Fight rising gas prices

[cfaustus]

Just had to throw my two cents in here because I saw so many people citing the fact that other things have increased in price more than gas has. Gasoline prices are one of the major tools economists use to tweak the economy. Why? Because the cost of everything else is related to it. Want people to stop spending money and start saving it? Well, the theory has been that if you bump up costs then people will stop buying everything but the essentials. How does everything get tot he store? How do all the parts and resources to make things get to the factories? They are transported using oil based fuel. And that is just the transportation costs. Think of all the petroleum based fuels burned to provide the energy needed to make the products! Or the cost of the materials of the products themselves (A lot of plastic is petroleum based and it goes into almost EVERYTHING!)Increase the cost of fuel and the cost of almost every produced good increases as well. When old Greenespan bumped up gas prices 4 years ago, that is exactly what he was trying to do. He thought that by decreasing spending he could reset the economy. The problem is, he over-corrected and sent the whole thing into a spiral. Add to that the fact that most Americans just put themselves into credit card debt rather than not have the luxory's which they think it is their God given right to have, and all of a sudden it becomes clear that this sort of economic policy does not make sense. Leave prices alone and let the market work itself out. If the market is allowed to run its own course then the plan of not buying Exxon/Mobil will work, but the government might just subsidise them thereby nullifying our 'consumer vote'. I am all for trying it, because we have to do something, but ultimately the only solution will be when we are able to detach ourselves from the yolk of the gas companies by driving more efficient or non-oil burning cars, by using more mass transportation and by not buying every little gadget or trinket our hearts desire just to keep up with the Joneses. The way we are heading, this may never happen until all the oil is gone.

So sure, bread costs more, etc etc but a large part of that is due to the cost of the fuels consumed in producing the other items we buy.