Ripped off at the pump ?

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by Kioshi

I'm sure they do, they dont live in Hollywood or anything, just in regular suburban neighborhoods. People around me are cheap, even if they have the money they will complain about it...take my word for it, seriously.

If gas prices went up, sure the prices of goods would go up naturally, but it would force people to rethink how they drive, how they spend, etc...

People want to go waste $650+ on a new iPhone when they can save that money for something more beneficial..imo, start saving/throw in CD account, etc.

Force is what people need in this country....kind of like how stores are forcing people in a way to bring their own shopping bag.....believe me, I'm no hippie haha, I'm wasteful, just giving methods that have worked well for other countries compared to the USA.

I added the 'too much' because I don't think they'd care enough to change their behavior.

I've spent quite a bit of time in Fremont, and I agree with you that there are quite a few people there who spend money on silly things. I also agree with you that there are a lot of people there who have money, but are cheap, and like to complain. The impression I get from patronizing businesses there is that many of these owners and clerks are tired of dealing with such people. Your description of these people made me LOL.

If you rent, there are few places (in the U.S.) where a place to stay can be cheaper relative to how high the incomes are than Fremont. People there can "rethink how they drive, how they spend, etc." as you point out. People even in "regular suburban neighborhoods". Fremont, for a few years, was the safest city in the U.S. with a population over 200,000 people. Nearby San Jose has the highest median household income of any large city in the U.S., and the median household income in Fremont is higher than it is in San Jose........Now, get on a plane and fly to Jackson, MS and spend some time South of I-20 or fly to New Orleans and spend some time almost anywhere in the 9th Ward (New Orleans East, Lower 9th, etc) or some other similar parts of New Orleans and tell me that more than a relative handful of those citizens can "rethink how they drive, how they spend, etc.". They can't. For the ones who have cars, the extra cost of that more expensive gas could push them over the edge. People need to make their own way but, IMO, they don't need policies in place that are going to make it harder for them.

P.S. Someone distracted me yesterday while I was finishing up this reply and I neglected to make the point, specifically, that I was trying to make by bringing up people in parts of Jackson and New Orleans. I also made this point in a couple of previous posts. Namely, that so many goods (including staples like food,etc.) are trucked in this country that the cost of those staples will rise along with the intentional rise in gas prices and effect all of those vulnerable people in Jackson, New Orleans, and other places (not just the ones with cars who buy gas directly).