Thursday, January 31, 2008

Oil and Gas Misconceptions 1/31/08

Richard West from Washoe Valley, Neveda, writes in the WSJ "In 1960 cars got an average of just over 14 miles per gallon and gas cost around $.31 per gallon, making for a cost for gas per mile driven of about 2.2 cents. Today with gas around $3 and cars getting an average of 22 miles per gallon, it cost nearly 14 cents cents per mile to drive. But from 1960 to 2006 consumer prices went up around 7 times, which means that 2.2 cents in 1960 now equates to more than 15 cents.

Virtually nobody talked about "high" gas prices in 1960. Today, alas, that is all we hear from all too many people, even though the cost for gas to drive is actually cheaper."

We hear a temendous "hue and cry" about our dependence on the Middle East for oil. How many of those wailing are aware that our number one source of "foreign" oil comes from Canada and our third largest source is Mexico. Saudia Arabia is 2nd and others are further down our list of suppliers.

Also, we have plenty of oil sources in territory owned by or part of the U.S.

Don't believe me, look it up.

If, as the "chatterers" say we went to war in Iraq because of oil, I assure you it would have been much easier to conquer Mexico and probably Canada and Argentina.

Hmmmm.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I bought gas in 1964 for under 20 cents a gallon up on Galena Road' I think it was 16.9 or 17.9 cents. My Dad complained bitterly almost every time he bought gas about the high prices in the late 50's and early 60's. I remember my best friend's Dad trying to teach the two of us when we were about 11 or 12 in the mid 50's why the gas prices were too high, Rockefeller's, price gouging, paying taxes on taxes, etc. We, in our east-bluff neighborhood, were lower middle class so the pay check really had to be stretched to make ends meet. What might not have seemed high enough for a complaint in gasoline prices to you was high to us. Everything is relative to your circumstances.