Congratulations, America! Don't Let Up!!

A couple of days ago I noted the gasoline price at my most frequented filling station at $1.89 per gallon. I was amused and reflected back to late spring when many candidates in the Presidential primaries from both parties were supporting the idea of suspending the Federal gas tax for the summer months. Only one candidate stood up for addressing the problem versus buying primary votes at roughly $60 apiece (the average saving per household with the gas tax scheme for the entire summer). Only one candidate spoke openly that the problem was the demand for gasoline and if demand was reduced, that the price would follow - his opponents scoffed at him as being an elitist and not being in touch with the average American. Gosh - imagine that - someone trying to understand and solve the problem instead of giving a few token dollars for votes. At the time, there were 17 candidates still duking it out in the Democrat & Republican camps. Statistically speaking, 94% of them were clueless about the problem and thought $60 per household would make Americans forget about it. Amazingly enough, they are almost all still holding their elected offices today in spite of this shallow thinking. Wake up, voters - you really need to pay attention!

At our house, we sold our gas-guzzling SUV and picked up a small (American made) economy car which immediately started saving us $75/month in gasoline expenditures. Many other Americans did the same thing. We were delighted to participate in this exercise, proving that free markets can and do correct themselves - without government intervention.

So now we are seeing sub-$2/gallon gasoline after just 5 months of reducing our collective demand - down from $4/gallon. My message today is very simple. GASOLINE IS NOT ON SALE, folks. Do not go out and start guzzling gasoline because it feels like it is "on sale". A 50% price drop at the pumps was due to reduced consumption. Increasing consumption will have the opposite effect. It will require immense discipline on the part of all American consumers to keep the price down and frankly, to cause it to drop even further. Gasoline cost roughly $0.24 per gallon when I first learned to drive. Wouldn't you like to see that on the sign outside your local filling station?

And just to expand this thinking a bit, as we have reduced our consumption of gasoline, would you be open to the notion that in so doing, we have also reduced our harmful emissions into the atmosphere and helped the environment? Wow - an amazingly simple thing like driving less and converting to more fuel-efficient automobiles providing more net income to your household AND helping improve the environment at the same time. The next time someone comes to my doorstep and wants my signature on a petition and a donation to fund a political action committee / lobbyist to buy influence in Washington regarding an environmental cause to cleanse my conscience, I can now engage in a meaningful conversation about how I have already made a difference and suggest that they are the new endangered species. We may be on to something here, America. Keep up the good work!