There is talk about all the speculators in the housing market. Investors buying a house or condo with the intention to flip it and turn a profit when as the market continued to rise. One investor profiting on another, it was a house of cards doomed to fall. Luckily, the families affected by the housing market are still a minority of the economy.
The other speculator market that's really hurting the average American family is that of oil. Sur,e there are some market forces that explain rising gas prices; but the very real fear of a short supply of oil in the future has driven up the cost. The weak dollar compounds the problem and now we're seeing $4.00 gasoline.
These forces are mostly out of our control. Who we elect and what kind of economic policy has some effect, but the supply of oil and the growing demand for it is very real.
But the truth is we've all been speculators in the oil market for the last 40 years. We've been speculating that gas prices would stay low and the urban planning and mass transit system we should have been investing in all along would never be needed.
We couldn't have been more wrong.
The 70s gas crisis was our signal to turn away from an economy built on oil dependency. But as a nation, we ignored it. As long as gas prices remained low there was no incentive to take action. Had we been progressively implementing a plan of action over the last 35 years there would have been some pain, but no where near as painful as the mess we find ourselves in today.
There is no reason to think that gas prices won't continue to rise past the $4.00 mark right up to and above $7.00 a gallon by the end of this decade. As a nation we're totally unprepared for the effect that will have on our economy. Already at $4.00 a gallon families are staying home instead of going out for entertainment or dining, there goes the service sector. Already travel across state lines has diminished as airfare prices rise. Transporting food, durable goods, basic supplies is becoming more costly and trucking company after trucking company is going under or just giving up and staying home instead of paying prices for gas for which they won't be reimbursed.
Action is needed. There is plenty you can do at home. Move closer to work, or commute from home. Switch to a bike or scooter instead of a car for your neighborhood driving. Petition to have your local community approved for electric vehicles on the streets. But much of the change needs to come from a state and national level.
First we need to reverse the trend of the last 50 years and bring back sensible urban planning. Urban planning centered around a plan for free and plentiful mass transit. Define the geography of each metropolitan area to be fixed as they exist now. Promise each city x number of light rail lines, people mover systems, and energy efficient buses based on population size and needs. Rezone the areas around those lines for multi story homes with stores and businesses on the first floor. Centrally locate industry and providing regular access to it via multiple mass transit lines.
Immediately start to build factories and technologies that will make these systems easier and cheaper to build. Pick a couple trial projects, cut the red tape, and get going. If no private enterprise wishes to tap into this goldmine, then the government should do it with the aim to go IPO in the future.
It may take 10-15 years, but we can reduce our dependency on oil to sensible levels. We just need some one courageous enough to start us down that path. It's no longer a mission to get to the Moon that America needs; it's the ability to get to the grocery store and to work without burning half a day's wages on gas to do so. Until that happens, America has no hope of rising from this mess.