How much gas do you use?
A lot of people around the country are complaining about the price of gas, but many of them are driving around in vehicles that get less than 20 miles per gallon. As someone else pointed out, sales of trucks and SUVs are still a significant part of all vehicle sales.
I'm curious how much gas the average person here uses. My wife and I, between us, use about 700 gallons of gas per year (to go about 24,000 miles). If the price of gas were to go up by another $2/gallon, this will add about $1400/year to our transportation costs. That sounds like a lot until you consider the total cost of vehicle ownership. At $0.50/mile (~current price), this $2/gallon increment will add about 12% to our transportation costs. Most of us could save $1400/year just by cutting back on tequila and bourbon.
I think it's not the price of gas that upsets people but the uncertainty. The government should add enough tax to gas to raise the price to $5/gallon, then adjust the tax periodically to maintain that price. That would bring stability and predictably to the market. They could use the tax money to provide minimum health care to everyone.
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