Dead Horse? Gas prices out of control
Every day,we see higher and higher gas prices. Less than 10 years ago I was in high school and a gallon of gas cost only 97 cents. It's almost 4 times that now, and who knows when it will slow down.
I can't imagine being in high school today, making $8.00 an hour and giving half my paycheck each week to Big Oil. The salt is rubbed further into our wounds when we hear that there are record profits for Exxon and Mobil, and they are living the great life while we are suffering.
A lot of times you hear people bring about the argument that in Europe gas costs easily double what we pay here and we should be thankful but the truth of it is our country is how old? They have great infrastructures that have been around for how long? They can take a train all across Europe, and most places in Europe are accessible by taking one train or another.
But it's not like that in the United States. Especially a place like New Hampshire. We have no train, we have very limited mass transportation. At the same time, I hear stories how you used to be able to take a train from Concord all the way into Boston. We all see the train tracks all over the place, but why did they go the way of the dinosaur? In order to get it up and running I'm sure it would be very expensive, but in the end, it would be worth it.
The Funny Thing Is
The funny thing about the present fuel crisis is the following.
Clinton and McCain want to roll back the gas tax which would be about 45 cents on fuel for the three months of the Summer.
Opponents argue that this would save the "average" person about $75.
When fuel was $3.12, no one was complaining or calling it a crisis. Over the last two months, it has climbed in price to $3.55-$3.60, which is by all measures the same amount the roll back of the gas tax would be...45 cents.
Now if you do the math, that means that over two months the gas increase has cost the "average" person $50.
Over 8 weeks that is an increase of $6.25 in their weekly gasoline bill. Heavy commuters aside, it seems to me that is not alot of money. Anyone who is anxious about the increase should be able to find a way to shift the burden and save $6.25 elsewhere.
Long commuters are the ones that would be most affected.
The second half of that story is that some politicians are saying that we would ONLY save $75. That tells me that those same politicians can not care much that we have ONLY spent $50 more over the last two months if we were an "average" person.
Americans feel entitled to certain things and I am not sure why. Fuel and health care are front and center.
Terri is correct that we do not need to drive monster vehicles. The ones that give me the biggest anxiety are the four wheel drive Dodge RAM trucks that many of the contractors and their employees drive 100 miles an hour on the interstate. These guys drive like they are shielded like a tank and as if they are invincible. There sitting on the back is strapped a ladder and nothing else in the truck and most of the time no passengers.
The speed and offensive driving aside, they are flushing fuel down the toilet!
....that is essentially what it boils down to. We are a country made up of spoiled children. We have become a nation of people who like the freedom of just hopping in our cars and driving where ever we wish to go, from around the block to the pizza joint to cross country to visit friends or explore some wondrous place.
I am as guilty as the next guy. Until gas prices started sky rocketing, I thought nothing of making more then one trip into Concord in one day (a 15 + mile round trip each time). Trains went the way of the dinosaurs because they weren't as convenient as hopping in the car. There are schedules to keep, one would have to plan their trip to Boston around the train schedule. How much more convenient is it to just come and go when you want and/or need? Who wants to share a ride with strangers when we can go in the solitude and comfort of our own cars? New Hampshire is growing by leaps and bounds from the influx of people wanting to experience that solitude and comfort.
This is the mentality of the country we live in. I mean, seriously, do we really need to drive a vehicle that is nearly the size of a small house? Until I start using a bicycle to get around, walk to the pizza joint to get dinner and sell my S.O.'s big truck and boat I won't be complaining about the rising gas prices.
I remember the gas shortages in the 70's. That's when car companies started producing smaller, "compact" cars. I remember my Dad getting a Vega and calling it "the bug" because it was so much smaller than any other car they'd ever owned. Now it would be considered a mid-size car by today's standards. We are a nation that waits until there is a crisis that effects our way of life before we demand changes be made. This spike in gas prices is no different.
Also, those countries that have been around for so much longer then us, have an infrastructure that won't accomodate our big, gas guzzling vehicles. There is more then one reason they drive minis and find other modes of transport. There are plenty of times I think simpler is better. There are even times I think some of God's other creatures are smater then we are because they aren't raping and mutilating Earth; they just take what they need and leave the rest alone.