A Nest in a Tree of Trust and Understanding

The recent hubbub concerning high gas prices strikes me as a bit ridiculous on many levels. As noted in an article by Gregg Easterbrook of The New Republic, gas prices are only catastrophically high when not paying attention to inflation. In real dollars, gas prices were $2.80 in 1981, significantly higher than today’s rate. In fact, in the 50s, which many considered “Energy Heaven,” prices were $1.80 in real dollars, not that much lower than today’s prices. Combined with today’s automobiles consuming much less fuel per gallon, gasoline is still at a much lower percentage of income than at most points in the last 50 years.

But even though the facts state that gasoline isn’t that expensive (a gallon of drinking water isn’t even that much less than gasoline), is that even a good thing? What would happen if gasoline prices doubled to $4 per gallon, a price that is more indicative of what other developed countries pay at the pump.

Consumers would likely drive less: the environment and infrastructure (in the way of roads and bridges) benefit. Maybe it forces a few more people to walk instead of driving the half-mile to the grocery store. Again, maybe not such a bad result for the increasingly obese society in which we live. In the long-term, more focus would need to occur to update and increase the capacity of our public transportation systems. That all sounds pretty good to me.

So just remember this article the next time your being inundated with all this American bicentennial Fourth Of July brouhaha, don't forget what you're celebrating, and that's the fact that a bunch of slave-owning, aristocratic, white males didn't want to pay their taxes.

http://www.tnr.com/easterbrook.mhtml?week=2004-03-02

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