Gasbuddy.com has a map which shows gasoline prices, by county, for the whole country.
Yeah, gasoline prices have skyrocketed in the last year. Yeah, I've noticed, and so have you. And yes, that means I have less money to spend on other stuff. And, yes, finally, I don't like it. But I haven't mentioned it to anyone, because I am a big boy and, if it's a real problem, maybe I could drive less.
All of that being said, let's clarify a few things for all of you damn whiners out there:
1. Don't expect your elected officials to do a thing to help you. They can't. Gov. Blago could push through a temporary cut in the state's gasoline tax in a snap, but the truth is, Rod needs those revenues to fill some big holes in the state's budget.
2. Gas prices are not going down below $2.00 / gallon again anytime soon, if ever.
3. Gas prices are still a very, very small fraction of most people's budget. If you drive 12,000 miles per year, and your car gets 20 miles per gallon, a fifty cent ($0.50) per gallon increase in price costs you an additional $300 per year. To put that in perspective, you probably spend eight times that much ($2400) or more per year for gas & electric to your home. If you took a family of 4 to Great America for the day, you would spend at least that much, if not more.
4. Sure oil companies make big profits; they are immense, worldwide organizations with billions in sales. So do lots of other companies; should we investigate all of them, too? Last time I checked (just last week), we are a CAPITALIST society and economy.
5. High gas prices are good in the long run, as they will (a) spur oil companies to work harder to develop hard to access oil reserves, (b) encourage people to conserve and auto makers to innovate, and (c) encourage development and refinement of alternative fuels.
Any questions?
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4 comments:
On your point 3, you haven't taken into account the impact of higher gas prices on food production and transportation. It will have a profound impact on me and others like me who live on tightly fixed incomes.
Not that I'm panicking. I've already planted a pretty diverse garden, & I know how to cook pigeon (snobs call it "squab"), squirrel, & possum. And maybe cat. ;-)
Nice. Actually, anyone (me) with any sense invested heavily in oil at the start of the Iraq war and has seen seen them go up 70 points. That WAY MORE than offsets the few more dollars a week I pay in gas. Ka. Ching. So? Off to Camp Quitchabitchin witcha.
And yes po white boys would happily mow your lawn for a few bucks of there were 40 mexicans already doing it and skipping out without paying taxes.
Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot.
Yes, Leucanthemum, there are some indirect trickle-down effects, and I am not trying to suggest that higher gas prices won't impact all of us, and especially those on fixed incomes.
As far as that goes, LOTS of things could increase in price, and it would have SOME effect. My point is that gasoline is just one thing we buy of manny, and that, all in all, for most people, the additional cost is not a large part of their budget.
Andy T: NEXT time get me your investment advice earlier. Damn it, after listening to John F. Kerry, I invested in HALIBURTON. :-)
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