cam, 163 words, 3 comments, Gas, Inflation, Petrol, Energy

I keep my receipts being somewhat of a data hound. Fueling up the other day I noticed that a gallon of premium gas was $3.92 USD - perilously close to the four dollar mark. I decided to graph my petrol receipts for the last month.

It has been a rapid and bumpy climb; a trendline 50c increase in less than thirty days. The high amount of inflation is real especially if I am noticing it each time I fill up. We aren't quite to the level that the Cunning Realist notes of high inflation economies (ie order two as the second will be more than the first), but there is no price stability if I am paying more each time I go to the pump to fuel up. Is it a failure of the federal reserve or the energy market? (more)

cam, 247 words, 9 comments, Gas, Petrol, Inflation

Paid $3.79 USD a gallon yesterday making this quickly out of date.

Despite appearances my car is pretty easy on petrol averaging 23 to 24 mpg in commuter driving and nearly 30 mpg when on the highway. Better than a family sedan, most smaller cars and certainly an SUV. The issue isn't the gas price itself, it is the rabid inflation that has come with gas prices recently. It was not long ago when I came to Arizona that I was paying $2.50 a gallon. (more)

cam, 118 words, 3 comments, Joshua Gans, Tax, Petrol, Congestion

Joshua Gans mentions an RAC plan to tax based on distance travelled where the data is collected by GPS, and also mentions that there needs to be some 'distance' pricing to account for congestion. The answer must be no. The government does not get to track us, certainly not by GPS. It is bad enough having to travel through political boundaries - even now the US wants to fingerprint people as they leave - allowing that kind of domestic surveillance through GPS collected taxation; no. Liberty must come first. (more)

cam, 231 words, 0 comments, Oil, Petrol, Tax

Tuesday, Fuel excise to increase petrol price burden . From the Liberal party room in Canberra was heard a loud OMFG WTF? Wednesday, Govt scraps fuel tax plan . Who says populism isn't alive and well. (more)

cam, 477 words, 15 comments, Oil, Petrol

Samuelson in Newsweek argues that cheap gas is a bad habit. He neglects to mention that consumers aren't really paying the true market cost of petrol - it is much cheaper than what it is sold for at the pump. Only a disruptive technology will replace fossil fuel.

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