World Affairs Brief, May 30, 2008. Commentary and Insights on a Troubled World.
Copyright Joel Skousen. Partial quotations with attribution permitted. Cite source as Joel Skousen’s World Affairs Brief.
HOW TO ADAPT TO HIGH GAS PRICES AS THEY IMPACT THE ECONOMY
In one of the most outrageous examples of price gouging ever witnessed, fuel prices have risen almost 10 cents per gallon per week now for more than a month. The American consumer is being held hostage to an economic and personal lifestyle that was established a century ago based upon an abundance of cheap oil and is now locked into our economic infrastructure. Most people have no ability to escape what is now upon us and getting worse. All of our cities are developed around the commuting lifestyle, allowing Americans to live in rural or suburban openness to escape pollution and city overcrowding. We travel long distances on fast freeways to get to work and none of that can be changed quickly. We never did like the European style of city living, with millions crammed into high rise city apartments, with gas prices so high that only the wealthy could afford a personal vehicle. But now it appears the Powers That Be are forcing that urban lifestyle upon us: mass transportation, high density urban dwellings, water rationing, zero-scape yards, and runaway inflation. We have a duty to both resist and adapt. This week, I’ll give some practical tips on how to adapt to avoid some of the pain.