prices have been through the roof lately, as i'm sure you obviously already know. I noticed it went down to $3.75 today and i got kind of excited. i remember three years ago Drew, Luke, Mark and myself took a road trip out to California. the price of gas then was around $2.50 in minnesota and most of the way out there. give or take a few cents. i remember when we got to Malibu we found that gas was over $3 a gallon and we were out of our minds that it was that high. Never would i have guessed we would be paying about $4 a gallon for gas.
i've been parinoid about gas lately because of my new truck. which gets pretty good gas milage for a truck. 22 mpg. but it still takes $70 to fill the tank. quite the dent in my wallet. but i was thinking this afternoon how we hate the price of gas. i keep hearing people ask, "how can those big shot oil bastards keep raising the price of gas? aren't they rich enough already?" i myself was one of these people asking that question. (and i do know gas prices are up because a single barrel of oil costs like $120) BUT, aren't we kind of getting what we've been asking for since the whole global warming issue came up a few years ago? i mean, america has been begging people to take the bus/subway/car pool for the last few years. right? when gas was cheaper people drove to work alone, didn't even consider taking the bus or subway. right? well what if that's ACTUALLY the whole idea behind the high gas prices?! what if the government (or oil companies) saw how much Americans were consuming so they decided to do something about it. what if this has been their plan (gradually raising gas prices) the whole time to force more people to be smart about traveling?
so even though it really sucks paying $70 to fill my gas tank, it has certianly forced me to AT LEAST thing of alternative ways to work, and has made me think twice about taking unnecessary trips. it has forced me to make the most of my gas. and i'm sure i'm not the only one. god help us if i am. but this IS kind of what we americans have been asking for, isn't it?!
also, thinking of that same idea, cigarette prices are at an all time high as well. probably to get people to stop smoking. however, i'm not sure that i agree with this. smoking is bad for your health, yes, but still who is anyone to tell me what i can and cannot put into my body? i saw on the news yesterday that in one place (i can't remember where exactly, California somewhere i think) that the price of a pack of cigarettes was $8 a pack. i don't know, i just don't like the idea of somebody else telling me (or strongly suggesting) what is right for me to eat, drink, smoke, etc. if a guy has a hard day at work and wants a smoke, i say have your smoke. but, it is what it is right now, and i bet smokers are at least smoking their cigarettes more slowly, eh?
2 comments:
I suspect that the reason for higher taxation on smoking is the reaction to solidifying evidence of its adverse health effects. People who develop respiratory diseases and cancers tend to be a drain on the health care system in general (which includes nonsmokers), and raising cigarette prices puts some of the financial burden back on the individuals who made that decision.
My 2¢
I'm thinking of starting one of these- they're pretty cool. I bet it's a bummer to update them though huh?
actually it's kind of fun updating them. i think so anyway. i think you should start one. if you do i'd read it. let me know.
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