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The cost of gasoline has gone to $4.99 and to reach over $5.00 in July.  Milk is going up .60 cents in the next two weeks.

The cost of various foods are the having the same effect.  What are we gonna do about these costs, when we know there

is a way to get oil prices down.  We drill offshore in the USA.  We become self sufficent in oil production.  We won't be

dependent on anyone but USA.  Let's make trade relations with Canada that make sense.  Let's deal toughly with the

aliens coming into this country.  Not just the Mexicans, but look at the Iraqis in Wayned county, Michigan.  Close to 400,000.

I don't know that they are all citizens.  The old fashioned American pays his taxes, works hard, and commits no crimes.

The very small population is the criminal element in the USA.  I don't know what the answers are and havn't heard them

postulated by the candidates for President.  I see the volunteers of America not being able to keep it up.  And soon, they

will be cutting the paying positions for EMS and Firefighters.  I am saddened by what I see and hear.  Let's get a discussion

going to come up with ideas to help our brothers and sisters throught this dilemma.  I am just talking out loud, but I sure

wish we could help.

Skeeter

Skeeter, you are right on point with this.  This is something that needs to be addressed, preferably soon rather than later when it's too late. 

the simple problem is my wages are not keeping pace with the rises in gas and food etc. i work in farming and diesel prices are hurting us. and as has been said until something is done by the govt then financial problems for the ordinary people will grow and get worse. until the politicians remember why they are and get off their asses and do something then i'm afraid nothing will change

I definitely think the gas prices are hurting the volunteer companies.  I don't think so much as responding but in all the little ways.  Less donations from local farmers, less monetary support on fund drives, less attendance at spaghetti dinners and even from members.  For ex:  I used to run all the time for company-to pick up fax ribbon, order gear, accessories, etc...but now-just call the store/manufacturer(so don't see sale items) or do less running.  I would never due to gas prices not respond.  I kinda live for others misfortune or stupidity-you know what I mean. 

   The cost of gasoline has gone to $4.99 and to reach over $5.00 in July.

Skeeter, I don't know where you are to pay that much. Sounds more like a typo when mixed with the $5/gal vs $4.99 statement.  Our diesel hasn't hit $4.99 yet, gas is running $3.94. 

The cheapest place around here to get gasoline is at the indian reservations. And even without NYS taxes there, it's still over $4 a gallon.

Gas prices in our area has dropped a bit. $4.19 a gallon for the cheap stuff.

I was pleased to see that Diesel Fuel has dropped in price a bit. Paid $4.499. Unfortunatelly I passed a station in Georgetown, TX that had it listed on their readerboard for $4.299 but, it was to far to turn around and go back. At the heighest point this year I have paid as much as $5.229 for a gallon of #2 ULSD. That hurts! Gratned I only bought about 5 Gallons then found a station a few miles away selling it for $5.049. Definitely nice to see it going down to bad it won't ever go down to the level we were used to. Now, lets get rid of this ULSD and go back to just LSD. This stuff is killing my MPG.

Prior to my retirement I can remember at least three times when the command staff restricted apparatus movement to emergency response and department details only. This was an effort to conserve fuel during budget short falls.

With the volunteer department I am with now we have a small response area, fuel cost has not been an issue YET. However one large wildland incident, structure fire, or an extended mutual aid call a big part of our annual could disappear.

Here is a question. Are any of your departments considering cost recovery for MVAs, Medical calls, or fire suppression?

Well to answer  the  ? yes it did and still is ! We have to schedual all training in advance and if its fesable we will do it ,The City Mayor has alocated our gas and diesel ,not sure by how much !! but I feel this all started in the 80s and just kept coming from 1 president to the next . I refuse to vote because there is not 1 of them is qualified as far as Im concerned . When it comes down to life or death !! Then we need to to just sa y the hell with it and fill the trucks and just go ,these communitys are depending on us !! We used to have a x-mas party 's and bbqs . Now with no County and City pay !! We just do fun thing s any more . gas wont go under $3.50 a gal again, I pay $3.64 here where i live but the next County over is 4 cents less so if Im ther i fill up . When Jimmy Carter was in all of our jobs were just starting to go south ,(Mexico )  because of lower pay and cheap parts made , same in China !!! we r hurting our selfs,by letting this  happen, WE did it by the way we vote . As far as drilling !! LETS DO IT !!!!!! open our tanks !!!! put US AMERICANS BACK TO WORK !!!!!! stop moveing our jobs !!! AND STOP RECEIVING GOODS FROM OVERSEAS !!!!!! And let us make our own .The sad part is we have come to rely on everything , ELECT. ,GAS, ALL THE MAJOR THIS WE HAVE TO DAY AND WE HAD FORGOT HOW TO DO WITHOUT !!!!So maybe this is a wake up call ppl. Maybe the nextel commercial is right !! What if !! the Country was run by FIREFIGHTERS? Yes I know it said world but I worrie about THE U.S.A.  not China or Iran or afganistan. It here Im worried about .Okay enough from me !! NEXT PERSON !! PLEASE.   Be safe All

I agree that this country needs to become self-sufficient in oil production.  One thing not mentioned here is nuclear power.  The last plant (reactor) built in this country was almost 31 years ago and the last plant to begin commercial operation was in 1996.  Nuclear power is safe,clean and efficient.  Technology has come a long ways to securing and ensuring the safety and effectiveness of nuclear power plants.  Chernobyl happend  over 20 years ago in the soviet union where technology was lagging and safety and efficiency were rarely if ever put into practice.  Would I want a nuclear plant in my neighborhood or town? Hell yeah, at least I know I'm not going to run out of electricity.

To my knowledge there is no shortage of coal or oil shale and technology can certainly reduce or eliminate a goodly portion of the stack emissions and CO2.  The only good thing to come out of this spike in gas prices is the fact that the auto makers are returning to manufactoring more fuel efficient vehicles.  Place a fair share of the blame on 8cyl. gas guzzling suv's.

Food prices, like corn, cereals, wheat and milk have all risen, in part because of the cost of production/processing and delivery, but you can also thank the special interest groups that got congress to subsidize farmers to grow corn for ethanol production.  Crops normally planted were substituted for corn because of the subsidies and quick profit to ethanol production (which ends up costing more per gallon than gasoline, uses more energy to produce and offers fewer miles per gallon than gasoline).  Since fewer acres were planted in other crops, feed for livestock increased so cost of beef and pork increased.  Since milk comes from cows,  feed for the milkers increased and so too did milk costs.

On the one hand you could blame environmentalists for kneecapping practically any attempt to find new energy resources.  But if it wasn't for the environmentalists, much of this country would have been clear-cut or strip-mined without regard to local wildlife, habitats or recreational resources.  On the other hand, tie-dyed, gray-haired, ponytailed, birkenstock wearing tree humpers would rather see us revert back to living in tents and eating soy-based products and see technology as something to fight simply on principal. 

The reality is, it's 2008 and not 1968.  In order to remain, if not the, at least a, world power we need to find new and/or renewable energy resources so that we are not tied to oil producing countries that would cut and run under any number of circumstances.  As far as immigrants: this country is built on and by immigrants.  Both sides of my family came from immigrants.  It has aways been the newest immigrant group that supplied the cheap muscle and labor in this country.  Personally I don't care where they come from, mexico, iraq or anywhere else so long as they're legally here and are contributing citizens.

It isn't the person that chooses to come to this country for a better life that you need to fear, rather the ones already here who see nothing wrong with selling out their influence and power to special interest money, namely most of the politicians who have made a career for themselves doing little other than living off the american wage earner while finding ways to take more money from the american taxpayer for their own pockets and those of powerful interest groups.