High prices wreck our economic climate, and the increases really
hit those at lower income levels hardest. Alternative fuels are key
to our future
Gasoline is expensive. That’s bad for the economy for many reasons. A dollar spent on gasoline doesn’t churn in the economy as much as a dollar spent at a restaurant, at the grocery store or for clothing. In addition, high gasoline prices fuel inflation throughout the economy.
Gasoline is expensive. That’s bad for the economy for many reasons. A dollar spent on gasoline doesn’t churn in the economy as much as a dollar spent at a restaurant, at the grocery store or for clothing. In addition, high gasoline prices fuel inflation throughout the economy.
But most of all, high gasoline prices put pressure on low-wage earners. In the Bay Area, for example, housing prices are cheapest on the fringes of the region, where public transportation service is rare or nonexistent. So, the low-wage earner forced to buy a house in Los Banos or Tracy in order to afford a home now has the additional pressure of paying ever-spiraling prices for gas for that 45-minute or longer commute.
Short-term fixes are few, but we can think of one: Government taxes should be capped on gasoline. President Bush on the federal level and Gov. Schwarzenegger on the state level should issue executive orders capping (not eliminating) gasoline taxes.
Long term, we sorely need leadership. We urge President Bush to take a page from President John Kennedy’s playbook and issue a challenge to the nation, modeled after Kennedy’s challenge to put a man on the moon, to find a viable alternative to gasoline for fueling automobiles.
In addition, it’s clear that we need to revisit deregulation that has led to so many mergers among oil companies and refiners that competition has been reduced.
We can raise standards to force automobile manufacturers to produce more fuel-efficient vehicles. But there’s a practical limit to how efficient an internal combustion gasoline engine can become, and it gets more and more expensive to gain smaller and smaller degrees of efficiency.
Some people can walk to grocery stores, doctor appointments, school or work. Others can bicycle or take public transportation. But in our automobile-based society, many are forced to drive. There’s no way to fix that situation quickly.
So it’s clear that we must find an alternative fuel. President Bush, challenge the nation. Make it clear that it’s a matter of national and financial security. Make it a matter of national pride.
