25% of a $4.00 cost per gallon of regular unleaded gasoline is due to the devaluation of the US dollar in the past 24 months. Restated: if the US dollar was at the same value in the currency markets as it was this time in 2006, the price of a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline would be $3.00.
Do you remember fuel at $3.00 per gallon? Of course you do. It wasn’t that long ago. Did you adjust your lifestyle? Let’s look at statistics for spending during the Christmas season of 2007 when the price per gallon was just about $3.00. Spending increased year to year by about 3.6% . So even though gas prices were up from December of the previous year people were still spending money.
The Ripple Effect of $4.00 per Gallon Gas Is Uge and Everyone Should Be Really Pissed Because….
Let’s look at the impact: airlines are have to raise prices to cover fuel costs. Of course people have less money to spend on airline tickets because of what it costs to fill their gas tank. So fewer people fly, airlines cut flights and airlines cut jobs. Guess what …take the cruise industry – not as many people fly so they are not taking as many cruises and they are not scheduling time at resorts.
So you say you don’t care that much about the airlines and cruise ships and resorts. OK what about the price of lettuce. In a matter of one month at the place I shop the package of mixed greens I like increased by more than 15%. Why do you think you see an increase in food prices? What delivers food to the stores? Rights..trucks. What fuels trucks? Right gasoline and diesel fuel.
So now we have more people losing their jobs, prices increasing and an increase in the number of people blaming Saudi Arabia and the oil companies for the increases. Ladies and gentlemen our own federal government created this mess. Wait…we create our government. I don’t recommend looking to an outside source to blame. Look in the mirror first then move forward from there.
What is the solution? There doesn’t appear to be one action to restore the confidence in the US Dollar or is there? Could linking the value of the dollar to the price of gold be a solution? It seemed to work before. The weakness of the dollar is a big deal and it seems to be getting very little attention buy our current or pending leaders. They pay attention to what people want to hear and in this country people seem to be looking for increasingly larger government with more programs to “help” the citizenry. I don’t like it and suggest you examine your belief system on these points. I wonder what would happen if everyone who has a blog would start ranting about these issues? Do you think the leadership would pay attention? Of course they would. This all starts within.
Caution: Solutions From Snake Oil Salespeople:
What really takes off in an economic situation like we are dealing with is the classic image of the snake oil salesperson. But rather finding them on the back of a covered wagon, we find them in email messages, job boards, Craigs List, Facebook, MySpace , You Tube and an increasing volume of direct mail offers.
Get rich quick or get out of debt marketing capitalizes on people’s pain of losing jobs and the increasing number of people having difficulty keeping their homes. Objectivity in evaluating these offers can easily be lost and the valuable “rule of thumb…if it looks to good to be true, it probably is” fades into the background.
Now are there credible opportunities out there for making very good money? Absolutely but they involve you doing something to earn it. I recently been advertising for virtual assistants. I know there is very good income to be made with this work. I have this position posted in several prominent locations where I know there are qualified candidates. The response is very slim with one exception: I have a very interested company from an international country wanting to help me and I am seeing if that will work. Why is it that the aggressive labor pool seems to be available internationally but not in my own back yard? I have no idea.
There are jobs in the economy, there are credible business opportunities and if you have any questions about a business you are looking at or a business opportunity you are considering, just shoot me an email at StevePohlit@gmail.com and I will try to help you.
Sending all my readers the energy of vibrant health, happiness and prosperity.
Steve Pohlit
http://www.stevereports.com
Steve is the President of International Business Consulting Resources. His firm specializes in guiding companies to rapid increases in revenue and profits with a sustainable growth rate. I am building my practice and welcome new client inquiries. Call me for a fee consultation at 727-587-7871 Remember many of my business building articles can be found at Steve Reports and my prosperity building tool (best tool ever for helping you manifest your goals and dreams) is The Prosperity Tool Chest and guiding articles posted very often at Prosperity Tip