That is one scary chart.
We have been in a REAL Depression for 6 years now.
Posted on 05/30/2014 5:12:26 PM PDT by Nachum
Regular readers are familiar with my narratives on the U.S. Greater Depression, and (in particular) some of the government’s own charts which depict this economic meltdown most vividly. The collapse in the “civilian participation rate” (the number of people working in the economy) and the “velocity of money” (the heartbeat of the economy) indicate an economy which is not merely in decline, but rather is being sucked downward in a terminal (and accelerating) death-spiral.
However, even that previously published data, and the grim analyses which accompanied it could not prepare me for the horror story contained in data passed along by an alert reader. U.S. “gasoline consumption” – as measured by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) itself – has plummeted by nearly 75%, from its all-time peak in July of 1998. A near-75% collapse in U.S. gasoline consumption has occurred in little more than 15 years.
Before getting into an analysis of the repercussions of this data, however, it’s necessary to properly qualify the data. Obviously, even in the most-nightmarish economic Armageddon, a (relatively short-term) 75% collapse in gasoline consumption is simply not possible. Unless we were dealing with a nation whose economy had been suddenly ripped apart by civil war, or some small nation devastated by a massive earthquake or tsunami; it’s simply not possible for any economy to just disintegrate that rapidly, without there being some ultra-powerful exogenous force also at work.
(Excerpt) Read more at zerohedge.com ...
If you've ever wasted a few minutes reading their comments.......very.
I just rented a gasoline chevy spark subcompact for a trip. it has a turbocharged 1.2 liter four cylinder. There was some inevitable turbo lag at times, but it moved plenty fast for highway driving. It gets 40 MPG. a turbodiesel version of this could break into the mid 50’s if chevy had the mind to build them. The car is $13,000 new and nicely featured.
CC
Imports and exports of gasoline have to be accounted for, as well as contract refining where the refiner doesn’t own it and thus does not sell it.
The chart in #48 seems to show the more accurate trend.
About 37% of U.S. gas stations selling branded fuels are owned and operated by licensed independent retailers, and more than half of all gas stations are owned by an individual or a family.
Read more: Why Are There 115,000 (or 150,000) Gas Stations in America? - 24/7 Wall St. http://247wallst.com/economy/2014/05/22/why-are-there-115000-or-150000-gas-stations-in-america/#ixzz33FjJDHmB
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You don’t even have to read the whole article. Just the last paragraph posted is enough.
2002 Jetta TDI with 185,000 miles on it has saved at least two times the $3.5K premium to buy a diesel over the gas model.
This included the premium paid for diesel over regular gas.
Now consider that this engine will go another 250,000 miles.
YMMV but those are my cars stats over 12 years.
I was thinking cooked books. This does not cover the total sales of gas in the country, no way!
This is not new either — I remember seeing “Shell” stations in the early eighties that were not owned by Shell. It’s OEM brand licensing.
On balance... that’s a lie. They’re looking at a segment of the gas market, not at the whole thing.
On the price per gallon the US is 44th out of 55.
On the "pain at the pump" price the US is 50th out of 55.
Those nations at the top with high prices have their gasoline heavily taxed to discourage driving. Those nations at the bottom of the list have their gasoline subsidized for political reasons.
One advantage to expensive gas is that it limits mobility of the poor. Generally that’s a good thing.
That is one scary chart.
We have been in a REAL Depression for 6 years now.
i don’t believe this. i might believe down 10-20% max, not 75%.
The price of gasoline in Venezuela is about 5 cents a gallon. Of course almost everyone is poor and there is not much chance of any upward mobility.
Even the "official" statistics show a drop of a few percentage points in real household income in the past 6 years-- factor in the actual vs. the BS inflation rate the gov publishes and I would guess an average drop of 20-30% in real income.
I know I'm earning about 30% less in real terms that I was several years ago.
Open borders, "free" trade, abuse of the H1B and other visa programs combined with lawless, gangster government at all levels is pushing the US to Third World status very quickly.
3.84 in the AM
4.09 in the PM
I knew I should have filled up in the morning but I was late going to work so I didn’t. Maybe they changed to summer blend in 8 hours? (HAHA - sure they did) I’m thinking of buying gas (50 cents/ gal cheaper) in WIS and having a residual amount on hand to avoid paying Quinn taxes (ILLINOIS). Makes me feel good knowing that all the lazy MOFO’s can sit on their arse’s and get their free OBASTARD phones while I worry about gas prices.
I would guess the real taxes on a gallon of gas is about $1.35 a gallon.
That isn't enough, now they want a mileage tax on top of everything else because people have gone to hybrid cars somewhat. Also they already charge in CA about an extra $100 per plate in addition to the old registration fee as of about 6 years ago.
Yippee!
Hide the decline!
During the years to come, there may be hundreds of millions of new drivers in Asia.
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