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’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!

I will apologize right now, but I need to vent about this situation. Just the other day I went to the bank to make a very quick transaction. I needed to be somewhere at a particular time and so I decided to go through the drive through to speed up the process. WRONG! When I pulled up to the drive thru, one line had 2 cars and the second line had one car. Well, guess which line I pulled into; that’s right the one car line.

 The first thing I noticed was the (individual was on their cell phone) as they sat at the reception area. I continued to observe and what I witnessed was unbelievable. First the phone conversation was finished. They then took possession of the tube carrier and sent it to the teller. That’s right, nothing inside of the plastic tube. When it returned the best I could tell is they needed a deposit slip and a writing instrument.

 Car #1 in the other lane has finished and car #2 was pulling up to do their banking business. Finally, the person ahead of me completed their paper work, but before they could send to the teller, they took another cell phone call. Finally, once the call was finished, they sent the tube to the teller. Car #2 is now pulling away and #3 is taking its place in the other line!

 Next I notice the tube returning to the person ahead of me. Excitement soon diminished! Something was wrong and needed to be corrected. Once corrected the tube was sent back to the teller! Car #3 in the other line is now pulling away with all bank transactions completed! Car #4 pulls into position and prepares to do their banking business.

 Finally the tube arrives back at the car ahead of me. Obviously they got several thousand dollars in cash. Why? They continued to sit there!! The best I could figure was a marathon counting session. No, I believe I witnessed them taking another cell phone call. Car #4 is now finished and pulling away. Finally, the person ahead of me slowly pulls away! I take care of my banking business in less than 1 minute, but I’m still late to my meeting!

Look, before getting to the bank drive through, have your deposit slip filled out, your signature in all appropriate areas and your identification ready to go. Your transaction will usually go smoothly and the bank teller will like you a whole lot more. I promise, everyone behind you will appreciate your efforts.

 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.

At this time of year we are being asked to help those less fortunate! We are being contacted by phone, mail, personally, and with numerous email blasts!

I knew some of this information, but have had my eyes opened to some facts. I don’t usually cut and paste my blog, but I had to with all this information. If you have any doubts of these facts, do your own research and you will be amazed! All these figures are as of 2009. Several of the people mentioned have since stepped down from their positions. I believe it important to know what your charity dollars are actually doing to help others who are truly in need of our help. When I read these facts, it gives me a lump in my throat and a very sick feeling in my stomach!! I truly believe something needs to be done. Tell me what you think. Here’s the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth!!

The worst offender was yet again for the 11th year in a row is, UNICEF – CEO, receives $1,200,000 per year, (plus use of a Royal Royce for his exclusive use where ever he goes, and an expense account that is rumored to be well over $150,000.) Only pennies from the actual donations goes to the UNICEF cause (less than $0.14 per dollar of income).

The second worst offender this year is Marsha J. Evans, President and CEO of the American Red Cross…for her salary for the year ending in 2009 was $651,957 plus expenses. Enjoys 6 weeks – fully paid holidays including all related expenses during the holiday trip for her and her husband and kids. including 100% fully paid health & dental plan for her and her family, for life. This means out of every dollar they bring in, about $0.39 goes to related charity causes.

The third worst offender was again for the 7th time was, Brian Gallagher, President of the United Way receives a $375,000 base salary (U.S. funds), plus so many numerous expense benefits it’s hard to keep track as to what it is all worth, including a fully paid lifetime membership for 2 golf courses (1 in Canada, and 1 in the U.S.A.), 2 luxury vehicles, a yacht club membership, 3 major company gold credit cards for his personal expenses…and so on. This equates to about $0.51 per dollar of income goes to charity causes.

Fourth worst offender who was also again in the fourth spot, for every year since this information has been made available from the start 1998 is amazingly yet again, World Vision President (Canada) receives $300,000 base salary, (plus supplied – a home valued in the $700,000 – $800,000 dollar value range, completely furnished, completely paid all housing expenses, including taxes, water/sewer, telephone/fax, HD/high speed cable, weekly maid service and pool/yard maintenance, fully paid private schooling for his children, upscale automobile and an $55,000 personal expense account for clothing/food, with a $125,000 business expense account). Get this, because it is a “religious based” charity, it pays, little to no taxes, can receive government assistance and does not have to declare where the money goes. Only about $0.52 of earned income per dollar is available for charity causes.

Of the sixty some odd “charities” we looked at, the lowest paid (President/C.E.O/Commissioner) was heading up a charity group right here in Canada. We found, believe it or not, it was……

Ready for this…

I think you might be surprised…

It is, none other than…

The Salvation Army’s Commissioner Todd Bassett receives a salary of only $13,000 per year (plus housing) for managing this $2 Billion dollar organization. Which means about $0.93 per dollar earned, is readily available and goes back out to local charity causes…truly amazing

No further comment is necessary…”Think Twice” before you give to your Charity of choice. Find out who is doing the most with your donation. Decide whether they are actually helping people in need or are they just helping themselves.  

The problem is it doesn’t stop here. These CEO’s have complete staffs under them that actually run the everday business. You know they are not paid minimum wage! I can’t help but wonder what the true dollar figure that is available for those in need. Once all these salaries are deducted it can’t be much!

As most of my readers know by now, there are times, I feel I just have to vent! Yes, I know the page was originally set up to give information pertaining to car buying. There comes a time that I just veer off the road slightly and share other information that is in my heart. This is one of those times. I know some will take offense to this article and some may even shed a tear. Americans have been given a bad world review for some time now. Unfortunately people of the world see us in a bad light due to the actions of a select and elected few. The day will come that we finally realize we are ONE person. It will matter not color, language or religious beliefs. Once we realize this; the world will finally know PEACE!

At a time when our president and other politicians tend to apologize for our country`s prior actions, here`s a refresher on how some of our former patriots handled negative comments about our country.

JFK’S Secretary of State, Dean Rusk, was in France in the early 60s when deGaulle decided to pull out of NATO.  deGaulle said he wanted all US military out of France as soon as possible. 
Rusk responded “does that include those who are buried here?
 
 deGualle did not respond.  

(you could’ve heard a pin drop) 

When in England , at a fairly large conference, Colin Powell was asked by the Archbishop of Canterbury if our plans for Iraq were just an example of empire building by George Bush.
 
He answered by saying, ‘Over the years, the United States has sent many of its fine young men and women into great peril to fight for freedom beyond our borders.  The only amount of land we have ever asked for in return is enough to bury those that did not return.’  

(you could’ve heard a pin drop)
 

There was a conference in France where a number of international engineers were taking part, including French and American.  During a break, one of the French engineers came back into the room saying ‘Have you heard the latest dumb stunt Bush has done? He has sent an aircraft carrier to Indonesia to help the tsunami victims.  What does he intended to do, bomb them?’

A Boeing engineer stood up and replied quietly: ‘Our carriers have three hospitals on board that can treat several hundred people; they are nuclear powered and can supply emergency electrical power to shore facilities; they have three cafeterias with the capacity to feed 3,000 people three meals a day, they can produce several thousand gallons of fresh water from sea water each day, and they carry half a dozen helicopters for use in transporting victims and injured to and from their flight deck.  We have eleven such ships; how many does France have?’ 

(you could’ve heard a pin drop) 

A U.S. Admiral was attending a naval conference that included Admirals from the U.S., England, Canada, Australia and France.  At a cocktail reception, he found himself standing with a large group of Officers that included personnel from most of those countries. Everyone was chatting away in English as they sipped their drinks but a French admiral suddenly complained that, whereas Europeans learn many languages, Americans learn only English. He then asked, ‘Why is it that we always have to speak English in these conferences rather than speaking French?’
 
Without hesitating, the American Admiral replied, ‘Maybe it’s because the Brit’s, Canadians, Aussie’s, and Americans arranged it so you wouldn’t have to speak German.’

(you could’ve heard a pin drop) 

Robert Whiting , an elderly gentleman of 83, arrived in Paris by plane. At French Customs, he took a few minutes to locate his passport in his carry on.
 
“You have been to France before, monsieur?” the customs officer asked  sarcastically. 
Mr. Whiting admitted that he had been to France previously. 
“Then you should know enough to have your passport ready.” 
The American said, ‘The last time I was here, I didn’t have to show it.” 
“Impossible, Americans always have to show your passports on arrival in France !”

The American senior gave the Frenchman a long hard look.  Then he quietly explained, ”Well, when I came ashore at Omaha Beach on D-Day in 1944 to help liberate this country, I couldn’t find a single Frenchmen to show my passport to.”

(did you hear the pin drop?)
Are you sitting now with a tear in your eye and a knot in your throat as I am right now? Because of a select few, we are viewed by the world as the BAD GUY! As I say, we may have different cultures, different skin color and/or a different religious belief. But, we all share one thing in common and that one thing each of us desire  is a world that can exist peacefully together!

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!!

 Why hire an auto negotiator if you are going to attempt to negotiate a deal yourself! A negotiator does all the leg work for you. They keep all the usual dealership bullshit out of the deal. When a negotiator presents a drive out price to a customer, it is locked in stone! I always have a buyers order or buyer presentation page to present to a customer. If I ever have a dealership waiver on this negotiated price at the end of the deal, I hold them to the agreed upon price and it’s the last time I do business with them.

 I and we charge a fee for our services. The fee charged for services should never be figured into a customer’s deal price. Almost every customer includes this fee into the final selling price of their vehicle! Why? I guess it’s just human nature. The customer will never sit and break down what it cost them to negotiate their own deal! I have never advertised that I can obtain a better price than the average consumer. It’s just that I obtain the best price quickly and while you carry on with your everyday life. Period!

 I’ve had customers come to me with their negotiated price and expect me to get a better price and my fee had to be included with this price. In the past I have negotiated a deal for $675.00 better than the customer obtained, after they had spent many hours of negotiation with the same dealership. When I present the better price to them, they say it’s only $275.00 better because of my fee. My price was documented and theirs was not! I’m not paid and they go to get their “GREAT” deal. Uh oh, the cost of the dealer adds was not included in their negotiated price! Their price was now increased $350.00. My negotiated price included these dealer adds! Did they buy? Yes, two days later after they found out that no other dealer offered a better price. My $400.00 fee ended up being a trivial amount compared to what they actually spent in time and money!