Time to Rein In the Pump Profiteers

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Honestly? I think part of it is that we ARE against it, at least in some way.

Americans tend to be, among other things, fiercely independent. We don't like depending on anyone else for anything. We like doing what we want, going where we want, going WHEN we want, etc. We'll use me as an example....

I work in Plainfield, which is 35 miles away. Why? Because there are no jobs near me that pay over $12.00/hour. Why do I stay here? Because I own my house free-and-clear and have no intention of selling it. There is no public transportation from Greencastle to Plainfield. Assume though that there were.

I go to work at 10pm. The HP factory is about 1.5 miles from downtown Plainfield. How would I get from any logical drop-off point to work? What would I do for lunch? (Keeping in mind that every time I've tried taking my lunch and storing it in the giant refrigerators provided, it gets stolen) What happens when I need to stop for groceries or such on the way home? What if I get off work early or late and there isn't a bus/train/whatever for hours?

As it is now, it takes me 40 minutes to drive to work. If I were using public transportation, that could easily take an hour and a half, considering schedules, stops, etc. I am at work for 42.5 hours/week. I spend 6.667 hours/week driving to or from work. There's 49.167 hours of my week lost to work. At the current gas price, it costs me $40/week to drive to/from work. How much would I really save if public transportation were available? How much of my freedom would I lose? Could I still go to Subway for "lunch" (can it really be called lunch at 3:30am?)? Could I still pull over to check out the yard sale that's just started up? Could I stop at the convenience store to get a cup of coffee on the way home?

I think this has a lot to do with why Americans tend to not like public transportation. If we all lived in cities or worked within a few miles of where we lived, then yeah....we'd probably do it. But we don't.

I was taking the bus for about 6 months until I bought my car back in June. It took me about an hour and a half to get to work by bus vs. only 20 minutes by car. It was terribly inconvenient...however, I also did a lot more walking to and from bus stops and I was a lot more calmer because once I was on the bus, I wasn't having to deal with all the dumbarse drivers on the road. Although it got interesting a few times on the bus with some of the transients...I've never smelled something so nauseous... I'd still take the bus if there was a way that I could cut my travel time down because it only cost me $45 a month for a bus pass. Since buying the car, with payment, gas and insurance, I'm spending well over $600 a month for the convenience to drive...and of course the freeway traffic sucks... There's always a trade off.

So, tax the super rich some more.

I don't like the idea of taxing the super rich because some day I will be super rich

Willie Loman used to hang on to that dream as well. He ended up sucking on a hose connected to his tailpipe... oh the irony.

Edited August 31, 2006 by Steven_and_Jinky

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

I'm spending well over $600 a month for the convenience to drive...and of course the freeway traffic sucks... There's always a trade off.

What do you expect when you drive an H2? And here I am driving my Hybrid.

Steven spy photo

[PlatyPius 5]

I'm spending well over $600 a month for the convenience to drive...and of course the freeway traffic sucks... There's always a trade off.

What do you expect when you drive an H2? And here I am driving my Hybrid.

Steven spy photo

Don't even get me started on the morons who drive those things..... GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!

[one...two...tree 2,762]

I'm spending well over $600 a month for the convenience to drive...and of course the freeway traffic sucks... There's always a trade off.

What do you expect when you drive an H2? And here I am driving my Hybrid.

Steven spy photo

I drive a Hyundai which looks like the ####### child of a Honda and a Toyota... even still the payment is over $300 a month, over a $100 for car insurance and another $200 in gas... it adds up quickly.

[rclouse 0]

Wow, Infidel.

Just wow.

Sorry for the threadjack, but I just had to comment on that, one of the biggest non sequiturs I've seen.