For those of you who keep wishing gasoline prices will go higher just on principle.... [View All]

[Skidmore]

how the hell do you expect people on fixed incomes and who earn low wages to get to and from their jobs? How do expect them to afford food, clothing, or any other goods. Damn it. I'm just really steamed right now. I came back from driving 20 miles to the nearest grocery store today. AND DON'T EVEN START on giving me condescending reasons why I should move into the blighted burbs or a city because it would just make things so much better. Today, a head of lettuce was $1.20, milk was $3.07 a gallon, apples are $1.80 a pound, 5 lbs. potatoes were nearly $5.00. And this is in rural America, where we ostensibly grow stuff to eat. Now, our little community is full of elderly people, mostly living on Social Security and personal savings. We have young people who can't find work beyond driving 20+ miles to they can work in McDonalds or Walmart or Target at some shit job with no future. Their parents are driving equal distances and praying that their place of employment doesn't close or downsize, outsource their jobs, or steal what little retirement plans they have, or take away their health insurance.

We grow some of our own food each year and I've cut out a lot of treats and complicated recipes with more expensive ingredients (e.g., lasagna has become a semi annual event--it's an expensive dish to make). We combine errands to save gas. We have had flourescent bulbs for years now. We skimp and skimp and skimp, and on the one hand, we have the energy gluttons pigging it up and on the other the rabid environmentalists wishing to dish out more pain just to prove their moral superiority. Well, I'm sick and disgusted with both groups right now. I can't decide who is more obnoxious. Those who would line their pockets based on craven corporate greed by insisting everyone needs to eat a certain way, only use certain products, and limit choice by manipulating the markets to eliminate competition. Or those who would sit back and sneer at people who have can't afford to avail themselves the toney exclusivity of the green end of the market right now (and accessing that market is being treated like joining a spa right now). I can't afford to pay $6 for a gallon of milk, and not many others around here can either.

In the meantime, where are the freakin' consumer strikes--yes, picket lines in front of the stores and gas stations. This bullshit about free markets setting the prices is just that--bullshit. It only works when you don't have the markets rigged in favor of the big guy or the company. The consumer doesn't stand a chance.

We've done a lot to change our consumption patterns over the past decade and recycle everything. So don't give me lectures about what an irresponsible consumer I am. I know there are many more out there who are suffering right now just trying to tread water. AND IT IS GETTING WORSE!