It was late April. Motorists were incensed with the rapidly
climbing price of gasoline. Industry analysts predicted the price
would decline soon, but meanwhile, oil companies were recording
huge profits ““ and drawing fire for it from politicians and
average Joes alike.
The year was 2005, and the average price of gas per gallon in
California was $2.58. In Los Angeles, it was slightly higher at
$2.63. Ironically, odds are that now, with gas hitting a statewide
average of $3.068 for self-serve regular, most people would fall on
their knees and give thanks if they came across gas going for $2.63
a gallon.
But the recent spike in fuel prices isn’t just a lesson in
irony; it’s also a lesson in the adverse affects of
short-term memory loss. Just a year ago, people were outraged over
what they considered to be an unspeakable $2.58 per gallon. But
when prices dipped around Memorial Day, we stopped being outraged,
and we adjusted.
Echoes of that should be reverberating through our minds as we
once again find ourselves outraged over the price of gasoline. And
once again we find ourselves heading toward a Memorial Day weekend
during which industry analysts predict the price of gas will drop,
according to the Los Angeles Times.
Certainly, some of the blame for steeper gas prices lies with
the oil industry and the federal government: the former for not
being attuned to consumer interests, and the other for not looking
out for the best interests of its people.
But some of the blame also lies with us, the consumers, for not
learning our lesson a year ago, or even years and years ago, when
the price of gas hit its all-time high during the early 1980s.
Granted, the political and economic landscape back then was
markedly different than it is now. But the fundamental issue
““ our dependence on oil ““ has not been resolved. And we
apparently haven’t been burned enough times at the pump to
learn that short-term rage does little to solve our problems.
Of course consumers should be furious right now. Unfortunately,
it seems like the main objects of their fury ““ President Bush
and Congress ““ have little sway over the price of gas. Prices
fluctuate based on a combination of factors, such as the
international oil market, refining capacity, and gasoline demand,
over which federal officials have little control.
So if you have to be mad, by all means, be mad. But be mad at
the people who aren’t pushing for a more rapid construction
of a rail line from downtown Los Angeles to Santa Monica, thus
denying you expanded public transportation. Be mad at automakers in
Detroit for not investing in hybrid technology when their foreign
counterparts started to.
And above all, be sure you stay mad, so that, come election
season, when your city councilmembers, mayors and governors are up
for re-election, you can ask them what they plan to do about gas.
Be sure you stay so mad that you translate it into a long-term
perspective rather than a short-term one.
In short, we shouldn’t take the latest price inflation at
the pumps to be an invitation merely to get angry. Rather, we
should take it as a wake-up call to be more productive and
proactive.
Otherwise, come April 28, 2007, gas will be hovering around
$3.50 a gallon and we’ll all be getting hopping mad again.
But that’s all we’ll be able to do.