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How does the drop in gas prices impact you and do you think they will last?
J. Paul Holcomb, Double Oak: For years I commuted to Richardson daily, but I no longer do that so the drop in gas prices will not affect me as much as it would have then; however, I am always grateful when gasoline costs less.
Doug Fulmer, Flower Mound: It’s always good when the price of something that we use a lot goes down. And every penny helps. More for some than for others. Either because they are always short on cash, or because they drive lots of miles. But if you are living and dying by gas prices going down, say, 35 cents a gallon (on a 15-gallon fill up that saves $5.25, done maybe three times a month = $15.75 per month) you probably have bigger problems than the price of gas.
And just as the oil companies and the sheiks giveth, you can be sure that they will taketh away. Gas prices are like the seasons. Summer ends and you get the fall. Winter goes away and you get the spring. Gas prices go up when demand is high, go down when demand slacks. Goes up when the oil fields of the Middle East are threatened, down when other sources are discovered. They’ll come back up in time for next year’s vacation season, and could come back when the demand for heating oil rises if we get a cold winter.
We are so spoiled that we take for granted the most important thing about gas prices, however. Day-in and day-out in America, we are able to drive up to any number of filling stations in almost any town in the country and fill our vehicles’ tanks with reliable fuel at a price that most people can afford which is so different from so many parts of the world. Like so many other things in America that we just assume to be “normal.”
We should be giving thanks for what we have been blessed with, not complaining that gas prices go from $2.95 to $3.25 per gallon or getting giddy if it goes the other way.
Mike Aramanda, Denton: Lower gas prices mean more money for other things and businesses. About time.
Tony Smith, The Colony: I do not commute these days, but the drop in gasoline prices does certainly help my family’s pocketbook. And I think the drop in prices will last — until right after the November election.
Vern Olson, Flower Mound: Gas prices will go up. It’s only a matter of when. The pressures to increase prices are already being felt in some places.
The main Saudi prince is concerned. Ninety percent of the Saudi budget is based on oil. The current position is that they can tolerate $80 a barrel for a time, but will need the price to go up. Oil was $79 a barrel Oct. 26. The Saudis will soon decide, as they have in the past, to begin to push for an increase.
The U.S. is now the second-largest oil producing country, behind Saudi Arabia. That puts increased pressure on the other producers, as they watch demand for their oil drop. The current conflicts in the Middle East create concerns about price stability. Russia depends on a $100-a-barrel level, and Iran $130, so their angst for an increase will impact the situation.
With two more years of the current administration, there will be increasing pressure from the “Greens” to cut production and consumption to save the planet. They will be joined by enough other well-intentioned groups to pressure for a U.S. cutback in production here, which will hurt our producers, cost jobs and decrease consumer spending. If we decrease our production, it perpetuates our dependency on other oil producers and their price and availability strategies.
I’m sure Las Vegas bookmakers would assign the same odds on an increase in gas prices as they would the surety of death and taxes.
Tom Agase, Highland Village: If I may generalize, the people answering the question on this page should say “no/minimal impact.” The drop in gas pricing has, if any, a marginal impact on their budgets. But if you asked a different socioeconomic group, i.e. folks in the bottom 50 percentile, their answer would likely and rightly be “significant impact.” And, if you asked businesses that transport their goods, the answer would be a resounding “huge.” Will prices go up again? Of course.
