I’ll take these gas prices for now

/ March 17, 2016

The last time I pulled up to the gas pumps, I actually did a double-take.

Yes, that's low for Syracuse, N.Y.

Yes, that’s low for Syracuse, N.Y.

OK, I know the fact that I buy my gas at BJ’s Wholesale Club drops the price by a nickel a gallon or so compared to the other stations around the Little Bitty in the Syracuse city neighborhood of Eastwood.

But, still …

I put 11 gallons into my Chevy Cruze at the price of $1.629 per.

That makes me feel decades younger.

My pocket likes it.

My head, however, knows that it’s not all roses for the U.S. economy. The Saudi petroleum people dropping the price per barrel has put lots of American refinery workers out of work. Supply and demand, wages and wherewithal … Big, thoughtful stuff, this is.

And something in the back of my mind says that no matter what, by Memorial Day, the U.S. gas companies will raise the prices at our pumps to take advantage of all the driving that will go on here.

For now, though, I the surface me surely did like that price.

How much are you paying for gas where you live? Would you rather drive or take public transportation, and why? What do you think a car 10 years from now will be like?

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44 thoughts on “I’ll take these gas prices for now”

  1. Our gas prices are super low, too – and lots of companies have laid off thousands in my neck of the woods, making it even harder for me & my husband to compete in the job market.
    Last time I filled my car, which has been a few weeks back since I don’t go too many places these days – it costs me $30 bucks to fill up with super unleaded (my car calls for that) – but I remember a few years back it was costing $65 to fill up. I never use public transportation (which in my area isn’t really abundant) . . . got to have my own ride, old as it is 🙂

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  4. We’re paying about 85 cents per liter, which is more than you pay. To be fair our provincial and federal governments tax us stupid for fueling up our cars Mark.

    I’ve been thinking lots about our economy We need to come up with an economy that doesn’t require constant growth of finite resources to survive. How do we get what we need without depleting what we have? ❤

    In the meantime, I'm sure enjoying cheaper gas too.

    Diana xo

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  5. Our prices just went back over $2 a gallon last week, and just dropped back into the $1.90’s on Tuesday. I wouldn’t be surprised if they aren’t back over $2 now since Thursday is a popular day around here to jack up the price 20-25 cents. I’ll find out when I go get a soda in a half hour or so…

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  6. Although I wouldn’t want to give up having a car, if I live in a place with great public transportation I love to use it. In Portland and Chicago I always had a monthly pass and commuted solely on public transportation. I loved being able to sit back and read the paper or work on writing a brief or close my eyes or enjoy the views while somebody else worried about the “driving”. But in those places it was never much of a walk to get on a bus on train and they ran so often you never had to worry about timing your activities around when the next one would leave. Where I live now it’s quite a hike to a bus stop and they run so seldom I’d have to be keeping an eye on the time constantly to be sure not to miss my bus. So I’m embarrassed to say in over 15 years here I’ve never been on a bus…
    Like you, I’m loving the lower gas prices but I feel a little squeamish that I know my benefit is coming at the cost of many jobs…

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  8. Here in L.A. it’s about a dollar more on average which I’ll still take over the prices a few months back that were ranging above the $3 mark! Here in L.A., public transportation isn’t great so I’ve become much more of a car person, the opposite of what I was when I lived in NY.

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  9. I really hope in 10 years’ time most cars will be affordable electric ones or hybrids. I think we last paid ten cents more than you, but that’s okay 🙂

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  10. We are already up for summer gas prices, Mark. $1.95 range. I remember filling my family’s Dodge Polaris (like a boat) for $2. and driving around for hours. Prices at .25 per gallon, and we got glassware as a side gift, windshield washed, oil checked. ☺

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  11. I paid $2.59 the other day at the gas station. I believe it’s because all of the taxes California adds on that we haven’t seen the super low gas prices like everyone else. Or maybe I just go the most expensive gas station in the country. I am not complaining too bitterly though, it is still half of what it was a couple of years ago.

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  13. LOVING these gas prices, Mark, but I cringe at what they are doing to our economy to be truthful. But let’s not get heavy this morning and instead I’ll say to you, “Happy St. Patty’s Day, cuz”! ❤ ❤ ❤

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  14. As usual, Buffalo is still higher than the rest of the nation. Yesterday, I paid $1.99 a gallon – but that’s still way better than the $2.97 a gallon not too long ago. I like being able to drive around all week on about $15 worth of gas.

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  15. This is a bonus for the individual but not so much for the economy. Now that Iran will be allowed back into the world oil market, that will drop overall prices some – although not that much. We feel it very hard Mark because so much of our economy now depends on the oil sands in Northern Alberta. But it is complex. We became dependent oil when our dollar became equal with the US and we lost a lot of manufacturing. Now that oil as dropped so has our dollar which makes us more competitive for manufacturing on the world market. The problem with that is that it takes at least years, if not decades to rebuild manufacturing capacity. The ones who benefit the most are the ones who can react the fastest with the lower dollar in order to produce exports.

    We’re just a little economy of 35 million who sort of bobs like a cork on the ocean of world economics.We get used to leveraging circumstances to be more profitable because we are way too small to affect the world economy. Whichever way the economy goes we scramble to make it work for us. We’re like the pilot fish that depend on the sharks to supply food. We are very attached to our big American Shark:

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  17. Since I also fill up at the Bridge Street BJs I have no other prices to add. But, because I started driving when gas was 27.9¢/gallon, I NEVER get over “sticker shock”. It’s like seeing buckle candy bars for over a dollar everywhere I look. I can’t imagine what prices will be like in thirty years, 98 years after my birth.

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  18. The last time I filled up it was about $1.89 a gal. I drove by a station yesterday and noticed it is now at $1.95 a gal. These cheap prices are not going to last very long, unfortunately. Like you said, a lot of people have lost jobs over it but I think it won’t be long and they will be called back to work.

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  19. Because we live on the border, our Canadian gas station price is a good deal lower than just half an hour away up the road. It’s complicated, and makes you realize how rigged prices are. Still, even when you convert litres to gallons and Cdn $ to US, it’s still cheaper to go over the line to Vermont to fill up. Of course, there’s US Customs to deal with, which is taxing in itself.

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  20. i love the prices,it’s cheap here too at the moment. i may have my same car in ten years, but i am a fan of public transportation too, as long as it’s timely and frequent ) happy st. pat’s!

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