bignick
16-10-2004, 09:37 PM
At the rate we are travelling now, it won't be too long before these skyrocketing fuel prices really start to hurt; and not just in terms of our leisure activities but in everyday living. The grocery store chains can't absorb these high fuel (freight) costs much longer and prices for food will rise. If it gets really bad for an extended period (and once prices go up, they never come back down), our wages do not cover our living expenses so we start to push for higher wages. This leads to higher prices with all the extra money around and we end up on a downward spiral the puts pressure on interest rates and inflation and, if left unchecked, leads to hyper-inflation, which leads to economic depression. It seems that every time tha Americans get on their high horse and invade someone, world oil prices go up and stay up. Then we get told that it's all because of a strike in Nigeria. I thought the only thing Nigeria did economically was run dodgy lottery scams. If fuel price is directly tied to world oil price, it seems strange that world oil price (and, hence, fuel price) seems to skyrocket at about 230pm every Frday afternoon. It's interesting to see how the ACCC sits on its hands with regard to this blatant price-fixing by the increasingly greedy oil companies. And the poor old bloke who owns the servo only makes about 2 cents a litre on fuel and if fuel sales cover wages, he's more than happy. Then there's the government fuel excise (TAX). On a $1 litre of petrol, that is 44-48 cents, and that is adjusted twice yearly. Then there's the great white hope, the (never ever) GST on top of the already inflated fuel price. Therefore, we are paying tax on tax. I watched the recent Federal Election with interest and, surprise surprise, not a peep about fuel price at a time when every Australian who owns a combustion engine is literally bleeding through the pocket. It seems as though no politician is willing to rock the boat on this issue. Far be it for our leaders to give us some sort of respite.It's amazing how people whinge and moan about this and that, but when they get a chance to do something about it, they don't. I am not aspousing the virtues of any politician or political party; I think they're all as bad as one another. Someone once said "We get the leaders we deserve". Never a truer word spoken>
Cheers,
BIGNICK
Cheers,
BIGNICK