[aggie99]

Originally Posted by ReefHound

Spoken like a person who sees high fuel costs as an inconvenience rather than a crisis. Tell that to the single mother who could barely pay the rent, feed the kids, and buy them clothes from the thrift store *before* everything skyrocketed in price. Or the elderly couple on a fixed income or really anyone making under $30k per year.

High oil prices don't just affect the price of gas at the pump, it permeates every corner of our society. People are just being slammed with another $100 per month for gasoline. They're getting hit with electricity, groceries, household products, and everything else as every business tries to "pass along" it's increased expenses to the consumer.

Every segment of our market outside the oil industry, from banking to housing to manufacturing to airlines, is taking it sharply on the chin and in many cases are on the verge of collapse. While I agree that high energy costs are instrumental in forcing people to change and conserve, our society is not structured for such rapid change. The cure is going to kill the patient.

You are right that there are consumers that bear most of the burden of this issue and as always it affects the poor, elderly and underprivileged first. That is a whole different issue! What I don't like is taking the personal plight of an affected group to justify our ignorance. You can't tell me we thought we could continue consuming, as a nation, at the level we have, and still do, with no ramifications? We were not blindsided by this issue, we just chose to ignore it until it affected our pocket books and national security. When we have suburbs of Dallas that are closer to the Oklahoma border than downtown Dallas we have a problem. When the average home sizes in the US has increased from 1,400 sq.ft to 2,330 we have a problem. But tell someone 5 years ago they need to live closer to work or downsize their house or car to lessen the burden for the poorer class of America you would have been lynched. You are right we need a cure...not more bandages to hold back the bleeding. I just wish we hadn't ignored the symptoms for so long.