X-Sieve: CMU Sieve 2.2
Date: Mon, 08 Aug 2005 07:15:31 -0700
From: rick tait <rickt@xxxxxxxxx>
Subject: gas prices
To: dave@xxxxxxxxxx
Dave:
I'm sure I will be corrected to some degree by the fine readers of
IP, but as a European living here in the US for more than a decade, I
get mightily ticked off when I hear Americans carping on about the
price of gas. How can people get pissy about gas "being expensive" when:
- it has not really tracked regular inflationary costs since the 1950s
- the at-pump price has been, and continues to be artificially
reduced by government intervention
For all the "free-market values" that are espoused by the pro-gas
(Republican) administrations, I find it to be a true case of the pot
calling the kettle black. The fact is America has over the last 50
years put itself in a position of being utterly and completely
reliant on artificially lowered gasoline prices, to the extent that
if gasoline actually "cost" what it *should* cost (i.e. if government
support was removed) then an economic catastrophe would occur:
- airlines (already on shaky ground at best, and receivers of immense
amounts of governmental "subsidies"/loans) would no longer be able to
balance their books, and almost immediately declare bankruptcy
- the US' impressive and massive goods-transport system would no
longer be able to support itself (one example: think of how much a
"normal" gasoline/diesel price would affect Walmart's *vast*
transportation costs
- the US's automotive manufacturing industry would collapse
(manufacturing/transportation costs alone might do it, but think of
how fewer new cars/SUVs/trucks would be sold)
We got ourselves into this mess. Now how do we get out of it?
RMT.