Lower gas prices = cheaper energy costs = more household disposable income = more consumption = business outlook improving = hire more workers = more competition = pay more wages = better economic outlook for the 99%

We need Henry Waxman to come out of retirement to chair special hearings on this. Call those greedy Oil executives on the carpet and find out why prices are so low.

I bottom fished and purchased some Marathon Oil stock. I bought it at a 52 week low. I have a stop order in place just in case. I've been watching it approach that stop limit everyday.

I'm rooting for stabilization.

I'm really surprised that Congress has not used this opportunity to raise the federal gas tax. I'm all for an additional 25 cents a gallon to be used only to rebuild infrastructure.

I'm really surprised that Congress has not used this opportunity to raise the federal gas tax. I'm all for an additional 25 cents a gallon to be used only to rebuild infrastructure.

Pfft. By the time Congress could put something together that makes sense like that, gas will be back to $5 a gallon. 😛

Pfft. By the time Congress could put something together that makes sense like that, gas will be back to $5 a gallon.

"Surprised" was the wrong word.

They are blowing a huge opportunity.

We need Henry Waxman to come out of retirement to chair special hearings on this. Call those greedy Oil executives on the carpet and find out why prices are so low.

Good call alloak because we all know the Oil execs are lowering their prices for the good of the people.

I'm really surprised that Congress has not used this opportunity to raise the federal gas tax. I'm all for an additional 25 cents a gallon to be used only to rebuild infrastructure.

Watch what you wish for. The idea is being floated about as we post.

First things first. Make sure that existing infrastructure is being maintained before building new roads. It seems like in Ga. that every time money is available for road work, it goes to build new exits and lanes around Atlanta, with bridges, roads, and safety features going without in smaller towns and counties.
Yeah, I know, Atlanta has more people going through it, but it doesn't make people in south Ga feel good to see a new exit built on I-75 where one hasn't been before, when the ramps on I-75 in their town is rutted and cracked to a point where you hate to use them.
There are US highways, like US 41, where the bridges were built in the 1930's and show their age. Patches, mended guard rails where cars went through the concrete ones and replaced with metal-if replaced at all.

My big idea for all the states is the same as I've said for several years. Take that tiny .1 cent as a state tax. Nobody would fuss. It would take a lot of gallons sold to make a significant amount of money, but over a year, how many gallons of gas is sold in the US? One thousand gallons would get an extra dollar in tax revenue for the state to use for road repair.

I say go big or go home. 25 cents a gallon should do it. I'm not opposed to more. Our infrastructure is crumbling. It is a National embarrassment and needs to be fixed. Expensive? You betcha.

It has to be done.

I say go big or go home. 25 cents a gallon should do it. I'm not opposed to more. Our infrastructure is crumbling. It is a National embarrassment and needs to be fixed. Expensive? You betcha.

It has to be done.

Yes, it need to be done, the present infrastructure needs fixing, not added to. Fix what's messed up, then build more roads. If the money collected was used for that, we wouldn't be talking about raising the gas tax.

Our infrastructure is crumbling. It is a National embarrassment

We don't need any embarrassments. Are you making a case for privatization?

Where I live there are so many more cars that we need new lanes. The existing roads can't handle the traffic. Virginia's Routes 1 and 17 are more crowded than I-95. The projects that are being built today were designed ten years ago and are outdated by the time they cut the ribbon.

A case for privatization? You don't need me for that. The new Express Lanes on I-95 are owned by Transurban, an Australian company.

I guess "owned" is the wrong word. They are part of a consortium that collects all the tolls for the I 495 and I 95 in Northern Virginia.

They have this neat trick of leveling law suits against folks who missed fines. The law suits skirt the criminal courts and drag the individual into civil court. Commuters are facing tens of thousands in law suits instead of $20 and $30 fines.

The company was hired by Virginia Republicans, Governor Gifty's cadre of spend and privatize take kick backs conservatives. The same folks who bemoan frivolous law suits, unless of course they are profiting from the law suits.

No I don't support privatization but I'm watching Transurban stock. It is currently trading at near 52 week highs around $8.85 a share. I'm hoping some of this publicity will knock it down to around $6.90 - then I'll pick up a few shares and let the dividend pay my EZ Pass tolls.

Those of us who live in the ultra dysfunctional state of New York already pay a large state tax on gasoline (about .40 cents per gallon) and still see our infrastructure crumbling around us. In other words, it's folly to assume politicians will spend such a windfall on what it's actually meant or legislated to be spent on.

I think a better idea is to divert about 1/3 of our bloated and wasteful military budget (that's about $350 Billion per year folks) directly into a national fund to rebuild our crumbling roads, bridges, rail, electrical grid, etc...Best investment we could make in my opinion...Of course they could also find ways to piss this same pot of money away as well.

[Edited on 1/17/2015 by Chain]

Maybe I'm just lucky to live in the right place, but I fail to see the crumbling infrastructure. The roads, bridges, ect around here are top notch. Over recent months I have traveled to Dallas, Houston, and the Pensacola area. I didn't see it there either. Just lucky I guess.

Maybe I'm just lucky to live in the right place, but I fail to see the crumbling infrastructure. The roads, bridges, ect around here are top notch. Over recent months I have traveled to Dallas, Houston, and the Pensacola area. I didn't see it there either. Just lucky I guess.

Maybe you don't see it, but that doesn't mean it isn't happening. Most interstates were built in the early 60's and are in need of some sort of refurbishing. Many railroads have not had ties and rails replaced for too long. Sooner or later these things have to be addressed.

Maybe I'm just lucky to live in the right place, but I fail to see the crumbling infrastructure. The roads, bridges, ect around here are top notch. Over recent months I have traveled to Dallas, Houston, and the Pensacola area. I didn't see it there either. Just lucky I guess.

I went to high school in Fort Walton Beach and have lots of friends still in the area. They say the roads can't handle the population, especially during the tourist season.

But that's just hearsay.

Too bad there isn't a resource... oh, wait, there's this:

http://www.infrastructurereportcard.org/a/#p/state-facts/florida

Water and Environment
Dams

Florida’s dam safety program has 13.9 Full-Time Employees that each oversee an average of 64 state regulated dams.
Florida has 79 high hazard dams.
37% of the state regulated high hazard dams in Florida have an Emergency Action Plan.
Florida’s state dam safety program has an annual budget of $1,012,898.
Drinking Water

Florida has reported $16.4 billion in drinking water infrastructure needs over the next 20 years.
Hazardous Waste

Florida has 55 sites on the National Priorities List.
Levees

Florida has approximately 1,824 miles of levees according to the current FEMA Midterm Levee Inventory.
Wastewater

Florida has reported $19.6 billion in wastewater infrastructure needs over the next 20 years.
Transportation
Aviation

There are 100 National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS) Airports in Florida.
Bridges

259 of the 12,070 bridges in Florida (2.1%) are considered structurally deficient.
1,785 of the 12,070 bridges in Florida (14.8%) are considered functionally obsolete.
Florida received $91.3 million from the Federal Highway Bridge Fund in FY2011.
Inland Waterways

Florida has 1,540 miles of inland waterways, ranking it 7th in the nation.
Ports

Florida’s ports handled 91.5 million short tons of cargo in 2012, ranking it 8th in the nation.
Rail

Florida has 14 freight railroads covering 2,907 miles across the state, ranking it 23rd by mileage.
Roads

Florida has 121,829 miles of public roads.
Florida has 15,073 miles of major roads, 4% of which are in poor condition.
Driving on roads in need of repair costs Florida motorists $2.5 billion a year in extra vehicle repairs and operating costs – $181.43 per motorist.
Transit

Florida has 268.2 million annual unlinked passenger trips via transit systems – motor bus, heavy rail, light rail, and commuter rail.
Public Facilities
Parks and Recreation

Florida has reported an unmet need of $31.3 million for its parks system.
Schools

Public school districts in Florida spent a total of $17.5 billion on capital outlays for school construction and acquisition of land and existing structures in fiscal years 2005–2008.
It is estimated that Florida schools have $8.9 billion in infrastructure funding needs.
Energy
Florida produces 4.664 gigawatt-hours of renewable energy every year, ranking it 21st.

And this...

http://www.infrastructurereportcard.org/a/#p/state-facts/texas

How is Texas’ infrastructure doing?

Water and Environment
Dams

Texas’ dam safety program has 28 Full-Time Employees that each oversee an average of 142 state regulated dams.
Texas has 1,086 high hazard dams.
78% of the state regulated high hazard dams in Texas have an Emergency Action Plan.
Texas’ state dam safety program has an annual budget of $1,815,743.
Drinking Water

Texas has reported $33.9 billion in drinking water infrastructure needs over the next 20 years.
Hazardous Waste

Texas has 50 sites on the National Priorities List.
Levees

Texas has approximately 1,465 miles of levees according to the current FEMA Midterm Levee Inventory.
Wastewater

Texas has reported $11.5 billion in wastewater infrastructure needs over the next 20 years.
Transportation
Aviation

There are 209 National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS) Airports in Texas.
Bridges

1,283 of the 52,561 bridges in Texas (2.4%) are considered structurally deficient.
8,715 of the 52,561 bridges in Texas (16.6%) are considered functionally obsolete.
Texas received $135.9 million from the Federal Highway Bridge Fund in FY2011.
Inland Waterways

Texas has 830 miles of inland waterways, ranking it 13th in the nation.
Ports

Texas’ ports handled 485.9 million short tons of cargo in 2012, ranking it 2nd in the nation.
Rail

Texas has 47 freight railroads covering 10,384 miles across the state, ranking it 1st by mileage.
Roads

Texas has 313,210 miles of public roads.
Texas has 36,660 miles of major roads, 8% of which are in poor condition.
Driving on roads in need of repair costs Texas motorists $5.7 billion a year in extra vehicle repairs and operating costs – $372.61 per motorist.
Transit

Texas has 275.9 million annual unlinked passenger trips via transit systems – motor bus, heavy rail, light rail, and commuter rail.
Public Facilities
Parks and Recreation

Texas has reported an unmet need of $115 million for its parks system.
Schools

Public school districts in Texas spent a total of $23.5 billion on capital outlays for school construction and acquisition of land and existing structures in fiscal years 2005–2008.
It is estimated that Texas schools have $12.6 billion in infrastructure funding needs.
Energy
Texas produces 28.967 gigawatt-hours of renewable energy every year, ranking it 5th.

Florida earned a C- and Texas earned a C.

Not bad since America as a whole earned a D+.

Don't you live in Alabama Alloak? How's your State looking?

This is what the American Civil Engineers see...

How is Alabama’s infrastructure doing?

Water and Environment
Dams

Alabama is the only state that does not have a state dam safety program.
Drinking Water

Alabama has reported $7.9 billion in drinking water infrastructure needs over the next 20 years.
Hazardous Waste

Alabama has 14 sites on the National Priorities List.
Levees

Alabama has approximately 17 miles of levees according to the current FEMA Midterm Levee Inventory.
Wastewater

Alabama has reported $4.4 billion in wastewater infrastructure needs over the next 20 years.
Transportation
Aviation

There are 75 National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS) Airports in Alabama.
Bridges

1,405 of the 16,070 bridges in Alabama (8.7%) are considered structurally deficient.
2,203 of the 16,070 bridges in Alabama (13.7%) are considered functionally obsolete.
Alabama received $62.8 million from the Federal Highway Bridge Fund in FY2011.
Inland Waterways

Alabama has 1,270 miles of inland waterways, ranking it 6th in the nation.
Ports

Alabama’s ports handled 69.5 million short tons of cargo in 2012, ranking it 12th in the nation.
Rail

Alabama has 24 freight railroads covering 3,254 miles across the state, ranking it 17th by mileage.
Roads

Alabama has 101,811 miles of public roads.
Alabama has 10,401 miles of major roads, 6% are in poor condition.
Driving on roads in need of repair costs Alabama motorists $1.23 billion a year in extra vehicle repairs and operating costs — $321.42 per motorist.
Transit

Alabama has 6.6 million annual unlinked passenger trips via transit systems — motor bus, heavy rail, light rail, and commuter rail.
Public Facilities
Parks and Recreation

Alabama has reported an unmet need of $68.9 million for its parks system.
Schools

Public school districts in Alabama spent a total of $2.4 billion on capital outlays for school construction and acquisition of land and existing structures in fiscal years 2005-2008.
It is estimated that Alabama schools have $5.1 billion in infrastructure funding needs.
Energy
Alabama produces 11.081 gigawatt-hours of renewable energy every year, ranking it 6th.

Yeah man... just lucky I guess.

Those of us who live in the ultra dysfunctional state of New York already pay a large state tax on gasoline (about .40 cents per gallon) and still see our infrastructure crumbling around us. In other words, it's folly to assume politicians will spend such a windfall on what it's actually meant or legislated to be spent on.

I think a better idea is to divert about 1/3 of our bloated and wasteful military budget (that's about $350 Billion per year folks) directly into a national fund to rebuild our crumbling roads, bridges, rail, electrical grid, etc...Best investment we could make in my opinion...Of course they could also find ways to piss this same pot of money away as well.

I think half the problems with NY infrastructure are due to corruption, using inferior materials. Why does it take ten years to paint and re-pave a bridge? By the time they finish, six months later they have to start again. When I lived in New Jersey (about a year), they were able to resurface Route 4, three lanes in each direction for ten miles in six months. And it didn't develop new potholes the next year.

I don't think the military budget is the problem; although providing all this foreign aid to other countries to get trade deals is. The have known for years the oil/gas reserves in this country and other countries. They could have invested in clean energy, solar power and created jobs from that. They choose not to. A lot of people do not know this, but the wells that have been sucked/pumped dry of oil are being used to store the gas they get from fracking. How safe is that? Why has Irving (suburb of Dallas) had a swarm of earthquakes lately they are not in an earthquake zone. Fracking?

[Edited on 1/17/2015 by Chain]