Why Are Gas Prices So High?
There are many factors that contribute to why gas prices are so high but there are four main reasons.
The first main factor is the supply of crude oil. There are many different opinions about how much crude oil remains to be extracted from the Earth. One thing that everyone agrees on, however, is that the supply is finite. When supply decreases, prices rise. It is therefore inarguable that gas prices will rise as time goes by due to increased scarcity. One common argument to this is that we are constantly finding new places to drill for oil but that doesn’t change the fact that the total amount to be found is finite. In addition, the oil fields that were the easiest and cheapest to access are either dried up or drying up. Future oil will be much more expensive due to increased costs. Also, new oil discoveries have been less than the oil consumed since 1980 so supply is decreasing despite the discovery of new, more expensive supplies.
The second factor for why gas prices are so high is the accelerating increase of demand. As nations with huge populations like China and India increase their technological infrastructure, they will be consuming more and more gas. The combined populations of those two nations alone is eight times that of the United States! The vast majority of those people are or soon will be disposing of their bicycles and buying automobiles. They will junk their wood stoves when they purchase homes with central heating and air-conditioning. So with supplies of gasoline decreasing and demand increasing, gas prices will certainly continue to get higher.
A lesser but important third factor that can cause higher gas prices is the trading of oil futures. Commodity traders know that crude oil prices are destined to rise so they buy oil futures. This creates an increase in current oil prices. Why should oil companies sell oil at prices that should be lower than what they will definitely get for them in the future?
The final factor that determines the price of oil is the declining value of the U.S. dollar. As the dollar becomes less valuable, crude oil sellers want more dollars for their oil. The dollar has lost nearly 50% of its value over the last decade due to many factors including the balance of trade deficit and the budget deficit. When the government spends more money than it receives in taxes, it prints more money. That decreases the value of all U.S. currency. When consumers purchase more goods and services from other nations than we sell to them, the supply of dollars in foreign banks goes up. That also reduces the value of the dollar.
In simpler terms, the reason why gas prices are so high is because:
1. There is less crude oil available every day and what is left costs more to get out of the ground.
2. More people are “bidding against us” for that oil every day.
3. Investors make money betting on future oil prices and their profits are added to the price.
4. We Americans and our government spend more than we earn and that devalues our money.
While we can temporarily somewhat decrease gas prices by driving less, recycling waste, spending less on foreign goods, selling more to foreign markets, and regulating futures traders, the best answer to decreasing oil prices is by developing alternative energy sources. Every dollar spent on solar, wind, nuclear, and other alternative energy technologies is one less dollar of demand for crude oil. And eventually, we won’t need gas at all!
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How Old Do You Have to be to Work at McDonalds?
The Federal government has passed the “Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)” that sets the minimum age to work at most jobs (including McDonalds and Wal-Mart) at 14-years-old. It also limits the number of hours that employees under the age of 16 are allowed to work.
Because of the hour limitations for 14 and 15-year-olds, a large number of companies require a minimum age of 16 for their employees. Another factor companies might not hire employees under 16 is that the older teens tend to be more mature and, therefore, more reliable. Of course, no one is suggesting that no 14 or 15-year-olds are reliable, only that the percentage of 16-year-olds that are mature enough to make good employees is higher. The message here is that the younger you are, the more important it becomes to impress upon the prospective employer that you are a very responsible teenager.
So what if you’re under 14-years-old or older but finding it hard to get a job due to your age? Well, there are many jobs that aren’t covered by the “Fair Labor Standards Act”. Most states limit the amount of time you can work each week at these jobs and/or limit the conditions under which you can work. Some states also limit these jobs by age but in most states you can earn money in many ways including but not limited to:
Whatever you do, be inventive! What things are you good at? Are there other people who might need that service or good? Always remember that you have to prove yourself. We all do! When you’re young it’s just a bit harder because you don’t have a “track record” and older employers have had many bad experiences with unreliable young people.
Your first jobs are very important! Later when you’re looking for a really great job, being able to give that family you babysat for as a teenager as a reference to your character will be a great asset for you! The McDonalds Manager that says what a fantastic employee you were at 16 will impress the hiring manager at that Fortune 500 Corporation you want to work at when you’re 21-years-old.
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How Does Foreclosure Work?
Foreclosure is the legal process where an entity (usually a bank or savings & loan) that has a lien (mortgage) on a home or other type of real estate gets a court to terminate an owner’s rights after that owner has failed to make payments on that mortgage. It sounds pretty simple but, in most jurisdictions, it’s actually a reasonably involved and lengthy procedure. So how does foreclosure work?
The foreclosure process starts when the property owner misses their first payment. The lender will send letters explaining that no payment was received and that it should be sent in immediately. In many cases, another letter just like that one (but perhaps more forceful) will be sent the second month with no payment.
When the payments are two or three months overdue, the letters will become much more forceful and demand that everything be paid up to date. They will say that if you don’t do so, they will turn your account over to a lawyer to start foreclosure proceedings. They may not use the actual word “foreclosure” but the idea will be that they are going to take the property. They will also inform you that any expenses they incur including attorney fees will be added to your debt.
The next letter you will receive will be from the attorney and will demand that you pay in full or they will file foreclosure charges with the court. It’s not surprising that this letter is called a “demand letter” as there will be no polite requests in the letter. It will definitely be in a “do this or else” tone.
If you don’t respond to the demand letter, the mortgage holder’s attorney will file a “notice of default” with the court. The court will send you a notice that the notice of default has been filed and what the total amount of money is that you must pay. You will get another 3 or 4 weeks to respond to that notice.
Next, the attorney will file a “notice of sale” that will notify the homeowner when their home will be sold and by what means. Usually this is done at a Sheriff’s auction or foreclosure auction.
It’s important to note here that the mortgage holder rarely wants to foreclose on your home. They do want to believe that their chances of eventually being paid are high though. If you don’t respond to their letters, they will have no choice but to assume that you have no intention of every paying them again. If you lost your job and finding a new one is taking longer than you had hoped, the lender may accept reduced or even no payments for a while if they feel confident that you are employable. Regardless of the circumstances, keeping in close contact with the lender greatly increases your chances of staying in your home! Also, many states have laws that require a lender to give a homeowner a minimum amount of time to get current on their mortgage payments. Those laws vary from state to state.
It is also likely that whoever purchases your home may want to rent it out as an investment. If your financial situation has improved during the foreclosure process, you may be able to stay in the home as a renter or even by making a deal with the new owner to rent the home with an option to (re)purchase it!
Unfortunately, sometimes things really get bad. What will happen if there’s no way you will be able to stay in your home? Obviously from the information above, you will have a considerable amount of time to live in your home after stopping payments. That time will vary from several months to a year or more depending on numerous details. In states where trust deeds are used you will probably have about 90 days total during foreclosure. With a mortgage (the vast majority of the cases) you will get more time; perhaps much more.
Disclaimer: Laws and procedures vary from one part of the country to another. The foreclosure procedure detailed above is what occurs in the vast majority of cases but exceptions do exist. The author of this article is not an attorney and readers should not use the information contained in this article in making legal decisions.
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