Comments on: The Cost of Gasoline http://cafehayek.com/2008/07/the-cost-of-gas.html where orders emerge Mon, 16 Jan 2012 02:06:33 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v= By: John Dewey http://cafehayek.com/2008/07/the-cost-of-gas.html/comment-page-1#comment-27940 John Dewey Mon, 28 Jul 2008 16:30:09 +0000 http://localhost/wordpress/?p=3159#comment-27940 <p><em>per kurowski: "You just refuse to get it. You could hire someone to queue for your and you would still have the market clearing the price for gas."</em></p> <p>Are you suggesting that my cost to have someone wait in line for me to buy gasoline is only the minimum wage rate? Surely there is a cost to the increased risk of allowing a minimum wage worker drive my car. </p> <p>As a small business owner, I've observed the high turnover rate for low wage workers in parttime jobs - much different from that of fulltime workers. The cost of finding and hiring such a worker to fill my gas tank would have to be repeated several times through the year.</p> <p>During the time tat a low wage worker is filling my gas tank, what would I use for transportation in case of an emergency? </p> <p>What am I not getting, Per? Was your post a joke, as it certainly seems to me? </p> per kurowski: "You just refuse to get it. You could hire someone to queue for your and you would still have the market clearing the price for gas."

Are you suggesting that my cost to have someone wait in line for me to buy gasoline is only the minimum wage rate? Surely there is a cost to the increased risk of allowing a minimum wage worker drive my car.

As a small business owner, I've observed the high turnover rate for low wage workers in parttime jobs – much different from that of fulltime workers. The cost of finding and hiring such a worker to fill my gas tank would have to be repeated several times through the year.

During the time tat a low wage worker is filling my gas tank, what would I use for transportation in case of an emergency?

What am I not getting, Per? Was your post a joke, as it certainly seems to me?

]]> By: floccina http://cafehayek.com/2008/07/the-cost-of-gas.html/comment-page-1#comment-27939 floccina Mon, 28 Jul 2008 12:26:33 +0000 http://localhost/wordpress/?p=3159#comment-27939 <p>Also today’s vehicles are much more efficient. So you get more comfort power and luxury miles per gallon today. Do not be fooled by the fact that the mileage is not that much better today because we consumers chose to use the efficiency gains to ride in heavier more powerful cars. </p> Also today’s vehicles are much more efficient. So you get more comfort power and luxury miles per gallon today. Do not be fooled by the fact that the mileage is not that much better today because we consumers chose to use the efficiency gains to ride in heavier more powerful cars.

]]> By: Martin Brock http://cafehayek.com/2008/07/the-cost-of-gas.html/comment-page-1#comment-27938 Martin Brock Mon, 28 Jul 2008 11:26:40 +0000 http://localhost/wordpress/?p=3159#comment-27938 <blockquote> So a quicker way to compute the actual price of gas in the seventies is to add the minimum-wage to the pump price. </blockquote> <p>Simply adding the minimum wage to the price of a gallon of gas assumes that everyone in the seventies waited an average of one hour every time they bought gas and then bought one gallon of gas. I doubt that anyone has the data required to estimate the cost of queuing meaningfully.</p> <p>There are probably more filling stations today, more conveniently located where people need to buy gas. This change also affects what people pay to fuel their cars, but I don't know how you'd quantify the effect.</p> <p>The analysis of increased fuel efficiency is more compelling.<br /> </p>

So a quicker way to compute the actual price of gas in the seventies is to add the minimum-wage to the pump price.

Simply adding the minimum wage to the price of a gallon of gas assumes that everyone in the seventies waited an average of one hour every time they bought gas and then bought one gallon of gas. I doubt that anyone has the data required to estimate the cost of queuing meaningfully.

There are probably more filling stations today, more conveniently located where people need to buy gas. This change also affects what people pay to fuel their cars, but I don't know how you'd quantify the effect.

The analysis of increased fuel efficiency is more compelling.

]]> By: Gary http://cafehayek.com/2008/07/the-cost-of-gas.html/comment-page-1#comment-27937 Gary Mon, 28 Jul 2008 09:48:47 +0000 http://localhost/wordpress/?p=3159#comment-27937 <p>SteveO - Well, I figured that there must have been advanced in fuel economy since the 1970s, since, well, cars have gotten more efficient even in the brief 9 years I've been of driving age. I figured it was certain that someone, somewhere had compiled the data, so I ran a few searches in Google, and sifting through the useless results to find what you're looking for.</p> <p>The problem we have now is information overload. I had thousands of hits, but only found a few that had the information I was seeking. Still, it took me no more than a few minutes... a small price for what I've learned at the Cafe!</p> <p>Best,</p> <p>Gary</p> SteveO – Well, I figured that there must have been advanced in fuel economy since the 1970s, since, well, cars have gotten more efficient even in the brief 9 years I've been of driving age. I figured it was certain that someone, somewhere had compiled the data, so I ran a few searches in Google, and sifting through the useless results to find what you're looking for.

The problem we have now is information overload. I had thousands of hits, but only found a few that had the information I was seeking. Still, it took me no more than a few minutes… a small price for what I've learned at the Cafe!

Best,

Gary

]]> By: SteveO http://cafehayek.com/2008/07/the-cost-of-gas.html/comment-page-1#comment-27936 SteveO Mon, 28 Jul 2008 00:03:16 +0000 http://localhost/wordpress/?p=3159#comment-27936 <p>Awesome Gary, thanks a bunch for that.</p> <p>Looks like the take-away is that the average MPG from 1980 to 2007 has increased 40 to 47 percent. You can reverse the math their on the current price of gas, and you get $2.77 </p> <p>Just another way of looking at comparisons over time. I don't think any one of these ways is the magic answer. I once asked a historical actor who goes around in character as Ben Franklin, how much he would pay for a device that would allow him access to information on all kinds of subjects from around the world (I essentially described the iPhone with Wikipedia access). He said he'd give everything he had, because with that he could earn it all many times over. </p> <p>It's very difficult for people to grasp the value of things over time. Inflation calculators just don't get you there. </p> <p>Gary, I'm always interested in how to mine the incredible amount of resources that exist out there. Could you tell me how you find things like that table? Were you already aware of it for some other purpose? </p> Awesome Gary, thanks a bunch for that.

Looks like the take-away is that the average MPG from 1980 to 2007 has increased 40 to 47 percent. You can reverse the math their on the current price of gas, and you get $2.77

Just another way of looking at comparisons over time. I don't think any one of these ways is the magic answer. I once asked a historical actor who goes around in character as Ben Franklin, how much he would pay for a device that would allow him access to information on all kinds of subjects from around the world (I essentially described the iPhone with Wikipedia access). He said he'd give everything he had, because with that he could earn it all many times over.

It's very difficult for people to grasp the value of things over time. Inflation calculators just don't get you there.

Gary, I'm always interested in how to mine the incredible amount of resources that exist out there. Could you tell me how you find things like that table? Were you already aware of it for some other purpose?

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