Gas costs more than cheap sex in Amsterdam right now, we all know that. Or at least Goody does. We also know that we’ve been spoiled for a long time; sex has been really cheap for decades and even 3$/gal is relatively cheap compared to other places in the world. The biggest issue in my mind is the fact that increased energy costs place a lopsided burden on the working poor and the middle class. Dick Cheney the CEO of Haliburton, I mean the Vice President, doesn’t really care about an extra 50$ a week in fuel costs. Nor do his henchmen in Washington and Wall Street, the halls of power de jour. And, just like Goody’s brilliant analogy based on crack whores and free-basing in Brunswick, the compounding effect is also seen in heating oil. And at Walmart, where increased diesel cost will show up on the store shelves. We all know who shops at Walmart, and it ain’t Bill Gates.
So what can nobody's like us do? Interfacing scripts with Google (why the hell didn’t I buy stock during their IPO?) is a good one. Of course, in the years since I wrote Pascal code for Goodwin and most of the people in our class, I’ve really become quite good with a chainsaw and not so good with Java. I was thinking about a ride board like they used to have back in the day. Kerouac got half his material from using one. An internet rideboard.com (already registered) could really help. How about mainerideboard.com with the Google scripts and commuter info. For carpooling too, share a ride to work every day and you cut your fuel costs in half. And if she's hot you might even get some service on the way. What's better than that? (Only bacon.) If she's not hot, it’s a pain in the ass. But being hungry is a pain in the ass too.
Opportunity is an insensitive word to use in Katrina’s eerie light, but we the people have a chance here to effect positive change on our country. Ever wonder why there isn't more public transport in cities? Why is San Fran's trolley system so unusual? In the early 20th century GM undertook a brilliant marketing stategy. In a stunning example of capitalism undermining social interests, GM bought up public transport and ripped out the tracks. They wanted to sell more cars and busses. I think ExxonMobile's father cried all the way to the bank.
Now is our chance to invest some of that $60B in public and mass transit. All the people that couldn't leave N'Orleans after the mayor called for evacuation? A viable rail system might have saved the day. Can you imagine the fuck-show that would be LA trying to evacuate, the pavement clogged with Hummers (the vehicle type dumb ass) and Navigators?
My prediction? A momentary abatement of prices for the short-term. Perhaps through the winter. Maybe it will even be enough to lull us back into a sense of neverending fuel supplies. Maybe the poor won't be burning furniture to stay warm. On the up side, cold winters are a good excuse to get some.
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