I have been reading about how people are having to use their food budget just to get to work now days. Some are purchasing bikes to make a 5 mile ride each way to work. I guess they are not banking on rain, sleet, snow or heat. It is causing people to stop contributing to their 401k's and Ira's. Some are quiting there jobs where it doesn't make sense between fuel and rising child care cost that can be $250.00 per child per week!
Last year I purchased a 2006 Nissan 350z. I love the car but didn't realize that you have to purchase higher octane fuel to keep the engine running without a clang. So when I started fueling it, the cost would be around $58.00. I could hang, but then the prices are sky rocketing at a faster pace each day. Now it cost me over $75.00 to fill up. I am just glad I didn't decide to go more eco friendly and choose deisel.
Speaking of deisel, the rise of this is causing some truckers to lose any sort of margin they were making before. Some were seeing 25% profit margin prior and now are scraping by on 5%. This causes the trucking industry to park there trucks and raise the price of shipping goods. In turn affects our food supply and restaraunts to charge more for these foods.
The airline industry is another to have a major hit. One of the biggest airliners spent $2 billion in the year 2004 on jet fuel. This year they are expecting to hit $8 billion. That is four times what the industry is use to paying and have no room because of competition causing the lowest fares we have ever seen as consumers. So what is happening now is the competition is based on who loses the least amount of dollars after that quarter. Because of this 8 airlines have gone bankrupt just in 2008. 5 of which will never come back to life and 3 that restructured.
I could go on and describe how it affects every industry but, the point to all of my ramblings is that we as Americans are very unsure on what the answer to this problem may be. The presidential candidates are shouting a gas tax holiday. I think that this may help but not be the end all be all resolution. But may'be if we do everything we can do it may add up to lower gas prices at the pump.
In a Rasmussen report, they are currently showing 46% of voters to favor this federal gas tax holiday this summer. What we really need is for all Americans to participate on Political Majority.com and vote on this issue. If everyone voted, it would allow congress to better see the importance whether the collective of Americans is for or against such movement.
