High fuel prices have their benefits, longtime Canyon County-based real estate agent George Tallabas writes in a recent blog. Paying high and rising prices to get from one place to another forces people to be more innovative at the same time it causes real estate and consumer markets to wring out previous excesses, according to Tallabas, of ReMax Advantage in Nampa. Some social and family benefits are materializing, he writes.
It never ceases to amaze me what passes for conventional thinking in Idaho....especially for secondary & tertiary consequences inflicted at a personal level. How can any of this be truly "positive" in a state so close to the bottom in per capita/per family income?
Comment By Bill Tuesday, May 20, 2008 @ 1:18 PM
The only cure for high prices is high prices.
Comment By Joe Blow Tuesday, May 20, 2008 @ 3:52 PM
Who saw the documentary on CNN "Out of Gas"?
Do you know that Brazil is using sugar cane and does not need or use imported oil? Why can't we? The most technically advanced country in the world. We are talking 100% sugar cane, not seventy percent, thirty percent, one-hundred percent!!
And here we are trying to figure out if corn is the answer. Its not, its sugar. America, let's get with it, and seek out the best solution. We have been warned for three decades, and its sad that we are only starting to wake up when it hits our pocketbook.
I urge everyone to do your part, be smart when electing politicians, regardless of party affiliation, and let's take back America from big oil and their lobbyists.
Comment By Vincent Tuesday, May 20, 2008 @ 8:23 PM
Vincent, I don't that "Big Oil" is "Big Oil and their lobbyists," it's "Big Oil and their shareholders." The "Big Oil" label is a politically birthed bogeyman.
I'm a Capitalist, and I want folks to make money. Monopolies and unfair trade practices aside, I want everyone to do well.
I agree with you completely on the election point-but I think we need to "take back America" from, for example, environmentalists who are blockading the ANWAR and other domestic harvests by virtue of their noise/volume.
Comment By Leo A. Geis Wednesday, May 21, 2008 @ 1:16 PM
Sounds like a hot botton got pushed. We
all know its politics, but who will really do anything about it? Not the politicians who's own pockets are lined with hints of oil(either directly or indirectly). How many people know that "ANWAR" is really a farce. Billions of gallons of oil, under 99% desolate tundra. What are we protecting? certainly not the non-existant huge animal population. It's the greed of special interest and the puppet politicians, who benefit. And guess who gets to pay.
Comment By dave Thursday, May 22, 2008 @ 12:58 PM
Leo,
Thanks for letting me know your personal perspective on environmentalists and your Capitalist ideals. I an independent consultant and president of our state trade association which happens to have a need for your services. However, I have an environmental conscience, and will remember to not use any of your services in the future.
Comment By Michael Monday, May 26, 2008 @ 7:55 PM
Drilling in ANWAR is not going to do anything to appreciably lower the price of gas. It is a drop in the bucket compared to our demand, and supply issues will only get worse worldwide as the Chinese and Indians drive move and more. So, the bogeyman of people in congress (who are representing their constituents) who have kept us from drilling for more domestic oil (so some of us can drive our enormous, gas sucking trucks for as little as possible) is a red herring. The best way to address pricing issues with gas is to decrease demand. More fuel efficient cars, public transportation, walking, 4 day work weeks, less urban sprawl, etc. No one ever guaranteed us cheap gas for perpetuity, and I have trouble working up too much sympathy for people who drive vehicles the size of tanks that cost a ton to fill up, or who live 30 miles outside of Boise because they want to own a cheap house. There are reasons to live close into town, and to live near where you work, and those who don't do either are starting to understand some of those reasons.
You can address price through the supply side or the demand side, and the truth with gas today is you're not going to be able to drill enough to reduce the price via the supply side. The free market has given us gas at these prices (and actually, gas prices are still not that high when adjusted for inflation). Deal with it.
If I complained that 42' inch plasma t.v.s cost too much and I ought to be able to get one for $100 and the government ought to do something to make that happen, I'd get laughed out of here! I'd be told to learn to live in a free market.
Gas isn't cheap anymore, and its going to keep getting more and more expensive. The marketplace will adjust a lot of driving habits and spending decisions cheap gas has allowed us to make. So, you've got to take the good with the bad, and stop blaming "environmentalists" (and others you don't agree with politically) for a problem they didn't create. The reason it costs $120 to fill up your F-350 is the market!
Comment By Mr. Serious Friday, May 30, 2008 @ 3:33 PM
Adjusting and dealing with it is tough. So let's do both: live efficiently and drill.Shall we turn the table and make China and India dependent on us? Should we make a little money off them?
I am sure we have the technical know how to drill in a clean ans safe manner. If anything we need to slow the rise of prices because it seems as though we can't adjust fast enough. Ever heard the term "runaway train?"
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