oil price fluctuations are not much different than the red cloth being waived at the bull - up , down , left , right ... and the bull (the consumer) is charging at it , not realizing that in the end he'll be killed and dragged out of the arena.
imo it's just a great way of keeping citizens' minds occupied and divert their attention from the important developments in the world .
so far , no major adjustments in lifestyle have taken place by the majority of consumers - but it gives them something to shout and b_tch about , and it won't do them a bit of good
.
some researchers claim that if the gasprices weren't displayed as prominently as they are , there would be far less complaining .
the prices for many goods and services are changing frequently , but it does not seem to draw as much attention as the changes in gasprices .
to draw a bit of a parallel :
in germany salestaxes are included in price of goods advertised for sale ; example : a pair of shoes is advertised as EURO 100 , and that's what the buyer pays .
in canada the sales taxes are NOT included in advertised price ; so a pair of shoes advertised as $100 will cost the buyer about $114 (depending upon the province where the purchase is made - much less in alberta) .
i've heard people in germany complaining about high prices , but usually not about sales tax ;
in canada , consumers are almost constantly complaining about the sales tax because it's tacked onto the price (very confusing to shoppers from outside canada; "it says $100 , why do i have to pay $114 ? " .
so the canadian system is to poke the consumer in the eye with every purchase (just like the bull being poked
) .
coming back to the gasprice : the consumer is being poked in the eye everytime the gasprice is shown in REALLY BIG NUMBERS .
(i've notices on a2k that some members are being accused of "poking in the eye" by constant CAPITALIZING
.)
hbg
)