World, Writing, Wealth discussion

The electricity was about to rise 5.7%, but the government scrambled to fight the soaring cost of living. They cancelled tax on import of coal, so the electricity will rise only 3.4% instead.
Also they announced tax rebates for low income working families and cancellation of import duties ...

Nik wrote: "The electricity was about to rise 5.7%, but the government scrambled to fight the soaring cost of living. They cancelled tax on import of coal, so the electricity will rise only 3.4% instead.
Also..."

And if they cancel taxes but keep on spending the same that will fan inflation and you will be back to where you were.

Here, the government needs the Greens, and they think the increase in petrol costs is a good thing, so all the government is going to do is to "study them". Whatever that means.

Ian wrote: "Here, the government needs the Greens, and they think the increase in petrol costs is a good thing, so all the government is going to do is to "study them". Whatever that means."

It means that they'll remain intently focused on the curious sensation which they get from twiddling their thumbs while sitting on their hands.

Most likely true :-(

Our petrol price contains 70% tax, decreasing which was discussed but eventually rejected :(

Nik wrote: "Our petrol price contains 70% tax, decreasing which was discussed but eventually rejected :("

OUCH

Our petrol price contains a lot of tax too. Originally it was to pay for new roads, but politicians sort of grabbed it as a slush fund after a while. Now they impose, in addition to the general tax, a local region tax for projects in the region, then, to add insult, when the final prices is worked out, they add 15% GST (equivalent to VAT) which is partly a tax on a tax.

Ian wrote: "Our petrol price contains a lot of tax too. Originally it was to pay for new roads, but politicians sort of grabbed it as a slush fund after a while. Now they impose, in addition to the general tax..."

Fun question: Let's say that the Greens get their hearts' desires and electric motors replace most internal combustion engines within the five to ten years. How will your government replace all of that lost revenue? In other words, how are they going to squeeze you?

Hypothetical question, J. I can't see people just throwing away their current cars, vans or trucks, and currently liquid fuel vehicles are still outselling electrics by quite a bit, partly because of price, and partly because of limited refuelling ability in the countryside.

However, in the odd event that miracle did come to pass, I am sure they would tax road mileage. They do that now with diesel vehicles (because there is none of the early taxes on diesel because not all of it goes on road transport.)

Governments can be wanting in many aspects, however - rarely in inventing (in)direct taxation ....

J. wrote: "Ian wrote: "Our petrol price contains a lot of tax too. Originally it was to pay for new roads, but politicians sort of grabbed it as a slush fund after a while. Now they impose, in addition to the..."

That is easy, metered driving.

And the other taxes which they installed when they didn't use the original tax for roads?

J. wrote: "And the other taxes which they installed when they didn't use the original tax for roads?"

Don't get me started. That is why I am against every new tax.

Here's my take on energy policy in the U.S. Biden wants to appease those who want to go green. He jumped the gun, though, because most of us still drive gasoline-powered vehicles to work every day -- not electric vehicles. We still need gas. But he stopped most of the oil production in the U.S., thereby driving up the price of gas for the vehicles most of us drive. We went from being oil-independent to paying prices for imported oil. Stupid move, in my opinion. Is there any way to see this as a smart move?

I just spent eighty one dollars and change to fill up with 87 octane. The whole time a little sticker of Biden was pointing at the meter and saying, "I did that!"

The Dems are going to experience a blood bath this November.

It is all over the world. For the first time ever, I hit $90 on a refill, and it is not a huge tank.

J. wrote: "I just spent eighty one dollars and change to fill up with 87 octane. The whole time a little sticker of Biden was pointing at the meter and saying, "I did that!"

The Dems are going to experience ..."

I suspect they are going too.

Friday morning, regular unleaded was $3.79 per gallon. This morning, it was $3.99 per gallon.

I've lived through hard times before. I'll live through hard times in the future.

What bothers me is that the causes always track back to politicians. Egomaniacs who want to rule the world. Tautology...

J., consider yourself fortunate. Here, the big companies have closed down the refinery and petrol is nudging $3 (our currency) per litre!

While our currency is only about 2/3 as valuable as yours, and we have taxes on petrol, that increase is awful. About six months ago filling my tank was less than $60; now it is nudging over $90.

Ian wrote: "J., consider yourself fortunate. Here, the big companies have closed down the refinery and petrol is nudging $3 (our currency) per litre!

While our currency is only about 2/3 as valuable as yours,..."

That sucks. How long is your morning commute?

Fortunately now I am semiretired and work from home when i am working. It used to be 20 minutes, so I don't mind having to work from home :-)

For me, it's half of an hour a day, every day, to a job where I get to deal with the results of having most of the planners and buyers working from home.

My daughter has a half-hour commute when the traffic is kind, and can't work from home because she is a consultant in a hospital, and perforce has to work with the patients that are there. She is not that happy with the increased petrol price, as you might guess.

I sympathise with you, but will continue working from home myself

UK price of petrol over £1.54 per litre (diesel c. £1.58). Works out about £7 per gallon. Motorway service stations c. £1.70 per litre!

US$ = 0.76£sterling. I'm relieved to say that I no longer have to commute.

OUCH!

Cannot even blame the Democrats for that one.

The Democrats are to blame for our becoming dependent on foreign oil. They support the Green New Deal, which has decimated oil production in the U.S. by stopping work on the Keystone XL pipeline from Canada, proposed to carry 830,000 barrels of crude oil daily from Hardisty, Alberta, through the Great Plains to refineries on the Texas Gulf Coast. And on his first day in office, Biden signed executive orders directing the secretary of the Interior Department to halt new oil and natural gas leases on public lands and waters, and begin a thorough review of existing permits for fossil fuel development. We moved from an oil-independent country to a country dependent on foreign oil, including Russian oil. In 2021, Biden waived harsh sanctions on Russia's Nord Stream 2's pipeline. Seems it's okay for Russia to have an oil pipeline, but not the U.S. What the heck? He put us in this precarious position and now takes no responsibility for it.

Ne has sanctioned Nord Steam 2, or Germany has, so Russia hasn't got that pipeline.

As for inflation, in one rural town people started queuing for fuel and the price of diesel went up 77c a litre. Leaving aside that piece of price gouging, economists have predicted the petrol price here will go up to $4/litre in a week or so. Most grocery prices are going up, in part because of the fuel cost in them, but also because of opportunism.

I heard a guy say that if you're looking for a good investment, stock up now on all the things you like and need to buy. Prices are only going to go up up up, and your money's going to be worth less, less, less in future. I plan to do just that at the grocery store tomorrow. If I had a huge gas storage tank, I'd fill it up :-)

According to our news today, the US Fed has raised interest rates and US inflation is running at 8%. Don't know how accurate that is.

Ian, it'll hit double figures before long. Most of what ordinary folk spend their money on already has.

Gas at the pump just went from $4.30 to $3.85. Why?

The price of crude dropped, because one Mid-East state said it would increase production. The effect of the removal of Russian oil has yet to bite. Prices jump around as traders try to maximise profit. Sooner or later the real supply issues will come to bear.

Ian, I do my best not to unnecessarily panic but I'm getting pretty apprehensive about where all this is going. It's looking like it's going to get very messy...and I'm not just on about petrol prices.

Beau, It could get much worse. If the Black Sea (Ukraine and Russia) have their grain off the market, that is 30% of the export wheat and barley taken out. Suppose China and India each buy the grain. Now, with a rearrangement of trading, we are more back to normal, but each country is buying from someone else. Now, suppose the US sanctions India and China and makes them tough sanctions for helping Russia. Now the world has lost almost all of the chemical intermediates for the pharmaceutical industries. Oops.

The fact is we are all too interdependent. Major sanctions are the sort of weapon that shoots them, yourself and all your friends, but you don't really recognize the outcome until too late.

I didn't know that about the pharmaceutical products. It's very worrying, as is the food, gas and petrol situation. These things, combined with the economic harms done by the lockdowns and the resulting tax rises, are going to put a huge strain on many people's finances. What's more, the levels of household/ business/ national debt are far higher than when we last had this sort of inflation. I know people say that inflation is a good way to reduce 'real' debt but if you can no longer afford to pay the instalments because of the rising cost of necessities, it's not so good.

If the WEF and their allies' goal is really for us to 'own nothing and be happy', I think they're doing an efficient job of arranging the first part of it.

https://www.debka.com/mivzak/saudis-a...
If true the oil kingdoms might look for re-alliance, sensing the US is departing the region

Nik wrote: "https://www.debka.com/mivzak/saudis-a...
If true the oil kingdoms might look for re-alliance, sensing the US is departing the region"

More clear evidence that because the US (a great country) currently has a weak leader, nobody is frightened of it anymore.

I don't think the US is departing the region; it is more that the current administration doesn't seem to know where it is going so it has no real plan on how to get there. By making moves without having such a plan it also cannot keep track of the consequences. It is reacting instead of making things happen.

Biden never proved that he had the qualifications to lead this country. He ran his campaign from a basement and was never vetted as a candidate for president, never answered any hard questions, was protected by the mainstream media from having to prove his mettle. He has no plan and is not a leader of anything. I've said it from the beginning, and he hasn't done anything to change my mind.

He's weak. Every time he departs from the script on his teleprompter, he says something stupid. He's put forward inflationary legislation resulting in higher prices for us all. He stopped oil production in the US, resulting in higher gas prices and lessening our ability to provide oil and natural gas to our allies, which would have freed them from dependence on Russian oil. He's looking to Venezuela and Iran for oil deals instead of developing our own oil resources. What the actual frack???

"Let me take you back to that dark time, mid-December 1973. There was an unpopular president in the White House who ineptly ended a long war. Inflation raged, gas pump prices soared, supermarkets had chronic shortages most of us either loathed or feared Russian. Perhaps you can relate."

(A quote from the DST article posted in a different thread.) I don't think our problem is a particular party so much as the problem is politicians and politics with everyone in each other's pockets.

Lizzie wrote: ""Let me take you back to that dark time, mid-December 1973. There was an unpopular president in the White House who ineptly ended a long war. Inflation raged, gas pump prices soared, supermarkets h..."

Nixon was also a very corrupt president who had to resign the office to keep from being impeached. I wonder if that will carry forward.

J. wrote: "Lizzie wrote: ""Let me take you back to that dark time, mid-December 1973. There was an unpopular president in the White House who ineptly ended a long war. Inflation raged, gas pump prices soared,..."

My point was simply both parties are corrupt because politics in the USA are corrupt and have been for a very long time. Even ancient Greece had corrupt politicians, which they not only criticized through art and oration, but for which they created an ostracism process.

I think any real research would find that presidents in both parties and now-extinct parties included corruption by many, be it outright lies to the public or lining the pockets of friends and family, or even ties to the mob.

I wonder if Nixon would even be caught these days considering the lack of real investigative reporters and editors willing to publish "real news".

J. wrote: "Lizzie wrote: ""Let me take you back to that dark time, mid-December 1973. There was an unpopular president in the White House who ineptly ended a long war. Inflation raged, gas pump prices soared,..."

No, because politicians lost all shame.

Lizzie wrote: "I wonder if Nixon would even be caught these days considering the lack of real investigative reporters and editors willing to publish "real news"...."

He was a Republican. What news sources do you think would have gone after him?

Papaphilly wrote: "Lizzie wrote: "I wonder if Nixon would even be caught these days considering the lack of real investigative reporters and editors willing to publish "real news"...."

He was a Republican. What news..."

I don't think it matters. I do think news has lost its meaning compared to 50 years ago.

From Pakistan to Peru, soaring food and fuel prices are tipping countries over the edge
https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/09/busine...

J. wrote: "From Pakistan to Peru, soaring food and fuel prices are tipping countries over the edge
https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/09/busine..."

And most are so heavily in debt they have few financial reserves. Unfortunately, the real costs of these things, apart from maybe oil, take weeks to months to work their way through because harvests are twice a year phenomena (if you count both hemispheres, and the southern is mainly water). 2022 is not going to be a good year.

Lizzie wrote: "Papaphilly wrote: "Lizzie wrote: "I wonder if Nixon would even be caught these days considering the lack of real investigative reporters and editors willing to publish "real news"...."

He was a Re..."

Unfortunately, I think you are right. There are no Cronkites anymore.

Our reserve bank just raised the cash rate by 0.5% and threatens to do the same again in May in an attempt to squash inflation.

Amazon is adding a 5% fuel and inflation surcharge
https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/13/energy...