The Ultimate Taxi News Blog

                                     Aspen Fuel Prices - April 29th 2008

Rising anger 

by Paul Andersen
Aspen, CO

 http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20080428/COLUMN/665674548

A friend who’s a builder used to drive his big diesel everywhere. Now he runs errands in a hybrid Prius and is happy to let his truck sit idle. “I don’t know how these guys with the big diesel pickups can keep driving them,” he told me. “Every time they fill up, it’s over a hundred bucks. I was doing that and it was starting to make me angry.”

For many, there’s little choice. Their trucks are their work vehicles. They’re angry at pump prices, but they’ve got to work. A hybrid is great, but you can’t haul construction materials in a Prius.

The anger my friend describes at the pump will also play out at the grocery store. Food prices are rising, and it’s easy to spend $150 a week on groceries. Factor in utility costs to keep the house warm and the lights on, and suddenly the cost of living for the average family is out of control. I say “average family” because it’s not hard times for everyone.

In Michael Moore’s film “Fahrenheit 9/11,” there is a clip of George W. Bush addressing a group of well-heeled supporters at a gala banquet. “You are the haves and the have-mores,” grins Bush. “And you are my base.”

I’ll never forget that clip because it made me realize how Bush’s elitist base has profited from the gross indiscretions of his failed administration. The cost of living is high because Bush put the interests of his friends ahead of the nation’s long-term needs…

Read more at http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20080428/COLUMN/665674548