can you be! naturally they will not drill or anything on gov't land- the big "o"has confirmed that!

 

[Bluce Ree]

then there is the issue that ALL engergy costs are up- accross the board- yes it might only cost X to transport those strawberries to Texas- but if theya re gown in a michigan hothouse you have to pay for the heat. and as to manufactured items- every item has energy costs attached. not saying there aren't some people taking advantage of it--- but still the inflation is there, it's real, and it sux! as to the corn prices- blame the gov't for encouraging the use of corn for fuel- how stupid can you be! naturally they will not drill or anything on gov't land- the big "o"has confirmed that!

Energy costs are never a significant percentage of the total cost of goods. Much of it is driven by opportunistic motivations, not significant cost increases.

I know we've discussed this ad nauseam but this fantasy many of you have that somehow more drilling of oil will drive down the cost of gas at the pump is pure bullshit you're being fed and you swallow it with a big smile and licking your lips wanting more. Honestly, I have a hard time understanding how this stupidity has been propagated so successfully.

If you go through some of the older threads, I've detailed out domestic demand vs exports of our oil products along with true costs of drilling and refinement. Oil companies produce $30 BILLION in profits per quarter (that's every 3 months). That level of profit doesn't come from low supply / high demand. We've produced more supply than there is demand for several years now yet prices keep going up. The reason why gas is high at the pump is because they can, period. There is no other factor whatsoever driving the cost of gas above $2 at the pump. Nothing. Zip. Nada.

I was involved some years ago in a potential oil deal. If I were to tell you that the true cost of a barrel of petroleum from the pipeline to shipping to delivery (prior to refining) was just a bit over $2, would you believe me? That's on imported petroleum, which is cheaper than drilling it here. The only upside of more drilling is creating more jobs. It will not drive down the cost of gas a single penny. That's driven purely by corporate greed and speculation.

 

[Rac80]

Refining seems to be the bottleneck in the USA- not enough refineries and the ones we have are too old. Note what happened to california gas prices this past summer when a refinery there was down due to a fire (i think it was a fire)- they skyrocketed. I understand there are many things that drive cost of a barrel of oil up- speculators being one- but honestly it's the law of supply and demand- when the supply is high (for oil and gasoline with NO bottleneck) the price goes down! Why in hell is it 2x what it was in 2009 now? speculators speculating the oil supply is going to be low due to India & china's usage, O closing us gov't lands to exploration & drilling, and lack of adequate refining capabilities ion the USA. simple as that. we can't buy refined gasoline- we have to refine it here due to emission standards of US vehicles. drilling more can only help!

 

[Bluce Ree]

Refining seems to be the bottleneck in the USA- not enough refineries and the ones we have are too old. Note what happened to california gas prices this past summer when a refinery there was down due to a fire (i think it was a fire)- they skyrocketed. I understand there are many things that drive cost of a barrel of oil up- speculators being one- but honestly it's the law of supply and demand- when the supply is high (for oil and gasoline with NO bottleneck) the price goes down! Why in hell is it 2x what it was in 2009 now? speculators speculating the oil supply is going to be low due to India & china's usage, O closing us gov't lands to exploration & drilling, and lack of adequate refining capabilities ion the USA. simple as that. we can't buy refined gasoline- we have to refine it here due to emission standards of US vehicles. drilling more can only help!

I don't mean to call bullshit on the bolded but that's just more bullshit you're being fed. We are nowhere near anything that can even be remotely associated to the idea of a gas shortage.

If you read a little deeper into what happened in California, it was profiteering. There was no shortage, not even remotely so. The oil companies in California play on the fact that the state doesn't have direct access to national pipeline and refinery networks. There was the report that cited two West Coast refineries in California that continued operating throughout May despite reports they were "shut down for maintenance". During the price spikes in May and October gasoline inventories actually rose throughout the state. Price hikes were the result of speculation, not real market conditions.

I think the one thing you're refusing to understand here is that there is no shortage of supply. The fact we are exporting petroleum means we have more than we need. We don't export stuff we're short on, that's just pure idiocy. We export petroleum yet still import petroleum.

The price at the pump has risen because it's what the market will tolerate. Allow me to give you a much more blatant example. Japan, the 3rd largest consumer of petroleum on the planet, was all but shut down last year when they were hit by a disastrous tsunami. So, now we have a sharp drop in demand, at least for the short term, and what happens to gas at the pump? IT GOES UP to a record high, hitting close to the $4 mark. Kindly explain how a flood of global petroleum supply causes prices at the pump here to go up.

Drilling more will never, ever drop gas prices. Not now, not tomorrow, not ever. $30B in profits every quarter tells us that. Supply exceeding demand to the point where we export tells us that. The only people who actually believe "drill, baby, drill" will lower gas prices are sheep. It doesn't even take a genius or inside knowledge to figure this out. Just look at the published numbers.

 

[YJ02]

Have you ever stopped to consider why we have be taught/indoctrinated to follow rules that are mainly non-sensical?

for example: When in a left turn only lane (right for our commonwealth friends) do you turn on your left blinker? I do. Why though? It is apparent that one can only go left; there is likely a car next to you going straight; if you went straight from the left turn lane you would most likely run into opposing traffic stopped at the light/oncoming.

do we do these things to protect the 'weaker' elements out there? are we being forced to go against the 'survival of the fittest/most capable/ those with common sense'

there are so many other ways to look out for the good of another in traffic or otherwise;things that could have real meaning/impact. but most of us don't do them.

yes i know, my posts can be irritating. even frustrating to the point of inducing an anger driven rage to puncture your PC's screen.

but i often find myself thinking of this kind of stuff
thx

 

[YJ02]

Just got alerted by my bank that a place called "maggies cleaners" in Houston TX is somehow getting card data from paypal and charged in odd amounts.

the one to my account was for $109.99. i guess they were hoping no one would notice

my bank issued a refund to my acct and forwarding their find to the authorities

 

[shavedape]

Just got alerted by my bank that a place called "maggies cleaners" in Houston TX is somehow getting card data from paypal and charged in odd amounts.

the one to my account was for $109.99. i guess they were hoping no one would notice

my bank issued a refund to my acct and forwarding their find to the authorities

Sounds like "Maggie" is trying to clean out your wallet.

 

[YJ02]

Sounds like "Maggie" is trying to clean out your wallet.

Exactly, but if it were only me

my bank is kind of small, mostly in central pa, parts of MD and FLA-cust svc says they have "dozens of customers" who were hit-all paypal users

wonder how many others "she" has hit?

i looked her up--sure enough (the idiot used her bus name and the address for billing) the info she billed with pops number two on google.

i know her business, location ,hrs, etc...too bad tx is so far away

 

[shavedape]

Exactly, but if it were only me

my bank is kind of small, mostly in central pa, parts of MD and FLA-cust svc says they have "dozens of customers" who were hit-all paypal users

wonder how many others "she" has hit?

i looked her up--sure enough (the idiot used her bus name and the address for billing) the info she billed with pops number two on google.

i know her business, location ,hrs, etc...too bad tx is so far away

I'm not too tech savvy but there's a chance that "Maggie's Cleaners" isn't the real origination of the scam. I'm sure it's possible to cover one's tracks if you're smart enough to hack into a system like PayPal. Then again, you never know.