snip>Ok first I want to say that my only expense is insurance and gas because I am
spoiled, I guess, and still live with my mom, and I only have a 4cyl, but
what is up with the complaining about the prices.>>snip
In reply to your original post and topic, it is perfectly acceptable and it should be EXPECTED for people to complain about gas prices. Reason being, there a lot of people in this country and around the world that arent fortunate enough to only have insurance and gas to pay for.
I am 22 years old. I dont have a college degree yet, and a big part of the reason I dont is because I dont have any money. I've had a job since I turned 16- pizza joints, WallyWorld, office jobs, hotels, and now temp agencies. When you have more than gas and insurance to pay for, you'll realize there is a lot more in life you need to shell out money to. And when you arent lucky or fortunate enough to find a good job, you are stuck with the crappy ones that pay as much as the pizza joints and hotels. Money like that doesnt pay bills. So you have to work more than one job. I live in an area of the country that does not want you unless you aer college educated or in the country on a visa so you can work cheap. And every where I have lived, there is not adequate public transportation or nothing is within walking distance. Means you have to drive. Dont get me wrong, if you can walk to work or use public transportation, DO. Hell, less miles and time in your Dak just mean!
s you'll have it that many more years.
This is the first week in over 5 months, I have not had to use ashtray change to buy gallon of gas so I can get to work. The last time I was able to stop in and visit your coworkers in the burger joint was sometime last summer. And I cant remember the last time I shopped at a Walmart. I am not poor by government standards and I do not live beyond my means. I am just trying to get by day to day, trying to save some for tomorrow.
We live in a country and a time where where we have grown dependant on our vehicles. The United States CANNOT stop driving. We live to far from work, we work too much, and we wouldnt want to stop if we could. We know darn well that the oil companies are the ones making all the money. We know they have plenty of gas. 50% of US oil is controled by OPEC and they decide how much per gallon we are going to pay. Only too many people are willing to pay these prices. Too many people are not willing or even want to speak out against what is obviously greed, because if they spoke out, they would have to fear others that would speak against them.
When I complain that gas is costing me 20 more cents per gallon than it did last month, I am not just complaining on a matter of principle. I am complaining because that extra $20 a month is why I cant buy groceries when I am hungry. And it was perfectly acceptable when my 76 year old grandmother complained about electricity costs each summer because it was cutting into her medicine bills. And when she had to turn the AC off, you know what it did? Made her more sick...which made her need more medicine.
Is conservation the answer? Not entirely, but it certainly does help. Conservation alone is not the answer though. We need more oil. We need more alternative energy sources. We need more control over what we pay for our gas instead of having the hands of OPEC helping themselves to our wallets. We need politicians that dont lie, and taxes to be lowered. But I guess I am talking out my ass now....We all know those things will never happen.
In the meantime, to everyone like me who lives paycheck to paycheck and a little behind at times too, just remember to live so that you can look at yourself in the mirror each morning. Sorry for the rant, its been one of those days. Thats all the 2 cents I can afford.
Mike S.
http://www.geocities.com/geek_farm/truck.html
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