snufflelufigus wrote:Due to the extreme gas prices I'm going to have to raise my lesson rates from $400 to $500. Housing, gas and food prices having been increasing so I think it's fair to raise my rate. I hope the rest of you follow suit. Let it be said, let it be written, let it be done.
R
Thank you SO much for the update! I'm going to file this under do not G.A.S.!!
While we are long overdue for paying what we do for gas, our entire economy and infrastructure is built on cheap petrol. We have spralling suburbs, and people living nowhere near their daily works as a result of low fuel costs. More, no one buys anything derived locally; it's been so cheap to do otherwise.
So what's hurting is that we are having to adjust very quickly, something people of habit (read "Americans") are slow to do. Baby Bush has been in charge during a 400% cost increase in fuel - it's starting to really hurt. I speak personally - as a freelance musician, I have to commute a LOT, and I'm not making ends meet. I drive a tiny Hyundai (I can fit 5 tubas in there, believe it or not), so I'm not irresponsible.
I already charge more for lessons than do most of my peers. So I don't think I'm ready to raise my rates. But my performing rates - non-union stuff - are going to go up shortly. The last three months has seen an extra dollar tacked onto gas per gallon (3.8 litres). This is our breaking point, and many Americans are beginning to change their behavior. Which means they'll be ready in short order to accept a higher rate for my services.
Sigh...
J.c.S.
Instructor of Tuba & Euphonium, Cleveland State University
Principal Tuba, Firelands Symphony Orchestra
President, Variations in Brass http://www.jcsherman.net
J.c. Sherman wrote:While we are long overdue for paying what we do for gas...
Most European governments tax gasoline heavily, accounting for as much as 75% of the price. While gas is a limited resource, European prices don't reflect what gas "ought" to cost.
peter birch wrote:I am always mildly amused at the reaction of people in the US to petrol prices, we must be paying the equivalent of almost 10$ a gallon in the UK
You do pay more. How would you feel if in the course of a few months the price went from $10 to $15. That is what happened in the U.S.
I think the price of gas is false.Our liberal politicians have blocked every attempt to harvest the vast supply of oil,coal,and gas we have right in America and have blocked every attempt to build oil refineries or nuclear power plants,for which we have a world class supply of fuel.Let's make sure we place blame where it's due.Supply and demand would quickly adjust for the current situation without governmental meddling,IMO.
Pensacola Symphony
Troy University-adjunct tuba instructor
Yamaha yfb621 with 16’’ bell,with blokepiece symphony
Eastman 6/4 with blokepiece symphony/profundo
peter birch wrote:I am always mildly amused at the reaction of people in the US to petrol prices, we must be paying the equivalent of almost 10$ a gallon in the UK
You do pay more. How would you feel if in the course of a few months the price went from $10 to $15. That is what happened in the U.S.
The oil companies' involvement in this is a little too complex for me to fully understand,but,in general,why should a business sell it's product for less than it can? It has responsibilities to employees and stockholders to stay in business and prosper.It infuriates me that we are sitting on all this oil(anwar,coastal shelf) and not drilling for it while we dramatically enrich our Arab and South American enemies.Do we really want to protect a patch of tundra that 99.9999% of us will never see from a fictional danger to protect the caribou(which,by the way,has flourished with the pipeline that was supposed to kill them off) while our enemies systematically buy our country and use it against us? Nuts...
Pensacola Symphony
Troy University-adjunct tuba instructor
Yamaha yfb621 with 16’’ bell,with blokepiece symphony
Eastman 6/4 with blokepiece symphony/profundo
A more responsible solution, and one that functions better in the very long run, is to decrease the demand. That also lowers costs. But that wont happen with an incestuous relationship between politicians, fuel companies, and car companies. It has to be mandatory, but I think many buyers are goint to start opting for fuel economy first. But our car companies are notoriously sloth-like in adapting to anything, and drag their feet to boot. And that doesn't even factor in environmental responsibility.
Lower demand = lower cost
As to talking with an "enemy", Teddy Roosevelt was no dummy - "speak softly..."
As for mandatory Tuba content, $400.00 per lesson?!? Who are you?! I'm a bargain at a 1/10 of that! That'd pay my fuel costs in an instant!
J.c.S.
Instructor of Tuba & Euphonium, Cleveland State University
Principal Tuba, Firelands Symphony Orchestra
President, Variations in Brass http://www.jcsherman.net
Hey,I'm all for less pollution.Let's dramatically ramp up our nuclear production,put billions into better battery technology,and let the corn and sugar go to feed the hungry.But in the mean time,the weaker our economy,the weaker our country,and in very dangerous times...
Pensacola Symphony
Troy University-adjunct tuba instructor
Yamaha yfb621 with 16’’ bell,with blokepiece symphony
Eastman 6/4 with blokepiece symphony/profundo
MikeMason wrote:I think the price of gas is false.Our liberal politicians have blocked every attempt to harvest the vast supply of oil,coal,and gas we have right in America and have blocked every attempt to build oil refineries or nuclear power plants,for which we have a world class supply of fuel.Let's make sure we place blame where it's due.Supply and demand would quickly adjust for the current situation without governmental meddling,IMO.
I would like to comment on this, however it would violate the permissum illic exsisto haud politics. Have a nice day.
bardus est ut bardus probo, Bill Souder
All mushrooms are edible, some are edible only once.
MikeMason wrote:I think the price of gas is false.Our liberal politicians have blocked every attempt to harvest the vast supply of oil,coal,and gas we have right in America and have blocked every attempt to build oil refineries or nuclear power plants,for which we have a world class supply of fuel.Let's make sure we place blame where it's due.Supply and demand would quickly adjust for the current situation without governmental meddling,IMO.
I would like to comment on this, however it would violate the permissum illic exsisto haud politics. Have a nice day.
Electric cars are becoming more and more viable every day.
If Aptera lives up to their word, they will be selling their first unit late this year. If I lived in Southern CA, I would have made my deposit months ago.
The all-electric model can go 120 miles on a single charge, consuming about 80 whr per mile.
With what I pay per KWH at my home, that equates to $0.007 per mile! In other words, that's 15000 miles of driving for $110 in fuel....
We're paying around $9.50 a gallon here. I just avoid using the car as much as possible. I'm even thinking about buying one of those bike trailers for kids to transport my tuba to work...anyone have experience with these???
cktuba wrote:
The only problem is that it's not unusual to drive way more than 120 miles in a day. How much time do they need to fully recharge? Several hours??? A couple of minutes??? Can you recharge one from a standard outlet?
If they get electric cars that could go 300 or so miles on a single charge and could be recharged in a few minutes-- then we will have the ability to tell the oil companies to stuff their oil where the sun doesn't shine (and I would love to see that day come soon). Until then, it's not really practical.
It is recharged from a standard outlet. The website says "2-4 hours" to regain a full charge. If they chose to add a 220v plug and charge controller to it that time would be cut in half--dunno if they are going to do that.
Actually, it is very unusual for me to drive more than 120 miles in a day. I would bet I do that maybe a dozen days a year (probably a high number). As of now, I probably average 50-55 miles per day--that's my commute plus a trip to the gym/grocery store/mall, etc. If I could own the Aptera, it would be a second vehicle for my household. We will still use a standard combustion engine car when the electric car is not applicable.
Aptera is also designing a series hybrid version (aka range-extended electric vehicle). That one can go 50-60 miles on a charge (using no gasoline at all) then, when the batteries are depleted, a gas engine generator kicks on to recharge the batteries. The MPG once the generator kicks on is estimated at 130mpg. The hybrid version may be another year or two from the electric's release.
