Sometime back I published an article about how before the elections of 2010, the gasoline prices in the U.S. had been held at a government orchestrated below market price. Just a few months after the elections were over the price at the pump began a gradual rise to where we are today. It just amazes me how when the price of a barrel of oil increases on the market, within 24 hours it is reflected at the pumps. Then on the other hand, when the price for a barrel of oil decreases on the open market, it takes several days for the decrease to be reflected at the pump. We each and everyone silently question this, but unfortunately we never speak out to be heard. Let’s face it, the way they are conducting business with oil and gas in our nation borders on criminality.

Just think of it this way. A small gas station usually has four 10,000 gallon tanks of fuel in the ground. The four tanks consist of regular, plus, premium and finally diesel. If the price of oil increases at the end of trading on the stock market, by that evening the night clerk is out changing the price per gallon on their signage. Now wait a minute, no new priced fuel has been put into the stations tanks. How does the fuel remaining in those huge tanks require a cost change. It was purchased at the cheaper price. RIGHT? Actually, before the new price can legally be charged, the higher priced fuel has to be in those tanks, but it is the fuel that was purchased at the old or cheaper price. How much profit is the retailer making selling the cheaper fuel at the new increased rate?

Now, like today the price has decreased considerably per barrel. But in most cases we will not see this reduction at the pump until the more expensive fuel is depleted and replenished with the lower priced fuel. Many stations will lower the price by just a few cents per gallon to make it appear good business practice, until the cheaper fuel is delivered into their tanks and then we see a real decrease per gallon. As far as a retailer, it can be a win, win situation with the ups and downs of the market.

Let’s discuss why the price per barrel has gone down. Mr. obama and our leaders allowed our strategic oil reserves to be released for the common peoples use. Very few Americans understand these oil reserves. These reserves are our back up fuel encase of an emergency and for military use encase of all out war. It’s kind of like your rainy day money savings account. But, if you decide to use it, you no longer have it, if and when you need it. Now what do you do if an emergency arises. I just pray the government does not have to cross this bridge.

We are in this mess because of the knee jerk reactions taken by obama with the Deepwater Horizon blowout in the Gulf of Mexico. He single handedly shut down the drilling and production in the Gulf and also on the Alaskan North Slope! Most people do not realize that these two areas produce ¾ of the oil and gas we use in the United States. Most Americans also do not realize that just before these reserves were released for use, that OPEC had agreed and had told the world leaders that they were going to open the TAP and release to the world more oil. Now, the U.S. administration has upset the OPEC leaders with what they did and these are a group of individuals that you don’t want to piss off! The question I have to ask is why tap our reserves, knowing OPEC was going to release more production?

Why? Only time will tell and I’m afraid the answer will not be what we want to hear as a NATION. If your old enough to remember the gasoline crisis we had in this country as well as the world back in the 80’s then you will realize that the only reason it was not worse than it was is because of our strategic oil reserves. These reserves saw us through a very tough time. Are we fixing to have an emergency need for these reserves? If so, WE as a nation are in serious trouble and my friends that is spelled with a capital T.

 I tried and tried to leave the comment section of this page open to any and all wanting to place a comment on any article. Unfortunately there are too many users that will and did take advantage of this feature. You see, there are individuals and companies that sell computer robotic services. What are these robotic services you ask? These computer robots, search all over the web for open web pages, to ply their services. They really like unrestricted comment areas on a web page. They are able to fill in bogus names and email addresses, but a real URL address. When the comment is posted the URL is real and the customer who is paying for this service is banking on you the reader to click on this website. In other words, it’s like an advertisement for their web page and they are using a free medium to advertise. It’s SPAM! The same stuff we all deal with every time we open our emails. I hope you don’t have the 200 or so spam emails like I do each and every day!! I’m so tired of this and all I know to do is hit delete all. These companies or should I refer to them as criminals, spend money to obtain our email addresses and then turnaround and sell them to spammers. I know because, I have been approached by these criminals, attempting to purchase my bank of email address. I probably have 2000 to 3000 email addresses and will NEVER sell or give these to anyone.

 But, there is hope for those of us with web pages and blog pages and it is a simple word press plug in. If you spend any time on the internet, you’ll recognize the name of this plug in. It’s called CAPTCHA. The CAPTCHA is a box that uses a background design with letters and numbers that have to be entered by a user to access certain items on a web page. They range in difficulty from simple to very difficult in design. Remember the web-bots? Well, at the moment they are unable to configure these CAPTCHA codes and are not granted access to certain areas of a web page. I’m sure the internet criminals are working on hacking this as soon as they can, but for now we are safe with this CAPTCHA system and it works very well.

 I apologize to all my readers for the inconvenience of the CAPTCHA code. Allow me to give you some idea of what this has done to help me and this blog page. I was receiving 200 to 350 comments everyday and I reviewed each and every one to determine if real and publish worthy. After installing the CAPTCHA code, I receive 10 to 20 comments per day. This one fix has given me at least 3 free hours daily, that I can actually work on new articles.  I’ve had several people ask how I keep the spam from my page. I now let CAPTCHA code do it for me and life has gotten easier! So, HAIL CAPTCHA Code!!!

 I’m as pro-environmental as the next person, but when I start thinking about these electric cars and do just a little research, I begin to get a little suspicious. To begin with, allow me to give a short history lesson. Here in the U.S, we used to generate our electrical power using an abundant and one of the cleanest burning fossil fuels known to mankind. Our electric generation plants were fueled by natural gas. During the Carter (Jimmy) administration all of that changed. The electrical generation plants were mandated to change from natural gas to COAL fired operation. This use of coal has so many negative impacts that it just boggles the mind. To mine the coal, defaces our EARTH and to burn this coal, destroys our ATMOSPHERE!  No political or environmental group has ever once said, “let’s change back to natural gas for electrical generation and save our planet.” One 12 hour period of coal burning power generation produces more atmospheric pollutants than the operation of every vehicle in the U.S. for 7 days! Do I need to repeat that statement?

 Now the “experts” say we have to go to electrical vehicles to SAVE OUR PLANET! This is an absolute misconception! First, the electric vehicles are more expensive to manufacture and  purchase and that’s just the beginning! At the moment, the batteries being used in today’s electric cars are definitely NOT environmentally friendly. I might be stupid, but I view these batteries to the same degree as nuclear waste. Go ahead laugh! Now, think about it! What is done with these batteries at the end of their life span? How will they be properly disposed of and what will this disposal cost each of us in the long run? What is their pollution factor, now and in the future!?

 Remember our COAL fired generation plants? Let’s take a city the size of Houston, Texas. Let’s say half of the vehicles are electrically powered and need to be recharged each day. When everyone plugs their cars in at the end of a day, the power plants need to at the very least, triple power generation to cover the grid use! In one hour of increased power production with coal, the byproduct has polluted the atmosphere 4 times more than what was saved with one days use of those same electric vehicles!

 Does this make perfect sense to you? Ask yourself! Where does the money go and what does money BUY! We unfortunately have bought into the experts! I hope this article will make you think for just a minute! When the bell goes off, DO something about it. Speak up and be heard!!! The big push for electrical cars is the typical knee jerk reaction of our government and our experts! All it takes is just a few minutes of informed thought to see this is not the environmental fix that we need! Electric vehicles are not the great cure all for our environment! In fact they may cause more harm than good and in more ways than one.

What do I mean by this title? Well, we are entering a stage of consumerism that I believe is presently uncharted. Article after article discuss the new wave of consumer. Who is this new consumer? Well, the experts predict that 29% and growing of the American consumer is strapped with over $150,000.00 of student loan debt! Of these individuals with degrees, only 30 percent are actually working in the field of their degreed expertise. The remainder of these individuals have either taken jobs just to get by or are unemployed. There has been a 38 percent increase of 28 to 35 year old individuals actually moving back home with Mom and Dad. This trend actually includes wives and children, an entire family. Today the only thing a college degree means is that “YOU” are in debt! The only real change with the bankruptcy law is you still owe your student loans, No Matter What! There is another group of individuals that are attempting to live with over $100,000.00 and more in credit card debt alone. The interest rates for a credit card averages 9 to 27 percent interest. This amount of credit card debt is actually an unpayable amount. Think about it! Do you find yourself in this situation?

The United States Government bailed out numerous large corporations recently. The thought was an economic stimulus. The only thing the bail outs did was stimulate the payment of year end bonuses to CEO’s and management. Payment of bonuses to the same individuals that created the downfall of that particular company. Only in America. Right? Wrong, this actually went on world wide.

Banks and lending institutions just recently raised the individual credit score tiers. Used to, if you had a FICO credit score of 650, you were still able to obtain a loan at a decent interest rate. Just recently that score has been raised to 700 FICO score and this is considered bottom tier of the credit scale. Unfortunately today 47 percent of Americans have FICO credit scores of 510 and less. What does this mean in simple terms? In simple terms this means that to obtain a loan, an individual will pay higher and higher interest rates for that loan! They may even be denied the loan!

We are witnessing today the slow decay of the “Middle Class” American. At some point in time the government has to realize, that with the demise of the middle class American worker, there will no longer be people to pay the taxes that government needs to operate. The poor or those on government assistance do not pay taxes. The super rich have loopholes so as not to pay too much in taxes. So what happens? I’m not sure I want to think about it right now. All I will say is, that as long as everything continues as is now, the future looks very bleak. Is there a way to repair this problem? The answer to this is, YES!!!!!!! First, the leaders, lawmakers and politicians; our entire government needs to change it’s ways of thinking. The people need to be put first for a change and not those that contribute to the political machines. We need to take care of ourselves before we take care of the world!!!!! We need to fix our problems before we attempt to fix the world‘s problems. Politicians need to listen to the people and make positive changes. Our economy does not need a bandaid. We need to do complete surgery and fix the problem once and for all. Today and not Tomorrow!

I want your comments on this article. Don’t give any generic remarks or some B.S. to just put your website out there. If you do I have a very quick delete button! I want some real feedback about this article. Let me hear from you! Speak out, we need to!

 This was just brought to my attention and I must say, “ I’ve never considered this scenario.” I hope this will give every reader something to think about with all our new electronic technology.

 The story goes, a few weeks ago a couple had their vehicle broken into while attending a football game. Things stolen from the vehicle included a garage door opener, some money and a GPS devise which had been left in plain view on the dashboard. When the victims returned home they found their house broken into and ransacked. Any and everything of value had been stolen. The thieves had used their GPS devise to guide them to the house. They knew that the home owner would be gone for some time because of being at the football game. They had used the garage door opener to gain access to the house. Because of the football game the thieves knew roughly how long they had to do their evil, before the owners would be home.

 Were the victims stupid in this case? Hell no!! They were good people and didn’t realize the evil that is in the world today! What steps could have been taken to avert this situation? First, if you use a GPS devise, never put in your actual home address. Key in an area or land mark close by your actual home address. When you use the return home feature it will direct you to a known area to get home, but a thief has no clue the actual location of your home. Don’t leave your GPS in open view of prying eyes when you exit your vehicle. The stand on your dash can also be a tell tale sign of a GPS being present in the vehicle. Garage door openers! How many of us leave the door leading into our house from the garage unlocked so as to make entry for us easier? Well, this also makes entry for the criminal easier and never forget it. I’m following this article with one more and it has to do with your cell phone and today’s criminal element.

 Let me begin by saying, “I’m a Honda believer”. Ever since I purchased my first Honda in 1995, I have been a product believer. I sold Honda’s for years and my current vehicle is a 2008 Honda Accord V-6 Coupe! With that said, I believe I need to reveal to my readers something that I have caught wind of recently. Honda may be having some product issues. The issues are actually numerous and relate to the Civic and Accord models. The issues in question range from minor to very severe and I have not narrowed down to specific assembly areas of the world. Honda as well as every automaker has worldwide manufacturing and assembly plants. I recently saw a Ford Truck that the engine was made in Spain and the transmission was from Mexico?  In my estimation, no matter where a part is made, quality control standards should be the same.. If the quality control standards vary depending on which part of the world the part is manufactured, I believe manufacture’s need to reconsider their alternatives and make some serious changes.

 It has come to my attention that both Honda models are experiencing problems from brakes and engine to transmissions. The brake problem comes from an inferior holding spring clip on the disc pad causing a brake pad noise. A class action lawsuit was filed and now instead of Honda service repairing the problem free of charge, now the consumer has to file a claim to receive compensation. Thanks to the ambulance chaser lawyers and the courts. I had my problem repaired prior to the settlement and Honda service performed the repair free of charge and without any hassle.

 Now, the Honda warranty covers the drive line components for 5 years or 60,000 miles. Thank goodness these problems are cropping up before the warrantees are out!  But, can we all be this lucky? The answer to this is no! To replace a transmission cost around $3,000.00 plus and to replace the engine somewhere around $5,000.00 USD. Do you have that kind of ready cash? Hell no, and neither do I. What do we do you ask; well I’m going to give my own opinion here!

 If you own a Honda vehicle manufactured between 2006 and 2009, my suggestion would be to purchase an extended warranty!!!! This can be done through Honda for somewhere around $1,100.00 (appx.) or through any aftermarket retailer offering extended warranties. No matter whom you purchase your extended coverage through, please read your contract carefully before signing. Read “ALL” the FINE PRINT! Many of the extended coverage warranties are not what they are cracked up to be! Simply said, there’re scams. Please do not get caught up in this situation and only find out when you need it that you were scammed with your paid for coverage! There are actually several good service coverage companies out there! Do your research!!!!  Read, Study, See what others have to say and then make your decision. Don’t forget to check with the Better Business Bureau about each company. This is a great resource for consumer information.

 Look, you and I buy all kinds of insurance. Why not buy a policy for your vehicle. Damn, I should be getting paid for writing this article!!!! But seriously, with the cost of vehicle repairs skyrocketing, a few dollars spent today, could save you thousands tomorrow no matter the make or model of your vehicle.

 Since Tuesday 13/Dec/2010 I have been fighting a sever computer virus. I have installed on my computer, a very good anti-viral software. All I’ll say is it’s not Norton or McAfee because these in my estimation are worthless as far as protection goes. But, this “New” virus being sent around still got past my fort! Just so you will know, it throws an icon on your desk top in the shape of a combination lock and titled “system tool 2011” and it comes across the hard drive as a “Java Script” down load. If you have downloaded this new virus, bless your heart”. This thing is evil and its network fingers run deep into the hard drive system with many parasites. My software people are writing a defense program to cure now and block this in the future. They even admitted it slipped under their radar. I so far have the virus somewhat contained. To do this took a good bit of computer knowledge and running 5 different full scans with my software. My computer still has a little cough from the virus, but I should have this fixed in the next 48 hours. The best thing here is, I’ve done this without losing any files or data!! Of course I had 99.9% backed up on disc!

 My question here is – - WHY!? Why do people out there write these malicious programs? Are they GEEKS without a life and they do this out of boredom? Is it a scheme of all these computer repair shops to keep profits up and bring in more work? Is it software companies doing this to sell their malware and spyware protection programs? The writers of these virus programs can’t possibly get a kick just knowing someone out there “might” just get their virus! If this is the case, they are some sick puppies!! I’m so mad right now that I may not be thinking rationally, but it seems there should be some way to halt this misuse of the web. Through some research several years back I found websites that gave step by step instructions on how to program a virus and send them out over the web. For everyones information the easiest way is through an email attachment.

Just be careful and by all means  have a good antivirus program on your computer.

The last time you were at a restaurant, I’ll bet you JUST handed over your credit or debit card to an individual to pay your bill!! RIGHT?  Did you ever once think what that person could do with your credit card? Here’s the deal! With today’s cell phones, all anyone has to do is make a picture of the front and back of your card. BAM!!!! They got ‘cha. This has become very big business with millions being paid to individuals for this type of information.

 The criminal is not exactly stupid. They will wait for about two months before making the first transaction with your card information. WHY? It makes it so much more difficult to trace back to when this information was obtained. Rarely are transactions done even in the same state the card is in. So many times this information is being sold to overseas criminals, with you seeing a purchase let’s say in France!  All that is needed when making a purchase on the internet is the 16 digit card number and the 3 digit code number on the reverse side of the card and the name on the card. Think about it!!!

 You can be in any department store making a purchase and the person behind you is on their cell phone. As your banking card is being processed they can be taking photos of it without your knowledge. How do you go about putting your four number PIN into the machine. Do you cover your transaction from prying eyes? Hell, so called security cameras can pick this up for anyone’s later use! I’m sorry I have gotten to where I may have the appearance of person with an affliction when doing card transactions. I cover my card and I cover my machine transaction from prying eyes and cameras.

 Christmas time is usually the time these criminals STRIKE! Why? People are making numerous transactions and this makes things more difficult to follow by the individual and by the bank. What can you do to NOT become a statistic? Please see the list below!

1. Never allow your credit card out of your possession. Pay your bill in person!!!!
2. Do your best to conceal your card transactions.
3. Every 12 months obtain a new credit card from the issuer and change your pin number.
4. When making online purchases, make sure it is a secure site! This is tricky because sites can put anything on the page. Do extensive research of the particular site prior to purchase.
5. Stop all automatic  credit card transactions you may have ( monthly or yearly transactions)
6. Monitor your banking and credit card transactions online DAILY!
7. If this should happen to you, assist those that are investigating, be a part of the solution to the problem!!!!
8. NEVER say this will never happen to me!!!!

Can we put a stop to these criminals? Probably not, but we can damn sure put a damper on their gravy train!

I’ve recently had something nagging at me and it wasn’t my lovely wife! What has been nagging at me was to write an article about voodoo economics and help to prepare my reader’s for what I believe is to come in the next few years. I realize I have followers from all over the world, but this article pertains to my American readers and I apologize to the rest of you. Although some of the information I’m about to provide may be of interest to the rest of the world.

 For the last couple of years we have been living by what I call Voodoo economics. What I’m referring to is the cost of a gallon of fuel for our automobiles. Someway, somehow our government has held producers and refiners to a false price per gallon of petroleum! We have been lulled into a false state of security! BUT, now that the 2010 elections are over and the results are in, I want us all to be prepared! The price for a gallon of gasoline has fluctuated between 2.45 and 2.65 per gallon, for the last two years. Now that America has spoken at the voting polls, bend over and prepare for the worst!

 It is my belief that we are fixing to see a slow rise in the price per gallon to around 4.00 or better per gallon of fuel. The major question has got to be WHY? I will attempt to sum this up in a very short answer.

 After the deep water blow out in the Gulf of Mexico, our government made many knee jerk reactions to the situation. Finally our president was able to shut the drilling and production DOWN in the Gulf! Without thought, this was the gravest mistake that could’ve been made at the time! When you shut down U.S. rigs from making a living, they quickly move to foreign companies and waters. What people do not realize is once gone, it takes time to get them back into the U.S. market. The other item is the American public believes that most of our oil comes from foreign markets. This is the farthest from the truth! The U.S. obtains half of our oil from the Gulf of Mexico. I could write an entire article about my last statement, but I won’t. Not yet!

 We have been lulled into a very false sense of ease. Now that the elections are over and change is on the horizon, things are going to change drastically. The first change I predict will be the price for gasoline. I see 4.00 per gallon by next summer. This will be used to degrade the new politicians in office and their agenda’s. Who suffers when these political games play out. WE DO!! This price increase will be used to obtain votes in the 2012 elections, I promise you!

 I had predicted this increase several weeks before the elections to close friends. I really do hope I am wrong with many of my predictions, but I can’t help this one. Forty eight hours after the polls closed and we saw a conservative surge, I witnessed the price of a gallon of gasoline increase 20 cent per gallon in my home town. Now this was 20 cents per gallon in 48 hours! WHY? I’m not really sure, but I have an idea as discussed earlier. I pray that I am totally wrong! I and I’m sure you, can’t afford this drastic increase at this time in our economic problems. Will this be worldwide? Maybe!

 I really hope I have to eat my words. I would do this gladly! Let’s see what happens in the next 24 months, but just remember; you heard it here first at askthecarbuyguy.com.

 The following will be things to be mindful of as you go about your daily routines. Following a couple of common sense rules will help you to not be a victim of FRAUD.

 In my estimation this one item will save you many sleepless nights and stress; your bank will NEVER e-mail or call you for your account number or any banking information. Never wire money to people you don’t personally know. Be very cautious of work at home job offers. Before you make a decision, check the company out with the Better Business Bureau. I have provided a direct link to the BBB’s website here on the home page. There are no legitimate jobs that involve reshipping items or financial instruments from your home. Foreign lotteries are illegal in the U.S. You can’t win no matter what they say! Check your monthly bank statements and credit card statements for charges you don’t recognize. Finally order a copy of your credit report from each of the three national credit bureaus once a year.  (annualcreditreport.com)

 Never click on a link from inside an email to visit a website! Type the address into your browser instead. It’s easy for a business to look legitimate online. Before doing anything, check them out! Only 2% of reported identity theft occurs through the mail. Approximately 75% occurs online! Always retain your receipts, statements and packing slips. Review them for accuracy. SHRED all confidential documents instead of simply discarding them in the trash. SHRED even the special offers received in the mail from your bank or credit cards. This even includes offers from department stores that includes your personal information. SHRED everything that contains any of your personal information. When making online purchases, make sure to be on a secure site and that you are dealing with a reputable retailer.

GET INVOLVED

 It’s never too early to become an informed consumer. Point out too good to be true offers to your kids and teach them to be skeptical! Take an active interest in the financial activities of your aging parents. Share information about scams with friends and family. Use social networking to help keep them safe.

WHO TO CONTACT

 If you’ve received a suspected fraudulent document through the U.S. Mail or if the mail was used in the furtherance of a crime that began on the internet, telephone or in person, report it to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

http://www.postalinspectors.uspis.gov or 1-877-876-2455

 The Federal Trade Commission, the nation’s consumer protection agency, works to prevent fraud and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop and avoid it. To file a complaint or get free information on consumer issues, visit :

http://www.ftc.gov/complaint or call 1-877-ftc-help or 1-877-382-4357.

The first step avoiding FRAUD is to be informed!! Next we must help one another and share what we have learned. By working together we can put a real dent in this form of crime. Good luck and let’s all be ever vigilant!!