Jump to content

gas prices


1dumbdude

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 80
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

if i didnt have to drive 15 miles to school everyday or drive my mother to the hospital 3 times a week i wouldnt buy gas
Are you carpooling with any other students in your area? Alternatively you could start a sole proprietor small business (practically no startup costs), post up notices on bulletin boards that you will take riders for a share in the gas, or deliver small goods to destinations close to your school. Also advertise for riders at the hospital where you go three days a week. Other businesses may need goods delivered to the hospital and might pay you to take them.

 

Even if you don't find anyone to do business with or share the expenses, you can write off the mileage on your taxes because you're trying to do business. This is America, think entrepreneurally. And if you plead that this is all so inconvenient then you lose your right to complain about the high cost of gas. :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Even if you don't find anyone to do business with or share the expenses, you can write off the mileage on your taxes because you're trying to do business.

 

Isn't this mildly illegal? Since no business is actually being conducted... it's like saying it was a buisness dinner because you and your family talked about your job...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 word: bicycle. 15 miles isn't far on a bike. you can do it in about 50 mins at a relaxed pace. i usually "cruise" at around 20 mph. and guess what! No petrol/diesel required! if you had to go 50 miles then a car would definately be a better option. i'm definately getting a hydrogen car when they become reasonably cheap. you could make the fuel yourself.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Isn't this mildly illegal? Since no business is actually being conducted... it's like saying it was a buisness dinner because you and your family talked about your job...
Not at all. I think the IRS requires that you show a profit one year in three, but it only has to be a dollar to be profit. And you do have to try, and since it's in your best interest to actually get business you should put more effort into it than just the write-offs. The mileage rate went up this year to $0.405 per mile driven for business, $0.15 per mile for deductible medical expense mileage and $0.14 per mile for deductible charitable contribution mileage.

 

It's only illegal if you just pretend to be in business. The IRS is not big on imaginary deductions.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you can afford the gas then why not get a car that uses more gas?[/quote']because its environmentally irresponsible.

Is it really that big of a problem? How much pollution and what kind is getting into the air beucase of SUV's?

When there are people who want change' date=' does there become a change?

[/quote']

Of course, the system will take care of itself. As soon as it becomes profitible to make "alternative" sourses of energy and things that run on the new energy, then people will start putting money into it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Is it really that big of a problem? How much pollution and what kind is getting into the air beucase of SUV's?

 

Of course' date=' the system will take care of itself. As soon as it becomes profitible to make "alternative" sourses of energy and things that run on the new energy, then people will start putting money into it.[/quote']

 

On the first note, YES, it is a seriouse problem, green house gases, CO2 etc... Not good, causing seriouse problems...

 

There was a letter to the white house the other day from promenant business men, source New Scientist cba to find link atm, in which they informed them that untill the whitehouse introduced some form of carbon tax or carbon trading like has been partially done in Europe they could not justify to their shareholders spending research time and money on greener sources. Dispite wanting too, therefore other companies around the world will pull ahead and when america reallises it does have to do something then the rest of the world will already be ahead of them and probably profiting from it...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Is it really that big of a problem? How much pollution and what kind is getting into the air beucase of SUV's?
I remembered hearing that switching from a compact vehicle to an SUV for one year wasted as much energy as leaving your refrigerator door open for six years. When I Googled for it I also found this site on SUV Myths & Realities.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't know about that. There was an article a little while ago about riding bikes in urban areas actually being bad for your health due to all of the exhaust fumes.
My uncle told me he once went for an emissions test on his car to a station at a busy intersection. As the attendant put the emissions probe in the tailpipe of the car, my uncle asked him how bad emissions were getting overall.

 

The guy pointed to the scope reading from the car, then pulled the probe out of the tailpipe and stuck it into the air above his head. My uncle said the reading was higher for toxic emissions at that busy intersection than it was coming out of his car's exhaust pipe.

 

Anecdotal but illuminating.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

the government can do something about the gas prices = suspend the gas tax, use price caps, release some reserves, take some from iraq, take some from mexico, don't send $15 billion to africa for aids relief, et al

 

biking/walking doesn't work for millions of people in the US

 

why would we care how much anyone else has to pay for gas? our economy is influenced on the cost we are used to paying and a drastic change in price may devestate some businesses

Link to comment
Share on other sites

take some from iraq

 

America doesn't own Iraq, so she can't just take their oil.

 

take some from mexico

 

America doesn't own Mexico, so she cant just take their oil

 

don't send $15 billion to africa for aids relief

 

I dont see how that would affect American oil prices :confused:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We don't own Iraq or Mexico, but they OWE us!

 

The $15 billion could aid in the disaster relief (since only Israel has offered any) which may in a round about way, defray some gas prices in the short run, but if it went into development of our own sources, I think that would (may) lower the price in the long run.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

we don't have that many sources of oil anymore, and if we were to simply take the oil from iraq or mexico, the oil price would skyrocket from the increased cost of extracting oil from iraq or mexico (terrorism would skyrocket) not to mention america would have an embargo placed on it in a second. This would make your expensive $3 gas tank would go up to $10-15 a gallon, not to mention a halt on most of the imported resources that come into the US.

 

also the price of oil went up when we invaded iraq, not down :P

Link to comment
Share on other sites

And hemp can produce anywhere from 25 barrels of oil per acre on up. There is a lot of unused land, there is even a lot of unused hemp growing on that land. Some of it can be used to make ethanol, too. 1100 or so gallons of usable fuel from an acre of land each year is definitely a good thing. Takes carbon out of the atmosphere, creates a reservoir of carbon in usable fuel, may help with global warming, scrubs pollution from the air, and we can even eat a lot of the byproducts including the oil.

 

I try to tell people. I try to tell people. I try to tell people. Half the time I can't figure out what goes on their heads. The other half I don't want to know. Just let me sit here and rant a while, because for crying out loud, we should have had colonies on the moon by now. Gasoline should be a dollar a gallon and diesel made from hemp should be even less. We should be recycling the plastics that pool in different places in the ocean. People should learn how to raise fish for food in tanks at home like my grandfather used to. Stupid people shouldn't breed. Also, I think that by now it probably costs less to make your own ethanol for fuel than it costs for gasoline, and cars should be getting 50 miles per gallon while SUVs do at least 40. The Carnot efficiency equation is wrong, too. The sun still works to generate hot water for bathing and central heating. I think we've given up.

 

Grokking the fullness doesn't seem like a good idea so much anymore.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.