Who is to blame for high gas prices in the US?
If you are living in the US, you probably talk about this almost everyday. I wonder if Sun TV, has come up with some kind of news headline like "Americaavil Petrol Pancham. Pothu Makkal Beethi". I really wonder what the hue and cry is all about. I'm more surprised to hear similar comments from fellow desis who are living here. US ranks number one is world oil consumption (about 25%). According to the US Energy information Administration website an average american uses 500 gallons of gasoline a year. The average price of gasoline currently is $3.036/ gallon, and a year ago it was $2.339 / gallon. The cost difference is (3.036-2.339) * 500 = $348.50 / year. This amounts to a monthly increase of $29.04. This leads me to wonder, how a mere increase of $29 per month on their monthly expenses is too much to handle? If someone is not able to afford 30$ more a month (~1% of a $3000 monthly pay), they probably are not able to afford $300 to $400 monthly payments either. The increase in cost is not even compensated for inflation. So stop whining, and try to change the way you drive. By the way, do you know how much the countries around the world are paying for their gas?
(All prices are per gallon)
UK - $6.36
Hong Kong - $6.54
Germany - $6.10
......
India $4.13 (After Govt of India subsidy. I wonder how many Indians know that Govt of India, subsides the price of petrol, (and many other essential commodities) they pay at the pump. So, for those people who complain, that the govt is not doing anything, try to learn the facts, before talking.)
China $2.40
Here is my 50 cent. Stop driving your Gas guzzling SUVs, Hummers and pickup trucks and drive sensibly. Move closer to work or commute to work in mass transit systems. (I know a lot of people who drive more than 50 miles one way to work). Stop wasting gas or if you think that is your birth right, stop complaining about the prices. You might wonder, how Mr. Bush, is trying to combat the energy crisis. He is asking americans to turn off lights, computer monitors etc in their offices, when employee's leave home. Wow !! Do people need to be told to do all this? Isnt this common sense? Oil is the only reason why the US went to war with Iraq (in my opinion). So, dont start complaining about oil prices, and make it a pretext for a war with Iran and for god's sake dont blame China and India for the increase in gas prices. I think it is the other way around. If US was not consuming so much gasoline, the price would be cheaper around the world. So, who do you think is to blame for the high gas prices?
UK - $6.36
Hong Kong - $6.54
Germany - $6.10
......
India $4.13 (After Govt of India subsidy. I wonder how many Indians know that Govt of India, subsides the price of petrol, (and many other essential commodities) they pay at the pump. So, for those people who complain, that the govt is not doing anything, try to learn the facts, before talking.)
China $2.40
Here is my 50 cent. Stop driving your Gas guzzling SUVs, Hummers and pickup trucks and drive sensibly. Move closer to work or commute to work in mass transit systems. (I know a lot of people who drive more than 50 miles one way to work). Stop wasting gas or if you think that is your birth right, stop complaining about the prices. You might wonder, how Mr. Bush, is trying to combat the energy crisis. He is asking americans to turn off lights, computer monitors etc in their offices, when employee's leave home. Wow !! Do people need to be told to do all this? Isnt this common sense? Oil is the only reason why the US went to war with Iraq (in my opinion). So, dont start complaining about oil prices, and make it a pretext for a war with Iran and for god's sake dont blame China and India for the increase in gas prices. I think it is the other way around. If US was not consuming so much gasoline, the price would be cheaper around the world. So, who do you think is to blame for the high gas prices?
posted by Senthil at 12:14 AM
2 Comments:
Nice thought, although should I accuse you of plagiarism, since you didn't put a little asterisk in superscript and quote the references (Come on man, you are a masters graduate).
Or if you want me to be more polite and appreciative about it, 'Wow, Senthil, where did you find all this statistics !! If you can put the link, I may want to read more about it...'
Anyway.. Good work buddy
Most of the information I have obtained are from US government websites and CNN(The most trusted name in News :-p, I will try to dicuss how much we can trust them, in my next article).
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