The same people that complain about paying 4.50 for a gallon of gas are the same people who are paying 20 bucks a gallon for coffee at starbucks. And if they are the people getting lattes instead of just plain old coffee they are talking 35-40 bucks a gallon. How can someone complain about paying 4.50 per gallon for gas when paying so much for coffee? Its really ridiculous especially when you can buy coffee beans in the store for 6 bucks a pound and make about 100 cups of coffee. Something that costs 6 cents at home to make and people will pay 3-4 bucks just so they can be seen at "Starbucks" and go for the "atmosphere" Whatever that means. Gives me a great idea for a business. I will start a fast food restaurant thats serves the same hamburgers as everyone else, but inside it will look like starbucks and i will charge 20 bucks for a hamburger and people will pay so that other people that they have never met can see them eatting a 20 dollar hamburger. Ugg, its so annoying these people.
I kind of agree with you. Some of the people complaing about high gas prices are a sorry bunch of losers living 100 miles away from civilization so they can brag to the friends closer to the city about how large a house they have. Markets have a way of working this out though.
Its called branding. People dont just go to sbux for coffee, they go for the whole experience and the coffee. I'm sure if you take a look at yourself honestly you will find some way that you do the exact same thing. Gas prices are annoying for a couple reasons: Almost everybody needs it for just about everything. There is nothing appealing about gas, at all. It stinks, its dirty, and it costs money. Its not just filling your car up. It's flying, buying goods that are transported by truck or plane or train, all kinds of fabrics and materials are gasoline based.
Comparing coffee and gasoline is pretty ignorant. People only drink 8 OZ or so per day. People use 2-4 gallons per day of gasoline. They are not competitive substitutes for one another. This thread is has no economic usefulness as a discussion. Secondly, high crude oil is causing a massive tidal wave of inflation that is threatening the very fabric of this economy. It's not a trivial matter.
I think Starbucks is in deep deep trouble. When they relaxed their demographic and density requirements they cut their own throats. All those Starbucks that finally showed up on Main Street USA are going to find it difficult to stay open. All those locations in the S. Loop with a Starbucks across the street from a Starbucks are going to find it difficult to stay open. Starbucks was the first thing I cut out when fuel went up. Actually, McDonalds coffee is pretty good and you can buy a meal for what you pay for a cup of coffee at Starbucks <shrug>.
I grow tired of all the silly, stupid comparisons of a gallon of this or that would cost $ xxx.xx, and yet people complain about the cost of a gallon of gas! As was pointed out gas and coffee are not a valid comparison, just as most of the other goofball comparisons I've heard on CNBC from the gurus and talking heads, or the chain emails that get passed around. What does bother me is the idea that we haven't come up with a true viable non petroleum based alternative yet. We could give the terrorists in the Mideast the break they want from our influence and walk away and tell em to have fun with no cash flow. We could also watch Putin cry as his current money flow evaporated, and his wonderful influence die fast. Not to mention Chavez start to really sweat with no place to sell his goods.
So what alternative is there for coffee? It's the rocket fuel of the sales industry. Until cocaine gets to $5.00 a gram, it looks like I'm stuck with Starbucks.
well, I kind of agree with OP. If you don't like compare coffee and gas, how about this. The guys who complain about gas the most are those who live 100 miles from work and drive a 8 cylynder SUV alone everyday. I am glad those guys got punished. 1. a sedan will bring you from point A to point B comfortably at the same speed. Even a 90 hp small car will get you there at the same speed. At the end, you don't want to drive 20 miles over the speed limit. 2. You don't have to live 100 miles away from your office.
I average about $18 a week on gas in my Civic. 35mpg on the highway. I love watching these landlubbers pulling up in an 8000 pound Excursion, with no passengers, and forking over $110 to fill the tank. Why does a 108 pound woman need a vehicle that weighs 70 times as much as she does? Keep up these gas prices, and in 10 years, there will be 30 small companies, making cars like these, that get 100-150mpg: And a couple videos of others: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9Um0baFueM&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guiF6TqglME
the 4D Civic has a death rate (74) < the average large car (81), < every class of 4WD/2WD pickup except "very large" and almost the same as "large minivan" (66). It is also < small and midsize 2WD SUVs. http://www.iihs.org/sr/pdfs/sr4204.pdf And that was the PREVIOUS Civic, which was smaller and lighter than this one. And this one has side and curtain air bags. I can hold 4 adults fine in this one. Or 3 kids in the back. So, your point means little.