[hurley_108]

commanderkai commanderkai:

In the fact that most food retailers are miles away, and the school even further, then yes to my life gas is necessary to assist in living. There aren't any general stores anymore, and I don't have a horse and carriage to move around. So yeah, we need a form of transportation

No, you don't need gas to live. It's not a necessity of life. It just isn't, no matter how hard you try to spin your personal hardships into an argument that it is.

$1:

Brilliant idea. Move. I'm glad you enjoy the quality of the city bus, and the crowded subway. But guess what? Alot of cities DONT FUCKING HAVE THAT. But you're right, I should transform my entire life just because there is no bus system. Let's move to Toronto!

I did. Why can't you? I could have bought a house on the edge of town, but instead bought a townhouse on established bus routes. No joke.

$1:

Wait? You're saying municipal governments have no involvement in this? Nor all of the government bureaucracy that collect taxes that provide mass transit? Nor the bureaucracy that hands out building permits and such? Oh my mistake, this is just a human problem. Its my fault that the city government decided not to build a better transit system. Its my fault that this is the government's fault.

I do not want a government solution. Government solutions suck, like the mass transit system in Windsor, and in Detroit, and Oshawa, and basically every city I have lived in. I have the solution, its called a car. The car does not make me wait 45 minutes for a bus that makes me wait another 20 minutes to get where I want, since a car can get be there in 15 minutes.

The city CAN'T build an effective transit system in far-flung ouskirts. That people chose to live there is THEIR problem. That they're now paying thorugh the nose for a problem they helped create isn't my problem, it's theirs. It's time to pay the piper.

What kind of car do your drive?

[bootlegga]

commanderkai commanderkai:

bootlegga bootlegga:

Gas might be a way of getting around but it is not a necessity. Don't buy gas for four days and let us know if you are still alive. Then try it with water. I'll be sure to send flowers...

You're right, if I don't buy gas I won't die, but if I don't have gas, and I need food, I'm pretty much screwed.

$1:

I assume from your argument you might live in a rural area near Windsor. If you want to pay less gas taxes, start car pooling to school/work wherever you have to go. Or better yet, buy a more efficient vehicle. Need something bigger than a compact, then buy a fuel efficient sedan. If you really need a pickup, buy a 6 cylinder instead of a F350.

We do carpool, and the roads we have would tear apart compacts. Either way, your solutions are cute and all, but complete ignore the fact that gas prices are also artificially high due to high government taxes.

Why can't we lower taxes to help all Canadians?

The real reason gas is so high is not just taxes, but speculators causing massive jumps in oil prices in the past 6 months. DO you honestly think gas would be as expensive if a barrel of oil was $60 like it was 5 years ago? Of course not.

And the human body can go for over a week without food before it suffers irreparable damage. Not pleasant I agree, but your sensationalist statement that gas is a necessity will only bring out similar hyperbole.

Gas is a want, not a need.

Another simple solution to your problem is to live closer to your university. If you lived within 15-20 blocks, you could walk excepting very cold winter days or those with a lot of rain.

Why should we lower taxes for people who refuse to reduce consumption of a luxury item? Next you'll be asking for less GST on SUVs or vacations or diamond rings. If people reduced consumption, gas prices would drop due to basic economics (the law of supply and demand).

[commanderkai]

bootlegga bootlegga:

The real reason gas is so high is not just taxes, but speculators causing massive jumps in oil prices in the past 6 months. DO you honestly think gas would be as expensive if a barrel of oil was $60 like it was 5 years ago? Of course not.

*Sigh* I know its not all just taxes. But a good percentage of it is. Please stop kidding yourself. I do not think it'd be as expensive, but it still is expensive just because taxes are too high.

$1:

And the human body can go for over a week without food before it suffers irreparable damage. Not pleasant I agree, but your sensationalist statement that gas is a necessity will only bring out similar hyperbole.

Gas is a want, not a need.

So food is a necessity, I agree, but the variety of foods we have isn't. I'm sure it would not be pleasant if we only ate water and bread too. Everything else is a luxury: meats, fruits, vegetables, the variety of drinks and processed foods. Etc. Food can just be a want as gas is. Medication is also a want, so are many other things as well. Should we just give up all our wants to taxes?

$1:

Another simple solution to your problem is to live closer to your university. If you lived within 15-20 blocks, you could walk excepting very cold winter days or those with a lot of rain.

Why is this dealing with my lifestyle, Honestly, its none of your damn business. This is dealing with taxes.

$1:

Why should we lower taxes for people who refuse to reduce consumption of a luxury item? Next you'll be asking for less GST on SUVs or vacations or diamond rings. If people reduced consumption, gas prices would drop due to basic economics (the law of supply and demand).

Because, if nearly all Canadians use this "luxury" item, maybe its not as luxurious as you think. Its gas, without it the economy collapses. Without cheaper gasoline, some people will struggle to get to work, or to school, or anything else. If a percentage of Canadians are suffering because of high gas prices, why not try to alleviate their pain?

Because people aren't doing enough to lower their consumption? According to who? You? Sometimes there are no alternatives, since, once again. Cities like Windsor and Oshawa, among many others, have NO transportation system or such an inefficient one that makes it unfeasible. Why do I have to wait an hour to go somewhere that takes 10-20 minutes by car?

[hurley_108]

commanderkai commanderkai:

Why is this dealing with my lifestyle, Honestly, its none of your damn business. This is dealing with taxes.

No, it is about lifestyle. Lifestyle created the demand, demand created the price, and now we have 57% of the population being dumbasses, wanting the government to bail them out of the consequences of their choices.

[commanderkai]

hurley_108 hurley_108:

I did. Why can't you? I could have bought a house on the edge of town, but instead bought a townhouse on established bus routes. No joke.

Because the best school system was here. Because the job was closer here. Because we'd have a much higher quality of life here instead of a townhouse in the middle of Windsor.

$1:

The city CAN'T build an effective transit system in far-flung ouskirts. That people chose to live there is THEIR problem. That they're now paying thorugh the nose for a problem they helped create isn't my problem, it's theirs. It's time to pay the piper.

What kind of car do your drive?

Oh come on, that's not an argument at all since even suburbs and cities like Whitby, Oshawa and even downtown Windsor is completely inefficient. They did not create the problem, government did, and now you expect only the consumers to deal with it, even though it was the cities that allowed contractors to build suburbs to attract more taxpayers, instead of a large swath of farmland.

So blame the people who pay taxes that the government can't create a efficient transit system. Windsor's bus system is a joke. The time it takes to get from downtown back to the University is much longer than it was by taxi. Tell me why a taxi can take less than 10 minutes to get from one to the other, while I had to wait 45 minutes for the bus, then sit on a bus for another 30 minutes to get back to the school?

And no, its not 57% of people being dumbasses, its 57% of people wanting to keep more of their money from the government because the government failed them

[hurley_108]

commanderkai commanderkai:

Because the best school system was here. Because the job was closer here. Because we'd have a much higher quality of life here instead of a townhouse in the middle of Windsor.

Oh boo fucking hoo. Waah! I want a house AND cheap gas! WAAH WAAH WAAH!



Suck it the fuck up, princess. You want a nice place, pay the fucking price to drive to and from it. This conversation is over.

[mtbr]

I remember somebody bitching about the high prices of real estate in Alberta and how he had to settle for a townhouse

[hurley_108]

mtbr mtbr:

I remember somebody bitching about the high prices of real estate in Alberta and how he had to settle for a townhouse

True, but I would have been looking for a house in the exact same neighborhoods. That point is moot in this discussion.

[commanderkai]

hurley_108 hurley_108:

commanderkai commanderkai:

Because the best school system was here. Because the job was closer here. Because we'd have a much higher quality of life here instead of a townhouse in the middle of Windsor.

Oh boo fucking hoo. Waah! I want a house AND cheap gas! WAAH WAAH WAAH!



Suck it the fuck up, princess. You want a nice place, pay the fucking price to drive to and from it. This conversation is over.

Yes, we made the choice...so what? That explains nothing on why suburbs have poor mass transit systems, or even smaller cities. Or that the systems in place are inefficient and time wasting.

How is it over? Once again you never, ever, even stated how its my fault that the cities of Oshawa, Whitby, and Windsor have horrible mass transit systems.

[Loader]

Sadly, the drive to reduce gas taxes will always be championed by whomever is in opposition, and denied by whomever is in power. As we all know governments are addicted to taxes, and on average, taxes represent 30 to 40 per cent of what you pay at the pumps.

The federal portion consists of the excise tax, which is 10 cents per litre. In addition, the Goods and Services Tax, which is 5 per cent (as of January 2008), is added to the total pump price, and is effectively a tax on tax.
The provincial tax portion varies from province to province. Provincial taxes range from 6.2 cent per litre in the Yukon 20.4 cents in Prince Edward Island. In some urban centers, such as Vancouver and Montreal, an additional transit tax is levied.

Studies have shown that federal and provincial governments receive over $14 Billion. per year in gasoline taxes. Federal taxes collect an estimated $7Billion ($5B from excise taxes and an estimated $2Billion in GST) go into general coffers and help to fund a range of programs. Provincial gasoline taxes collect over $7.8Billion that are allocated as determined by each provincial jurisdiction.

[RUEZ]

I would like lower gas taxes as well, but it won't save us from what's happening right now. More likely what we save in taxes would quickly be replaced by profit taking by the oil company.