As is well known, the USA as a nation is addicted to motoring. The "summer driving season" is a major phenomenon in the oil industry, when many Americans think nothing of driving thousands of vacation road-miles.
And various points along the price curve have mythical status. It used to be considered that "3 dollar gas" was something no President's reputation could survive: a simple metric for consumer inflation as it is felt in the pocketbook. More recently, "3 dollar gas" has become a semi-ironic [1] nostalgic look into the rear-view mirror: hey Bud, remember when we used to worry about $3?! [2]
But $4 is now a reality. I suspect that simple number alone could be a subliminal factor in dishing Trump amongst his regular base of support.
ND
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[1] To the extent Americans do irony
[2] To be fair, it was known to hit $6 - in California. But that state, like NYC, is often thought of as not really America.
16 comments:
Plan to fill my car tomorrow - at about £1.55/litre or £7.75/UK gallon. So 4 bucks even for a US gallon seems like pitiable whining to me. 4$ is about £3 - so Rachel is really taking the P, along with the French and Germans etc etc.
The DM tells me Mr Trump is going to kill off an entire civilisation tonight. Strong words, there have been some attempts at that sort of thing but they usually don't work very well. Heavy pruning usually results in increased vigour, you really have to get out the digging spade and the Gramoxone in the horticultural context. Chucking bombs and missiles merely loosens the soil a bit. Getting up close and personal is the only none nuke way.
Perhaps an amuse bouche to see if the Mullahs really do have a last gasp nuke up their sleeves. All this is just useless gabbing from Trump. He'll make a bit of a show and not much will change then he can take his bat and ball back home - I won.
Afterwards we can along with most European nations send Ambassadors and Prime Ministers to do some serious brown nosing to get the gas turned back on. That is what they are for, suck it up. Will the price of petrol come down - very very slowly is my guess.
If the Clerics/ Revolutionary Guard are wise, they will realise they don’t now need a nuclear bomb. They have a nuclear option of sorts.
The straits get shut. So any invader has to go home. That’s the best defence there is.
No one is coming for them now they know they’ll drone and missile the oil state US regional allies.
The only reason to have a bomb now, is to destroy Israel.
Which leads us to where we were before all this began in the latest phase.
However.
A promise to give up all nuclear.
Not to shoot so many of its own people.
In exchange for
Ceasefire.
&
Reconstruction loans at zero
Removal of sanctions
Re admittance to world trade
Imposition of the Hormuz tax to Iran.
Trump is defeated. Whatever he claims
Iran possesses a non nuclear- nuclear option. That no economy wants them to use again.
They can move on from their nation bankrupting, country ruining idea of a nuclear bomb and missile system to carry it.
Instead.
Concentrate on drones.
Sea drones. Submarine drones. Drone mines. Undersea drones.
Quick to launch.
Easy to hide.
Cheap to build.
They can carry on with all their terrorism too. Once the money is flowing along with the oil. But just hold off for a few years. Rebuild a bit. Regroup. Repair. Replenish.
Iran, might become stronger than ever in its very, very mild defeat.
Anon - but Israel wants to see Iran getting the Libya treatment with similar results. And they obviously have something better than fake news of Moscow videos. JPost today was treating Iran as yesterday's problem, on to Turkey next. They fund Hamas, dontcha know?
"To the extent Americans do irony" The Vietnam-era expression "best and brightest" was meant ironically - indeed, downright sarcastically.
As Mrs Thatcher would put it "Rejoice! (that the war is only in Lebanon for the next two weeks)"
As a boy in the USA we went on two summer vacations. One was 6,000 miles and the other was only 4,500. We saw all of the USA except San Francisco, which my father had already seen just after the war. Americans love to drive and it’s a great way to see the country.
Charles in Somerset
Need to see how much of the "workable" 10 point plan gets to happen, but right now it looks like a victory for the IRGC.
A lot of the people who seem to have latched their sense of self worth to the Trump wagon are busy trying to sell it as a great victory with the Strait being reopened, apparently forgetting why and when it got closed in the first place.
Maybe it's time to rename the UK to Grand Fenwick and close the English Channel, all our problems could be solved by Christmas.
I saw much of the USA from a Greyhound bus. God, it's dull. And then I saw the Grand Canyon, and then San Fran, and then ...
I was left wondering why anyone bothered living east of the Rockies. But they've managed to spoil California since then. Man's fallen state, eh?
I had a lot of hope in Trump v2.0, he started well domestically and in attempting to rebuild US strategic industries, but this is IMHO a yuge policy blunder.
Chatting over the holidays to an intelligent but unreconstructed liberal Guardian subscriber, convinced that the Iran attack was all about raising oil prices to bail out Russia.
"So who has most leverage over Trump, Netanyahu or Putin?"
"Oh, Putin, definitely"
2016 brought two YUGE shocks to Guardianistas - Brexit (voted Leave but expected Remain would win) then Trump. Liberals having been in charge forever (especially in education), couldn't understand these defeats unless there'd been some dirty work at the crossroads - and at times where living standards are dropping, ruling elites need an external enemy. The political needs of the latter satisfied the emotional needs of the former, so "Putin" became our Goldstein.
How does the money flow go? Iran charges our ships money, our ships charge us money, we have to sell our stuff for more. Price of gin and potatoes goes up. Iran buys concrete, steel re bar, weapons from Russia, China and Korea and anyone else who can get away with it. Iran economy booms. European economy is sluggish. Russia, China and N Korea make out like bandits on our petrol money.
Trump needs to replenish stocks, missiles at £10M a pop. So puts up tariffs again so it becomes more expensive and less profitable to sell stuff to the US. US economy grows but not so fast. Meanwhile Greater Israel gets bigger and bigger. Eventually Israel may take a breather and go back to flogging special kit and services to all and sundry and building up the budget and armoury to have another go.
So the cyclic question is how long to the next closure of Hormuz? To some degree it would suit Israel to bash Iran while it is still recovering. But I doubt Trump will be keen on another go very soon, he has other fish to fry. Who knows how AIPAC will jump in the US - double or quits Donald? Let us hope not.
I wonder (slightly) what Starmer is doing in the ME. Hoping to flog Eccles Cakes, Cumberland pencils, accountancy services and Critical Theory university courses perhaps. Some under the counter weaponry would be more use.
@jim, the next closure question really is determined by what happens.
If Trump is truly bored, he'll sign off on Iran's demands and walk away, presumably with Netanyahu put in his place, otherwise he'll want to kick it all off again.
The lesson there for Iran is that they can close the Strait as and when they want, they might get bombed, but it is clear that's something the regime can wear. Nice global economy you've got, shame if something should happen to it. So if they want up the danegeld for passage, or are feeling a little unloved, they can shut up shop.
If Trump starts to feel no one is taking his claims of Bigly Victory very seriously, and his Iran Deal stinks, it's quite possible we'll restart in two weeks, and it'll be closed again.
Grand Canyon was great, as was Yellowstone, where I met a bison, aged 8, face to face as I had gone for a walk. They are big. Also various US bases like Whitesands where dad nipped in to do a course so that our travel was official.
Yes, Trump's ego can be seen by the crew of that spaceship, so mocking him is highly counterproductive. But I hope he's feeling stitched up by Netty and disinclined for Round 2.
I assume the military guys who told him not to do it and then got fired will be silent at least until Trump leaves office or their pensions kick in ...
I would have to look again but I thought the 2m Hormuz fee was split between Iran and Oman? Would suggest that keeps one of the Gulf nations happy while the UAE withers, its USP as a tariff-free, access-guaranteed entrepôt now in tatters. Not sure this ceasefire holds, old NuttyYahoo needs his war.
H
Looks like it's all off already, Iran insist Lebanon was in the deal, so they're stopping oil tankers.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/08/middle-east-ceasefire-doubt-israel-lebanon-iran-oil-tankers
Pakistan certainly said Lebanon was included. Looks like Israel are just going to keep on keeping on.
There's a better and better case for my jokey suggestion that Trump should have cut out the middleman and bombed Tel Aviv.
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