Oil Dependence is Going to Suffocate Low and Middle Income Families

We need to find and exploit other, local, and renewable sources of energy. And fast. If only for our transportation.

Think about it. With prices for a barrel reaching over $60, and the cost to fill a tank reaching $2.75, this will only cause many of the products we consume daily much more expensive. And not just buying gas for our personal vehicles. All of the products we buy in stores have to get there, and many get there by semi-trucks or other freight transport that uses diesel. With the rise in diesel costs, the cost to transport these products will likely rise, and ultimately it will be us, the consumer, who will have to pay for the rising costs to transport these products.

Of course, this will have a spirally effect on everything else in our economy. We will need more money to live our daily lives, or else sacrifice some things, which we as a society are not good at. President Bush will tout giving us more tax relief that will only go to pay for items we already need to live, or to pay for gas to get to work. Or, in our case, it has gone to pay for the exponential rise in natural gas to heat our house in the winter. I don't think that is what Bush was expecting us to spend our tax relief dollars on, but as long as it goes toward some oil-type product, Bush and his family will benefit.

As long as we are dependent on oil to "fuel" our economy, anyone not related to the oil industry will pay. And pay dearly. Some families will find that they would be better off not working. Take for instance a family of four (two working parents and two young children). They would be spending $400 a month in gas to drive to work, $1000 a month for family covered health insurance, $937.50 a month for child care while working ($11,250 a year). That's $2,337.5 a month, or $28,050 a year. If a family makes $50,000 a year gross, then pays 20% for taxes, they will have $40,000 a year for their expenses. Now, about two-thirds of that amount will go to pay for work and family related expenses, leaving $11,950 for the rest of their yearly expenses.

Now, let's tack on other related, survival expenses for this family.
$700 a month for home rental or mortgage
$250 a month to heat their homes (economy pay spread out over the full year)
$100 a month for electricity
That's $1,050 per month, or $12,600 a year. Out of this total, about $8,000 goes directly to pay for gas or fossil fuels (add to that cost mowing the lawn and driving to get groceries or visit loved ones nearby and that total could easily go up to $10,000). That's 20% (or 1/4 when figuring in extra gas expenses) of this family's available income.

With these totals, the family would be running at a $650 deficit if these were the only expenses the family had. However, this does not include groceries, clothes, school supplies, mowing the lawn or snow removal, household upkeep, car payments, or insurance for vehicles, property or life. This family would be better off not working and using welfare programs to provide for their daily survival needs.

Not exactly what welfare reformers want to see, but may very well happen, if it isn't already.