I feel sure that the cost of a nice room 200 miles north of the coast will get raised overnight.
But the supply/demand equilibrium point is similar to the proper sail/rudder angle for maximum efficiency. There are often deviating factors not accounted for in the calculations.
It’s not my assumption. I wish it were though. It’s pretty brilliant how it all works. I wouldn’t mind taking credit for economic theory, but I can’t. Several factors can cause a change in the supply curve, like:
-The cost of other goods can cause producers to reallocate resources.
-The number of sellers - An increase in the number of sellers can shift the supply curve to the right.
-Technology - improvements in technology shift the supply curve to the right.
-Expectations - If sellers expect a price increase, they may decrease the quantity supplied at a particular price in order to have more inventory when the price increases.
Source: Supply Curve
That’s an apples and oranges comparison, because people don’t consume coolant the same way they consume fuel. In other words, there are legitimate reasons the price of gasoline and the price of coolant don’t behave the same way in a capitalist market, none of which is an argument against a theory that relies on “all things being equal” in order to be true.
The demand curve for fuel is shaped nothing like the demand curve for coolant, because of the differences in how the substances are used. If coolant was an energy source, this might be a tangerines to oranges comparison rather than an apples to oranges comparison.
How much gasoline do you use in a month? How much coolant? How much would a doubling of gasoline prices affect your pocketbook? How much would a doubling of coolant prices affect your pocketbook?
Not it isn’t. You’re the one who’s posting the theories on the why…not me. I show you an example that blows your theory away and now you back pedal and say it’s not the same.
As I said - I don’t care about the why or cause…all I said is that it’s different. You and Texas seem to have a hissy fit trying to defend it. Again - I don’t care about the why…all I stated is that’s it’s different.
Not to confuse matters but I was down to half a tank and just filled up. The price went DOWN from $2.55 a week ago to $2.49 today.
Also I remember being in a SuperAmerica station a few years ago and the manager was on the phone with her main office, explaining that other stations in the area were a nickle cheaper and they needed to lower their price to be competitive. All kinds of forces at work in this land.
Yep, prices are dropping in Dallas, too. Down $0.10/gallon at the station I pass on the way to work.
As to explaining what’s going on, I’m supplying facts that help folks know they’re not just getting ripped off. A real problem has occurred (the largest refinery shut down that I’ve seen in 40 years), with real consequences. Now things will start getting back to normal.
…until the major damage from Hurricane Irma takes place.
The pricing of gasoline this month will likely be highly variable by the day or the week.
Are you saying coolant and gasoline have the same demand curve? They don’t, not unless you’ve found a way to extract energy from coolant to propel your car.
The price is determined by the intersection of the supply curve and the demand curve, and since the demand curves for gasoline and coolant are shaped differently, their prices will be affected differently by a change in their respective supply curves, which are also shaped differently, hence this being an apples to oranges comparison.
If the price of coolant doubles, do your spending habits change the same way as when the price of gas doubles? Think about it for a minute before you answer.
True, but there are no major refineries or oil production platforms involved. There will be local supply disruptions, but I’ll be surprised if it’s as wide spread as the impact from Harvey. I’ve been surprised before, though…
But there’s the ever important location-location-location. Highly visible fuel stops in sight from an evacuation route will likely lift the price several cents above similar stations just a few miles away from the freeway. Of course they must hire additional help and remain open longer hours to handle the business so they can justify the increase.
And is there any doubt that 6 economics professors from Harvard would have different opinions on this subject. The textbook cases only count on exams.
It’s even possible that Irma could reduce the demand for gasoline. You can’t do a lot of driving around during or after a hurricane, especially if widespread power outages mean that service stations can’t sell gas even if they have it in their tanks.
We’re not talking about allowing them to fall into disrepair. We’re talking about vandalized, everything of value removed, and carpets urinated on.
And I’m sure the small traces of formaldehyde outgassing from the plywood really bothered the chain smoking tenants.
It’s hard to say about demand up or down due to hurricane. While you may not be commuting to work there is huge amounts consumed during evacuation, return, lots of fuel guzzling heavy equipment and big trucks, lots of boats, and some flooded fuel stations could contaminate their entire fuel supply. In the rebuild phase, vast resources are consumed that magically doesn’t teleport to the needed locations.
I doubt the out gassing bothered the smokers, but there should have not been out gassing of formaldehyde in the first place.
I did grocery shopping today, the price of OJ is still holding steady. $2.50 for the fresh squeezed stuff.
Fresh squeezed orange juice might not mean what you think,
That’s interesting. I knew it was pasteurized but never looked into how they did it.
The makers of CountryTime lemonade say that if they made it taste like real lemonade, you wouldn’t buy it. I suspect the same is true for orange juice. If they actually squeezed the juice and sold it as is, you probably wouldn’t buy it.
The other day, I was working in the shop and an unprocessed chicken just walked into the door. One of the guys cornered it and took it home with him.
I think they pasteurize it because it would spoil too fast. I’m sure real squeezed juice tastes fine if you don’t store it too long.
I heard there were issues with VOCs outgassing in some of the FEMA trailers. I guess they were made of MDF and similar materials with a lot of resin binders.
That FEMA trailer I posted the pics of is like 27 or 28 feet long. It was by no means a mansion but everything worked. The heat, AC, sewer hookups, and all were all good. I thought it seemed like a good deal for $1500. I wonder how much of the VOC was left to outgas after 12 years. Most of it was probably gone. I am sure they require maintenance like anything but I am not real familiar with them. I know boats are basically a hole in the water in which you throw money. Mobile homes (house trailers) also seem to require more maintenance as well.
When I showed up to New Orleans, the only operating portions of the city were the older areas like downtown and the French Quarter. I didn’t bring any nice clothing because I knew I would be working in the dirt and a mess. We landed at the airport and the first work location was between the airport and the hotel. Then we head to the hotel and show up all grubby in this beautiful historic hotel in downtown. We apologized to the people there and they didn’t really care after all they had been through with the storm.
Then FEMA located some evacuees in this hotel. Yes, they were bad news. I stayed in my room but complained to the management about the neighbors cussing, fighting, having sex, and smoking all night. They had heard numerous complaints and the people were gone the next night. These people were basically animals and would have surely trashed the place if allowed to stay long at all. I can totally imagine some of the FEMA trailers being worth only scrap after a short while with these types using them. I am sure this was one reason they were made cheaply from the start as the government figured they would be disposable.
Remember that I work on computers. I rarely see a trashed Apple but the ones from Wal-Mart are commonly filthy with cigarette smoke, pxxx, cockroaches, and who knows what else??? I always say “I don’t know what is worse: A computer from Wal-Mart or a person who buys a computer from Wal-Mart.” There is a saying like “poor people have poor ways” and this is a reflection of that. I know I am in trouble when someone says “It is a good computer. It came from Wal-Mart.” That is a sign to RUN from this potential customer. Gaming consoles are the worst. I rarely see one that isn’t just absolutely filthy where I do come across “pristine” Wal-Mart computers from time to time.
Then remember that I almost always have the majority of my problems with people right after the government benefits are distributed each month. The things they try to pull definitely don’t make me sympathetic to their plight. The situation in Texas definitely seems to be more under control than after Katrina even though it is still really bad. There is looting of course but people in Texas seem to handle it in the Texas way. I saw a news story where people had junk doors and appliances sitting outside spray painted with messages about how people who loot will be shot. Unfortunately this is what it takes to keep some people in line.
