Vucic announces opening: Stores starting Tuesday, cafes and restaurants in early May

Sounds like a start. Better late than never.

Now how about lowering gas prices. The price of oil has dropped over 50% since January 1st. Will the price of gas ever go down here or will the government just collect its windfall?

How come nobody questions the price of gas here? And why does the government set the price anyway in a market economy?

Dear Thomas,
I am glad someone had the sense to mention the obvious. Try as they might, Serbia will never be a Democracy. A Free Market Economy in Serbia is nothing but a cruel joke.

How come nobody questions the price of gas here? And why does the government set the price anyway in a market economy?
(Thomas, 20 April 2020 08:24)
======================
Maybe because nobody is filling up their tank because everyone is at home.
I read somewhere that lowering the price of petrol now is the same as giving a bold man a comb. Nobody can benefit.

I am glad someone had the sense to mention the obvious. Try as they might, Serbia will never be a Democracy. A Free Market Economy in Serbia is nothing but a cruel joke.
(Jovanka, 20 April 2020 19:11)

Dear Jovanka

Please list all those countries that are democracies. I would dearly like to know which you think are democratic and please leave out the US, which is obviously where you come from, since only 2 political parties have held government for 180 years.

(Jovanka, 20 April 2020 19:11)

Now I understand. You are one of the many brain-dead US citizens who works for $12.50 an hour and the media tells you that everything is fantastic and the rest of the world hates you because you have it so fine.
You would not know what a real free market economy was if it bit you on your arse. A free market economy means if you don’t turn up for work you don’t get paid regardless of the reason; so if you get sick no pay; annual leave? Nope; health cover? Nope.
Free market means that governments don’t bail out companies like Obama did in 2008 nor like Trump has done with Boeing very recently.
Try formulating some original sound bites instead of parroting freedom and democracy LOL.

How come nobody questions the price of gas here? And why does the government set the price anyway in a market economy?
(Thomas, 20 April 2020 08:24)

You mean that in the US the government does not influence gas prices? I would not put my shirt on that bet because they do lad. But you guys have some horrible things coming your way and the economic downturn will make 2008 look like a Sunday school picnic. Hold onto your hat.
You see some small countries actually get a lot of their revenue from taxes on fuel.

How come nobody questions the price of gas here?
(Thomas, 20 April 2020 08:24)

Well Thomas, there is a difference between “here” and the factual country called Serbia. According to the website globalpetrolprices.com the price for a liter of gasoline in Serbia has been falling profoundly since January. It is in the 120 RSD range now compared to 140s in January.
Now, you apparently live in a land called “here”, with many other trolls who don’t believe that gasoline powered cars even exist Serbia, or that gas prices in reality actually do fluctuate in Serbia. Your primary mode of transportation, like other trolls, probably involves dragging your pointer through google street view in your lala land called “here”. Please do fill-up your pointer with the million dollar per liter fuel it needs to drive though your land called “here”.

You mean that in the US the government does not influence gas prices? I would not put my shirt on that bet because they do lad. But you guys have some horrible things coming your way and the economic downturn will make 2008 look like a Sunday school picnic. Hold onto your hat.
You see some small countries actually get a lot of their revenue from taxes on fuel.
(sj, 21 April 2020 15:19)

Yes, the US and many other countries get a lot of tax revenue from gas taxes. The difference is this. In a free market economy the taxes are either a percentage of the selling price, or a fixed price per gallon. There are a lot of taxes in the US, some states more than others. There might be a sales tax in a percentage, a Federal tax like 40 cents per gallon, and state taxes that might be in the form of percentage and/or fixed price per volume.

With all of that the prices are free to fluctuate, not just state ot state, but gas station to gas station.

The other thing you can see at the US pumps, in small print, is a breakdown of how much taxes per gallon are going to the government.

Here, the government sets a fixed price everywhere, and keeps every dinar over the cost of the gas plus a small profit to the seller. The government is cleaning up here!

In the US some states have actually seen gas drop below $1 / gallon, with taxes.

Where in Serbia can you see how much of the price of a liter of gas is going to the government?

(I am not American or in the US.)

How come nobody questions the price of gas here? And why does the government set the price anyway in a market economy?
(Thomas, 20 April 2020 08:24)

This is a highly controlled market. The price of the gas has nothing to do with the real price - it is set by the rules mandated by EU.

This does make sense because if there would be a high difference, Serbia would face the same problem what Ukraine, Belarus and Russia already has: private gas "exporters".

To combat them, countries like Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Poland, Lithuania establish a protocol slowing down the cross-border traffic or limiting the number of the trips abroad.


Otherwise (does not apply to you) I have to cite a B92 classic.

Under https://www.b92.net/eng/comments.php?nav_id=108328
Gianni, on 17 April 2020 19:56 wrote:

"Not only are the Trolls on b92 losing the propaganda war, but now their leader is calling for a military war. Gotta hand it to the clueless $j."

Signs of "Propaganda war" noticed here too, "propaganda warriors" ignored.

(Thomas, 22 April 2020 09:42)
Free economic market is one if not the most misused and misunderstood terms. There is no such thing. It’s a term bandied around to give the impression that it fluctuates at will of supply and demand.
Every government manipulates energy prices. If the price of oil fell to say $5 per barrel you would expect to pay 10 cents per gallon in the US, but that will never happen because the US Government’s share of revenue would be zero.
Serbia’s economy is small and fuel is one area where the Government gets a lot of revenue plus you can’t compare the US and Serbian economies; one is gargantuan and the other is very small. A big economy has lots of room to move and can do things that a smaller cannot.

How come nobody questions the price of gas here? And why does the government set the price anyway in a market economy?
(Thomas, 20 April 2020 08:24)

This is a highly controlled market. The price of the gas has nothing to do with the real price - it is set by the rules mandated by EU.

This does make sense because if there would be a high difference, Serbia would face the same problem what Ukraine, Belarus and Russia already has: private gas "exporters".

To combat them, countries like Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Poland, Lithuania establish a protocol slowing down the cross-border traffic or limiting the number of the trips abroad.


Otherwise (does not apply to you) I have to cite a B92 classic.

Under https://www.b92.net/eng/comments.php?nav_id=108328
Gianni, on 17 April 2020 19:56 wrote:

"Not only are the Trolls on b92 losing the propaganda war, but now their leader is calling for a military war. Gotta hand it to the clueless $j."

Signs of "Propaganda war" noticed here too, "propaganda warriors" ignored.

Dear Thomas,
I am glad someone had the sense to mention the obvious. Try as they might, Serbia will never be a Democracy. A Free Market Economy in Serbia is nothing but a cruel joke.

How come nobody questions the price of gas here? And why does the government set the price anyway in a market economy?
(Thomas, 20 April 2020 08:24)

You mean that in the US the government does not influence gas prices? I would not put my shirt on that bet because they do lad. But you guys have some horrible things coming your way and the economic downturn will make 2008 look like a Sunday school picnic. Hold onto your hat.
You see some small countries actually get a lot of their revenue from taxes on fuel.

Sounds like a start. Better late than never.

Now how about lowering gas prices. The price of oil has dropped over 50% since January 1st. Will the price of gas ever go down here or will the government just collect its windfall?

How come nobody questions the price of gas here? And why does the government set the price anyway in a market economy?

How come nobody questions the price of gas here? And why does the government set the price anyway in a market economy?
(Thomas, 20 April 2020 08:24)
======================
Maybe because nobody is filling up their tank because everyone is at home.
I read somewhere that lowering the price of petrol now is the same as giving a bold man a comb. Nobody can benefit.

I am glad someone had the sense to mention the obvious. Try as they might, Serbia will never be a Democracy. A Free Market Economy in Serbia is nothing but a cruel joke.
(Jovanka, 20 April 2020 19:11)

Dear Jovanka

Please list all those countries that are democracies. I would dearly like to know which you think are democratic and please leave out the US, which is obviously where you come from, since only 2 political parties have held government for 180 years.

(Jovanka, 20 April 2020 19:11)

Now I understand. You are one of the many brain-dead US citizens who works for $12.50 an hour and the media tells you that everything is fantastic and the rest of the world hates you because you have it so fine.
You would not know what a real free market economy was if it bit you on your arse. A free market economy means if you don’t turn up for work you don’t get paid regardless of the reason; so if you get sick no pay; annual leave? Nope; health cover? Nope.
Free market means that governments don’t bail out companies like Obama did in 2008 nor like Trump has done with Boeing very recently.
Try formulating some original sound bites instead of parroting freedom and democracy LOL.

You mean that in the US the government does not influence gas prices? I would not put my shirt on that bet because they do lad. But you guys have some horrible things coming your way and the economic downturn will make 2008 look like a Sunday school picnic. Hold onto your hat.
You see some small countries actually get a lot of their revenue from taxes on fuel.
(sj, 21 April 2020 15:19)

Yes, the US and many other countries get a lot of tax revenue from gas taxes. The difference is this. In a free market economy the taxes are either a percentage of the selling price, or a fixed price per gallon. There are a lot of taxes in the US, some states more than others. There might be a sales tax in a percentage, a Federal tax like 40 cents per gallon, and state taxes that might be in the form of percentage and/or fixed price per volume.

With all of that the prices are free to fluctuate, not just state ot state, but gas station to gas station.

The other thing you can see at the US pumps, in small print, is a breakdown of how much taxes per gallon are going to the government.

Here, the government sets a fixed price everywhere, and keeps every dinar over the cost of the gas plus a small profit to the seller. The government is cleaning up here!

In the US some states have actually seen gas drop below $1 / gallon, with taxes.

Where in Serbia can you see how much of the price of a liter of gas is going to the government?

(I am not American or in the US.)

(Thomas, 22 April 2020 09:42)
Free economic market is one if not the most misused and misunderstood terms. There is no such thing. It’s a term bandied around to give the impression that it fluctuates at will of supply and demand.
Every government manipulates energy prices. If the price of oil fell to say $5 per barrel you would expect to pay 10 cents per gallon in the US, but that will never happen because the US Government’s share of revenue would be zero.
Serbia’s economy is small and fuel is one area where the Government gets a lot of revenue plus you can’t compare the US and Serbian economies; one is gargantuan and the other is very small. A big economy has lots of room to move and can do things that a smaller cannot.

How come nobody questions the price of gas here?
(Thomas, 20 April 2020 08:24)

Well Thomas, there is a difference between “here” and the factual country called Serbia. According to the website globalpetrolprices.com the price for a liter of gasoline in Serbia has been falling profoundly since January. It is in the 120 RSD range now compared to 140s in January.
Now, you apparently live in a land called “here”, with many other trolls who don’t believe that gasoline powered cars even exist Serbia, or that gas prices in reality actually do fluctuate in Serbia. Your primary mode of transportation, like other trolls, probably involves dragging your pointer through google street view in your lala land called “here”. Please do fill-up your pointer with the million dollar per liter fuel it needs to drive though your land called “here”.