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Yesterday I got lost on the way home from work. Slightly embarassing, I know, but what can I saw? I'm not from around here!
The Kansas interstate highways are pothole breeding grounds, and normally I approve of the state's efforts to patch them up. (My taxes put to practical use! Hooray!) I'll even allow that midday, when there's less traffic, is an ideal time for repairs... just not, you know, on the interchange I need, yeah?
Thwarted by pothole patchers, I exited the highway the next opportunity I had, and inconveniently landed myself on one of the few streets in this city that isn't on the grid. (Curse you, Santa Fe Trail Drive!) Usually I have a decent sense of direction, but the diagonal street threw me off, and I ended up spending some quality time driving in circles around Lenexa.
What was I thinking the whole time? I wasn't worried about finding my way home. I may not know the city very well, but I do know that numbered streets run East-West. If all else fails, I can always count my way home. No, the whole time I kept thinking "I am wasting so much gas!" Over the weekend, regular gas hit $3.50 a gallon here, which is enough to make me not want to drive anywhere. Getting lost is expensive.
Yesterday I read that both Hillary Clinton and John McCain favor a summer gasoline tax holiday. They would like to temporarily suspend the 18.4 cent tax between Memorial Day and Labor Day. I don't know much about economics, but my immediate reaction was that it sounded like a bad idea. Don't get me wrong, I don't like paying lots of money for gas. Since I started driving, the price per gallon has gone up about 250%, and I gripe about it every time. But part of me also believes that the expensive gas is good. Like I said, it makes me want to drive less. And driving less is a very good thing. (I'd walk to work if it wouldn't take 2.5 hours and involve leaving at 5 am. I miss public transit.)
This morning I read Thomas L. Friedman's column, which confirmed that I'm not the only one thinking this way. He writes:
Plus, we need the tax money to fix the potholes.
The Kansas interstate highways are pothole breeding grounds, and normally I approve of the state's efforts to patch them up. (My taxes put to practical use! Hooray!) I'll even allow that midday, when there's less traffic, is an ideal time for repairs... just not, you know, on the interchange I need, yeah?
Thwarted by pothole patchers, I exited the highway the next opportunity I had, and inconveniently landed myself on one of the few streets in this city that isn't on the grid. (Curse you, Santa Fe Trail Drive!) Usually I have a decent sense of direction, but the diagonal street threw me off, and I ended up spending some quality time driving in circles around Lenexa.
What was I thinking the whole time? I wasn't worried about finding my way home. I may not know the city very well, but I do know that numbered streets run East-West. If all else fails, I can always count my way home. No, the whole time I kept thinking "I am wasting so much gas!" Over the weekend, regular gas hit $3.50 a gallon here, which is enough to make me not want to drive anywhere. Getting lost is expensive.
Yesterday I read that both Hillary Clinton and John McCain favor a summer gasoline tax holiday. They would like to temporarily suspend the 18.4 cent tax between Memorial Day and Labor Day. I don't know much about economics, but my immediate reaction was that it sounded like a bad idea. Don't get me wrong, I don't like paying lots of money for gas. Since I started driving, the price per gallon has gone up about 250%, and I gripe about it every time. But part of me also believes that the expensive gas is good. Like I said, it makes me want to drive less. And driving less is a very good thing. (I'd walk to work if it wouldn't take 2.5 hours and involve leaving at 5 am. I miss public transit.)
This morning I read Thomas L. Friedman's column, which confirmed that I'm not the only one thinking this way. He writes:
If you are going to use tax policy to shape energy strategy then you want to raise taxes on the things you want to discourage — gasoline consumption and gas-guzzling cars — and you want to lower taxes on the things you want to encourage — new, renewable energy technologies. We are doing just the opposite.The rising gas prices are inconvenient, but this hardly seems like the time to give a temporary break and encourage people to drive more. Americans drive way too much as it is.
Plus, we need the tax money to fix the potholes.
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