I'm fed up with all of the extremely stupid selfish a-holes that have claimed "poor me" over the last year or so. I don't know if I'm all alone on this but it seems to me that all these "high risk" jobs that people have that make absolute buttloads of money when times are good are sitting there crying the blues that they need to be "helped"...I say F-em.

The reason I say that is it seems we bailed some of these morons out and they are still doing the same damn things that got them in the situations they are in...Why in the hell does the government have to tell them not to do things???

I would like to see at least one of these corperations fail, and I don't mean claim bankruptcy, I mean liquidate and fail, shut the doors and let the fat lady sing........Why? if this was to happen say, in an area that these companies made it impossible for the independant to compete and closed them down, wouldn't it give the little guy a chance?

IMHO the "big box stores" and the huge chains killed the American way of buisness, its not quality service anymore, and this pisses me off to no end. My dad owned and operated an auto parts store and machine shop for thirty years and had the some of his employees work for him for all of those years, what does that say?, he wanted to retire mainly because the Krapin type chain stores could sell a lot of parts for what his store could buy them for...WTF!    The problem is they hire snot nosed drooling morons to run them and they couldn't get you the right part the first time to save their lives....

Back on point, I will not support any of the crooked stores that have destroyed the economy, I have never been in a Wal Mart, never will, Kmart should have gone tits up years ago, Chinese products, don't even get me started, the Checkers, Kragen and whatever else they call themselves will never get my buisness, yet they thrive because they screwed the competition out of buisness, its not because they are better, quite the contrary, the independant shop just does not have the volume to make up for a lower price.

So, the next time you actually have to pay retail for something, think about who you are buying it from, do you know the owner? This new economical era we are entering is going to make a bunch of new oportunities for what I call the little guy....Give them your support, the job you save, ironically, may be your own.......

I try to buy American made products, have you tried to buy only American made?, Why do you think its so difficult?, The truth is, all these 2 and 3+ million dollar a year CEO's got huge bonus' and kickbacks for getting their products made for pennies on the dollar by having it done overseas, quality control suffers, they lay off the hard working American worker and still charge the same price for an inferior product. WTF again!!!! How is that American?

In closing, buy American made products, more importantly, don't buy Chinese made crap....It will cost a little more up front, but you will feel better knowing you kept your brothers and sisters working....

Trying to get America back on track!

GT

No puhn intended GT just hearing you out.

I have to agree when you stress to buy from the "little guy" vs the corporate chains. I saw Albertsons here in BHC close because they couldn't compete with wallyworld, (walmart). Several retail clerks, (union) were put out of work. Now back up to what made this country what it was. The Mom and Pop stores within the neighborhoods......It was/is stores like Albertsons that put Mom and Pop out of business!!! Places like Home Depot cause small hardware stores and lumberyards to fold. The local "service stations" that employed high school kids have been replaced by self serve gas/convieience stores ran by foreign investors and their relatives. BUT, everyone wants to pay less!!!! Paying less takes volume inventories. I try to buy from the independents, but at what additional cost to me?......How many "hurting", "out of work" Americans drive foreign made cars?.....How many union retail clerks shop at Walmart? Enough. Rant over, Ray

I didn't want to offend Ray (IRREBEL) but the Home Depot down the street from my house did the same thing, I won't even go in there anymore, I would rather spend 15% more and keep someone employed...

lol No offense GT. I've been wondering the sub-moronic mentality behind self checkout for years. Particularly in our business, Home Depot, I giggle every time I see someone try and scan a 4x8 foot sheet of CDX or a 2x4 on the damn things. Let alone our maintenance costs when at least once a month or so someone dumps a five or one gallon bucket of paint in one. The self checkout is by far and away the biggest customer complaint at HOme Depot, and for good reason.

The same mentality that has these CEO's raking in the bucks is the fault of Wall Street, or more narrowly, Day traders and investment bankers. Can't really blame the CEO's for taking the money these boards of directors are willing to pay them to do what they do, much like you can't blame ball players for what they make when some idiot is willing to pay that. The problem is the boards of these companies are made up of day traders and investment bankers. The days when you were ranked on what could you do in 5 years are gone. If you can't show a return on investment in 6 months, you don't have a job. These top execs bonuses and payscale reflect that. In a nutshell, if they can make an investment in the company , say hardware, that is going to save them money over 2 to 3 years, even five and pay off, and then continue to run for 5 more years, they dun wanna hear it. They'll buy disposable sheit that craps out and needs replaced in 6 to 9 months because then they have made thier bonuses. At the same time screwing the very company that paid the bonus to begin with. Why do these CEO's bounce from company to company.......HMMMMMMM.........

Same thing with self checkout. I agree with GT and Omar, I refuse to use them, even in my own store. I once made a head cashier get a till, open a register and ring me out 10  minutes before closing one night in my own store.  The thinking is, as Omar stated, saving payroll, the biggest expense in retail. My solution is this, those machines cost more than any 3 cashiers pay for 5 years, when you count maintenance costs and sales lost due to poor customer service. Plain and simple and I've offered to prove it in my store by shutting the phucking things down for 2 months and see how much our average dollar per transaction increases. No one will take the bet.

just food for thought.

BTW Omar, the Albertsen's here in Phoenix have made it clear and public they will NEVER install self checkout.

Ray

OK here we go! 

When crude oil was approx $147.00 a barrel we were paying $4.25 approx at the pump!

Sooooooooo I divided 4.25 into 147.00 and came up with 34.5 and change..
 Now I took an average # of where crude oil has been running per barrel of $39.00 a barrel for crude and divided 34.5 into it figuring they are using the same mark up schedules by the time it reaches the pump and i got $1.13 and change we should be paying at the pump?  Must use a different mark up schedule when crude oil gets below $ 40 a barrel?

 Funny and I haven't heard a word about the  relation between barrel price and pump price? Think maybe those pesky speculators have something to do with it. Or how bout those "Hedge Funds" Big Banks have been heavily leveraged in since 2006 when they saw this mortgage crisis coming and wanted to cover their losses? Oh Waite WE COVERED THEIR LOSSES! Call me nosy but where is all that money that could be pumped into the economy gone? Make a heck of a stimulus package for most of us! I would have money to burn at $1.13 a gallon fuel!

I bet food would be cheaper and clothes and cars!

Shoot their I go thinking again!
Sent to me by a right winger, but I have no answers..   GT

The one thing I did read about GT is the fact that the gas station owners were not making any money off of gas when it was over 4 bucks. So now that oil is down they are trying to make up for the money they didnt make last summer, thats why gas prices are no longer following the oil prices. Hell one one dude said that we would hit buck a gallon, but he got shot down   The one thing I saw today tho that shocked me was when I went to 76 to fuel up my truck and diesel was actually CHEAPER than regular!!!!!!!!!

How can it be that fueling stations were not making any money?, that does not make any sense at all, I was always under the impression that the fueling stations make a set amount per gallon and they make make more or less money by the way they buy the fuel...They buy blocks, or lots, the amount of fuel they buy depends on their projected use and the more they buy at a set price the better off they will be if the price goes up, this is why a gas station across the street from another has fuel for say .10c less per gallon, in fact this is how Rotton Robbie and ARCO got its start, buy buying the surplus fuels from other companies...

Just a conversation starter, I don't know, I am as clueless as the next guy...

GT

I think the problem is that even though oil prices are at a low there is still a demand for fuel  which allows whoever controls the price to keep it up higher than normal. Simple supply and demand but I could be wrong.

I think we should do the right thing, and be green. Let's stop using fossil fuels altogether and save the planet. Lets stuff our tanks with liquified spotted owls and snow leopards.......

Ray

Where the gas stations make their money is in their stores. When oil is high, the refiners are paying more so they pass it on to the dealers. I learned this malarky on a couple of good news reports. They were even interviewing some of the owners, where they were averaging anywhere from .02 to .06 cents per gallon profit, not enough to cover the expenses of operating in this wonderful state

I made this point years ago, STC. I grew up in Oil country in western PA and eastern Ohio. Used to service equipment in the Quaker State and Pennzoil national HQ when they were both in OIl City, PA. People wondered why Diesel cost more than gasoline when it's far less pure than gasoline. Simple answer. By products. OIl, at least PA style oil, dunno about Al quaida oil, is wax based. And as you stated , crayons, candles, all sorts of crap are made from it. This is why. They can't get the stuff out of it to make even more. Wonder why the Oil company guys make so much money? 90% of America doen't know this. Gasoline is a by product. They make more off the other crap that comes out of it to make gasoline.

Now, bear with me, this is both P/R and politician skewed. Fuel prices always spike during Holiday weekends. Known fact. The gas companies know we need it then, and can pad their profits then. You know, we have an anti-cartel law, kinda funny how the oil companies seem to be exempt.

Anyway, they real money is made from the by products of refining oil these days. So then, logically, gas prices should not be an issue. When's the last time you heard of a Candle company or crayon company going under because of wax prices? They can fluctuate gas prices to compensate. And our elected officials..... ....... allow this to happen. We pay for it. When Wax and other ingredients are the primary goal anyway?

Just my educated .02

Ray

Hey guys i am in the natural gas business "pipeline controller"  Which is the only commodity that is USA really has any more. You should see what a price of 1 million BTU of gas cost then look at your bill....  your getting F-ed any way you look at it. The power company get it market price and sells it to you in the form of AC. once again your getting F-ed



Price at the gas pump, over 60 % of the price is taxes  depending on your state. You can thank your Big Brothers in DC who we all vote for. Oh the brother  who is still living in government housing wants to raise the gas tax again. Right now the price of gas is low. Really below market and when the true price hits just think what you would be paying then.

If we would just cut what the Federal Government spends to military, Highways and a few of key departments. Oh make congress get into the Social Security.

Back to GM and Ford if we ever go to a real war..who is going to make our Tanks, China ?

You missed my point, was not saying to cut the military there must be a type O or i could have written it better. Saying just spend our taxs on Military and Highways not all the other BS

We need to get our boats down the highway so i say spend money on Highways lol