Panic in the Streets!

No, I'm not speaking of the civil unrest in New Orleans, although that is certainly blog fodder that could keep me busy well into the twenty-second century...…

I was referring to gasoline prices. I'm so sick and tired of reading articles about how 'high gas prices are not slowing motorists'. I dispute this assessment, and furthermore, would like to suggest these articles are flawed, premature or blatant lies propagated by the current administration.

For a thoughtful discussion on what can be done about the situation, try starting with this article from the Boston Globe: A Fit of (Oil) Peak.

First off, it will take some time to be able to quantify the consumers that are changing their gas-using habits. It takes time to post the sales of fuel-efficient cars vs. gas-guzzlers, chart the decreased demand of gasoline at higher prices due to consumers' efforts at conservation, and judge it against historic trends.

Secondly, as evidenced in my area, public transportation is not a viable option for many workers. This could take years to change, leaving carpooling the only recourse. Like, wait til 2030. By then, they whole earth will be one big concrete slab. Just the other day, Mr. Right asked me at what point I would take up carpooling. As soon as I feel like risking life and limb to get into a car with you every morning, I replied.

Even with hurricane Katrina shutting down refineries, the panic is mostly one of perception. Only about 11% of our crude was from sources affected by the storm. With the oil reserve, there is no reason to see 11% pump price increases or shortages.

Can it all be a government plot to push through more drilling in national parks and refineries in our back yard? Not as impossible as one might suspect. (Just give me some time and I'll be able to put forth a conspiracy theory about how the current administration was responsible for the storm, as well.)

I for one have not driven this holiday weekend, and am taking a wait-and-see approach to gas prices. The president himself suggested buying gas this weekend only if needed, as some stations are running dry. As usual, it's Marie Antoinette telling us to eat cake.

He has a point, as panic buying is a silly feature of the human psyche. Ace Hardware reports sales of gas cans are up an incredible percentage over this time last year. Can't wait to see how many fires are attributed to this little hoarding scheme. As I mentioned in an earlier post regarding my desire for the car marked with a 'sold' sign, nothing boosts demand like perceived shortage. As an interesting aside, stations traditionally offering the lowest price gas, may now have the highest, and vice versa, due to independents buying on the open market and many large chains using contract pricing. At any rate, stations increasing the price several times a day is just greed. They pay a set rate to fill the tanks, and when the tanker comes for the next refill is the only time the prices should change.

What of the flip side? What if everyone did conserve gas? At what point would the powers-that-be penalize you for it? Taxes create revenue, and in Chicago, the gas is taxed at a very high rate compared to the national average. When would this spill over to increased tax rates to make up the shortfall; whether that is by taxing gas further, or branching out and creating new taxes on water, vegetables, or air? Can the H2Only for Revenue tax be far behind? The Healthy Eating tax? Lord knows vegetarians live longer and deplete social services further than a good old fashioned life-ending heart attack at 52.

Ridiculous? What of the Oregon and Washington proposal of mileage tax? Other states are not far behind. We need to fight these proposals now.

As an aside, I'd like to point out that this is the second large-scale crisis to confront the W. adminstration, which only leads me to envision a self-satisfied Bill Clinton laughing gleefully. I recall a quote after 9/11 in which a Republican reported hearing many citizens say, 'I'm so glad George W. Bush is in office during this trying time.'

To which I reply: those citizens were named Bill and Hillary.

For some insightful posts regarding Hurricane Katrina, politics, movies and culture in general, I'd like to recommend the blog 'News on the March' by KaneCitizen. This well-written, extremely entertaining missive is not to be missed. In fact, I hesitate to endorse it in the fears that all three of my readers (including my mother) will bookmark that site and abandon mine. But one must give credit where it is due, so please check out that corner of the blogosphere as well!