When I started driving.

[m2017]

I've just had my 80th birthday, and I've been reflecting on some of the changes I've seen. When I started driving I could ask for 4 gallons of petrol ( there weren't any serve yourself pumps then), and I could give the attendant £1, and say keep the change. $ gallons today will cost over £36, and I have to serve myself. They keep saying inflation is low, but that doesn't seem low to me. Right now the producer price ines is up over 36%, and that is a more realistic indicator than the retail price index bandied about by the government.

It really does seem to be a way for the super-elite with their hereditary wealth to increase their asset value at the expense of the bulk of the population.

For so many years of life, you must have seen many changes, including positive ones, and not just the rise in the price of petrol. Have you tried to calculate the price of petrol in bitcoin now and when you got a bitcoin for the first time? It would be interesting to know the comparison with the £. I think it's no secret to anyone that the traditional financial system is impossible without inflation, and therefore, one should not be surprised at the rise in the price of goods like petrol.

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[pooya87]

I've just had my 80th birthday,

Happy birthday bro, wish you live to see 120.

When I started driving I could ask for 4 gallons of petrol ( there weren't any serve yourself pumps then), and I could give the attendant £1, and say keep the change. $ gallons today will cost over £36, and I have to serve myself.

That's what sanctions do, they are like a double edged sword that cuts the wielder too. For example when Venezuela was sanctions years ago many American companies were screwed because they had a lot of long term investment in Venezuela's energy sector (which we have taken over now, hush!). When Iran was sanctioned Europe was screwed because they lost access to one of the biggest energy resources including both gas and oil. When Russia was sanctions Europe was more screwed because they lost access to another one of the biggest energy resources.
Hence the high inflation and the high energy costs.

Seeing your numbers worries me a little though because if a gallon is 4.5 liters then a gallon of petrol here is worth about £0.19 ($0.22) which is a ridiculous difference and we know what happens when there is such a massive gap in two markets: arbitrage or better said smuggling of fuel....

[darkangel11]

Happy birthday, come in 10 years and tell us the price of those 4 gallons I hope you'll still have the nerve to drive these roads with all the forced change the EU is pushing. At least you britons don't have to listen to those eco idiots who wants us all to drive electric cars and have speed limiters built in so that.

I find the price of oil vs price of retail gasoline the most disturbing. Gas would cost us 1/2 of what it does now if not for all the taxes. It doesn't cost much to make it but the government steals what it can and then blames it all on the price of oil, but it doesn't care that taxes grow with the retail price. If you have 50% tax and the gas costs $1 you have to pay 50c. When the retail price doubles you pay $1 in taxes. In the end it's the government's fault you have to pay so much for your gas.

[Dunamisx]

It really does seem to be a way for the super-elite with their hereditary wealth to increase their asset value at the expense of the bulk of the population.

Come to think of it this way, the so called elite are the once being rich and in control of the system from behind but we are seing the result ahead not knowing that our first enemy are the closest people we know or see, no matter how high the price of petrol is they will still have access to buying it because the money to use is not their problem, only the masses complain, what a failed generation assembled together with self interest leaders enslaving people in thier liberty world of freedom.

[bitgov]

It really does seem to be a way for the super-elite with their hereditary wealth to increase their asset value at the expense of the bulk of the population.

Come to think of it this way, the so called elite are the once being rich and in control of the system from behind but we are seing the result ahead not knowing that our first enemy are the closest people we know or see, no matter how high the price of petrol is they will still have access to buying it because the money to use is not their problem, only the masses complain, what a failed generation assembled together with self interest leaders enslaving people in thier liberty world of freedom.

Many many happy return to the op. The point he has mentioned bring me back to the time when I used to get so much of stuff for one coin of my local currency. But now even the beggar refuse to take one coin. In Fact our currency is devaluing at a vey high rate. God bless us and give us patience and lots and lots of money to cope up with inflation.

[Hydrogen]

Voltaire is legendary for saying:

"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value: zero."

Almost 2,000 years ago the roman denarius suffered from high inflation.

It is possible that human civilization has experienced more than 2,000 years of currency devaluation and inflation.

It may be the inevitable end result of nearly every monetary system that has ever been devised by humanity.

The power to print money may be too much for mortal minds to bear.

We're lucky to have bitcoin which is probably one of few monetary systems devised to resist devaluation and inflation.

[The Sceptical Chymist]

Hey there, Jet Cash!!  Happy birthday to you, and I was just thinking about you a few days ago when I made mention of you in a post about forum grammar:

Is Jet Cash still around?  He used to be really into helping members with their English, and a couple of years ago he had a website devoted to that and invited everyone who was interested....and IIRC, he didn't get many takers.

I hadn't checked your post history to see if you were still active (too lazy), but I definitely noticed that I hadn't seen you post in a while.  Good to see you're still around and still a part of bitcointalk.  Are you still living the van life and using whatever wi-fi you can find?

I still wish we lived closer so that we could grab coffee and chat, but I suspect that'll never happen.  But I raise my cup to you anyway and salute you from across the ocean!

[og kush420]

Hey there, Jet Cash!!  Happy birthday to you, and I was just thinking about you a few days ago when I made mention of you in a post about forum grammar:

Is Jet Cash still around?  He used to be really into helping members with their English, and a couple of years ago he had a website devoted to that and invited everyone who was interested....and IIRC, he didn't get many takers.

I hadn't checked your post history to see if you were still active (too lazy), but I definitely noticed that I hadn't seen you post in a while.  Good to see you're still around and still a part of bitcointalk.  Are you still living the van life and using whatever wi-fi you can find?

I still wish we lived closer so that we could grab coffee and chat, but I suspect that'll never happen.  But I raise my cup to you anyway and salute you from across the ocean!

Happy birthday Jet - I am 40 years old and I make the comparisons like you do. There was a time when we used to get good meal in $1. But now there is hardly any meal we are able to find in this price. With the improvement and advancement in technology the things are changing like crazy. But hope will all see peace and prosperity.

[yhiaali3]

Happy 80 years, I wish you long life and good health.
I was surprised that one of the forum members has such a long life. Sure, you have great experience and experienced many economic crises. Perhaps the high prices of gasoline are the result of the global energy crisis, especially in the conditions of the Russian-Ukrainian war, but it is certain that it is an indication of inflation as well. The rise in fuel prices leads to high prices Almost every other product, because any commodity needs to be moved from one place to another and when the price of gasoline rises, this will certainly lead to a rise in these goods that are being moved, so it is a good indication of the inflation going on.

[sovie]

Happy 80 years, I wish you long life and good health.
I was surprised that one of the forum members has such a long life. Sure, you have great experience and experienced many economic crises. Perhaps the high prices of gasoline are the result of the global energy crisis, especially in the conditions of the Russian-Ukrainian war, but it is certain that it is an indication of inflation as well. The rise in fuel prices leads to high prices Almost every other product, because any commodity needs to be moved from one place to another and when the price of gasoline rises, this will certainly lead to a rise in these goods that are being moved, so it is a good indication of the inflation going on.

Happy 80th birthday boss. That is correct that people in this forum have seen good golden days - when money was valuable - today no amount of money is enough.
We see protests going on in every country. People are raising voices against inflation - high petrol prices and increase taxes. The survival can be only achieved through financial freedom.

[Coyster]

It really does seem to be a way for the super-elite with their hereditary wealth to increase their asset value at the expense of the bulk of the population.

It is what it is, and i am pretty sure every country is struggling to keep their inflation levels in check, all of these should have a thing or two to do with Covid-19 sanctions and policies like printing quite a lot of money, it was all going to cause inflation problems, and here we are now, what could be worse is that we prolly may not have seen the worst of inflation as it doesn't look like getting any better. It is a difficult situation for my country at the moment, there is a serious increase in the prices of goods and services making it very difficult for the poor/average to survive.

[ChrisPop]

Well, first of all happy birthday! Head confidently towards 100 and make the most of your time on Earth. We all should do the same.
Inflation is certainly not low especially for consumer goods. I'm not sure if the "super-elite" will benefit at the end from all this. Usually social situations will arise like protests and even civil wars. Wealth can get down pretty easily when you have a lot of wealth. Depends now on how well they geographically distribute their belongings and also their asset allocation but generally harsh economic crisis leads to revolts.

[Tony116]

Happy 80th Birthday! 🎉 I never expected someone with that age are still into bitcoin, I thought most of the holders are from the age group of 18-50 years old.

Anyways, it looks like almost all things have rise in prices, not only petrol. Within the years, a lot of things have change and inflation have affected almost any type of commodities out there.

In my opinion, oil is the main reason causing the price increase of other commodities, because petroleum is the main raw material for production and transportation activities. Once the price of petroleum goes up, the costs go up for all other industries.
@Jet Cash, Happy belated birthday buddy. I am also into crypto for a long time but you are the oldest person I met, the oldest investor I have ever met before, he is over 50 years old and also a passionate person and bitcoin is the only option he owns. Good luck on your bitcoin earning journey.

[adaseb]

That’s why back in the days most cars were huge boats with big engines and low power. Most cars back then had a V8 engine and it was something crazy like 6L or so.

Now these days many sedans have engines which are less than 2L. So back then you would drive around wasting gas and wouldn’t care. But now that gas is so expensive you turn it off at the stop light to prevent idling.

It’s crazy how expensive driving has gotten.

[xSkylarx]

Happy birthday there mate! Wishing you more birthdays to come and more stories that you will share on this forum. 

About the topic, it's really shocking how the inflation rate went up fast this year. Taxi and other public transport drivers here in my country are the most affected by the gas hike because most of their profit at the end of the day only goes to the gas for their next day trip. They only manage to bring very small amount of money to their families. As a private vehicle owner, I can't just go somewhere anytime I want unlike before. As much as possible, I maximize the usage of my car like buying groceries and paying bills at the same day to lessen the gas consumption.

[SuperMariob]

I've just had my 80th birthday, and I've been reflecting on some of the changes I've seen. When I started driving I could ask for 4 gallons of petrol ( there weren't any serve yourself pumps then), and I could give the attendant £1, and say keep the change. $ gallons today will cost over £36, and I have to serve myself. They keep saying inflation is low, but that doesn't seem low to me. Right now the producer price ines is up over 36%, and that is a more realistic indicator than the retail price index bandied about by the government.

It really does seem to be a way for the super-elite with their hereditary wealth to increase their asset value at the expense of the bulk of the population.

Probably they are just trying to force us to buy electric cars.

[GeorgeJohn]

Happy birthday (80th) celebration Jet cash, with what I'm seeing concerning jet cash, i believe his the oldest forum user by age, because the rest participating here is not up to 80th, i think jet cash deserve to be celebrated generally for every forum user. From the analysis of op, what i noticed is that inflation just keep renewing every annual because things keep changing from the previous conditions to the newly condition.

[TheNineClub]

I've just had my 80th birthday, and I've been reflecting on some of the changes I've seen. When I started driving I could ask for 4 gallons of petrol ( there weren't any serve yourself pumps then), and I could give the attendant £1, and say keep the change. $ gallons today will cost over £36, and I have to serve myself. They keep saying inflation is low, but that doesn't seem low to me. Right now the producer price ines is up over 36%, and that is a more realistic indicator than the retail price index bandied about by the government.

It really does seem to be a way for the super-elite with their hereditary wealth to increase their asset value at the expense of the bulk of the population.

It's not just gas honestly. Or rather, gas prices tend to push other comodity prices through the roof. However, I need to point out that the prices 50 years ago and  today are hard to compare due to natural inflation. What needs to be adressed is what we can really buy with todays money, and the honest answer is, regarding the basics, unfortunatelly much less than the previous gen could.

[justdimin]

Happy birthday there mate! Wishing you more birthdays to come and more stories that you will share on this forum. 

About the topic, it's really shocking how the inflation rate went up fast this year. Taxi and other public transport drivers here in my country are the most affected by the gas hike because most of their profit at the end of the day only goes to the gas for their next day trip. They only manage to bring very small amount of money to their families. As a private vehicle owner, I can't just go somewhere anytime I want unlike before. As much as possible, I maximize the usage of my car like buying groceries and paying bills at the same day to lessen the gas consumption.

Yeah, it certainly did go up. And the sad thing is, not everything went up like that, and some stuff stays the same and that is creating some problems. Like lets say if you had a chance to make a contract with someone for 2 years, and the cost was like lets 100 dollar per week, and then you have been doing that for the past 2 years? Your cost literally could be higher than the price we are in right now.

This is why I highly doubt that it would ever be something similar to this, and I doubt it would ever be valuable enough to say that inflation is equal for everyone, it's not. For example, a friend of mine has a renter, he has a contract with them, and they pay rent 50% lesser than everyone else, why? Because they made the contract before the pandemic started. Unfair if you ask me.

[ChiBitCTy]

What’s up bud I hope all is well with you and a very happy birthday to you! I love that someone of your age is an active member here on bitcointalk and able to give us such perspective from someone who’s been there and done that longer than most, if not all of us here.

I am surprised to hear they are saying inflation is low where you live. It certainly isn’t here. We are up over 8% right now for what’s a 40 year high. When I was a kid I remember seeing the gas price sign and ready .75 -.80 cents. Now my local gas station ⛽️ is charging around $5.90. Crazy how things have changed in such a short period of time.