Re: Got the boat running just in time to catch the latest increase
This is probably OT and I may get dinged by the mods (I really do love this site BTW), but I am sick and tired of hearing all the comparisons between the UK and US - we have it cheap? NOT. Our fuel prices have risen by over 40 percent since January of this year. Our people are used to paying 1.50 a gallon on the street and a little more at the marina. <br /><br />Personally, I know of many people who have parked their twin engine boats (myself included - twin 340HP big blocks). Yes, there are going to be a lot of people who say...well, I only boat a couple of times a year, so screw it, it's only money. Problem is, I used to be able to fill my fishing boat for 60-70 bucks (21 ft. center console with a 135). Now it will cost me close to 200. That's a huge difference - 60 bucks was a trip once a week or every other week. At 200, it's a trip once a month at best. Simple supply and demand. THe good news is that all of us who have parked boats will ease the demand on fuel thereby dropping prices back down to a reasonable level.<br /><br />Understand, this whole ... it's 8 dollars in the UK thing doesn't fly for us. Just this morning I heard a couple of economists talking about what the Fed was going to do - the spike in fuel prices can be interpreted as inflation - therefore the Fed should raise interest rates to cool the economy. However, that same spike will lower demand for fuel - thereby cooling the economy. Therefore the Fed will not need to raise rates - this is the worst possible scenario. I'm not saying inflation is good, but by artifically holding the interest rates down, you'll hold salaries down (because of the perceived lack of inflation), while at the same time, costs are skyrocketing out of control. In the UK, you've obviously got much higher taxes - and more government benefits than we in the US, and furthermore, salaraies in the UK are generally quite a bit higher than in the US which can help to offset the higher fuel prices.<br /><br />Rant over.
