Heard today on NPR

[Sewsojm]

NPR reports that the price of oil per barrel would have to hit $90.00 a barrel to equal prices 25 years ago. I find that to be total BS, how about you?

[Shoeempress]

1. Jeez did they get that from the Heritage Institute or Cato?

[Donailin]

15. nothing to do with either thinktank

supply and demand. We are at peak.

On a postive note check this out:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/25/AR2005082501026.html


this is promising and do-able. Two bucks a gallon would be fine with me.

[TheFarseer]

2. Well, figure it out

You can look up what oil was in 1980. Finding the inflation rate since then might be more difficult, but I'm sure it's online somewhere.

[wli]

7. westegg.com I think has it n/t

[flamin lib]

11. You'd almost need a reverse amortization schedule.

Oil at $20 a barrel & 4% inflation = 'bout $20.80 a barrel.

Next year $20.80 a barrel & 4% = 21.63

21.63 @ 4% = 22.50

It's the miracle of compound interest!!!

[montanacowboy]

3. What a crock

they keep telling us that actually gas is cheaper by today's prices than it was back in the 80's

oh well, what the hell, the idiots out there believe anything - I guess they might think we have a bargain in our gas prices

[Eric J in MN]

4. They probably meant adjusted for inflation, but there was a crisis

in the late 70s where people had to wait on long lines for gas.

[Mika]

5. Because Iran cut us off.

[flamin lib]

14. Iran then and Venezuela now. 10% of US supply from them. nt

[alfredo]

27. Real wages have dropped since the mid seventies.

So price adjusted for inflation means little.

[JuniperLea]

6. Just because it didn't keep up

is no reason it should! Maybe the relatively low gas prices were what allowed us to excel in other areas? I don't know, just saying.

[zoeb]

8. I heard gas at the pumps would have to go up another

$.50 on the gallon to equal the late '70s...I guess that would put it at $90 a barrel. But all the retailers are complaining about slumping sales so the current prices are having a huge effect at the checkout. I don't even think the back-to-school sales can pump up the earnings for big retailers like Wal-Mart, Kmart or Target. Those earnings will come out in about three weeks. Wait and see!:popcorn:

[ThomWV]

9. Making Excuses For A Failed Executive Policy

If you can call allowing the rape of the American People to be called a policy.

I heard that bit too, and it really pissed me off. Oil today hit a fucking all time high. The NEWS of the day is that oil hit an all time high - if NPR wanted to broadcast wanted a fucking lesson on inflation since the days of Jimmy Carter that would be one thing, but it would not be today's NEWS. Apparently NPR can no longer distinguish between what is and what is pandering bullshit.

[Donailin]

10. It will be 90 by the holidays

I read this a month ago in several places. The P'sTB feel the american people can handle up to 3.50 - 4.00 a gallon before the economy would suffer in any significant way.

I told my mechanic two weeks ago when gas was still 2.43 that he should watch that sign out there ( i pointed to the price sign) -- it's going to climb to 4.00 by the end of the year. I told him it would reach 90 a barrel by Christmas. He looked skeptical. I wonder how skeptical he is now. That was 35 cents ago -- in two weeks.

Oil hit 68 a barrel today. I predict we'll see it hit 70 within the next two weeks -- labor day and all that.

[Cocoa]

12. here's an inflation calculator

http://www.westegg.com/inflation/

[zoeb]

17. according to that calculator

$.85 gallon of gas in 1978 would be $2.59 today....that tells me that all the rhetoric ($90) is just that. We have already reached that point.

[dbonds]

18. By that calculator

What cost $20 in 1980 would cost $50.79 in 2005.

Also, if you were to buy exactly the same products in 2005 and 1980,
they would cost you $20 and $7.88 respectively.

[lonestarnot]

13. Now what is this brainwashing bullshit? And a loave of bread should

be $30.00 right?

[El Supremo]

16. I think that is a bit too high.

Here is a graph from WTRG Economics:

[smoogatz]

21. So, assuming the graph is correct

Oil prices are at their highest-ever point, even adjusted for inflation. My question is, was this pronouncement made by an NPR commentator, or by someone they were interviewing? What was the segment?

[B Calm]

19. They must not know the difference in wages between the classes.

[trekbiker]

20. its true.

this will help...

http://www.energy.ca.gov/gasoline/statistics/gasoline_cpi_adjusted.html

[smoogatz]

24. We're talking apples and oranges here

Oil is the highest it's ever been; California average unleaded gas was (slightly) higher in '81, at the start of the Iran/Iraq war. And there are plenty of places in SoCal right now where gas is right around $3 gallon. I don't think oil would have to go up another $22 a barrel in order for gas to spike eight cents.

[stanwyck]

22. The real story here

is what was the percentage of profit for the oil companies 25 years ago compared to now. Because despite our huge increases in the price of gasoline, the oil companies cannot cry that shortages are costing them more...so they have to charge more. They're not barely scraping by.
They're reporting windfall profits. They're making out like, well, bandits.
Odd how an oil administration like Bush's can be so beneficial to big oil.
Odd.

[achtung_circus]

23. Pick your poison

CPI calculator is here:
<http://www1.jsc.nasa.gov/bu2/inflateCPI.html>

[carpetbagger]

25. Sounds about right, according to these facts

I remember the price of gas being around 1.25 for most of the early 1980's. $1.29 in 1984 (I found an old picture in an album of mine with that price in the background) would be $2.39 today. 1984 wasn't the peak by far.

According to AAA's Michigan club (just happened to be the first link I pulled up), here's the prices for the peak years of the oil spike...

1979 $1.274
1980 $1.274
1981 $1.397


That comes out, adjusted, to $3.61, 3.24, 3.13.

In 1981, a barrel of crude cost $35, on average. That's equivalent to $78 in today's money. I'm sure during parts of 1981 it was higher.

[bpilgrim]

26. yeah, that pain in your ungrateful wallet is ALL in your heads!

now, get back to the PYRAMIDS!!!

http://media.globalfreepress.com

peace