So as you may all know, in the past few months, the price of crude oil had DROPPED tremendously. At first everyone is thinking HECK YES $1.50 a gall at the pump. But wait!! At what cost? I'm not sure how OPEC works or who makes their decisions, but why are we buying fuel from a foreign country, supporting THEIR Economy, while ours is laying off tens of thousands!!?? I am trying to really hold myself together in the recent days/weeks. First it was Schlumberger announcing 9K lay off, now its Baker Hughes announcing 7k+!! Just to remind you, 1. this is Ladd's company he works for, 2. Baker was just recently bought our by Haliburton (which by the way is estimated to lay off 7K+ too in the coming months). So as I sit here typing, I am in continuous prayer that Ladd retains his job through all this bc IF he is laid off its not only the INCOME we will be out, but also health insurance, dental, eye care, and an amazing 401K program (which I have no idea how this would pan out if he was laid off). Since I am a SAHM we would be losing our ONLY income. My question is, HOW do you pay for your house? Buy food? WHERE do you get health insurance? HOW THE HELL DO YOU LIVE OFF OF NOTHING!! LITERALLY!! HOW DO YOU SUPPORT 3 KIDS AND KEEP THEM HEALTHY!!?? We already live WAY below our means, yes we are about to take a trip to Colorado, and we could be saving that instead of spending it, but reality, the ONLY thing we will be spending money on is gas to get there. Our good friends James and Bethany live there and are able to find ski passes for us through her school and we don't have to rent any equipment because they have it already. So all the major expenses are free already!!
Like I said I am REALLY trying to be calm and just leave it up to God on what's going to happen. But what I am mostly experiencing (besides anxiety and panic) is ANGER!! I don't want to slander or talk ill of anyone but damn Obama!! WHERE IS THE WORLD IS YOUR STUPID LITTLE HEAD!!?? WHY do you think its ok to allow OPEC to buy Oil from a different country while yours is going to hell in a hand basket!! You ARE the president, I would think you could override them, right? Or do you want this country to fail, just as you come out of office? Taking our religion and rights away, and dropping our employment so low, that majority will be in poverty. Not only will the employment be dropping but you will have an INCREASE in welfare applicants and dependents!! How do you recover from this when the scale is so one sided!!?? You have ALWAYS preached about how you want to increase employment and keep unemployment at an all time low, well shit, how do you do that when 3 of your top Oil Companies just laid off 16-20k+ employees!!?? How does that work with your pie charts and line graphs? Are you decreasing your salary and other office members to compensate for what is being lost? Nope, you still are taking LAVISH vacations, and playing golf while others are fighting and dying for your damn freedom! While others are fighting to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table. While others are sleeping in a cardboard box on the cold wet street, starving. While others are dying of disease or illness bc they cant afford your joke of healthcare. Ridiculous!
For those who think Oilfield people are so selfish for wanting oil prices to rebound, which causes the price at the pump to increase, just so we can continue to live lavishly. NEWS FLASH!! Some of us (like my family) DO NOT LIVE LAVISHLY!! We STILL struggle. We aren't living paycheck to pay check bc we do have some cushion, but I am NOT out buying designer purses and driving a brand new decked out car or living is a HUGE house. We live in a small older home, more than half the size of what we lived in a year ago, I drove a 250+k mile car till it didn't run anymore, and if it weren't for our dear friends, I would STILL be driving a beater, and I don't even carry a purse, I carry a backpack (which I got a baby shower for Greyson). I have NEVER owned designer ANYTHING, and the ONLY clothes I buy is from the clearance rack at Penny's or Kohls and most of my kids clothes are hand me downs or from Once Upon a child. So yeah.. I haven't experienced that lavish lifestyle yet.
Oil prices effect EVERYONE!! It trickles down to everyone in the economy. I am FB member of this group called "Oilfield Families of America" and one member easily put what I was thinking into words. I think it has a few bad words. But he explains how EVERYONE is effected whether you think so or not. Its a long read but VERY informative!! So this is how he explains everything.
From Shawn P. :
"I may get booted for this but here goes. This post goes out to ALL of the people that secretly or quietly hate on oilfield employees for the life that they have bled, sweat and sacrificed half their lives for. Without the oil and gas industry you wouldn't have 97% of the things you own now. Take a good look around your house, everything you see from the carpet on you floor to the television on your wall was made drone petroleum products, which come from the oilfield. Once every three to four years we go through this where the price per barrel falls causing the price at the pumps to fall and we have to hear others vent their opinions on sites about how they are glad oilfield workers are losing their jobs, and they hope our kids starve, we get our homes and cars taken away that all we are arrogant and blow our money on trucks and guns while you struggle to buy $0.99 cheeseburgers that you apparently had to get to McDonald's in something that runs and operates from petreum products. GUESS WHAT, it's not OUR fault your lazy fat asses didn't get off the couch many years ago instead of settling for welfare or other city aids and better yourself for you families or do what you have to do to support them, saving the money you earn so that you can afford to pay $3.50 / gal at the pump. NOPE, instead you work your jobs and at the end of the week, you call up good ol mom and have her watch your all six of your kids while you go out and drink your pay checks away laughing at the aftermath and the photos of the good time you had and posting it to Facebook then hitting the grind again Monday morning with a sour ass look on your face hating the world cause now good ol mom has to be called again only this time to loan ur broke asses money to get back and forth to work and help buy those $.99 cheeseburgers. So, for all of you that bitch and complain quietly behind our backs for only wanting our families to have descent lives and provide for with an honest job or on a social media site, how bout lookin a roughneck up stand in his face and telling them to their face you hope they lose their job and struggle to feed his kids. Then I want you to post the outcome of that!! Oh I know, you can then use your FREE Obama phone to call the police that have been so violently abused over the last couple of months and give them your complaint!! Bet you don't hear a damn thing from these same complaining ppl when shots are being passed out, beer tabs paid, bills are being assisted in paying, or groceries helped in buying from a friend or relative that makes oilfield cash. All or most of us that make the living that we do, actually enjoy helping out our families and friends because it's the right thing to do. My family and friends would never talk like that so those ppl are far out of the radar lol. EVERYTHING we own comes from the oilfield. I asked someone earlier, "Name one thing in your house that doesn't come from the oilfield"? Their response was, "water"!! Think about what u said moron. Where the hell do u think water comes from....THE GROUND!! And how pray tell did u get it out of the ground....by drilling. From machinery, which runs and operates off of what we (oilfield hands) pull out of the ground. Everything that you buy in the stores or consume in some way the oilfield industry played a major part in. Would love to see some of these wining complainers walk their asses to the bar next time they wanna go out. Even if u couldn't afford a car, because of the oilfield we have bikes as well that you can ride, where do you think the rubber for the tires came from. Look around your houses. Even the wooden bed posts, picture frames dinner table whatever it is you have. It took some kind of machinery to make that, which ALL of these oilfield workers including myself have worked all these years to do for ALL of you to have nice things in ALL of your homes. And in return I read where someone had the nerve to post a comment saying they are glad to see all of us "arrogant assholes" that do nothing but BLOW money on trucks and guns struggle to pay bills and feed our kids. FYI, we can blow our money any way we see fit, you want money to blow, how bout quit sticking it up ur noses, into your veins or in a pipe, strive a little harder for your family as like the "OILFIELD HANDS" did and quit your bitching. Heaven forbid our next president should be a former roughneck, cause that would be the only one in 40 years I'd vote for, not only does the decrease in price per gallon at the pump affect oilfield workers, as it continues to plunge it will eventually effect every business in every town."
SO PLEASE SAY A PRAYER FOR YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY WHO WORK IN THE OILFIELD. TENS OF THOUSANDS OF LIVES ARE UNEXPECTEDLY CHANGING DRASTICALLY IN THE PAST MONTHS AND THE MONTHS TO COME. HAVING FAITH GOD WILL PROVIDE AND GET EVERYONE THROUGH THIS! PRAY PRAY PRAY!!
WITH MUCH LOVE, THE MOEHNKE FAMILY..
