(This is my first diary. Be gentle with me.)
Memorial Day 2008 has come and gone. Gone are also the days when people would drive significant distances with their families for vacations. The reason is simple: $4+ gas.
Our appeasor in chief failed miserably in his most recent attempts to get the nation that helped with the September 11th attacks to produce more oil. Hillary and John McSame attempted to push the "gas tax holiday" proposal that not one major economist has signed on to So Detroit (aka the big US car companies) has stepped in with it's recent marketing ploy: free or nearly free gas. Dodge, Chrylser, and Jeep have been running a promotion where you can get gas for $2.99 / gallon for the next three years if you buy one of their vehicles through June 2. Such a wonderful offer! Or is it?
Much like the gas-tax holiday scam, anyone who understands even the slightest understanding of supply and demand can figure out it's a scam. Lower gas prices means higher demands which keep prices up. GM (makers of the Hummer, 9 miles/ gallon) knows that their vehicles are hardly the most efficient. If you use more gas at lower prices, where are the savings? Plus what happens after three years? Yes, one could sell the gas guzzler, but after depreciation and presuming anyone else will buy it, will you make out ahead in the long run? Most probably not.
But the most offensive thing is the message they send. Guzzle away, we'll pay for it! That's like buying an alcoholic the first round on the house. In this day where oil has topped $137 a barrel and clearly no end in sight, where America needs to dramatically cut it's dependence on foreign oil, where Detroit has repeated blocked any means of adapting tougher CAFE standards to increase fuel efficiancy in cars and trucks, was grately responsible for the untimely death of the electric car, now and forcing Americans to make the choice between food, drugs, and gas, there's just one question:
Why does Detroit hate America?