--- Rick Lindsay <rick@stoolhead.com> wrote:
> Personally, I feel that we should not be whineing.
> Do the math: That makes the operating
> cost difference only a whopping $534, or $1.46 a
day.
> Americans have SOOOO much of just about
> everything...
Who has so much of everything? You? Forgive me Rick,
but you apparently own a Ferrari AND a Corvette AND a
Suburban AND an MG (and who knows what else). You're
not really the average American.
> the ONLY way to change our habits is to get
> strongly into our wallets. Can you do that
> with taxes? Yes, but that is ugly.
And it's also patently unfair. Taxes on things like
fuel mean a heck of a lot more to the poor than they
do to the rich. Granted, most of us on this list are
lucky to have the disposable income to play with our
cars. Some are more affluent than others. But there
is a huge swath of the American public to whom $500 or
$600 a year is significant money. Many of them are
hard working people who need to drive a lot to get to
work, take care of family, etc.
The way our economy is structured, rising fuel prices
(or fuel prices which are artificially inflated) can
have a devastating effect on this ever-growing segment
of the population. With increasing economic
stratification, the "haves" are very rarely
sympathetic to the plight of the "have nots"...
So I would be very careful about calling concern over
rapidly increasing fuel costs "whining." It may be
insignificant to you and I, but it's NOT insignifcant
to a lot of hard-working Americans.
We have very little alternative transportation in this
country. Very little public transportation, very few
options for coving distances efficiently, other than
cars. The eventual move away from our
hyper-dependance on fossil fuels is inevitible, so why
fight it?
=====
Paul Misencik - 1971 MGB - www.sopwithracing.com
THE CAROLINA TROPHY - 2005
A vintage driving event in the spirit
of the Mille Miglia, Rallye des Alpes,
and Colorado Grand.
See www.carolinatrophy.com for details.
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