fuel protest

[bidderman1969]

Petrol price protests planned for this Wednesday - PetrolPrices.com

could be intresting

[Neal]

yeah... cue panic buying and shortages

[bidderman1969]

worked last time, lol, that reminds me..... fill up

[Wicked Neo]

Originally Posted by bidderman1969

worked last time, lol, that reminds me..... fill up

Not really, it merely saw a brief respite, as the article says, fuel has a duty and is also subject to VAT, even if the government froze the fuel duty, every time the price of a barrel of oil goes up, the price of petrol at the pumps goes up and therefore so does the VAT.

Plus the Green lobby is a lot stronger now than it was in 2000, people see the real need to cut down on emissions and the government wont want to risk losing those potential voters, even more so now with all of Mr Brown's current problems.

It is a problem but let's get used to the reality of the situation, Petrol will keep on increasing in price, i remember when there was a public outcry of a gallon of petrol hitting the £1 mark, now it's over £1 a litre, nothing stopped the price increase then, nothing will stop it now.

People will still fill up on fuel, wether it be the day before or the day after such a protest, it will not affect the revenue of the petrol companies or the government in the slightest, all it will do is piss off those who genuinely need to fill up their cars, vans, lorries on the day in question.

[Neal]

Originally Posted by Wicked Neo

Not really, it merely saw a brief respite, as the article says, fuel has a duty and is also subject to VAT, even if the government froze the fuel duty, every time the price of a barrel of oil goes up, the price of petrol at the pumps goes up and therefore so does the VAT.

Exactly, In fact hugh levels of duty/tax on fuel helps mask blips in crude price.

Originally Posted by Wicked Neo

Plus the Green lobby is a lot stronger now than it was in 2000, people see the real need to cut down on emissions and the government wont want to risk losing those potential voters, even more so now with all of Mr Brown's current problems.

The UK economy as a whole is teetering on the brink at the moment. Astronomical levels of personal debt (the highest in the EU, actually), record trade deficit and no more manufacturing to balance the books. In fact in a lot of ways the last 10 years of Gordon's 'miracle economy' have been one huge pyramid selling scam based on mass dodgy dealing and financial FRAUD (actually virtually all banking as we know it is fraud if you want to get into the nitty-gritty of it). Property prices rocketing - mortgage equity release - Buy to Let & plasma TVs. Self cert 'lie-to-buy' mortgages. One big ever expanding bubble, and just like all bubbles before it... it WILL burst. In fact, it already IS bursting

"no more boom and bust" said he.

I actually think that in time Mr. Brown will go down in history as THE most hated chancellor/PM this country has ever had.

but anyway, I digress, that's not really about petrol prices is it.

Originally Posted by Wicked Neo

It is a problem but let's get used to the reality of the situation, Petrol will keep on increasing in price, i remember when there was a public outcry of a gallon of petrol hitting the £1 mark, now it's over £1 a litre, nothing stopped the price increase then, nothing will stop it now.

Exactly. Worldwide demand for oil is rocketing exponentially, supply is drying up. Do the maths.

Originally Posted by Wicked Neo

People will still fill up on fuel, wether it be the day before or the day after such a protest, it will not affect the revenue of the petrol companies or the government in the slightest, all it will do is piss off those who genuinely need to fill up their cars, vans, lorries on the day in question.

I think that's the point tbh. When lorries and vans run dry, business and the economy suffers. That's the only way to hit the government where it hurts. Who actually wins though? Where does all the fuel duty go? Well, not on the roads admittedly, but not into 'Gordon's pocket' either. It's public money. I'm sure we'd all like to see zero tax on anything, but you'd soon get fed up when you broke your leg and had no hospital to go to and so on. I agree I'd like to see less of it squandered by an utterly financially incompetent central government though.

As a related subject, it scares me how many people dont actually have the faintest idea about the problems in store for us during the decades ahead. Most people know oil will run out (well not quite, but let's not go into that) at some point in the future, but that's it. They've heard of the term 'peak oil' but never thought about what it actually means, just that they are irritated that it cost them a few pence more to fill up their Beetle this week.

The simple fact is that we are ALL going to have to make HUGE changes to the way we consume in the future. We can either stick our heads in the sand and enjoy cheap fuel with no duty, and then be fucked when the shit hits the fan, or we can start changing our behaviour now and be at least a little bit prepared for it. The only way to change people's behaviour is through their wallet.

Ignorance is bliss.

[mals]

Ignarince is wot?

[gamefreaks]

Originally Posted by Neal

I think that's the point tbh. When lorries and vans run dry, business and the economy suffers. That's the only way to hit the government where it hurts. Who actually wins though? Where does all the fuel duty go? Well, not on the roads admittedly, but not into 'Gordon's pocket' either. It's public money. I'm sure we'd all like to see zero tax on anything, but you'd soon get fed up when you broke your leg and had no hospital to go to and so on. I agree I'd like to see less of it squandered by an utterly financially incompetent central government though.

And there we have it. This government is losing control of its frivilous spending, so is over-taxing to compensate. I wonder how much we are paying for the war in Iraq in pounds-per-person? How much is it costing to erect speed-bumps on every street? How much are we spending on housing immigrants? And the list goes on...

[bidderman1969]

toyota prius here we come!

but what will happen when hydrogen cars hit the road?

[Neal]

Toyota Prius isn't the answer either! More energy is consumed/pollution created in the manufacture of such cars than current cars use in the form of petrol over their working life. But telling people not to buy new cars but keep their old ones running doesn't fit with the 'consume, consume, consume' mantra we have. No lovely VAT from new cars sales that way either though, or the new 08 registration ego boost for Mr & Mrs. Jones.

Hydrogen cars are a red herring too. Hydrogen is not an energy source, it's a form of energy storage.

[bidderman1969]

they hydrogen cell cars now, quite good to by all accounts

[Neal]

sure, but where do you get hydrogen from?