It’s not so much that the gas prices are affecting the way that I am driving, its more about the effects it has on the entire consumer world. When you go to Hollister to get that new Hoodie, a plane and truck were involved in shipping. If the gas to fuel the delivery goes up, so does that shirt. Same for food at restaurants. What about stamps? FedEx? Airplanes.
If you think that you are the only one being affected by rising gas prices, you are crazy! (not directed at you Monica, just in general)
Yea $4 for gas sucks, but the dollar menu at McDonald’s jumping to $3-4 dollars will suck worse. As will a $50 t-shirt.
We rely on gas for more than just the commute to work.
Great post. I find that I don’t complain about gas prices themselves very much anymore. I now complain about the price of oil continuously going up. I’m baffled how the price keeps going up and up without any strong push on the price. Yes there are wars and reasons why the price might move higher but it’s climbed a couple hundred % in the past few years and global consumption cannot be matching it. There is an imbalance somewhere.
That aside the price of gas is merely something that we all need to deal with. If you drive a gas guzzling SUV be ready to shell out at the pump and don’t be shocked by it.
Greg and Matt, I understand your points. Gas and oil are commodities, which is why we will continue paying until we literally can’t afford to anymore. In other words, demand is inelastic.
But I still feel we can each do a lot to make gas less of a commodity, and I hope to raise some awareness with the post. It would be very idealistic to think we can change what’s happening with gas on a macroeconomic level, but making people think harder is a good first step.
And Matt, I think the reason oil prices can skyrocket is exactly because its a commodity, which means competition is essential to keep prices down. And it’s hard to find competitors.
Michael, I agree, that’s a pet peeve of mine too. I am not perfect, but whenever I find myself complaining a lot I try to step back. Once I do that, I almost always realize that I share a lot of the blame for the situation I’m complaining about. It’s really a much more productive way to think about things, because in most cases what you can change fastest is you.
Milena, I really enjoyed your article. Thanks for liking mine and adding your own smarts and wit. I’ve enjoyed watching your blog flourish over the last couple months to a “must-read.”
Demand is inelastic but not perfectly inelastic. At some price (we don’t know where), the world will just shut down. In the short run, high gas prices will just make us poorer. In the long run, people tend to change habits: change jobs, telecommute, move, switch public transportation. In the long long run, you’ll actually see the basic design and formation of communities change. Cities will be more dense and sprawl will decrease.
I think your post is going in the right direction. I think we have to embrace high gas prices as a catalyst for investments in alternative energy, public transportation, and the design of our cities.
In my site, I did a back of the envelop analysis of the Toyota Prius. Until gas prices reach $7.50, it still doesn’t make economical sense to switch from gas to hybrid technology. That’s $3.50 more to go before we start seeing a mass exodus to hybrids and other modes of transportation.
Yes, nothing is perfectly inelastic in the real world. I think your envelope analysis is interesting because it maybe shows that gas prices are not actually set at the right price. In fact, they can go as high as $7.50 per gallon and people will still pay them rather than switch.
Also, I don’t think we are that far off from reaching $7.50 gas prices. Other countries are paying more for gas than us, and gas prices are increasing at an astronomical rate in the US. I remember just yesterday when gas was $3 a gallon. And literally, it was maybe 3 or 4 months ago! Those were the good ‘ol days compared to the $4.25 a gallon it is in Chicago now.
Monica,
Love the post. My husband and I can afford to fill up our SUV and car with no problem but we are doing our best to use the SUV less because we would like money for other fun things, like something fun for our new house, ect… Carpooling is working for us because our public transportation is horrible in our city.
I think it’s time for America to get out of this materialistic society and learn from our mistakes…
Erin, that’s a good attitude to have I think. My husband and I definitely still need our car, even though we have a ton of public transportation near us. But we try to use our car only for things like groceries, and we’ve so far avoided purchasing another car so we could each have one. It’s a little less convenient to share a car, but that’s part of the reason we wanted to live in Chicago, so the one-car situation was at least possible.
Right now we fill up about once a month. It’s not fun to pay higher prices, but we feel a lot more comfortable with rising gas prices knowing that we aren’t completely dependent on our car.
I loved the subject here and the perspective. My own perspective waivers on a fence. On one hand I live in a town where public transportation is nonexistent. Therefore I have a necessary, albeit short, commute to work and to see friends and family. The added cents on each gallon of gas puts a bit of strain on my small households’ limited income. The other point I try to keep in front of my own face, however, is that our environment so desperately needs an in-your-face eye-opener to the public that I’m willing to put out my extra few bucks to give it that fighting chance. By making gas so ridiculously expensive, maybe the thought will turn from “oy, $60 to fill my Honda,” to “I’m taking the bike to work today.” Instead of bemoaning the lightness of my pocket book, I think of how much gas I’m really using and how I can avoid this. If we are to be a sustainable people we need sustainable energy.
Monica O'Brien is the Director of Digital at Fizz and author of the book Social Pollination, which helps businesses leverage social media for crazy growth!
Monica O'Brien is the Director of Digital at Fizz and author of the book Social Pollination, which helps businesses leverage social media for crazy growth!
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
It’s not so much that the gas prices are affecting the way that I am driving, its more about the effects it has on the entire consumer world. When you go to Hollister to get that new Hoodie, a plane and truck were involved in shipping. If the gas to fuel the delivery goes up, so does that shirt. Same for food at restaurants. What about stamps? FedEx? Airplanes.
If you think that you are the only one being affected by rising gas prices, you are crazy! (not directed at you Monica, just in general)
Yea $4 for gas sucks, but the dollar menu at McDonald’s jumping to $3-4 dollars will suck worse. As will a $50 t-shirt.
We rely on gas for more than just the commute to work.
Great post. I find that I don’t complain about gas prices themselves very much anymore. I now complain about the price of oil continuously going up. I’m baffled how the price keeps going up and up without any strong push on the price. Yes there are wars and reasons why the price might move higher but it’s climbed a couple hundred % in the past few years and global consumption cannot be matching it. There is an imbalance somewhere.
That aside the price of gas is merely something that we all need to deal with. If you drive a gas guzzling SUV be ready to shell out at the pump and don’t be shocked by it.
My pet peeve: people who say “it’s all Bush’s fault”. Come on, he’s a man not some supernatural troublemaker.
Yeah, I’m one to avoid complaining as much as possible and just adapt.
Monica, I liked your post so much, I wrote one in response.
Greg and Matt, I understand your points. Gas and oil are commodities, which is why we will continue paying until we literally can’t afford to anymore. In other words, demand is inelastic.
But I still feel we can each do a lot to make gas less of a commodity, and I hope to raise some awareness with the post. It would be very idealistic to think we can change what’s happening with gas on a macroeconomic level, but making people think harder is a good first step.
And Matt, I think the reason oil prices can skyrocket is exactly because its a commodity, which means competition is essential to keep prices down. And it’s hard to find competitors.
Michael, I agree, that’s a pet peeve of mine too. I am not perfect, but whenever I find myself complaining a lot I try to step back. Once I do that, I almost always realize that I share a lot of the blame for the situation I’m complaining about. It’s really a much more productive way to think about things, because in most cases what you can change fastest is you.
Milena, I really enjoyed your article. Thanks for liking mine and adding your own smarts and wit. I’ve enjoyed watching your blog flourish over the last couple months to a “must-read.”
Demand is inelastic but not perfectly inelastic. At some price (we don’t know where), the world will just shut down. In the short run, high gas prices will just make us poorer. In the long run, people tend to change habits: change jobs, telecommute, move, switch public transportation. In the long long run, you’ll actually see the basic design and formation of communities change. Cities will be more dense and sprawl will decrease.
I think your post is going in the right direction. I think we have to embrace high gas prices as a catalyst for investments in alternative energy, public transportation, and the design of our cities.
In my site, I did a back of the envelop analysis of the Toyota Prius. Until gas prices reach $7.50, it still doesn’t make economical sense to switch from gas to hybrid technology. That’s $3.50 more to go before we start seeing a mass exodus to hybrids and other modes of transportation.
Yes, nothing is perfectly inelastic in the real world. I think your envelope analysis is interesting because it maybe shows that gas prices are not actually set at the right price. In fact, they can go as high as $7.50 per gallon and people will still pay them rather than switch.
Also, I don’t think we are that far off from reaching $7.50 gas prices. Other countries are paying more for gas than us, and gas prices are increasing at an astronomical rate in the US. I remember just yesterday when gas was $3 a gallon. And literally, it was maybe 3 or 4 months ago! Those were the good ‘ol days compared to the $4.25 a gallon it is in Chicago now.
Thank goodness for telecommuting!
Monica,
Love the post. My husband and I can afford to fill up our SUV and car with no problem but we are doing our best to use the SUV less because we would like money for other fun things, like something fun for our new house, ect… Carpooling is working for us because our public transportation is horrible in our city.
I think it’s time for America to get out of this materialistic society and learn from our mistakes…
Erin, that’s a good attitude to have I think. My husband and I definitely still need our car, even though we have a ton of public transportation near us. But we try to use our car only for things like groceries, and we’ve so far avoided purchasing another car so we could each have one. It’s a little less convenient to share a car, but that’s part of the reason we wanted to live in Chicago, so the one-car situation was at least possible.
Right now we fill up about once a month. It’s not fun to pay higher prices, but we feel a lot more comfortable with rising gas prices knowing that we aren’t completely dependent on our car.
I loved the subject here and the perspective. My own perspective waivers on a fence. On one hand I live in a town where public transportation is nonexistent. Therefore I have a necessary, albeit short, commute to work and to see friends and family. The added cents on each gallon of gas puts a bit of strain on my small households’ limited income. The other point I try to keep in front of my own face, however, is that our environment so desperately needs an in-your-face eye-opener to the public that I’m willing to put out my extra few bucks to give it that fighting chance. By making gas so ridiculously expensive, maybe the thought will turn from “oy, $60 to fill my Honda,” to “I’m taking the bike to work today.” Instead of bemoaning the lightness of my pocket book, I think of how much gas I’m really using and how I can avoid this. If we are to be a sustainable people we need sustainable energy.