Here's an article about the plight of truckers with diesel over $4:
Truckers going broke and threatening strike
I'm torn here between sympathy and the usual annoyance with denial on display. First the sympathy:
“Everything in the world is going up (in price), except for what we do. I lose money if I start my truck, and that truck is paid for — free and clear.â€
...
“They lose money every day they go out.â€
..
“It’s the only thing I know how to do, driving a truck. But I sold my trailer the other day, and I’m not buying another one until something gets done.
...
“Our federal government is subsidizing railroads, airlines, banks and farmers,†he said. “Meanwhile, we’re being taxed to death.â€
Now for the other part:
“It might be a good thing if the drivers strike. They can’t make payments.
In case you're wondering--I didn't cut out the part of the quote that explain how striking will making gas cheaper. It isn't there. Another trucker at least admits this:
Little does not expect his strike to bring down the per-gallon price of gas, nor does he expect to have any effect on the oil companies. “What I would personally like to see is our federal and state governments, until our economy recovers, suspend federal and state fuel taxes,†the 49-year-old said.
Here we see the first element of denial--the idea that the arrangement is only temporary. "You think I could crash at your place for a while? You know, just until I get back on my feet?" And the government is already struggling (and in many cases, failing) to pay for routine highyway maintenance--What would these same people say two years down the road when the lost revenue meant they could no longer get between LA and NY without breaking an axle or two?
“The second thing I’d like to see is an oversight committee for truck insurance, which is part of what’s taking us down.
That might actually be a reasonable idea, assuming the insurers aren't losing as much money as you are (which is not a bet I'd take).
Everything in this country is trucked.
Aha! Someone's about to say it--if everything is trucked and trucking has become uneconomical, it means we need to change our behavior to adapt to reality, right? Rather than the other way around?
Maybe if the oil companies bought all the trucks, things would change.
D'oh.
And let's return to this quote:
“Our federal government is subsidizing railroads, airlines, banks and farmers,†he said. “Meanwhile, we’re being taxed to death.â€
I don't disagree with the first sentence, but the federal highway system and gas prices that are kept lower than nearly anywhere else in the world is one of the biggest subsidies the US government offers.
The fuel is too high, and there’s no reason for it.
And here's someone who appears to be making the transition from denial to anger. And as much as I complain about denial, what do you suppose will happen when people collectively begin to realize that the arrangment
isn't temporary, and that the Earth can't be bargained with? How much denial and anger will we have to endure until we move into acceptance and can begin taking constructive action?