Stop Complaining About the Price of Gasoline
As the price of gasoline races past $4 a gallon, I hear more and more people complaining about it.
- Some people are saying that they will curtail their vacation plans.
- I have clients who are cutting back on their monthly contributions to their investments.
- Some politicians are suggesting that we tax "big oil" companies, taking away their profits.
- Still more policitians are suggesting that the government have a "tax holiday," as though that would solve any long term issues related to the high cost of gas. (In fairness, this is one area where I agree with Barack Obama, who has said that he does not support a tax holiday on gasoline).
An ABC News Poll suggests that Americans are angry and worried about the price of gasoline. Here are some highlights from the poll:
- 94% said they are dissatisfied with the price of gasoline.
- 75% said that in response to gas prices, they will either spend less on other things, save less, or go into debt to make up the difference.
- 80% said they are worried that the price of gasoline could have long term negative effects on the economy.
- 25% said that they were experiencing serious financial hardship as a result.
- In general, Democrats are more angry about gas prices than Republicans (Democrats are more angry about EVERYTHING than Republicans). Women are more angry than men (again...), and people who live on the east coast are more worried than people who live on the west coast (does that surprise anyone?).
Here is the kicker: that poll was taken in 2005, when the price of gas was averaging $2.61 a gallon!
Now if you're watching a television show, and you don't like the program, you change the channel, or you turn it off. If a concert costs too much money, you don't buy the tickets. If a guy is selling a car for three or four times its book value, you don't gripe about it, you just don't buy it.
If you think the price of gas is too high, then stop buying it. Gas is a commodity like everything else, and the people who are selling it will sell it for as much as they think you will pay for it. And that's okay, there is nothing wrong with making as much profit as possible on a product. They own the gas! It belongs to them, and if they think you will pay $10 a gallon for it, that's what they will charge. The only thing you can do about it is to stop buying it.
The idea of not buying gas is so foreign to most of us, we cannot even fathom living without it. And maybe it is unreasonable to think that we can completely stop buying it. But you can certainly reduce the amount of gas you purchase by 50, 70, or even 90%. How?
1. Find another way to get around. I am seeing more and more people riding the bus, commuting by bicycle, or even walking to their destinations. Even still, drivers act as if the price of gas is under a dollar a gallon. I don't see anyone carpooling. If I told you that the city offers you free rides, nearly around the clock, for a few dollars each week, wouldn't you want to take advantage? If I told you that at the same time you were saving hundreds of dollars a month on gas, you were also getting in shape, and feeling a lot better, and reducing your contribution to air pollution, wouldn't you want to ride your bike to work? If you knew that there were three other people at work who drive the same route as you, at the same time as you, why not carpool?
2. SLOW DOWN. It is a proven fact that the faster you drive, the more gasoline you use. But people are still driving extremely fast, and very aggressively. This isn't NASCAR, people. You don't always have to get there fast. If you would just drive a little slower, you would be buying gas a lot less often.
3. Look for ways to not drive. Sunday night, Davey and I rode our bikes to church. It was only four miles, and we were going to be outside Sunday night anyway, so we figured, "why not?" It was a lot of fun. But many people seemed really surprised to see us pull up on bikes. One person looked at us with this exasperated expression and said, "I could NEVER ride that far." It was four miles! I recently watched a lady get into her car, drive two blocks to the local Subway restaurant, get a sandwich, get back into her car, and drive back to work. TWO BLOCKS! She said she ate at Subway because she was trying to lose weight. I'm not kidding.
4. Get creative with your work schedule. A company in Claremore, just outside Tulsa, has changed its work schedule to four day work weeks. Employees work ten hour days. The owner says that as long as he is getting forty hours out of his people, and his customers are taken care of, it is a win-win. The workers say it has made a huge difference in their budget.
5. Move. Or change jobs. Instead of complaining about the cost of gas, either move closer to work, or get a job that is closer to your house. There was a time when moving or changing jobs was a radical adjustment, just to save money on gas, but no longer. It is getting to the point where most people will not have the luxury of living thirty miles from work. If you are reasonably fit, or have an interest in becoming so, anything under fifteen miles each way is fair game for a bicycle commute. Living in the city means you have public transportation available. Take the bus, or the train.
6. Carpool. If you can get three friends to share the ride with you, you just reduced your dependence on gas by nearly 75%.
The way to reduce the price of gas is to reduce your dependence on it.
In fact, it is the only real way to do it. If politicians want to give Americans relief at the pump, they need to make public transportation more accessible, create safe bicycle lanes on major streets, and give tax breaks to people who don't drive.
Reduced demand means reduced cost.
The cool thing is that by the time that cost and demand fall in line with each other, people may not care. They will be so happy, thin, and rich that they won't want to go back to cars.
What do you think?
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7/4/2008 3:24 AM
air pollution statistics wrote:
[...] week of activities to teach you just that. Next week is Healthy Air Living Week, devised by the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District to motivate individuals and businesses to investigate ways to pick away at their daily air [...]
Sounds good to me. I don't know why folks expect our government to help. It just makes no sense. Seems that too many Americans don't like to sacrifice or change their lifestyles. It's pretty simple really. Thanks for the good advice.
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Jason
Excellent post. I lived in Europe when I was a kid. One thing that still amazes me to this day was that you could live there and never need a car. Either by bus or train you could go to your destination and not have to walk more than a couple of blocks.
If prices go higher, there will be a major paradigm shift in our country. I don't believe it has happened yet, but when it does, we might begin to explore some of your suggestions including a train system that would take people from outside Tulsa or OKC at fast rates to a main station that would offer transportation throughout the city.
I might also add that the side walks also had bike lanes that people frequently used. You could also take your bike on the train if you wanted to explore a certain part of the city.
Anyways, you are dead on with this post.
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Jason,
I may be getting into the realm of "you done quit preaching and gone to meddling..." but what about our driving habits on Sunday? Is it really necessary to drive past 5 to 8 other baptist churches (or methodist or whatever denomination you are) to get to that popular, really happening church? Could we not get the gospel a lot closer to where we actually live?
I think if we did some research we'd find that the idea that only a certain style of church(usually mega church) will make people happy is a relatively recent idea.
As John Maxwell likes to say, just a thought!
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I ride my bike to Church, 26 miles round trip, we only have agout 125 per Sunday. Even though gas only cost 0.90 cents a gallon, I have only used about six gallons in the last two weeks. I ride 40 + miles round to work and it is about 12 mile one way to Wild Oats. A hair cut is 3 mile and Reasors is 4 miles one way. Pyramid Food and Farrell Family Bread are less than 4 miles round trip.
You do a lot on a bicycle. Dave
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hmmm. Interesting hypothesis. I am disabled after three brain surgeries and though I would love to ride a bike I can't. In fact, I would love to drive a car, and can't. I have theories about commuters, etc...because I once was one in both Dallas and Chicago, but I think people have to do what is best for their families. Carpooling is great if you can find a few folks with the same schedule but that is not as common as you might think if you live in a small town. And yes the bus is a great idea if they run on time or if there is a shelter of some sort. Cities are well-equipped for public transportation, helping the disabled, but it's a real challenge in smaller communities because there is usually a lack of funding. I'm really thankful my parents have been able to drive me where I've needed to go.
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You're right, Tera, people have to do what is best for them. It is true that the smaller the town, the fewer the opportunities for alternative transportation, although from my own experience, I found that living in a small town made it much easier to commute by walking, cycling, etc. For those people I knew who were confined to a wheelchair, for example, being in a small town made it easier for them to get around without the use of a car, bus, bicycle, etc. I have a friend who has been blind since he was a child, and being in a big city makes it easier for him to get around using public transportation. It is all up to the individual and that person's needs.
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I started riding the bus when gas went over $4. My first day on the bus I had nothing better to do, so I figured out my savings. I save $14 every day that I take the bus. In addition, I now have 2 hours each morning and afternoon to do some leisure reading that I wouldn't do at home or in my car if I were driving. The bus has been a mostly positive experience for me.
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That's a lot of time to spend on the bus, Jake, but I admire you for doing it. How long is your commute, in terms of miles? LA is such a perfect bicycle town, you should consider riding to work. Save money, have fun, lose weight. Its a perfect tri-fecta!
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My commute is 20 miles. It takes an hour to drive it (God bless LA traffic), so 2 hours on the bus isn't unexpected especially since there is major construction along the route.
Biking 20 miles each way may be no big deal for you and Lance Armstrong, but right now I am getting as much exercise as I can handle walking the half mile from my house to the bus stop and from the bus stop to my church. And, in 3 weeks of bus riding my clothes are fitting better already.
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