It’s Getting Serious…
I pulled up to the Kitty Hawk 7-11 this morning and paid $3.49 for gas and up the road I saw that it was $3.55/gallon. Last year at this time, it was approximately $2.86 per gallon. That is CRAZY! But not as crazy as the Nation’s leader for high gas prices, California with a whopping $3.87/gallon (San Francisco is the highest city in the Country with $3.97/gallon). It has gotten so bad these days that the average price to fill up in SUV a couple years ago ($40.00) is now the price to fill up a “fuel-effecent” car (for example the Prius).
The reason I am choosing the gas topic today is because there are a lot of people out there in America that are suffering a lot of hardship from the rising gas prices. On the news, they were highlighting lower-class families that are going through a “Great Depression” like state. They are having to devote so much money to gas now that their budgets are unravelling thus causing less money in their grocery and bill money to maintain and run their families and households.There are those who will read this and think I am crazy, that people make enough money to support themselves, their families, and provide gas for their transportation to and from work, but that’s not true. There are still people who get paid minimum wage (I know for those of you on the OBX minimum wage is unheard of, but it still happens) and minimum wage is not enough, even if a person works two jobs paying minimum wage. Americans who live in cities have a loophole around this hardship – public transportation! But for those who live places where public buses, subways, taxis etc. are not provided they are going to continue the downward spiral. On CNN.COM/MONEY there are several testimonies from people across the Country about the hardships they are enduring from the high gas prices (check it out if you have time).
With the high rise in gas prices most family summer road trips and vacations will probably be cut short because the funds for family fun are now being tapped into for gas.
Please note, I am not saying that this is going to get as bad as the Great Depression, I am just saying that people are suffering and people in desperate situations will take desperate actions….For example the $2/gallon gas prices have been luring truck drives across the border(s)….
If Bush does not want the Country to fall apart more than it already has, he may want to do something soon about the sky rocketing gas prices or the patheticly low minimum wage people are getting paid. The two are not equaling out. November can’t come soon enough (but that’s a whole ‘nother blog)!!!
Please reaize how lucky you are to have the resources you have and remember, any step you can towards being GREEN do it. Obviously we can’t all go buy hybrids but lets start with small steps like recycling.
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