It has been said before that there is "nothing new under the sun" and this is true with the current price of gasoline. We have been here before, and we will be again. For as long as I can remember, the cost for a gallon of gas has been a political football, a constant gripe from consumers, cage rattling from OPEC, a source of material for comedians, and pundits placing blame. We are not drilling enough, China and Russia are buying more, so it is supply and demand. The oil companies are gouging us and Congress should hold hearings to find out what is happening. And, of course, in an election year there are candidates who will make sure that we have gas for $2.50 a gallon and an effective energy policy. But, it seems that everybody is missing the most important cause; the consumer!
Yes, in a free-market economy, some or all of the above can be factors in the rise and fall of prices. I have had courses in macro and micro economics and can see that supply and demand is an important part of all pricing, including gasoline. But, I also see that we as consumers are gluttons for petroleum. Weather it is more plastic crap or fuel, we squander our resources. We can either continue to bitch about it, or, change our habits.
Americans, by and large, like to have one car with one driver and want to go wherever we want, when we want. We do not car-pool nearly enough, or strategically plan our shopping trips to minimize trip length. We warm our cars up for too long, use air conditioning at the first sign of warmth, and drive short distances rather than walk or wait for what we want. And, we continue to buy cars and small trucks that get less than 20 miles a gallon.If you are one of the drivers that do all of the right things, congratulations! You are in the minority however.
So for now, we will listen to the fear-mongers telling us that gas will be x dollars by whenever. But we really have the drivers seat if we just stop using so much gasoline. Just s thought...
Yes, in a free-market economy, some or all of the above can be factors in the rise and fall of prices. I have had courses in macro and micro economics and can see that supply and demand is an important part of all pricing, including gasoline. But, I also see that we as consumers are gluttons for petroleum. Weather it is more plastic crap or fuel, we squander our resources. We can either continue to bitch about it, or, change our habits.
Americans, by and large, like to have one car with one driver and want to go wherever we want, when we want. We do not car-pool nearly enough, or strategically plan our shopping trips to minimize trip length. We warm our cars up for too long, use air conditioning at the first sign of warmth, and drive short distances rather than walk or wait for what we want. And, we continue to buy cars and small trucks that get less than 20 miles a gallon.If you are one of the drivers that do all of the right things, congratulations! You are in the minority however.
So for now, we will listen to the fear-mongers telling us that gas will be x dollars by whenever. But we really have the drivers seat if we just stop using so much gasoline. Just s thought...
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