How high will the public let gas prices get before there is a mass revolt?
407383
Economists believe motorists will alter the way they drive once the average gas price moves to between $3.50 and $4.00 per gallon.\n\nThere won't be a mass revolt.  But people will continue to get upset.  Our elected officials will call for investigations.  And our leaders will be forced to seriously look at alternative fuels.\n\nIf our elected officials tamper with the price of oil and, the move to alternative fuels will slowed.  \n\nIf we truly want to embrace alternative fuels, then the market must lead us there.
550385
I don't think it's possible because people want what is no theirs. the U.S. is a prime example. They will keep taking until they have it all and someone is going to fight back.\nthat said we have Bush as a president and the U.S. will keep electing idiots.\nWeapons of mass destruction. HA!!  he just want the oil and people are dying for NOTHING!
1049330
I dont disagree with your theory.  I just want to add one of my own that helped push the prices up.\n\nA few years ago the oil futures went on the public trading market.  Yes.  The public, the entity as a whole that believed everything from the world is flat to Milli Vanilli can sing, is at the helm of the future prices of crude.  Can you imagine what happens when the public hears that there was a problem, of any magnitude, to a oil line or ship?  What happens when summer comes around and naturally the public again buys up all the oil futures in hopes to make a quick buck.\n\nGreed is what drives prices.  The greedy people that are making the money will call it marketing/economics.  No one entity is to blame for the results.  It would be too easy.  Just dont leave out anyone at fault.  Bush, Iraq, war, EPA, tax, and even the public are all together and individually at fault.
128405
Won't work unless everybody makes the same amount of money. The person who has a minimum wage job would get screwed, he doesn't have that much taxes taken out to off set the  increase in gas costs.
234694
Yeah,  of course.  That's why gas is only 25 cents a gallon.  Isn't it wonderful?  Maybe we can attack China next,  call it something about nuclear weapons and communism,  but it will really be for knock-off designer handbags and ceramic animal trinkets.
306644
The gas prices are absolutley ridiculous.  This is captalism at its worst.  I am not saying I am communist, heck no, but our government needs to change its policy ASAP and make laws that restrict huge, unfair profits for corporations that are making money selling an essential consumer product.  Laws must be made, people NEED gasoline, it isn't an option to most, and it isn't right to have us pay outrageous gas prices, while someone else gets incredibely wealthy.  Unfortunatley, money equals power in this country, and if we don't do something about this we are all going to continue to get screwed over.  Good question!!
1114543
Not sure , they may show up ,but $5 isn't much for gas ! So some will have to car pool ! Good luck , if you can afford $5 a person , then I'll take the $5 .I'll need cig . before morning ! LOL
412239
absolutley nothing would happen...everyone would buy gas either the day before or the day after, a one day boycott woud do nothing. G.W. Bush does not set the prices for oil...if Americans would accept that OPEC sets the prices and not be afraid to drill in less than 1/10th of one percent of AnWar and in the gulf of mexico (hwere communist cuba already drills) and decreasing the dependancy on foreign supplies, andin the mean time pursue feasible alternate fuels can we do something about the "HIGH" prices of gas.
790990
http://www.howstuffworks.com/gas-price.htm
446687
It is already here.  But we don't want to change and continue to use gasoline like when it was cheaper.  It will start affecting how we travel and live when the price continue to increase.  We continue to buy these oil from Iran (not our friend) and support their government through our need for oil.
611020
As much as I don't like Bush, there isn't much he can do if we want to keep a free market economy.\n\nThe main reason prices are so high is the number of Americans who have bought huge gas guzzling cars.  If you or anyone you know drives an SUV or something similar, there's a big part of your answer.  The US government could levy heftier taxes on people who buy these cars.  And it can raise fuel efficiency standards, which free-marketeers, like the Wall Street Journal, deride as "telling Americans what kind of cars to buy."\n\nDemand is also higher than a decade ago because India, China and other large countries are industrializing at a very fast pace.  There are about 2 billion people in China and India alone.  The factories where they work use fossil fuels.  The cars they want to drive use fossil fuels.  The US government can't control this.\n\nSo demand is through the roof right now.\n\nAnd supply has been crimped by three main factors:\n\n* Speculators are driving up crude oil prices.  The price of crude -- which the US government cannot control -- is the biggest factor in the current price in creases.\n\n* There has been almost no investment in US refinery capacity in about 25 years.  Katrina didn't help.  This means gasoline is in relatively short supply.\n\n* The US Government, in an effort to alleviate foreign oil demand, has mandated the use of additives in fuel to "get more bang for the barrel."  Unfortunately the ethanol they've mandated is in short supply and we have a tarrif on imported ethanol, artificially raising its price.  The gov't could eliminate the tarrif.  The the tarrif is protecting farm states (where the corn is grown to produce the ethanol) as much as big oil.\n\nSo there's little the gov't can do in a short period of time to solve this problem (and I'm not a fan of this administration, so that's hard for me to admit).\n\nBut Americans can do lots more to conserve the stuff, thus driving down the price:\n* Stop buying big gas guzzling cars.\n* Consider walking, biking or public transport.\n* Push for a sensible energy strategy.  Last fall the government talked about tax incentives to big oil to do more drilling.  Now we want to tax their winfall profits.  We should have a policy that gives incentives to deliver tangible alternative, ideally renewable, sources.   Push your congressmen and senators.\n* Push your local communities to add bike lanes and other facilities for bikers (even if you can't cycle, maybe your neighbors can).\n* Push for public transportation.  I live in LA where public transport has been quashed by the rich of the Westside who refuse to allow a subway from downtown and the valley to the beaches because they're afraid of "the wrong kind of people."  But your town might be more open.
589485
There has simply been a ban on building new refineries for 25 years, and the capacity to refine crude oil has not kept up with demand for gasoline. The supply of crude oil, and crude oil inventories are ample. But the ability for the refineries to produce gasoline from the crude oil is at a maximum, and this time of year some of them shut down for maintenance (30-60 days), so gasoline supplies are even tighter.\n\nIn a free market, no matter the commodity, when Demand is greater than the Supply, the price goes up.
1041619
Yes, but w/good reason.  Gas prices have never been this high w/no relief in sight.  It seems we are limiting our travel b/c we just can't afford to drive in this country.  I know I'm on a gas budget.  Work-home-work-home, maybe a chill spot on the wknd, but that's it.
304244
as high as those (price gouging, blood sucking, parasitic,greedy,dung eating, pin-headed morons,)can raise it.\n\n*don't look for any help from the govt either.
998629
If gas cost that much, people would find other forms of energy to use.  Even if it got to around 10, people would start looking at nuclear energy, solar energy, electric cars, etc.\n\nBased on just an inflation rate of 3%, it would take about 120 years to reach that level, which is not that unreasonable.  Back in the 1920s, lots of things cost a cent or a nickel or something similarly small.
1129055
Uncap Our oil wells. We have plenty of Our own oil but the libleft  won't vote yes to open them up. We are working on alternatives but its gonna be a long time before we get there, so if we don't start drilling Our own and start modernizing Our refineries the price is just gonna keep on going up. You can't have it both ways.
691710
The sun will rise and so will gas prices!