elkahna's Blog

Hi Everyone, elkahna here

This is just a little opine to the business community.

Dear Local Business Owner;

I retired from my career about 5 years ago after investing 30 years into it due to stresses and strains and bad eating habits and genes and one heart operation. (I didn't want to do that last one again)  Five years later I have had to go back to work part time.

As I was coming home from my job today I noticed that gas was 6 cents more this afternoon than it was when I went to work. It was $3.77 going in, $3.83 coming home! Oil is closing at around $134.00 a barrel today. I just want all the local business owners and restaurants to know that you will be seeing a whole lot less of me. I have to concentrate on being able to buy gas to get to work (as long as that lasts) and groceries. There is also insurance (life & health) taxes (both income and property) and sundry other bills that must take precidence.

I will not be flying anywhere as I can't afford to. I just read where one airlines is going to start charging $15.00 for the 1st bag. Vacations, well we will take one but we won't be going anywhere or spending any money. There may be some vacation deals locally as I am listening to Fox 13 news as I type and they were saying that hotels on the beaches are actually NOT FULL for Memorial Day and they are receiving cancellations every day.

Anyway, I can't be spending money on luxuries or for that fact much fun as "fun" is expensive. No Rays or Bucs tickets and I am very thankful I don't live in Pinellas Co. to have to pay for a new ball park for the next 30 years. We already have "Hello Sucker" staduim as Daniel Ruth likes to call it in Hillsborough  Co. Gasoline prices and the run up on everything else because of the fuel prices inevitably will kill the economy. Inflation will bring higher interest rates (Anyone remember the double digit interest rates)  Cant pay $200+ a night for beach stays so. How many "one less customers" can business take. The public cannot continue to absorb the costs increases of everything as wages are not even close to keeping up.

My tipping point has been reached and it tipped in the wrong direction. Farewell local business person, It was nice while I could patronize your business.

elkahna

Hi Everyone

elkahna here!

As I was reading the Tribune and having my morning coffee, I ran across an article in the paper and on the internet news that just about made my blood boil. There was our President more or less begging our "friends" the Saudi's to increase oil production to help with the high prices here in America. There was then the all too often response that they had already increased production on May 10th and were happy with where things were and weren't pondering increasing production again at this time.

First and foremost, WHEN ARE WE GOING TO LEARN THAT the SAUDI's and OPEC are NOT OUR FRIENDS??!! We continue to provide them with a guarantee of security and many other benefits and all we get from them is lip service.

I am absolutely not for isolationism BUT, we need to stop kowtowing to these "friends" and let them provide for themselves. They are takers and rarely ever givers in this relationship. We are addicted to oil and need to wean ourselves off OPECs oil and let them drown in it. There is a teaching that you need to keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.

Preserve our environment and be as careful as is absolutely possible but, either come up with new fuel alternatives (not corn, we are seeing what happens when you divert food to fuel now) or use the resources we have. This newest ploy of the global warming folks in getting the polar bear declared a "threatened" species was brilliant. There are thousands more polar bear now than in the 70's. We will never be able to drill because of a "threatened " species.  ANWR, Florida Straits and the Gulf of Mexico all need to be explored and drilled. The Chinese are in Cuba now and will be angle drilling in the Florida Straits in the near future if they aren't now. We know how careful their exploits are.

All that to say, utilize our resources, conserve, invest in new refineries (no new ones since the 70's) develope new and better fuel alternatives, protect the environment as best as we can but come on now, polar bears threatened?? Please! If we dont take this bull by the horns and corral it now we will end up passing this mess on to our grandchildren. With some of the "friends" we have we absolutely don't need no enemies!!

Its and opinion. It and 4 bucks might get you some coffee and I did say MIGHT!!

elkahna

Hello All

I would like to take a few moments to place my take on food, fuel and interest rates. A special thanks to WTVT for their participation in this endeavor. I am a 30 year fan of FOX 13.

Ladies and Gentlemen, incase you haven't noticed, gas is up to $3.60 a gallon and diesel up over $4.00 a gallon. In case you havent been to the grocery store there is a 15 to 34%+ in increase of food prices. To top all this off the powers that are in our federal financial realms continue to cut interest rates trying to bouy the stock market and credit markets (unnaturally I might add) and by the continual lowering of interest rates, strapping fixed income and long time savers who are now earning less than 3.05% on CD deposits and hovering around 1% on most passbook savings.

As fuel goes, so will continue to go food and all other products that we buy. These price run ups are called "inflation" but no one seems to want to use this word or the very bad "R" word RECESSION! With inflation and recession, in place, wages are absolutely not keeping up with current inflation and as people have little or no disposable income anymore, they will begin to tighten the belt as the ability to buy fuel and food becomes increasingly difficult.

Small business owners, this is a warning to you. I cannot afford to patronize your businesses, because it is taking all I can muster to buy fuel, food, insurance (health & home & life) and pay taxes on the small property I own on I might add a FIXED income. I havent had a raise in 5 years now. Now add in monthly medicine costs and DR visits and you see where this is going. More and more businesses will find it impossible to make their bottom lines and will simply disappear as the populace stays home because we cant afford to go anywhere or do anything.

I read an article from an economist that no one is hearing for the moment and he is warning on $10.00 a gallon gas within 3 years. Well me buccos, if he is correct, you know where everything else will be as the price of everything you use is influenced by the fuel cost it takes to get to the store shelves (That is the stores that are left)

I want to tell you also that if you are pinning your hopes on a presidential candidate being the savior of the country and bringing about all this "change " you keep hearing about you are absolutely deceived. The branches of government aren't separated by unbreakable walls for nothing. The president cannot legislate, the congress cant seem to legislate and the judicial branch has decided that it is more convenient to just make law than to simply apply the law that the founding fathers intended. Our answerto everything is "There ought to be a law..."  Be careful what you ask for, there might be. Every new law chisels away another bit of freedom.

I might as well get into real trouble and put this out there. How many people will you let break into your house before you decide you need to make some of those that broke in and were not invited and didn't knock, leave?  Just a thought.

Well, I'll stop for now but I hope this is sufficient to at least get some folks thinking and realize that government is not going to save us. We created this mess mostly being greedy with instant gratification now, and worry about paying later and if we mess up the "government" will bail us out. Well partners.........you ARE the government. The money that is used to bail out stupidity in loans and every bad financial issue now on our plates comes out of YOUR pocket.  Anyway, I hope I'm not alone out there. If I am, just grab on to your back pockets and wake up your traveling companion because its going to be the dog gondest wreck you are ever going to see.

Thanks for the space to opine  (excuse any errors, an editor im not :-)

elkahna