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Gas prices are going up. Again. So what?
Here’s the thing about rising gas prices - we still pay them. I still pay them, in some form. And truthfully, I’m done talking about rising gas prices, because I’m comfortable with my gas consumption and the costs associated with it. But I also don’t drive a car much these days, and people who drive a lot seem to be more upset about rising gas prices than anyone else.
What do rising gas prices have to do with personal development? Plenty. Because if you react negatively to rising gas prices that might give you insight to how you react in other situations too.
Do You Complain?
We don’t need as much gas as we consume to survive. Water definitely, food comes second, shelter is pretty nice too. But gas? Not so much.
We already know this, right? So what gets to me is people who complain about the prices of gas and then line up at the pump to pay them. Doesn’t make sense, when there are alternatives to driving your car everywhere, the least utilized of which are attached to the lower half of your body. For other cheap alternatives, try biking, skateboarding, roller blading, carpools, scooters, buses, trains, and planes. Some may still use gas, but the cost is lower or split.
And really, we complain because we think it’s justified. In all aspects of life, not just rising gas prices. But if we were justified in our complaints then we would have good reason to stop buying gas. Since we keep buying it, rising gas prices isn’t a good enough reason yet. Maybe when it hits $10 a gallon?
Do You Blame?
Who is responsible for rising gas prices? The government? Bush? The war on Iraq? SUV owners? Greedy gas companies?
I’m no economist, but I don’t think any of them are truly to blame for gas prices. We love to point fingers at others when things go wrong, but sometimes the problem is ourselves. So maybe the person to blame for rising gas prices is you. And him, and her, and me. Because each of us has the power to lower gas prices; we just lower our demand for it. For anyone who has studied even basic microeconomics, lower demand = higher supply = lower prices.
So shift the curves, not the blame. The beauty of free markets is the power lies with the people.
Do You Make Excuses?
Every time I talk about commuting or public transportation, I get people telling me reasons about why they can’t make the switch. Like their town doesn’t have public transportation, or their job/home is not on a public transportation route.
Here’s my response to those excuses: Move. Or change jobs. Because frankly, we each have our priorities, and excuses are for people who want to pretend something is a priority for them when it really isn’t. And if commuting costs are truly a priority, people have factored that into their work/life choices already, right?
So if using less gas is not a priority for you, that’s okay. Just admit it yourself. And stop worrying so much about what other people think. Be honest with yourself and others about why you chose whatever else you did over using less gas, because that something is probably important to you, and part of growing is knowing where your priorities lie.
Want lower gas prices? Do something about it. It may just help you succeed in other areas of your life too, like if you get stuck on an escalator.
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5 RESPONSES TO "LEARN ABOUT YOURSELF FROM RISING GAS PRICES"
To complain or not to complain? I don't have a car, I live in a city with adequate public trans, so I don't plan on getting one any time soon.
The problem is that the free markets were not made for the people, they're for the money. The money. The money. This means that at every step of the road, companies will move to create more profit, no matter the costs, because the only cost is money.
High gas prices means higher prices for everything else, due to the asinine way that we buy and transport goods. The bread that we buy in the store is trucked in from hundreds of miles away, which costs alot of gas, so the bread company in turn raises prices on the supermarket, and the supermarket in turn raises prices on the consumer.
So even though I don't have a car, I get screwed by oil prices. I made no choice to buy an SUV, but I'm suffering anyway. There is nothing more un-democratic than a complete lack of business regulation.
In most countries they pay far, far more for gas than we do (even with rising prices.) But the government wants to encourage business, so they subsidize the industry, very heavily. If we knew the true cost of our lifestyle choices, we would act differently.
I like your spin on the topic as well - especially the part about making excuses. I stopped driving in February - BEFORE gas was $4 a gallon. I wasn't going to wait that long. When gas was inching toward $3 a gallon here in L.A., I was already spending over $300 a month on it.
L.A. isn't known for it's great public transportation. So I started making changes - I started taking clients who were really far away (something I should have done when I was driving) and I started looking for a job in Downtown L.A., which is something I avoided before because it's so congested and parking was so expensive.
But because I didn't make excuses, I've been saving $300 a month, which is more than I've ever saved in my life AND I found a great job, with my best salary to date, which will also let me incorporate parts of my business, that's right in downtown LA - a 20 minute bus ride from my house, or a 15 minute carpool with my landlord.
I hear people in L.A. make excuses all the time - sure a lot of other major cities are well ahead of us where transportation is concerned, but we do have buses that go all over the freakin' place, and even a couple of subways now. If people really made the effort, they could get to where they need to go - or like you said, move or change jobs.
I like the spin you put on this topic. And to be honest, I haven't done any of those things. Phew. In fact, I've seen it as a good sign. The rest of the world is consuming more and more too. This means the BRIC countries are developing and will be able to compete on a global level and improve their quality of life. If I have to pay $4 or more for that reason, I don’t really care.
In fact, one thing you didn’t mention in your mini-econ lesson is that as a commodity’s price keeps rising, and fear of scarcity increases, so does innovation to use it more efficiently or not at all.
I'm one of those SUV drivers who spends $100 to fill the tank and who doesn't use public transportation. Do I complain? Not at all. I'm willing to pay for my lifestyle.
The people who have a right to complain? The people who's job DEPENDS on fuel, mainly truck drivers. If / when the prices prevent them from working, then we'll see what the country is willing to do.
Monica, I liked your post so much, I wrote one in response.
GOT SOMETHING TO SAY?