#$2.250

[freshthoughts2020]

[publicwayism]

Thoughts on: $2.50 gas

Did you watch the GOP debate a few days ago?  I watched it, mostly because I have been battling the flu and I was laid up on the couch, but I ended up enjoying it in a sick sort of way. Kind of like when you have blister from too much hiking and you can't stop poking it. 

It seemed like Newt was really excited about his claim that he could bring the price of gas per gallon down to $2.50. I don't really blame him, that would be pretty remarkable if a President could toss world market demand aside and come up with a creative way to price a highly desired commodity exactly at the price he wishes. The only way that I can think of that this could be possible is with an extremely heavy subsidies or price controls, and I am pretty sure he would not stump on further subsidies / price controls (who knows maybe he would though). 

But whether or not $2.50 gas is possible is not even the real problem. Is this something that we should be focusing on as a top level goal? 

Recently I was talking with a friend about it. He said to me, "well, the price of gas is a big issue to a lot of people and it is important to them, even though it is not important to you".

I'll admit, the price of gas is not a big issue to me. I hardly ever even look at the price before I fill up. I do try and get gas outside of chicago when possible and conveneinat, because I know it is less expensive, but I don't activley pursue it. I drive so little that the price of gas is just not that big of a deal. A few cents here or there, when filling up my car at most once per month is not going to worry me. But what about those people that drive more, or have to drive because of their job? Is $2.50 gas an issue so important that they should support a candindate based on that promise? 

What exactly does $2.50 gas stand for? In my mind it stands for complacency. Complacency, with our country's energy strategy. It stands for fear. Fear to realize that we are at the end of the road when it comes to our oil dependence. It stands for short- sightidness. We are too short sighted to see that the oil that is left in the world comes at extremely high economical, political and humanitarian costs. And that the oil in our country comes at the cost of destroying our own natural beauty. It stands for preferring Immediate satisfaction over smart long term planning. It stands for greed. Where greedy corporations are actively lobbying to destroy clean energy technologies and opportunities, and greedy citizens let them get away with it. It basically stands for almost everything that is wrong with this county. 

So when someone Like Newt Gingrich, makes a promise that sounds too good to be true, not only is it likely that it is untrue, but he is also appealing to the most base and flawed elements of humanity. This seems to be the GOP strategy in which Newt excels at better than most.