Monday, May 01, 2006

Feeling the Pinch in Pork Smith

Filled up the tank here in Pork Smith -- thirty-three dollars and change.

Paid the bills with my paycheck. Had just over sixty dollars left when I was done. And that's only because I haven't paid the medical bills yet. Once I've put something on those -- I owe the hospital, the dentist, the clinic -- I'll be stony-broke again.

And my summer classes haven't made. Went to a party of university instructors this weekend, everyone was joking -- in a sort of grim way -- about getting work at McDonalds this summer, because hardly anyone's classes are making. Students can't afford tuition, apparently.

And mr. delagar has a summer class, up the hill, which he needs to take. He has a class he's teaching, too, which in theory should cover his expenses for taking the summer class -- but with gas at 3.00 a gallon, I'm having my doubts.

How do you like your lackwit president now, GOP voters?

2 comments:

zelda1 said...

That's why we bought a little bitty car. But, it has not helped. We are still spending over 25 bucks to fill the tank, but we do get really good gas mileage. It's horrible and not going to get any better. This is what I always call the Republican pinch. It always affects us barelies. Barely safe from poverty, but one little thing can send us right back down to beans and crackers on a good day.

Anonymous said...

An American phenomenon? Here in England, petrol has gone up in price a bit… a few pence in the last year. We’ve seen about a 5% increase in our local area. This is another example of how the American people are being bled by corporations running the country, in this case, the oil corporations. Set aside the fact that our military is in control of the massive Iraqi oil reserves from which millions of barrels are pumped, sold and delivered to… to where? And if those reserves belong to the Iraqi people, where are signs of their profits? Well, that’s another issue.

Set aside the fact that US prices stay “low” compared to Britain because of the government subsidies applied from US federal taxes. Heaven forbid we look at what Americans actually pay per gallon if we factor in the additional cost to us in those hidden taxes. The price of the American fuel market, because of its “supply and demand” generator, will continue to increase as long as the American people permit it, as long as they continue to fear the loss of fossil fuels, as long as they fail to realise that fear is cultivated by politically connected corporations (yes, to both Republicans AND Democrats) through a well established tie between the American identity and the car culture. In other words, if someone doesn’t own a car, rides a bike or public transport, it is assumed they are unable to afford a vehicle, they are unable to achieve the American Dream.

The American People have a bigger dragon to sly than just the current administration, I’m afraid.