Last night I filled my car with gas, knowing full well that the $2.75 per gallon I was paying will soon be a distant memory. Our reliance on oil has broken free of reality in recent months, and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina will likely push oil prices into the stratosphere. Some experts claim that particular areas of the country may be paying $4 per gallon if oil supplies and refineries in the Gulf of Mexico are seriously damaged, or remain shut down for a long period of time.We?ve discussed the issue of oil prices plenty of times on Raising Kaine, partly because repetition is important, and also because REPETITION IS IMPORTANT! Don?t let conservatives tell you that high oil prices aren?t a big problem. They are the ones being lobbied hard by oil companies and automobile manufacturers resisting the changes that must occur to save our economy. Perhaps the trouble is understanding the depth of the situation. President Bush has been rich his whole life, and won?t have to miss a single fishing trip in his big old truck due to the high costs of gasoline. But some of us will.
That's right, as usual it is the everyday consumers who are most affected. High gas prices lead not only to general inflation, but also create enormous troubles due to skyrocketing costs for trucking and aviation. Consumers will face higher costs for energy and food, and travel and tourism will decline as flight costs go up astronomically. Many airline companies are in serious trouble already without oil costs nearly doubling in the course of a few months.
This economic crunch is occurring when our economy is already vulnerable: 1.1 million more Americans were below the poverty line in 2004 than in 2003, and inflation is likely to push that number even higher in 2005. Even though overall median income remained about the same, the gap between rich and poor increased rapidly, costing Governments more money as more people fell under social safety nets, and creating more crime and more theft as people went without daily needs.
We have to face reality. It is likely we will never again see gas prices costing below $2 per gallon. Oil is simply becoming too expensive a commodity to sell for such low prices in the United States, when the rest of the world pays so much more. I bought gas for 83 cents per gallon once in 1998. I paid as little as $1.01 in 2001, and $1.22 in 2002. In Mid-May of this year, I paid as little as $1.84. All of these costs are now extinct, never to be seen again. This extinction has occurred under the control of a Republican-run government, and I can?t help but make a connection.
That being said, there is an upside: We actually have the technology to solve this problem!
Alternative fuels are taking off, and political campaigns are starting to make it their central issue. Hybrids are being built with far greater efficiency, and states and cities are now retrofitting old trucks and municipal vehicles to achieve greater fuel economy. High prices are forcing us to make our lives more energy efficient, and to reduce our oil demand. If Americans reduce demand, it will have a great impact on the entire world oil market, and oil will become more affordable. If we use less oil, air quality will improve, and so will public health. If we emit fewer greenhouse gases, climate change will be reduced, and maybe more Katrinas won?t be knocking on our door every August.
Many Democrats support measures to do something about this mess, but without being in power, there isn?t much they can do. Although Tim Kaine will support alternative fuel development, we need to send more Democrats to the State Legislature to help him, and send more Democrats to Congress to help create reform.
Will Jerry Kilgore and his corporate buddies help us? Will they pledge to do something drastic about rising oil prices, or will they fall in line with the Republican Party and its limited, "trickled-down" vision for the future? These are serious questions to be raised in the current gubernatorial campaign, as well as in the 2006 mid-term elections. The time for change is now ? let's demand solutions from our officials, or cast them out of power and force them to join the rest of us. We'll even offer to drive them home in our hybrids!