DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Palus Politicus What are you going to do with that "extra" $100?

So, increase the price of gas by 3 dollars, lower it by one dollar and call that an economic stimulus? We're doomed.

CBS.com


Next time you stop at a gas station, think of it as a $100-a-month tax cut. Or a maybe $100-a-month raise.


The steady drop in gas prices over the last few months has turned into an unexpected form of economic stimulus, coming at a time when the Federal Reserve is trying to cool the economy and battle rising prices with higher interest rates.

Since hitting a record of $5.02 a gallon on June 14, the national average price for regular gas is down $1.10, or 22%, to $3.92, according to AAA. That average has now fallen for 67 consecutive days.

Since the typical US household uses about 90 gallons of gas a month, the $1.10 drop in prices equals a savings of $98.82.

The impact of the extra cash could be a substantial boost to an economy that is showing signs of consumers pulling back on purchasing nonessential items, such as clothing, electronics and household goods.

Major retailers including Walmart, Target, Best Buy and Gap are cutting prices on those items after consumers shifted to more spending on food and gas. And that pullback in consumer spending is one reason why many observers are now forecasting a recession, since consumer spending accounts for nearly three-quarters of US economic activity.


But lower gas prices could help revive spending on those nonessentials.

Savings equal 'real money'
A $1 decrease in gas prices equals about $125 billion a year in savings for US households, or more than $10 billion a month, said Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody's Analytics. That's equal to about a half of a percentage point on the nation's gross domestic product, the broadest measure of economic activity.

"And that's just a direct benefit. Lower diesel prices bring down the cost of transportation for all goods, including food," he said. "If you add in the indirect benefits, it's real money."

The impact on the broader economy can go beyond just straight dollars and cents, Zandi said. No economic metric is more prevalent in public consciousness than the cost of gasoline, with signs on so many street corners advertising those prices.


"They play such a central role in people's psyches," he said. "It affects confidence."

Zandi still thinks there's about a 50-50 chance the US economy falls into a recession within the next year to 18 months, but his expectations for when the downturn might hit has been pushed back because of falling gas prices. Back in June, when gas was $5 a gallon and still rising, Zandi expected a recession to come within six to nine months.

Consumers are spending their gas savings
Executives at both Walmart and Target said on calls with investors this week that they're seeing signs the cheaper gas is boosting consumer demand for nonessential goods. That is one of the reasons they're not prepping for a recession quite yet.

"If you told us that fuel was going to continue to tick down and that food inflation was going to moderate, that influences how we think about general merchandise inventory," said Walmart CEO Doug McMillion on a call with investors Tuesday.

One thing consumers clearly aren't spending their gas savings on is buying extra gas to drive more. Gas consumption fell very little as gas prices shot up, and it's increased very little as prices have come down, said Tom Kloza, global head of energy analysis for OPIS, which tracks gas prices for AAA.

That's because gasoline is what economists refer to as an inelastic good, one where price has relatively little impact on the amount purchased — unlike the aforementioned nonessential goods.

"I don't know what the consumer is spending the savings on. I have a hunch it's staples, normal things," Kloza said. "But we're not getting a rush of additional demand for gasoline."


Cheaper gas is now easy to find
The national average is somewhat inflated by states with high prices, such as California, where the average is still $5.33 a gallon. The price there is also down more than a dollar a gallon since the peak.

The median US price stood at $3.76 per gallon as of Thursday, meaning half of the gas stations in the nation are charging less than that. In fact, 28% of the 130,000 gas stations tracked by OPIS are now charging less than $3.50 a gallon.

And the slide in prices shows no signs of letting up for the time being.

Futures contracts for wholesale gas and oil suggest that the national average could soon fall below $3.53. That's where prices stood when Russia invaded Ukraine in February, sparking the spike in oil prices. Wide swaths of the country could even see gas fall below $3 a gallon by the end of the year, even if the national average doesn't get that low, based on futures contracts for November and December.

If gas prices go up, it's bidens fault.. If they decline,,, it's Bidens fault..

Make up your mind

BY the way, Gas prices didn't just go up in a day.. they grew over time.. same thing when prices decline.

Typical of those on the Right... What happens MUST happen immediatly or it didn't happen

$4.33 is about the cheapest around these parts. Is what it is. I guess the flip side effect of higher prices is a good dividend return in my Roth and 401k… hard to complain about high prices at the pump, while knowing damn well I’m invested (like it or not) in the stupid profit game. Intellectual honesty.

Hey, at least he wasn't lying about what gas prices were at their highest like trump did. Trump claimed they were almost nine dollars a gallon.

US gas prices aren’t almost $9, as Trump claimed

https://apnews.com/article/fact-check-donald-trump-gas-price-633014633310


Not only did trump lie about how high the price was back in May, he also lied about how cheap it was when he left office.

While it's still not a good thing, I'm paying one dollar more a gallon where I live than the day trump left office. In the greater Nashville area gas at it's highest point cost two dollars more a gallon that it did when trump let office, not three dollars. And now it's one dollar more, not two dollars.

I didn't mention Biden at all. Just laughing at the lunacy of this article.

What about Trump.....Trump Trump Trump Trump. You have the orange man on the brain. The humor is that gas goes well over 5 bucks a gallon, drops a dollar and CBS is claiming it's a windfall. I don't care who's in office, that's funny.

They don't understand logic.

If something you NEED goes up, if a R is in office, it's that persons fault. If that product that used to be much cheaper before it got more expensive, and a D is in office and it goes down a little, that D gets the credit, even though it still costs more.

i really try to be empathetic to people when it comes to cost. but i've been filling up on 93 since god knows when, so when gas prices go up or down, it doesn't mean much because gas is always expensive for me.

but i operate on the old saying "gotta pay to play". especially since driving is a privilege, not a right.

Cool. Perhaps some people aren't as flush with cash as you are?

somebody is. i see people complaining about cost, but i dont see anybody driving less.

I complain about cost of gas and don't drive much. I am full time work at home unless they need me in the office for some reason, which ight happen every few months.

It isn't just about getting me around town, fuel prices drive the price on everything up, and I don't like spending more than I have to on stuff.

You may be correct. Myself, I need gas for my job. I don't need 93 octane, as none of my vehicles require it.

But perhaps what you're missing is the cost of goods transported - you know, diesel fuel. Around here, still well over $5.00.

That affects everything you buy. Combine the supply chain shortage, etc. Inflation. And recession.

im not missing it. but the cost of diesel is due to the supply chain issues. but we don't have a lack of fuel problem. there's plenty of gas, but not enough people working at the ports and driving trucks, which is due to the massive pandemic we're transitioning out of.

this is a global problem. every country is paying higher prices, because the world is coming out of the same pandemic we are. but at the end of the day, in the US, we're talking about an inconvenience right now with regards to gas.

and people still buying houses, buying new phones, going on vacation, etc etc. right now whining about gas prices is just that; whining.

right so it's an inconvenience and nothing else.

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-rel...-across-all-income-levels-301596552.html

61% of people live paycheck to paycheck, so I'd guess it matters to them.

No it is still me paying too much for as, and everything else.

But enjoy your $100 month raise.

i will.

So, we're coming out of a pandemic that no one saw coming? That no one had any clue what to do about? And it is used as an excuse now, for 1 side, but not the other?

can you name a country that you would live in right now that hasn't been affected by inflation and the pandemic? do you think this situation is unique to our country?

arch, are you implying that you would have planned for the pandemic more effectively to reduce the impact of inflation on the global economy, without the benefit of hindsight?

arch, why aren't you currently running for office to get everything in order?

I find that article fascinating! a third of people earning over $200k live pay check to pay check... that seems crazy to me... over half of those earning $100k....

man... some of those numbers are just eye opening... thanks for sharing

No, to all of your questions.

I'm simply stating that trump gets blamed for covid by the lefties on here. You know, that pandemic that no one, anywhere, knew about, knew what to do about, etc.

I'm glad you phrased it as you did. Maybe other lefties will listen to you.

All countries were, and are, affected by covid, but to read on here, you'd think the u.s. was the only one. Thank you for spelling it out for 2 certain posters.

Now, inflation? Yeah, spending billions upon billions upon billions does matter. On the other hand, some of that spending was needed, no doubt. Add in the spending for helping Ukraine (which is/was needed), and you can see.

Time to stop feeding off the gov't. though. Jobs are plentiful.

and this is where we disconnect.

the majority of the people aren't feeding off the govt. entities are, those big businesses you support with policies that help them suck more blood out of the american people.

Nobody likes paying more. We all understand the MANY causes of our current inflation. But one side wants to blame it ALL on Biden; the other doesn't buy that. I am sick of overpaying for everything too. But I seem to be one of few who also blame corporate greed and price gouging for a large part of our current economic troubles.

Correct, other than "1 side wants to blame it all on Biden". No, 1 side wants to blame it all on Trump. He's not in office, nor has he been for quite sometime.

And swish, no, the majority of people aren't. You are correct. Problem is, too many are. What policies do I support that help them suck more blood out of the american people? I'd like to know.

What is your job again?

I don't blame it all on one or the other(POTUS), but I think both had a hand in it. I also think most of it is due to the pandemic, the shutdowns, corporate greed, and to a lesser extent Putin's war.

And anyone blaming Biden and defending Trump should know that if Biden had never changed a single thing from Trump's term, we would STILL BE HERE.

Not 100% sure but I could swear that part of Biden's original Build Back Better had a bunch (billions) of funds for building new affordable housing. Manchin and Sinema nixed that. All those corps buying up all the houses would get their just deserts if the government flooded the market with new homes and drove down prices. But this country can never let the big players take a hit like that.

Use it to sit at the bar and watch the Browns play on Sundays, enjoy lunch, hanging with my buddy, and watching football.

my job is living rent free in your head.

well the "free" market has no plans on building affordable housing so....guess people are just screwed.

You didn't have to.. it was evident...

It's like free money, bro. yOu'S yOuR'e BrAiN!

This is one of the stupidest articles I've read in years.

I will never rejoice in paying more at the pump than I did in past years. I believe gas should currently be under 2 dollars. Until it's at least what it was under the Trump administration it sucks and its WAY too expensive.

This is only victory if you're ignorant. Any 100 dollar savings are wiped out immediately by paying for 40 year high inflation of food, natural gas, and other supplies. Also stating that if Biden never changed a single thing from Trump's term and we'd still be here is dead wrong. It seems you don't take into account the current administration policy towards oil and gas from our own land.

The oil companies hate Joe Biden with a passion. He doesn't have a good relationship with them anyway you want to spin it. We have to beg a country like Saudia Arabia for oil. That says quite a lot about the current administration.

Clearly you you know very little about the oil industry.

I brought that up in another thread. People make what they spend.

I am sure they save the same percentages as anyone else in their retirement funds. The deal is they have nicer cars and more expensive homes. Those cost money.

It shouldn't come as shocking. It's easy for people to say, "Well, if I was making that I would live just as I live today and save the rest".

I call BS on that. People are going to buy the new Lexus and have the big home with the nice stuff inside rather than the old car, small home with the old TV and couch. When people get a tax rebate, very few put that in the bank. They go out and buy things by a overwhelming majority.

well if they're making over 200k and whining about inflation, that sounds like a personal problem.

this board use to criticize those who lived above their means. now all of a sudden, i'm supposed to feel bad for those who continue to do so?

nah.

You seem to miss that Trump is still leading the GOP. That millions of Americans believe his BS. Believe me when and if he climbs under a rock where he belongs I'll stop talking about him.

It's hilarious that some of you keep complaining we still talk about trump when the very things he said and did are now the staples of the GOP. He's running the show. So yeah, as long as that's happening he will be brought up. See, that's the problem. when he lies like that people believe him. The worst thing people in this nation can do is ignore pointing out that he's lying no matter how much you would like us to. Orange man on the brain is what's infected and is still infecting the GOP. That's certainly no fault of mine.

Here I was paying $4.64 at the peak of gas prices. Now I'm paying $3.34. Here it raised a little over $2.00 a gallon it's now gone back down well over a dollar a gallon. So you're either saving money since gas hit its peak or you aren't. But no, it's not some windfall. You're just saving a lot of money over what fuel costs were at its peak price.

Oh the irony.

It's very odd that a lot of people don't really give a damn about people who live paycheck to paycheck until they can use it to support their agenda.

ie......

We need to raise the minimum wage to help these people.

Their answer? Oh HELL NO!

We need to have paid family leave to help those people.

Their answer? Oh HELL NO!

I could go on with a pretty long list of such things. Now all of a sudden they're concerned with those people living paycheck to paycheck? Things that make you go hmmmmm....

Let me know when the president starts telling people that they don't need to use gas. Or if he asks the transportation secretary if people can maybe use water to run their car. Or reccommend that people should use something other than approved fuel to run their cars. You're hilarious.

Let me explain this to you again. At the time we had a very deadly strain of covid killing people at a devastating rate. Let me tell you the asinine things he was blamed for. Telling people they didn't need to wear a mask and that he was not going to wear one. Recommending quack medications that had not been tested and approved for treating covid. Asking stupid things like can disinfectants being injected or consumed into the body help cure Covid. I mean if you're going to ask a virologist something that stupid, at least don't do it on national television. When you are disputing the experts in the field of infectious disease with baseless BS as your citizens are dropping like flies there's a problem.

You see we have experts in this field. They are highly educated and experienced. Many with decades of experience. Those are the people you need to listen to and what they are getting paid to do. Not spread some unconfirmed internet BS. Sure, it was new and a lot of unknowns. But working in a productive way by backing and supporting the very experts in the field is what a president is supposed to do. When it gets to the point he becomes a counterproductive buffoon it's a problem.