A "false" sense of well being

[Horse with no Name]

I am speechless that gas prices are back down to $1.97/gallon in our area.
After hitting almost $3/gallon, with threats of being $4/gallon by Christmas, one has to wonder how they do it? Or why?
Back when I was back to school shopping when gas prices were so high, there were a lot of people out, however, there were very few buying large amounts.
The higher priced malls were abandoned in favor of the lower priced discount stores. Of note, the line in Ross was front to back, when at any store in the mall it was "in and out".
I am curious if these lower fuel prices are meant to entice people into spending money this holiday season, thus again, propping up a false economy.
There have been UNBELIEVABLE sales in my area at some of the retailers.
For example, Bath and Body Works who traditionally sell their body mists for about $16, has been clearancing them out at $5.00 each. That is almost an unheard of sale...and before the traditional Thanksgiving rush. One also has to wonder if the boycott being called for Friday has been taken into account for stores that are open today--trying to get the rush on the shoppers.
I have a very bad feeling about this false economy being propped up and feel that because of a false sense of security, people are going to spend more than they had planned or can afford BECAUSE of the lower prices at the pump.
There is too big of a November shopping push (more than usual) for my comfort zone.
I hope I am wrong.

[Nay]

1. I don't think you are wrong. The sales started here BEFORE

today. Yesterday the mall was packed to the gills -- when I drove by, the parking lot was totally full. And tomorrow is supposed to be the big kickoff. I think retailers are scared shitless, and I think the oil companies got the gas prices down so that people wouldn't be so nervous about buying for Christmas. I still think people ought to stay home, have family gatherings instead of gift-giving sprees, and just generally gear down and actually enjoy the season. We have been doing just that for years, and the holidays are not at all stressful for us.

[me b zola]

21. Retailers don't set the prices

Well, they do for their outlet if they are independent. But independent owners are going out of buisness left & right, and they all claim that to be in the market they lower their prices so low it bankrupts them.

There are not too many independent retailers left, at least not here in Portland OR--but I here it is like that in many places.

[shenmue]

2. True

I noticed that as well. While I'm happy the price is down, I didn't think about why. I'm sure you're right.

Makes you aware of how much you really are in other people's hands.

[Skink]

3. Oil is still around 60 a barrel too.

Boggles the mind.I believe cosumer choices may be factoring in. I see Prius's all over now. Of course the less gas we buy the more expensive it should be.

[Jane Austin]

15. I'm more alive to VW Passats and Jettas, because I drive a Passat.

I see them everywhere now, expecially the deisels.

Last week I pulled into the smallish parking lot at the Animal Emergency Clinic.

Counting me there were three almost identical Passat wagons. At Costco, three VWs were parked nose-to-nose.

A Canadian friend tells us he got 50 mpg on his visit to Texas, and a caller to Ed Schultz said it's really hard to find a Jetta in stock.

In addition to the built-in high mileage, I'm able to buy Bio-Willie's "Farm Fresh Biodeisel" locally, so I'm using 20% renewable, American-grown fuel, too.

I'll have to keep an eye out for Priuses. I'm not sure I know what they look like.



(Edited for clarity.)

[Skink]

17. Jetta driver eh?

Do you listen to car talk?

[Jane Austin]

18. Passat, actually.

Don't listen to Car Talk, I'm afraid.

Do they have a thing about Jettas?

[Skink]

27. Tom did a whole rant on how Jetta drivers are the worst drivers..

Not the car but the drivers themselves.

[MsConduct]

4. I have the same feeling. I think the cheap gas and great prices

are just so the retailers can have a happy holiday season. I hate being manipulated.

[Horse with no Name]

6. Problem is

We WILL pay now...or later.
Perhaps the original estimates of gas @ $4/gallon at Christmas were correct.
This is just our last meal.

[Drum]

7. I'm a bit off-topic,

But had to mention to this thread-starter:

Watching an episode of Law&Order Criminal Intent last night. The detectives are trying to solve a case of a veterinarian killed in a stable...thinking the victim was lured down a dark passage by a mismarked paddock directory...Goren vexes over this discrepancy, saying "...but see, over here we've got a name with no horse..." which made me chuckle, thinking of the old song and of your DU nickname.

Regardless, thanks as ever, HWNN, for the news...and happy T'giving!

[MsConduct]

8. Oh, I get that alright. People will just get into more credit

card debt over 'the season' and be extremely shocked when the other shoe drops.

[xchrom]

5. they were advertising on tv holiday sales

before thanksgiving.

sales can be misleading indicators of profit however -- large institutions like macy's get better price points for their buying power than other smaller institutions -- and we all know the example of wall mart and what they are willing to pay manufacturers.

with volume like this we have to wait to see what the season will bring.

[Extend a Hand]

9. I am baffled by this price drop as well

I've been following the shut-in numbers for gas and oil from
the gulf and the price drop makes no sense (Especially in light of the
fact that shipments of 2 million bpd from the EU strategic reserves
ended last week.

http://www.mms.gov/ooc/press/2005/press1123.htm

Today’s shut-in oil production is 615,623 BOPD. This shut-in oil production is equivalent to 41.04% of the daily oil production in the GOM, which is currently approximately 1.5 million BOPD.

I don't think we have seen the worst of it yet. :scared:

[Deja Q]

10. "they" are not ready for the crash.

I wonder why.

[pitohui]

11. way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory

we bitch when prices go up

then we bitch when prices go down

damn, you just can't make some people happy

it's thanksgiving, the parting shot of the holiday and shopping season, if you can't enjoy it, allow others to enjoy it without poking holes in it

unbelievable sales are COOL

but i have encountered this mentality that won't shop at a truly great sale, because they figure there is a problem, fine, more for me

[Extend a Hand]

13. I am not complaining

about the price drop-- merely expressing puzzlement as to why we are having the price drop. I'm planning on taking advantage of at least one really great sale to buy a new laptop at $379. ;)

[Horse with no Name]

14. self delete

It isn't worth it.
Have a nice holiday.

[TahitiNut]

22. "fine, more for me"?? (Hmmm ... what does that sound like?)

(Something familiar ... but ... nawww ... couldn't be.)

[Atman]

12. The gas prices are a last-ditch effort to boost Chimp's poll numbers

Remember, we were "never" going to see gas below $2 or even $2.50 again. Then, every stunt Bush produced went bad. Everything he touched turned to turds. All the pundits all summer and fall were saying that consumers are pissed at Bush because of high gas prices, that lower prices at the pump would be the only thing which would make the electorate happy again. And viola...lower priced started coming, despite the dire warnings of $4 gas and the still-record high per-barrel prices. Oops...but then the pollsters and pundits determined it isn't energy prices at all that are pissing off Americans, it is Iraq. So what is happening now? BushCo is all over announcements of "troop pullouts," despite the fact that stories were all over the paper just last week of NEW DEPLOYMENTS.

We are indeed being played for fools. Period. There is no other explanation which makes much sense...market forces don't work this way. Record high supplier costs NEVER translate into rapid price DROPS to the consumer...unless there is a big fucking con going on.

[LiberalEsto]

16. I was flipping the three main news channels early this morning,

NBC, ABC and CBS. The ads they were showing during the morning newscasts were predominantly for Ross, Value City and Big Lots. This is in the Washington DC metro area.

Welcome to the New Rethuglican Economy, where the super-rich shop at elite stores, and the rest of us shop at Value City. The middle-class shoppers that used to sustain places like Penney, Hechts, etc. are dwindling away, and it is reflected in our shopping patterns.

[Protagoras]

19. We've now been innoculated

now they drop it down so we feel like we're getting something back...and then they can let it slowly float back up...but it won't be news since it was already there before.

We'll pay the same in the end...but we won't cry and moan about it nearly as much.

[upi402]

24. death by a thousand cuts

combined with desensitization periods

[Lorien]

20. Humanity has been wallowing in a false sense of well being for some time

now, but there's very little time left for any of us:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=1946667&mesg_id=1946667

My wages are always tied directly to the economic health of the middle class, and I'm struggling right now. But unpaid bills seem like a small concern when compared to the nightmare sitting just on the horizon.

[TahitiNut]

23. I haven't heard that home heating oil has gotten any cheaper.

Well ... whatever goes down comes back up eventually. Around tax time, probably. :shrug:

[tsuki]

25. The gas drop does not surprise me. I don't look for it to climb

until after the 2006 elections. Gas prices even make Republicans angry.

As for Holiday Shopping, I believe that we've been lied to for two years now. No one I know is shopping big. Gifts are smaller and better thought out. The over commercialization is gone, even among my group w/grandchildren.

[Tsiyu]

26. The Bushes are Oil Pimps

C'Mon. They pressure their NeoCon buds to lower the price because:

A) Shrubby's low numbers are tied in part to high gas prices: his electorate* was won with a measly tax loan, remember?

B) People recently saw the media cover the phenomenal profits oil pimps are making, and they are pissed. The Neo-Cons are not really ready for revolution.

If you want to get out of the consumer cycle, buy locally grown and produced goods as much as is feasible in your area. Just a random thought...;)