by Greg Allamon (Spring 2011, Section 1)
Gas prices are expected to reach $5 dollars a gallon in the summer of 2011. This has huge effects on families because they often fill their gas tanks up once a week. This increase in price can account for a significant amount of a person’s spending. The list of cons is astounding, such as stunting economic growth. Instead of a visiting a store to buy goods and services many times when prices rise, consumers halt their spending. Other things such as family vacations are cancelled and that guilt free spending turns into a self conscience burden.
A different perspective through is the pros of the rising gas prices. There may not be a positive for “us” but for America as a whole. As prices rise less Americans will be on the road. If less people are driving, there will be less car accidents and fewer deaths. Another angle on this is the fact that people will drive slower to maximize their miles per gallon. Everybody knows that speed kills, so with less speed fewer humans should be killed. This brings us to our next topic.
Hybrid cars should be more sought after since gasoline is higher. With great gas mileage how could you pass one up if you are in the market for a new vehicle? When gas prices rose in 2007 sales rose for higher mileage cars, while trucks, SUVs, and vans decreased. In essence this leads to less air pollution. Air pollution is smog and carbon monoxide regular gasoline vehicles emit. A hybrid car produces less of this via less fuel used. There is a study from University of Birmingham in Great Britain that car pollution has been linked to pneumonia deaths.
Focusing on the business aspect, if anything, local businesses may profit. Instead of driving out of your way to a town or city shopping center, why not stop at a local business for shopping needs. If gas is at a point where you are losing money by driving a further distance, you may save more by spending the few cents extra from a local rather than finding a Wal-Mart or Kmart. This carries over to even farmers. They may start to open up more local stands selling fruits and vegetables.
One of the last benefits may be a healthier family lifestyle. If you cannot afford to go out everyday Americans may look forward to a movie night and cheaper recreation options. This may be great for those who feel family bonding has decreased with busier lifestyles. They may get to experience the outdoors more and just may learn something about themselves.
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5 comments:
I do agree that people spend less or tend not to vacation when gas prices are high. However, living six hours away from home, traveling gets tricky with the money situation. When first come to Cal, gas was reasonably priced and I would travel home every holiday. Now that prices of gas have gone so high I am unable to afford to go home. Thus missing out on Easter Break with my family. As a college student I would be unable to afford a hybrid car. My car is fairly good at gas but from going from only $20 to fill my car to $60 is a big hit to my purse strings. Hope gas prices go back down. - Alison Roth
Rhasshan Dunn,
Wow! The perspective you have on America as a whole stating that their will be fewer accidents and fewer deaths is an extremley abstract way of looking at the gas prices. Although it is very unique and clever, I still dont want to pay 5 dollars a gallon.
The major topic focused on in this blog entry is what’s called unintended outcomes. These outcomes could either be positive or negative. In this entry there are a number of positive unintended outcomes as a result of raising the gas prices. Another example of this is getting a flu shot. When one decides to get a flu vaccine they are normally concerned with keeping themselves healthy. The unintended positive outcome of this is that because the vaccinated person does not contract the flu virus, the people he or she is in contact with now have a larger chance of staying healthy.
The major topic focused on in this blog entry is what’s called unintended outcomes. These outcomes could either be positive or negative. In this entry there are a number of positive unintended outcomes as a result of raising the gas prices. Another example of this is getting a flu shot. When one decides to get a flu vaccine they are normally concerned with keeping themselves healthy. The unintended positive outcome of this is that because the vaccinated person does not contract the flu virus, the people he or she is in contact with now have a larger chance of staying healthy.
That is an interesting take on higher gas prices. Many people try to go out less when gas prices are higher so they can end up saving money eating at home. This is fine for the individual but if too many people stayed home when gas prices are high bigger businesses might suffer. Profit might be down for those businesses
-Caitlin Koceski
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