Americans are not really going to change our driving habits unless gasoline hits $4.50 a gallon. Up until then, we'll complain about prices, but keep filling up our SUVs. The fact is, we want cheap gas because we don't want to give up driving large "screw-you machines" and the oil companies will continue to profit off our stubbornness. Unless you're willing to buy something with better fuel economy, you can't really complain. And Bush certainly isn't keeping up with prices. I guess when you're used to be chauffeured around, you forget about prices at the pump. The big problem is: most younger people grew up during a period of low prices, so we've adjusted our lifestyles (and our realities) to accept the fact that SUVs and pick-up trucks were perfectly normal vehicles for everyday travel. Sorry, but people used to drive cars to get to where they needed, and soccer moms had, at most, a station wagon to haul their brood around. They didn't need DVD players to keep their kids satisfied in the backseat. Know what I did when I was a kid and I was on a long road trip? I read a book or watched the sights. I didn't need a constant barrage of media to pacify me. According to CNNMoney, the high mark for fuel prices was reached in March 1981, where adjusted for inflation the average gallon was $3.40. Americans were spending about 8% of their income on gas, whereas today it’s closer to 6%. Also, you had to work 105 minutes to fill up your tank. Now it’s 53 minutes. Look, the fact of the matter is, we need a period of high fuel prices every now and then to knock some sense into us. Cheap fuel is not a right, and we are not entitled to filling up our tanks for less than $30. –Stephen Payne, Editor, Oil and Gas Investor This Week; spayne@hartenergy.com
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