Beating Gas Prices by Skipping the Commute

[Demeter]

Source: Washington Post

Beating Gas Prices by Skipping the Commute
Nonprofit Group Tries Telecommuting to Ease Employees' Shock at the Pump

By Fredrick Kunkle
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, May 26, 2007; B01



High price of gasoline got you down?

Then stay home from work once a week.

The boss -- at least at one Loudoun County nonprofit group -- says you should.

After hearing that the rising cost of gas was devouring the modest nonprofit salaries of their staff, officials at the National Recreation and Park Association said yesterday that they will experiment with a system, beginning next week, that will encourage their 70 employees to work a four-day week or telecommute instead of driving to the Ashburn offices.


Staff writer Stephen Barr contributed to this report.



Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/25/AR2007052502091.html?referrer=email

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Some silver lining, huh?

Instead of paying people a living wage, instead of reinstating windfall profits, or pursuing anti-trust litigation, instead of ending a failed war over oil, instead of impeaching the mafia family running the US in the ground,

We can try to work at home. That is, assuming you still have one....

[geomon666]

1. At least they're trying to help. n/t

[INdemo]

2. Windfall profits tax ?

The oil companies has already told Congress to go ahead and enact such legislation..They will jut pass that tax on to the consumer and nothing could be done about it..Congress then backed off...Lets face it we are at the mercy of the oil industry.

[aquart]

5. Empty, empty threat. Actually, a benefit.

Pass the cost to the consumer and we'll hit that $4.38 a gallon or higher that will force Americans to actually conserve.

I say, go for it. Let the oil companies push us to alternatives.

[AndyTiedye]

7. Tax Gas to Build More Public Transit

[aquart]

11. We're talking about taxing OIL COMPANIES now.

This would be a federal windfall profits tax, not a state gas tax.

[SammyWinstonJack]

12. Force them to decide whether or not too eat also.

:eyes: I guess groceries just magically appear on the shelves right? It isn't just at the pump where we will be hurting, at $4+ per gallon, ya know. :shrug:

[Trajan]

10. The market is what the market is ....

The price will increase whether a tax is involved or not ... why not capture some of that profit and return it to the nation's treasury ?

Windfall taxes were last enacted during the 70's, and gas prices went up ...

Windfall taxes were removed in the 80's, and gas prices went up ...

I would prefer the re-capture of those revenues ....

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

19. A cartel is what a cartel is...

[Gormy Cuss]

3. If everyone who could telecommute one day per week were allowed to do so, it would be a good start.

It reduces gasoline usage, it would ease the commute traffic, and employees would gaining whatever time would normal be spent in commuting. Plus employees could gain more free time by multi-tasking. When I worked in a place that gave us the one day per week flexible location option I used to do my laundry on telecommuting day. Others in my company would schedule home maintenance or deliveries for those days. As the woman quoted in the article said, we managed to get more company work done at home because of the lack of interruptions. All told, the employer benefited from having a more productive, less stressed-out workforce.

The Post piece is just fluff linking the telecommuting trend to a hot button issue of the day.

[lakeguy]

4. this is the way to reduce prices...

by reducing demand. helps the environment too.

[AndyTiedye]

6. I Telecommute Full Time

I get a lot more work done this way,
and instead of living close to some office,
I live close to the mountain biking trails :)

[SoCalDem]

20. My son does too.. His office is right across the hall from their bedroom

He will hate it if he ever has to go back to commuting :)

[rucky]

8. I just started telecommuting, myself.

Once you get used to webinars and conference calls and such, I think it's more productive than an office environment. and the dress code RAWKS! Not to mention, I drive on average of 7 miles per week, now. We're selling the minivan and saving on insurance & maintnence, on top of it all.

[Spinzonner]

9. Some issues

Not show stoppers but things to consider.

Telecommuting mostly benefits white-collar workers. Blue-coller and service jobs don't really fit the model.

Longer and fewer work days could compensate/benefit the non-white-collar workers but could put a strain on child-care needs or impact those who may have second jobs.

[BulletproofLandshark]

13. Nationalize the U.S. oil industry NOW!

Realistically it's a nonstarter, I know. But how many billions of dollars in quarterly earnings is enough? And how much longer can the average family survive this way? I think about all the innocent people in this country who are destined to suffer for Big Oil's greed, and I get angry. When the anger reaches critical mass on a national level, the robber barons will rue the day they decided to push us too far.

[Sherman A1]

14. Wish I could, but I have one of those

have to be in the building jobs.....Retail.

[Donnachaidh]

15. yup -- and all those other peons that work with their hands

are basically SOL - they don't exist. Expect all sorts of *happy newscasts* on the wonders of tele-commuting.

Think these people will do reports on the people who have jobs that don't involve sitting in front of a computer?

Think these reporters will do newscasts on those *mythical* minimum wage earners who are being DEVASTATED by the almost daily increase in the price of gas or the domino effect that is racing across our economy?

Hell NO!.

We're just going to hear about how WONDERFUL it is to work at home in our underwear. :eyes:

[NashVegas]

16. A Family Member Moved to a Smaller Town and Started Telecommuting Full-time

for HP. Her salary was reduced drastically. They called it a cost of living decrease.

[Q3JR4]

17. One could always bike...

or you know...walk. Both of which have some kind of health benefit and don't rest on spewing amounts of green house gases into the air.

[Sherman A1]

21. I would love to bike or walk, but it's

23 miles one way cross town and public transportation really isn't an option as our wonderful train system starts running at 5am which is when I am to punch in for work.

[demnan]

18. Non profits offer a lot of benefits

that higher paying employers don't offer. Decent vacation time, usually better health benefits and in my case a real retirement plan.

That being said, I wish I had this policy, although duing summer months I have flex time I am not allowed to work from home, although as a web developer I easily could.