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Just because you don't have to go to a pump and fill up, doesn't mean gas prices aren't affecting you. How do you think that lovely food you eat gets to the store/restaurant? Goods and services will definately go up also.
All true, but then again one without a car is not also paying directly at the gas pump. Those with cars are paying in the stores AND at the pump.
$81 to go anywhere and everywhere I need to go within 1 month is a pretty good deal. What does the avg. working American pay for that? My guess is somewhere around $300 at least.
The average American lifestyle is simply not sustainable. Imagine the whole world living as we do...
Aha, but the gas prices have affected everyone even if you don't drive. The food prices have noticeably crept up, so have the prices for some services.
Aha, but the gas prices have affected everyone even if you don't drive. The food prices have noticeably crept up, so have the prices for some services.
As they have for those who drive. Affect me=yes. Affect drivers=yes. Affect me as much as drivers=not even close
Between a family that owns one of the biggest SUV's or pickups and a family that is car-free, the car-free family can save up to $100,000 over 5 years. That's enough down payment for a $500,000 house.
I think the article is a bit sensationalistic, but I like the numbers. I've been having the stay-in-the-city/move-to-the-burbs debate and this definitely adds weight to staying in the city without a car.
Our transportation system in this whole region is just way too widespread to need a car. And, personally, I don't mind walking. Great thing about New York is that it's walkable.
Yeah I might be able to ride the subway for the same $2, which is all well and good. However about half the time I'm on the subway in the Bronx some random ghetto nonesense goes down inbetween my stop and wherever I'm going in Manhattan (fights, people acting like thugs, random screaming), therefore making the ride somewhat unpleasant. Thats why I prefer taking MetroNorth when I have the cash.
Yea, but the MTA use A LOT of oil, which make sit more likely that the cost of a Metrocard will increase.
I've been thinking lately that all of this talk of "recession" is misguided - and is not technically true anyway since recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth. In the 1st Quarter of 08 the economy actually grew a little and unemployment still seems to be still rather low.
Aren't we experiencing a classic inflationary spiral? (too much demand for too few goods). Except for housing... that is... housing outside of NYC.
Some estimates say that we have been in a recession since Sep 2007. The gov't numbers regarding GDP are imperfect measurements of economic activity and are constantly being revised up and down months after they were originally published. If the consumer is 70% of GDP, and if getting credit is becoming harder (it is, especially HELOCS) and if credit card delinquencies are rising (they are) and if more people are making only minimum payments on tehir debt (they are), and if unemployment is up (it is, and the official numbers don't count those who aren't looking for work anymore, or people reduced from full time status to part-time status), then it's hard to imagine economic activity expanding at all, when 70% of that activity is consumer spending.
Alas, if you read the papers, they already did (well, besides the housing prices)! I still long for the days where high fuel cost result in less wasteful societies. It's really very simple. When you can't afford to consume mindlessly, you start to think, start to consume less, start to find alternatives and innovate. A few of us will even make a few extra bucks from their innovations. We have a brain, we solve problems. At the end, it will be just fine. We are human, we are flexible, we can adopt.
Great post! There is no reason we can't get smaller, more fuel efficient Hybrids and Plug-in vehicles on the road for the avg. driver, especially commuters. We could cut oil demand by 1/2 if we started driving smarter and embraced alternative energy like Solar, and yes, Nuclear power.
Alas, if you read the papers, they already did (well, besides the housing prices)! I still long for the days where high fuel cost result in less wasteful societies. It's really very simple. When you can't afford to consume mindlessly, you start to think, start to consume less, start to find alternatives and innovate. A few of us will even make a few extra bucks from their innovations. We have a brain, we solve problems. At the end, it will be just fine. We are human, we are flexible, we can adopt.
We did this in the late 70's and 80's when we went from driving Grand Torinos to Corollas. We'll have no choice but to figure it out again, for economic and environmental reasons. It may help curb some of the sprawl around the country and encourage some renewed interest in some of our smaller cities, which have been left for dead as the manufacturing base has gone. We need a plan as it seems that NYC and the like are too crowded and expensive as it is, while Utica and Springfield are dying for residents to come back.
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