Column: Not buying gas is the way to go

by Andrew Price

Daily Lobo columnist

When I first got my 2003 Dodge Neon, I could fill the tank for $14. The other day, I spent $25 and only filled it to three-quarters of a tank.

An Exxon executive receives a $400 million retirement package, and it's been reported that Exxon has more than 1,000 employees who have salaries in excess of $1 million per year.

All this leaves us little guys with the feeling that the liberals are holding us down with their cost-inflating regulations, while the capitalists are beating the crap out of us with their profit-taking greed.

I once owned a 1981 Volkswagen pickup that gave me 40 miles per gallon in town and more than 50 miles per gallon on the highway, while my Neon only gets 24 miles per gallon after a tuneup - highway or town. The Neon might run cleaner because of more environmentally friendly gadgets that Congress and the left have mandated over the years, but I would guess that the Volkswagen overall would be a more environmentally friendly vehicle than my no-power, gas-guzzling Neon.

With emerging economies such as China and India, the United States is no longer the only customer for crude oil. We can't simply say the price is too high and force them to lower it - as we could when we were the only game in town - because these other countries will pay the high prices. Since liberals don't want us to drill in Alaska or the Gulf of Mexico, we have to face the fact that gasoline will someday be as expensive as bottled drinking water.

The solution does not lie in ugly solar power cells or bird-unfriendly wind turbines, but rather in the free market itself.

Simply quit buying gasoline.

It seems to me this solution takes the teeth out of the problem and accommodates everybody's agenda. Eventually, the drop in demand will force gasoline prices to come down so that we can use it for only that which we absolutely need.

These high gasoline prices are a tax on all of us, and although I don't think we should throw the gas into the proverbial Boston Harbor like our forefathers did their tea, I think we should do something to show that we will not stand for it - change your habits and don't buy gasoline.

Not withstanding small towns, we need a more comprehensive public transport system. Albuquerque has an extensive bike trail system, but it is not unusual to see buses going down the street empty or only half full. Some parts of Albuquerque aren't even covered by the bus system, forcing people to drive. Instead of having a big bus half full, why not have twice as many smaller buses covering the whole town? These smaller buses could then feed the Rapid Ride system.

Al Gore once said gas was too cheap in America, and it would be better for our economy if prices were higher. His assumption was that higher prices would lower demand.

He was wrong - the demand is as high as ever and poor people are biting the bullet and having to decide between things like food or gas. They can't get to work unless they drive - once again we see that the most vulnerable among us are victimized. Gov. Richardson gave us all $100 to offset these high prices, but the state is making a killing in oil and gas revenues disproportionate to the $100 given to us.

I say give us comprehensive public transport in all the major cities - especially Albuquerque and Santa Fe - good enough that we can actually use it, ease the burden of high prices, and thumb our noses at the millionaires at Exxon.