Now the elections are over what to talk about now?

[bigfish]

If anything, the elections kept all of us typing at a steady rate. What issue is of most concern to you now that the election is over and our leaders are in place?

I would also like our elected officials to check out this site periodically (every day) so they may hear what the people are saying. We have a lot of good minds (with exception to Unregistered1972) in this community and I have personally witnessed some good ideas on this site. :-)

[Carolinanurse06]

Well one of the things we could do is all put our heads together and be an advocate against the rising cost of everything! As a nurse I see so many patients that can't afford their medicines. Now gas is out the roof, and food is going up. Soon these patients won't be able to buy their food. There are truck drivers out there making $800 per run, Spending $600 per run in gas, and bringing home $200.00. How is everyone going to continue to make it?

[swampfox]

I think the time will come soon when we won't be making it too well.

The first job is to rid the government of the politicians who are in bed with the oil companies. They say it's supply and demand with the oil, but you know we actually have more oil in the ground than the Saudis do. If we let them know that we're serious about pumping our own I think those prices will fall far and fast. I mean it's not like they're going to get much richer.

As for the medicines, that's something that the government could affect directly. The Canadians negotiate lower prices on prescription drugs, many of them actually made by American drug companies. We are a much bigger market than Canada. It's just that nobody has tried to negotiate.

Food prices will go down when energy prices go down.

By the way, the biggest contributors to political campaigns are energy companies, pharmaceutical companies, and insurance companies. Let's see, I wonder if it's a coincidence....

If anybody's been paying attention to the presidential campaigns, you know that Obama raised all of his money over the internet, $10-20 contributions from individuals like us, not from the people who are stealing our economy.

But I have to be realistic. In SC Satan himself would win any election if he ran as a Republican. It really is embarrassing.

[cuebald]

But I have to be realistic. In SC Satan himself would win any election if he ran as a Republican. It really is embarrassing.

And HAS, more than a couple of times...

[Unregistered$$$]

Boycott one company... not for a day, but for a month at a time. Make them feel what we feel everyday when we buy groceries or pull up to the pump... anxiety, fear, nervousness... wondering where will the next dollar come from; what will we do if things don't get better.

[Earle the Pearle]

I think the time will come soon when we won't be making it too well.

The first job is to rid the government of the politicians who are in bed with the oil companies. They say it's supply and demand with the oil, but you know we actually have more oil in the ground than the Saudis do. If we let them know that we're serious about pumping our own I think those prices will fall far and fast. I mean it's not like they're going to get much richer.

As for the medicines, that's something that the government could affect directly. The Canadians negotiate lower prices on prescription drugs, many of them actually made by American drug companies. We are a much bigger market than Canada. It's just that nobody has tried to negotiate.

Food prices will go down when energy prices go down.

By the way, the biggest contributors to political campaigns are energy companies, pharmaceutical companies, and insurance companies. Let's see, I wonder if it's a coincidence....

If anybody's been paying attention to the presidential campaigns, you know that Obama raised all of his money over the internet, $10-20 contributions from individuals like us, not from the people who are stealing our economy.

But I have to be realistic. In SC Satan himself would win any election if he ran as a Republican. It really is embarrassing.
I agree with you that if we make it a point to let the world know we are going to drill in this country the price for a barrell of oil will fall. The only barrier to us drilling for oil (which will increase supply) is the party of the democrats who are controlled by the enviromental wackos. As far as big oil, the only reason big oil is making record profits is because of "demand". Big oil will make the same profit margin on the gallon of gas if it was 1 dollar or 15 dollars per gallon, which is way less than what the government makes off a gallon of gas.
Im not saying if we suspend the gas tax for the summer as John McCain proposes will help that much but it will help. The true solution is to say we are going to drill and we are going to drill as soon as possible. At the same time we have to keep our eyes on the future and that includes new technology and different sources of energy that are feasible. Which I believe if left up to capitalism will come. Anybody that comes up with a cheaper more efficient way to produce energy, more so than oil, will make billions.
To compare republicans to satan is beneath you swamp, you speak all the time about how ceartain people try to divide everyone but this is the some of the same rhetoric you write about. Such hyporcacy.

[swampfox]

I'm sorry. That did sound hypocritical. What I was trying to say is that candidates for especially national office know that they can count on South Carolina votes to the point where they barely bother to campaign here. I never meant to compare Republicans to Satan. I should have put it a different way.

I'm as big an environmentalist as anybody, but I think we need to drill for oil on our own land right now while we work hard on developing alternative energies. I've driven through Louisiana and seen oil wells all over the place, out in the middle of fields where crops were growing. If it's done right it's just not going to be that big a disaster for the environment. But we have to work toward renewable energy. I hope I live to see the day when we can tell the Saudis to kiss our butts.

But I don't think that big oil keeps the profit margin the same regardless of the price of oil. During the last oil crisis a couple of years ago Exxon had a few of the most profitable quarters in the history of business. I'm not a conspiracy fanatic by any means, but there is some reason why the oil companies and those related to health care (pharmaceuticals and insurance) are allowed obcene profits while the rest of us suffer for it, and it is NOT the same in other developed countries.

Gas is about $8/gal in Europe now, but a big part of that is because the dollar is just not worth as much as it used to be. In the country with which I am most familiar (the Czech Republic, I have family there) the dollar is worth about half as much as it was less than three years ago. Most of that gas price is tax which they use to maintain and build roads.

You were absolutely right to call me out for what I wrote. Sometimes I post too quickly without making sure I didn't go too far.

[Earle the Pearle]

I'm sorry. That did sound hypocritical. What I was trying to say is that candidates for especially national office know that they can count on South Carolina votes to the point where they barely bother to campaign here. I never meant to compare Republicans to Satan. I should have put it a different way.

I'm as big an environmentalist as anybody, but I think we need to drill for oil on our own land right now while we work hard on developing alternative energies. I've driven through Louisiana and seen oil wells all over the place, out in the middle of fields where crops were growing. If it's done right it's just not going to be that big a disaster for the environment. But we have to work toward renewable energy. I hope I live to see the day when we can tell the Saudis to kiss our butts.

But I don't think that big oil keeps the profit margin the same regardless of the price of oil. During the last oil crisis a couple of years ago Exxon had a few of the most profitable quarters in the history of business. I'm not a conspiracy fanatic by any means, but there is some reason why the oil companies and those related to health care (pharmaceuticals and insurance) are allowed obcene profits while the rest of us suffer for it, and it is NOT the same in other developed countries.

Gas is about $8/gal in Europe now, but a big part of that is because the dollar is just not worth as much as it used to be. In the country with which I am most familiar (the Czech Republic, I have family there) the dollar is worth about half as much as it was less than three years ago. Most of that gas price is tax which they use to maintain and build roads.

You were absolutely right to call me out for what I wrote. Sometimes I post too quickly without making sure I didn't go too far.
Hey I do the same thing, sometime my ass writes a check it cant cash, but that is what is great about this country, we can disagree about issues, and make mistakes( which I have done) but we can do it respectively( most of the time). You know there are extremes to both ideoligies(don't know if that is spelled correctly, is there a spell check on this site?)
However,the price for a gallon of gas in the USA has always been considerably less than most European nations pay, because of the tax they pay on a gallon of gas. The dollar has weakend in the past 2year, but it is small in comparison to the amount the price of oil has gone up. The price of oil goes up because of fundamental economic definitions (supply and demand), speculators will sell when the trend goes that way(which will decrease the cost of a barrel of oil) and buy when they believe they can sell a barrell of oil the next day for more ( which increases the price of a barrel of oil). So if we say we are going to drill in our own country to increase the (supply) speculators will sell which will drop the price. Drill here drill now.
Oil companies make 10 percent profit magin or less, which anybody who invest in stocks know that isnt bad but it isnt good. These oil companies are not localized to the USA, these are global companies who invest there money in every country that is not nationilized, in order to produce more oil or better alternatives to oil, and they do this to keep ahead of the grain and too utimately make money (capitalism). Its a wonderful thing.

[Lakal]

Well one of the things we could do is all put our heads together and be an advocate against the rising cost of everything! As a nurse I see so many patients that can't afford their medicines. Now gas is out the roof, and food is going up. Soon these patients won't be able to buy their food. There are truck drivers out there making $800 per run, Spending $600 per run in gas, and bringing home $200.00. How is everyone going to continue to make it?

Perhaps it is time to break up the vertical monopolies that most of the oil companies employ. Let's allow retailers to shop around for the best deals from refiners. Refiners should shop for the best deals from producers.No one should be allowed to own more than a few percent at any level. The SEC requires notification of anybody buying up more than a certain percent of any one stock- it is too easy to manipulate the market.<!-- / message --><!-- DONKS ADDED -->