by Scott Hughes
37 million people in the USA already live in poverty. This number has been steadily increasing throughout the Bush Administration. Imagine what may happen as gas prices continue to rise!
Most people in the USA live in debt, and accordingly most families know the meaning of the word struggle. Working class families work hard to figure out how to afford the necessities in life, such as the gas it takes to get to work. Millions of employed U.S. citizens live in poverty, since many employers pay less than the cost of living. Again, imagine what may happen as gas prices continue to rise!
Unfortunately, gas prices affect more than the transportation costs to get to work and the grocery store. For example, rising gas prices increase the costs of all merchandise including groceries, because it increases the cost of producing and shipping the merchandise. Beyond that, how will people pay their electric and heating bills?
The government won’t help, because Big Oil has bought all the politicians. Big Oil uses lobbyists, campaign contributions, and bribes to control our government. We don’t live in a democracy; we live in a plutocracy. Our votes mean nothing in comparison to big fat checks signed by Big Oil and other megacorporations.
In 2006, ExxonMobil recorded $365 billion of revenue. I often say that I believe that people have every right to their own money, and don’t have to give it away or use it to help people. (See my article entitled No Obligation To Give.) However, is that $365 billion really ExxonMobil’s? It’s simply the fiscally liquidated oil. As a natural resource, oil is no more theirs than ours. So, maybe these selfish companies don’t have any right to that money. Regardless, they won’t give up that money. They won’t give up the power.
We can only get saved by saving ourselves. Without the help of government or Big Oil, we the people need to reduce our dependency on oil. We need to prepare for the imminent spikes in prices. With rising prices in mind, we need to work together to figure out a way for all of us to get food, clothes, shelter, healthcare, and education. We need to reduce our dependency on corporate America. We need to reduce our dependency on imported goods, and instead focus on local goods and services, which we’d be better to trade with each other, rather than use government-owned paper money which is inflatable.