$4 and Rising
Well, if you haven’t been living somewhere there isn’t a gas station, then the news that the national average per gallon of gas has risen to $4. Many people are getting out their used Harleys and bicycles in an effort to deal with rising fuel costs, but is it going to matter to their pocket books?
Not likely. Though certain members of the Bush administration would like people to believe otherwise, farmers and other food producers are feeling the pinch too. They need to make a profit to stay running. They pass their rising costs onto consumers. If you’ve been buying eggs for the last few months you’ll recognize where I’m going with this. The price of goods is going up too. So, most people feel it doubly. They feel it when they’re at the station filling their car up and they feel it when they’re in the supermarket (used as an example) trying to fill up their cupboards. You don’t need more proof that we’re heading into (or are currently in) a recession, but just for kicks let’s look at what our current administration isn’t seeing.
The Wall Street Journal says:
Unemployment rose sharply and payrolls shrank for the fifth consecutive month. The economy news came on a day that oil surged to record prices, the dollar weakened and the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged nearly 400 points. The deteriorating job numbers led markets to scale back the odds that the Federal Reserve will boost short-term interest rates this fall to ward off inflation.
[...]The unsavory prospect of rising unemployment and crude-oil prices — plus recent signs that the housing market has yet to stabilize — dashed lingering hopes that lower interest rates and fiscal stimulus were sufficient to help the U.S. economy right itself. “I’ve been convinced that the unemployment rate was headed toward 6%, but I didn’t expect to get halfway there in one day,” said Jay Mueller, economist and portfolio manager with Wells Fargo Advantage Funds.
Whether the Leader of the Free World™ wants to admit it or not, that economic stimulus check most of us are supposed to be getting (our own is late, of course) isn’t going to do a lot to eliminate the economic hardships most regular Americans are feeling.
There are a lot of different sites where you can go to figure out how to live within your means. Of course, those aren’t going to help you if you or your spouse suddenly becomes unemployed. How can you do the searching if you can’t afford the connection fee? Ah, the joys of living in a non-recession.
As for the gas prices: You can pretty much guarantee that whoever is elected as the 44the President of the United States, he’s going to have zilch to do with lowering them. OPEC sees no reason to increase production right now, and why should they? They’re not beholden to any one country and can do whatever they want with their money. And as long as they’re making record profits, they’ll sitting pretty. You and I aren’t going to find relief from our Congress or our President as far as the oil prices are. You’d better figure out how on Earth you can go about using less of our nations life-blood. If enough people do that then OPEC won’t be making so much money and if they’re not making enough money they’ll lower the prices and we can start this incredible cycle all over again. Isn’t that thrilling?
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