Why High Gas Prices Might Be a Good Thing
When I started working on the west side of Los Angeles two and a half years ago, I found that it would take forever to commute by public transit, which I had done when I worked downtown. I started driving, but it was nerve-wracking to share the road with all the monster SUVs that were popular then.
Then the Prius became chic, and I started to see more and more of those. It was nice to see environmentalism become popular. I bought a Yaris and was very happy.
As gas prices have risen, I’ve seen more and more small, fuel efficient cars, and hardly any gas-guzzling behemoths on the roads. Indeed, recent news reports confirm that my observations represent trends.
SUV sales are way down, and auto companies are starting to change their offerings based on demand. Train riding is up. We’ve now reached the levels of European prices. You know what they have in Europe? Small cars and lots of trains.
I realize that the high fuel prices are undermining the economy in some ways. Gas prices lead to higher food prices. People are spending so much now on food and fuel that they don’t have money to spend on anything else, and so everything else is down. The high fuel prices are affecting the companies for which some of my friends work, and they are expecting layoffs and salary cuts. It’s ugly.
Still, in some ways I think fuel prices should stay this high. Low-cost fuel is not a basic right. It has always cost us a lot in some ways. Having to reconfigure our lives and livelihoods around high fuel costs could be a good thing in the long run.
I’m looking forward to being able to take the train to my new job.
Photo by kangster.