Here we go again. The oil corporations are warning us that gas prices will hit five dollars a gallon by 2012. In fact, we’re already seeing those little hikes at the pump as they flirt with pushing the national gas price over three dollars a gallon one more time. That means gas prices will once again threaten to stifle summer travel. Here’s a prediction. It won’t happen.
In America, the economy is like a house of cards. If one card gets too heavy, the whole thing will come crumbling down. If you’re the Disney World card, you are going to throw your weight behind the tourism lobby, who in turn will plead with the energy card to please not kill another summer season. If the tourism industry has to cut back, and jobs are lost, then there are fewer people with money to spend. Now the retailers are going to put the energy industry in the bulls eye, too. More jobs lost. Eventually, it all goes full circle, and people can’t afford to shop or travel, so guess what? They don’t buy gas! Demand drops, and so do gas prices. Everybody loses.
There’s a strategy in play, and it includes the American public. Gas prices are like a little corporate barometer. They’ll keep pushing it to see just how far people will go without complaining. Your traveling habits are your voice. It’s one thing to say, it’s too expensive, and it’s another thing to stop traveling all together. In that way, the gas is sitting in the pump, and the BP executive isn’t meeting his sales goal. Just remember that your transportation habits are what really effect gas prices.