The high price of consumerism

The news programs seem to be obsessed with the high price of gasoline this morning – expected to reach $4/gallon by Memorial Day weekend in some places. On Fox and Friends, they reported that a convenience store owner has suspended selling gasoline at his business because of the recent price hike. How noble. He’s probably on the right track, though.

Everyone knows that commodity prices are dependent on supply-and-demand, but apparently, no one wants to admit that one of the major reasons fuel prices remain high is that Americans don’t want to curb their driving habits not one bit. Even my hippie neighbor with the “No Blood For Oil” sign in his window hasn’t walked the five minutes it takes to get the subway station since he moved here.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m no rabid conservationist who’ll preach about evil Big Oil and conspiracies between Cheney and Haliburton to suck our spear change out of our pockets, but I’m just tired of hearing from people who are too well-off to use public transportation instead of navigating their two-and-a-half-ton SUVs through bumper-to-bumper traffic five-days-a-week that they can’t afford $4/gallon for their fuel needs. Besides, I own oil stocks, so I’m profiting from this rabid consumerism. Thank you very much.

I work thirteen miles from my home, a few blocks from the Capitol Building – about an hour-and-a-half-hour drive during rush hour. That’s why I moved next to the subway station. I commute 20 times a month and there’s no way I want to spend 60 hours every month driving – plus pay the $185 parking fees. Riding the subway costs me about $120/month and takes about 30 minutes each way – 20 hours/month compared to the alternative of 60 hours of driving time. And I’m in a much better mood when I get home than I would be if I drove through that third world, lawless place the rest of you know as Washington, DC.  

Despite the high cost of gas, none of my neighbors have changed their commuting habits. They still drive as much as they always have and no one seems to recognize that their continued willingness to pay more than they paid before only encourages even higher prices. The streets around here are constantly jammed with traffic – where all of these people are going at 9 o’clock on Sunday morning is beyond me.

The convenience store owner in Wisconsin who stopped selling gas at higher prices almost understands unbridled consumerism. Selling less gas would probably drive the price down, but his former customers are just going somewhere else to buy their fuel, so, no matter how well-intentioned he might be, he’s just missing out on fat profits – unless, of course, he’s expecting higher prices and he’s hoarding the gas he bought at current prices to sell at the higher price later.

The only thing consumers can do to drive down fuel prices, is to drive less. I know it’s easier to rage against the oil companies or President Bush, or Congress (see the Bill Gertz story below) or the Democrat candidates and their private jets – but that’s not particularly useful. Be like me – buy oil stock and sit at home complaining about others’ bad behavior on your own blog. 

I’m just saying; if you’re not willing to drive less, quit yapping about the price of gas.

Category: Society