Everyone remembers before the recession how things were. There were people who would show how much money they could spend running rampant. Most of those people have been silenced by the recession as everyday average Americans have grown tired of extravagance.

So here are a few of the things that have gone almost extinct through the recession:

1. Unaccountability. People feel as though CEOs and high level executives have had a hand in the recession due to their lack of accountability. We never heard from them or made them accountable for actions they may have done. However, now, they end up being the most accountable and when a company does something wrong, the CEO is the first to blame and the first to go.

2. People flaunting their extravagance. The days of people owning things like Hummers, bling, and having their homes featured on shows like Cribs has come to an end (for now anyway). Even the once very public Paris Hilton has been fairly unseen recently. Hummer has been dropped from the GM lineup and people are cutting back wherever they can.

3. Outrageous Gas Prices. I’m sure this one will end up making a comeback eventually, but as of right now the average for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline is around $2.65. This is far from the record highs of $4.10 a gallon for the same grade of gasoline from last year. Many people welcome the difference due to lower income levels and higher unemployment.

4. Less junk mail. Before there was a credit crisis everyone was getting credit card offers, including children and cats. Now there aren’t as many credit card offers floating around and credit card companies are being a bit more careful about who they are sending pre-approved offers to.

5. Stores that sell stuff we don’t need. Stores like the Sharper Image have just simply disappeared in the last year because they sell stuff that people don’t need and typically can’t even create a need for.

Usually gas supplies start to decline from February to May because refiners begin maintenance operations on their facilities and switch from making winter grade gasoline to summer grade gasoline to boost supplies for summer fuel.

Also, refiners are just not producing at the capacity they once were.

The source article says to watch the RBOB gasoline futures traded at the New York Mercantile Exchange rather than crude oil prices as they are a much better way to tell what you’ll be paying at the pump.

Source

So, why have gas prices steadily risen for the last few weeks. When oil was at $35 a barrel right before Christmas I was paying $1.49 a gallon, now I’m paying $1.79…with prices just updating in the last day or two.

Even the average gas price is rising, so it’s not just local. However, my area is typically (being in Mississippi) lower than the average by about $0.10, but now is only lower by $0.01.

From CNBC.com:

“I was turning down Priuses in March and Japan was sending them to other countries. I was taking Cadillac Escalades in trade on Priuses by July and now, today I can’t give away a Prius,” Jackson said.

“Sales are down 50 percent all because the price of gasoline is on a roller coaster. I mean when are we going to have energy policy and a gas tax that puts a floor under the price of gasoline so that we can cease whipsawing the American consumer back and forth on this issue of fuel efficiency which for industries for lead times of two, three, four years, it’s an impossible situation.”

There is still a part of me that wants a Prius only because I know one day that gas prices will rise again, but also because I had a chance to actually see the inside of one and I really liked the features it had. A lot of the reason people aren’t buying cars right now is because 1) the cars they have are fine and 2) financing is hard to come by.

Source

The source I’m using for this entry says that the cheapest gas in the country is in Utah at $1.45, but obviously they aren’t polling areas around Memphis, TN, where gas is less than $1.45 a gallon.  Regular unleaded was under $1.45 last week right before Christmas there.

Gas has fallen from record highs to 5 year lows in a matter of months.

Source

Now, the price of scrap metal and other recyclables has fallen dramatically. Most metals have fallen equally (sometimes more) with the price of oil. The drop in prices has caused recycling facilities to cut jobs just because they can’t get the same revenue as they used to. Some people aren’t recycling as much either. Several cities that have started curbside recycling are scaling back.

The real loser in the price drop is the environment. When prices were up, people were more inclined to recycle because of the money they could get. Also, at the time recyclable materials prices were up, gas prices were up and consumers were becoming more environmentally conscious…now, with gas prices and other commodity prices down, awareness has also taken a hit.

Chris and I stopped for gas just outside Memphis for $1.83 a gallon. I never thought that I would see gas below $2.00 a gallon again.

Now, however, oil is dropping lower almost everyday and demand and worries about the recession aren’t going to be bringing them up.

I am excited about oil prices going down because that means I will actually be able to take trips for the holidays.

At the same time, gas prices have hit a 3 year low…$2.26 a gallon for regular unleaded.

However, when OPEC cuts production, all they do is hurt the rest of the world’s economy. I can’t wait for the day when we no longer run on oil and OPEC’s profits will diminish, and eventually disappear.

This is good news for those workers, but I’m afraid that Ford will be disappointed by truck sales, as it has been with sales of other vehicles. The report had little information about how the F-150 differed from previous models, but I would assume that it has better fuel efficiency than past models. Otherwise, Ford would be in the same boat it is in now…low demand for trucks with the cost of oil going up. I know right now that oil is far below what it was this summer, but summer always brings higher gas prices, and next summer is not likely to be an exception.

I suppose that those analyzing oil prices were wrong…for now anyway.

Many consumers have one eye on their wallets and the other on their portfolios and retirement investments. Oil prices falling could be the only good news coming out of Wall Street in the last couple of weeks.

Oil prices have dropped so much so fast that even OPEC is thinking about dropping production just to raise prices…however I don’t believe that would help at all. If OPEC drops production and prices go up, demand will just fall and prices will stabilize.

Bill Heard dealerships across the country shut down abruptly in the last couple of weeks. They have filed Chapter 11 in at least Alabama at this point. Customers who had their automobiles in the service department were locked out, those who had just purchased cars (were also not given any warning to the closing) are having to go through a lengthy process to obtain their tags.

The big 3 US automakers are even going through a process to borrow $50 billion from the government over 2 years.

Things aren’t looking great for car dealerships as people are holding on to what they have a little longer and opting for more fuel efficient cars when it is time to get a new car.

I, along with plenty of others, am calling this gouging. Not one of the gas stations was charged $4.75 a gallon for gas with their most recent supply, so why are they passing this OUTRAGEOUS price difference onto consumers? The answer: Because they are allowed to. Markup to wholesale prices can be up to $.60 on this most recent trade.

Our gas was $3.49 Thursday night at 8 pm. At 10 pm it was $3.55… Saturday morning $3.99. Wow. The best part? Oil traded UNDER $100 a barrel on Thursday.

Anyway, oil fell to below $115 a barrel yesterday, hitting a 3 month low. Of course, when oil falls, recently anyway, stock have rallied.

With demand falling and supplies increasing, oil has been falling. It was down 7.9% in the last week. Some are saying it’s the end of the bullish commodities market, I think it’s just the end of the summer. Oil and gas are always more expensive through this time of the year.

This is good news, but doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll be able to get the car any quicker. I recently stopped by a Toyota dealer looking into buying a Prius. I was told (in July) I would *probably* be able to get one by the end of the year. Wow. I didn’t know there was a such thing as a waiting list for a car that was under $200,000. I mean I hear about lists for Rolls Royces and Bentleys or cars like that, but not a $23,000 hybrid. Perhaps I should go ahead and put my name on the list. I would like one in blue.

The demand for the Prius is obviously high, because they can’t even keep them in stock in Memphis, where they have at least 3 Toyota dealers. If I were to put my name on the list in my small town of about 20,000 people, there would be 8 people in line in front of me. So, if you have to put your name on a list for a car, is there still room for negotiation? I don’t really know about that either. I would still like to be able to haggle the cost of the car, but I don’t think they would.

Ah…the thing is, nothing will be done unless congress approves the lift also. So it’s just really a lot of talk now. Bush seems to think that, according to his exact words, "The only thing standing between the American people and these vast oil resources is action from the U.S. Congress." Nice.

I oppose offshore drilling, as it doesn’t alleviate our dependency on oil at all. Right now people are angry and looking to alternative means of energy. Once oil prices go down (which it is doubtful that offshore drilling would have a major impact on the price of oil) people would once again become complacent with the way things are and our environment suffers.

The ban was created to protect beaches and the money brought in by tourists. I doubt people would be as interested in the Gulf Coast if it ALL looked like Biloxi, MS. I know that Biloxi’s beach isn’t abysmal because of offshore drilling, it’s awful because it’s Biloxi. It smells funny, honestly.

In an article I read today about this, Nancy Pelosi had a really great quote about the whole thing, "Once again, the oilman in the White House is echoing the demands of Big Oil…The Bush plan is a hoax. It will neither reduce gas prices nor increase energy independence. It just gives millions more acres to the same companies that are sitting on nearly 68 million acres of public lands and coastal areas." She mirrors my opinion.

Here’s my take on this, people have to pay for groceries rather than gas. They take fewer trips and therefore, are not on the road as much. However, there are still plenty of awful drivers on the road. They will continue to use their cell phones, drive like there isn’t anyone else on the road and not pay any amount of attention as they make left hand turns.

On another note, I suppose accidents will be going down a bit more, because oil is trading at $147 a barrel today. lame. I would like to speculate for a moment, because it seems like every time I hear something about oil prices, it’s bad. I think there will be peace in the middle east starting tomorrow. Oil production will be through the roof, and prices will fall below $50 a barrel again. That is my speculation. Now…only if someone believed me, lol.