While driving my daughter to preschool today I passed a gas station that, just yesterday, was selling gas for $3.55 a gallon. Today? $3.70. Where did the 15 cents come from?
I'm actually in an area that's not been hit as bad as others - we've yet to reach over $4 for 87 octane, but I'm not holding my breath that it won't happen in the next couple weeks. I wonder, when's it going to end and why is this happening in the first place?
I mean, as I'm sure all Americans are wondering right now, what the fuck is going on here? Are there no more controls? Are we at the mercy of every CEO who controls energy in this country since the Bush-era arrived to pillage the country into extremis?
Before gas would rise based on "situations" that would invarably be used as excuses. Now I don't even hear anything - just expect it to keep going up. Bend over and take it, America, you're fucked and we're getting rich as hell doing it.
A sign I read the other day stated that gas was about $1.50 a gallon in 2000. While looking over some of my daughter's baby book I noted that we had placed gas at $1.75 a gallon. She is 4 years old. More than a 100% increase in over 4 years.
I wonder where it's going to eventually end. If we had better public transportation here (meaning it would leave early enough so that I wouldn't be late getting to the hospital for rounds) I would have ditched driving a long time ago. As it stands I have to budget a certain amount, fill up to that, and hope I don't have to get gas again for another 7 days. Anymore than $4 a gallon and I don't know what's going to happen to a lot of people commuting. Unemployment will surely rise, the economy will continue to falter and fail, investors will be ruined while the companies they invested in will be "saved" by the gob'mint, and the Bushies will thump their chests, smoke their cigars, watch their children get married in lavish ceremonies, and laugh all the way to the bank.
Monday, May 12, 2008
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3 mortal discussions:
Well it probably will go up ... just did a little calculating, and compared to Germany (and most other european states) I guess you still have it pretty good. For the lowest octane fuel, one gallon in US $ would be approximately 8.48575759 $ :) And that's not the most expensive price I could find, but rather the low end, or maybe the average.
The problem is that our country isn't the size of a single US state like in a good part of Western Europe. I would live closer to work (large East Coast city) if the housing bubble hadn't already made it financially impossible to do so. So I drive 1:15 each way (frequently longer) and live in the suburbs. Our entire country is based on transportation (right or wrong) and maybe this is the beginning of the end of how our cities are "designed". If public transportation wasn't so horrid I would consider using it. The cost of commuting is becoming a bigger and bigger issue, something that will start to sway people's decisions to commute long distances for a good job. Then we will be just like Europe, where people stay in the same crappy job forever and barely leave their home town. Except here we don't have the Mother State tit to suckle and a company can actually let you go on a whim, without the protection of The Government. Oh, and we don't have our 5-6 weeks off in the summer, our 35 hour work weeks, or any of the other googies that the Europeans that I have worked with feel they are entitled to.
-M
@anonymous: Well, for starters, I'm well aware of the fact that the US is much bigger then a single european country. However, my comment wasn't meant to insult you or your country or anything like that, but simply to illustrate that it's very sound to say that the price will go up, not down. (doesn't the US gov't even subsidize fuel or something like that?) Whether that is fair to anyone or suits the US lifestyle (as you portrait it) is a completely different thing. I just think you inaccurate generalizations about europe don't add anything constructive to my comment. 1) I don't know any people who stay in their same job forever, especially when it's crappy . 2) I'd say most europeans leave their towns far more frequently then Americans (prove me wrong! :) ) otherwise that point is just totally ridiculous 3) I believe you're refering to social security here ... 1. varies widely across europe, 2. just maybe run the numbers if you had to live of that money, and then tell me if that would be any comfort to you, not to me, that's for sure. 3) 35 h work week? I don't think so any more, maybe some years ago in the car industry, but not now. every modern good-paying job would be in the 40+ range. And 6 weeks off in the summer is school holidays where I come from, that has nothing to do with work.
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