Monday, June 09, 2008

 

Gas Price Effects of the Day

People are giving up meat so they can buy fuel. Gasoline theft is rising. And drivers are running out of gas more often, leaving their cars by the side of the road until they can scrape together gas money. —Clifford Krauss reporting in "Rural U.S. Takes Worst Hit as Gas Tops $4 Average"

All very Third World. And the story has some interesting anecdotal accounts and statistics on the effects of the gasoline price rise—

Nationwide, Americans are now spending about 4 percent of their take-home income on gasoline. By contrast, in some counties in the Mississippi Delta, that figure has surpassed 13 percent.

I recently had to replace a gas cap. The clerk asked if I wanted it "keyed"? At first I didn't know what he was talking about. It took me a moment to realize he was talking about a locking gas cap.

I declined the offer. First, it would have cost about $3 more than the non-locking cap. Second, if anyone tries to siphon my gasoline they're as likely to suck up residual water as gasoline, since that's about how much I keep in the tank. And third, locked gas caps are inspiring some siphoners to take the shortcut of simply cutting the fuel line or drilling a hole in the tank.

Recently there have been warnings to anyone thinking about drilling into a metal tank of the danger of explosion. But the level of American education is not high. I wouldn't want to see anyone hurt for nothing.

Related post
Headline of the Day (4/02/08)

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