During the summer of 2008, gas prices reached a national average of $4/gallon for the first time. Gas prices are on the rise again. American families across the country are feeling the pinch of rising gas prices; however none may be feeling the stress of these price increases more than rural families in the U.S. who have found themselves choosing between paying the electric bill or filling the gas tank so they can drive to work
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Unit 2: Poverty & Place- Gas Prices
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Being 22years old now, I have been blessed with the strains and stress that gas prices provide for society over the last 6 years. Living in Maryland may not seem as bad as some states such as Mississippi, however, that is not always the case. I spend almost everyday and weekend on the water, which includes spending money filling up my boat along with the weekly fill ups in my car. The rise of gas prices seems to add more financial stress on families and even on people like me. Using sociological imagination to think about geographical location and the impact that it has on peoples ability to either pay their montly electril bill or fill up their cars on gas is easy for me to do. I find that I go through the same sort of montly decisions that some families may experience living in Mississippi. I live in a rural community, and in order to get to a grocery store or to work I have to drive almost 15 miles. Being a younger generation, and in college, the decision to either drive home and see my family or be stuck at school causes great stress as well. Issues that families may face living in rural communities are those that transportation is not as easy as those who live in urban societies. Public transportation is not the most convienent source and if a family has to travel anywhere, the distance is much longer than those living in cities. I feel that the government can impliment new programs that allow cheap public transportation services to aid those living in rural communities. Other issues that a family or the community may face while living in rural areas is the construction and modern updates to expand grocery stores, shopping centers and escape from the historic background of some of the towns. This would cause housing prices to increase in certain areas and would then just drive those living in poverty to either suffer from the increase or be forced to move to another rural community. Overall, I feel that public transportation would solve much of the issues that poverty families may face while living in poverty such as rising gas prices. It would save the working class money and would allow then to always rely on some sort of work. Without public transportation, many families question if they can even fill up on gas because they have to pay montly bills. This would give people peace of mind and would provide them with the opportunity to make it to work everyday.
Gas has been a big issue for a while. However, I consider myself lucky to be living where I am because gas has not reached up to four dollars yet. But as of right now, gas is a little above $2.50 per a gallon and I am still complaining on how expensive gas is. And I can imagine how bad rural families are dealing with gas at four dollars. It seems rural areas are more affected by the high gas prices because they need gas to work the trailers and they are isolation from a lot of things. As a result, rural families must use more gas than families in other areas like Maryland, where getting to work might not be as far and homes are not as isolated from each other. In addition, many individuals drive trucks in the rural areas and trucks do not get a lot of miles per a gallon. As a result the individuals driving trucks are using up a lot of gas in order to get to one place. The people in poverty in rural areas have little resources and is harder to find resources to help them because they are so isolated. In addition, its hard to find work especially if you live 20 or more miles away from an area where there is work. But there are some ways the government can help individuals in rural areas. For instance, the government should have more public transportation available to the families in rural areas because agreeing with 211 I also believe the rise of gas prices are stressful. And if the government were to provide more public transportation, gas prices could be more less thing individuals might need to worry about. Also, the rise of gas prices are a hassle, especially if you are in the rural area. Besides the fact the trucks individuals drive get bad gas mileage and the rise of gas prices, but the individual has to go to the gas station more often because the individual is using up so much gas. An idea to solve this disparity is definitely having more public transportation available for families because I believe this is a main issue individuals are dealing with. Also, if there were more transportation opportunities it will help individuals get to work and worry about paying so much money in order to get to work.
It is not very hard for me to use my sociological imagination to think about how geographic place shapes families’ experience related to shifts in the economy and how Mississippians are feeling as gas prices rise. Much like Mississippians, my family lives in a rural area living and working on a dairy farm in Maryland. My family and I know what it feels like to make the decision to either fill a tank of gas in the truck that carries hay and feed to the cows that in turn support our family farm because they produce the dairy that we sell to make a living. Or to fill the truck that we need to get into town (sometimes up to 15 miles away) to get either more gas or our groceries. Gas prices have disproportionably affected rural families because these families begin with a lower income and they are the families that depend on gasoline the most. Therefore, most of the little income that they make goes towards gasoline for various items like tractors, machinery, trucks or other items that depend on gas to work. I also think that gas companies are a bit manipulative and know that families in rural areas depend so much on the gas and therefore, they raise the prices. I disagree that the government should aid families and individuals by providing public transportation as 211 and 324 have said. I don’t think that just by providing public transportation the problem will be solved. It is logistically very hard for public transportation to reach rural areas. There is also the financial aspect of public transportation that some people may not support or allow for funding to be contributed towards public transportation. It is also unreasonable for some families in rural areas to rely on public transportation because they make their living on their own farms or land and public transportation will not fix their problem. I think that the disparity can be solved by the government supplying tax breaks or lower gas rates for those in rural areas that depend on gas. They could also provide free amounts of gas for those in rural areas depending on what they need it for and how much they need. It would also be a good thing for the government to supply, or offer at a cheaper amount, rural families with alternative machinery, vehicles and equipment that don’t run on gas at all or run on less gas and more electric or solar power.
I consider myself lucky to be living in the Washington metropolitan area. There are so many opportunities here especially for the middle working class families. My family like many, have been hit hard by the economic down fall the last couple of years. Gas prices affect me because I am a student, but the average is $2.50-$2.90 a gallon. Places like Mississippi that have reached $4.00 a gallon and have less job opportunities have it worse. I feel that location is very important. Some places have proper resources and others do not. We live in a suburban area where transportation is easy to obtain even if we do not have cars. In a rural area, everything is far away from each other. Most people have to travel far into the city to work. Public transportation is not ideal for someone who has to drive 1 hour into the city to work. The commute would be doubled. It is unfortunate but it is a lose-lose situation for people living in Rural neighborhoods. If they chose to drive they must pay high gas prices, public transportation may be limited for many. In contrast, we live close to the city, if we cannot afford gas, we can take the metro into DC or Bethesda to work. The government should monitor the factors that contribute to Poverty. It is not fair to trap people who are already stuck in difficult situations. Rural areas do not have many job opportunities; it doesn’t make sense for gas to be so expensive in that area. Business wise, I understand but it keeps the rich, richer and makes the poor, poorer. If I were living in a rural area, I think it would be best to move into a suburban area where if I can’t afford gas for my car, I can afford public transportation to go to work. For people who are stuck in those situations need to relocate to get rid of their struggles.
The New York Times reported that the spike in fuel prices is creating special challenges in rural communities. Residents in such areas typically earn less than their urban counterparts and travel longer distances, to get to work. Compounding the problem of high prices, a great deal of residents in this area drive older, less fuel- efficient model vehicles. These mostly include pick-up trucks which do not get very good gas mileage. Trucks transport 90 percent of everything people buy now. How do you think these products get to the stores? The raise of fuel prices limit the distribution of necessities that the truckers deliver. To compound it even further, the Times stated that jobs are not as plentiful in rural areas, so the commute is even longer. Moreover, rural workers are more dependent on fuel for transportation because in most areas they lack the public transit systems that help make urban life convenient. This greater divide between "haves" and "have nots" creates all kinds of social problems that we do not even want to contemplate. Yes, higher gas prices do affect all of us, but, as we see, some are disproportionately affected more than others. Considering the percentage of income that must go to gasoline alone and the fact rural incomes are somewhat lower than in urban areas, as well as that jobs are more scarce, the effect on the rural population will be proportionately greater. An additional issue has become outsourcing. While many people in rural areas have found work in factories, many of these jobs are no longer available because they have been outsourced. With that being said, if a person from a rural area who lost his job this way will likely have to travel to the nearest city in order to find work. There have been instances of people commuting over 100 miles just to work. Therefore, majority of their paycheck end up going towards travel expenses taking away from the individual's ability to provide for his/her family.
I think that government provided transportation specifically for rural areas, as suggested by blogger .211 is a fantastic idea. What I think would be an improvement is a transit/ carpool system actually provided by the company the person works for. It can work similarly to a bus transit system, but can be specifically for two or three companies. Any company that would be willing to participate in such a program would be given a sizable tax write off. With a system that includes neighborhood stops, this could work out very well. It would definitely need some work and tweaks, but a company-exclusive transit system would save workers an unimaginable amount of money, as well as reflect well on the companies. If the buses are green, then it would be even better.
I come from a unique family because I have spent my whole life growing up in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. However, my mother is from rural Texas and my dad is from rural South Dakota. They were both the first people in their families to go to college and move to a big city. They always talk about how hard it was growing up in these rural towns because they do not always receive the same resources that big cities receive. Like blogger 211 wrote, my parents always complained about how long it took to get to certain resources. My father grew up in Freeman, South Dakota, which only had one small grocery store. If they did not have what you needed, then you had to drive up to Sioux Falls, which was further than an hour away. That requires a lot of gas to fill up your car, which is something that I do not have to worry about in the DC area. I know my parents always talk about how great it would have been to have public transportation in these rural areas to help them out. However, this has never been offered. Bus systems and subways have always been solely offered in big cities. Rural towns sometimes seem like islands in the middle of states because of how isolated they are from resources. This is something that needs to change in order to have a more unified and successful US. Bus transportation to bigger cities needs to be offered to small rural areas to help the residents out.
Although high gas prices affects mostly everyone, geographic place definitely shapes families experiences related to shifts in the economy. A person living in an urban area will be affected differently than a person living in a rural area. The rise in gas prices will have a bigger impact in a family living in a rural area like Mississippi. People living in a rural area have everything farther away so a car is a necessity. For example, their jobs are further away so in order to keep their job they must have transportation. Also people living in Mississippi may use a lot of gas for the trucks and tractors used in farming. In an urban area, on average everything is more near. There is a store almost in every corner where you can walk to get the things you need. Also metro and bus transportation is easily more available so a person does not necessarily have to own a car. There are more busses available. That is one of the main reasons why the high gas prices have affected rural families. Rural families have no other choice than to pay the high gas prices or lose their jobs or businesses. However, there may be the people who can not afford the high gas prices. The government should aid families who do not have things easily available to them. For example, I too agree with 238 that the government can lower gas prices where public transportation is not used as much like in rural areas. Another option may be for the government to invest in opening more bus and metro routes so that people would not have to depend so much on cars.
I think that the $4.00 gas prices in 2008 hurt the rural South areas the most because they don’t have as many high paying jobs as the suburban areas and they have longer commutes to get to their jobs since there aren’t as many buses and trains in these areas. Also in these rural areas, not only are the jobs minimally paying but they aren’t paying as well either. Between the low paying jobs, long commutes, scarcity of employment, and terribly high gas prices, the rural southern areas are on a straight path to poverty. I definitely believe that the government in these suffering areas should get together and give the less fortunate aid/money who can’t pay enough to drive to work and pay their bills at the same time. If the government isn’t willing to do so I think that at least the peoples’ employers should be doing so. What would happen if all the employees were poor and it resulted in a significant decrease in the number of people being able to work for your company? A lot more employers would be stepping up if that were the case. In my opinon, I think that this can be solved if the jobs were to raise the pay for their employees, re-locate their business locations closer to the employees, or simply just lessen the gas prices a bit which is clearly out of the picture. Thankfully this article is from 2008 and the gas prices have drastically decreased since then. But with summer coming, I’m sure the prices will once again be on the rise.
Individuals in urban areas have more options to manage the increase of gas expenditures, and can use different means of transportation. Those in urban areas can rely on the bus, metro, carpooling, compact hybrid cars, and riding their bicycles to work. However, in rural areas public transportation is simply not accessible. Others find no use in hybrid cars, because they need trucks and larger vehicles due to the nature of their work. We also learned that those living in rural poverty, live in homes that are more spread out, unlike communities in urban areas. This means that individuals in rural areas can rarely rely on neighbors for carpool, because they may live miles apart from each other. The lack of public transportation and cost effective vehicles, leads to rural areas being disproportionately affected by rising gas prices. On another note, the average monthly income in Mississippi Delta greatly differs from suburban Maryland. Living in more affluent areas means that a smaller portion of our budget goes towards paying for gasoline. In 2008, the author cites that individuals in the Mississippi Delta were spending 13% of their income on gasoline. As we learned in class, the average American family spends 15% on food; therefore, in Mississippi individuals were almost spending as much money towards gasoline as they were towards food. Those earning less were substantially affected by the spike in gasoline.
The government should aid rural communities that are even more affected by the increase in gas prices. Although I agree with Blogger 324, that providing public transportation in rural areas is a necessity; I also think that this would take time, and time that individuals in Mississippi Delta do not have. In order to improve public transportation, the government and state may have to invest in building better highways or roads, and this naturally would take years to complete. Although it should be added to the government agenda, I do not think it is a quick solution to the disparity in gas prices. The government could offer families a gasoline credit after taxes; thus, subsidizing a main portion of the money they utilize for gasoline. For example, the government could give families $500 a year towards gas. Obviously a family uses more than this in a year, but it would at least help families pay for transportation to and from their workplace. Often government initiative takes a while to activate so perhaps the more realistic solution is in corporations. The article mentions how one employer lent his truck to his employee so he could come into work. Perhaps, employers could provide a company bus that picks up a group of employees at a middle ground location. In this way, employees could reduce the amount of money they spend on gasoline.
In 2008, the gas price reached almost $4/gallon and it was a big concern for everybody. According to the times, people in rural area were more severely affected from the gas price. Therefore, it is more burdensome for people living in rural area. Compared to urban counterparts, people in rural area tend earn less income with less education. Also, there are not many job opportunities and such limitations may give them hard time sustaining their living with little budget. Overall, the resource availabilities are very limited in rural area. For instance, in Mississippi, little public transit is available so people do not have any options but to drive to work. As we all know, everything is scattered and people might have to drive at least 40 minutes just to go to the grocery shopping. And the roads are rocky and rough so they tend to drive heavier vehicles. The times stated that people in NY spend barely more than 2%, while people in Mississippi spend more than 13% or more of their family income on gasoline. So even if people make same income, the live styles will be very different in rural and urban area. As people in rural area spend more money on gas, they cannot pay their bills and they will eat out less while people in the city have easier accessibility with more resources. Also, the changes in spending habits due to high gas prices (drive less, eat cheaper food, cut down unnecessary spending) must have influenced the economy in rural area more than the urban area. In order to solve this problem, as the Times addressed in the article, the government should aid people by cutting work weeks to four days. I also agree with blogger 238 that providing tax breaks and lowering the gas rates might be very efficient way of reducing the problems. In class, we also have learned how poverty and rural area are similar in many ways. Both suffer from limited housing availability, lacking in child care and health care system, low employment rate with less opportunities.
The rise of gas prices would really affect families living in places like Mississippi. In the rural areas of Mississippi, the people who live there usually live very far away from their workplace. Therefore, it is very expensive to pay for gas to travel to work and back. With the rise of gas prices, this just makes their expenses even more. I see it coming to a point where it will be so expensive for people in areas such as Mississippi to afford gas that they will have to stop working and try to find jobs closer to home. Rural families can be placed into poverty simply because of gas prices being too expensive. If gas starts to be as expensive as utility bills, it will come a point in time where an individual will have to spend less on gas to pay their bills. This will mean less traveling and will hinder them from doing things that they need to do. One of the main issues of poverty for people living in rural areas is the fact that they live so fare from their workplace. With gas prices going up it will make it that much harder to get good work because of the distance. This could also mean pay cuts. Individuals living in rural areas might have to settle for jobs that pay less because they are closer and cost less gas to get to. I believe that the government should continue trying to develop and use alternate fuels for cars to run off of that are less expensive than gasoline. Though this will not immediately help the situation, it could help in the long run. Another possible way to solve this would be for companies to give mileage checks to their employees that live a certain distance from the company. All in all, the rise of gas prices will raise expenses for those living in rural areas.
First, in regards to the post below me- I also live in a small town and there is NO public transportation whatsoever. While my grocery store is not 15 miles away, it certainly is not in walking distance. No matter what income level a family is at, increasing gas prices puts a financial hamper on everyone. Not only gas, but prices in transportation are increasing also, even if you directly do not pay for gas, you do indirectly. What I mean by this is the increase in bus and even metro fares. Before I even finished reading the question I thought about those living in rural poverty. Personally, I believe that rural poverty is worse than urban poverty for a number of reasons. First, those suffering in rural poverty have an overall lack of access to numerous resources: grocery stores, hospitals, jobs, any type of food aid (food banks, etc.). On the contrary, those living in urban poverty can at least access these services (yes for a large fee for some of them), but when it is a life and death situation, they at least have a option. They also have contact with the working world, but also face gentrification and segregation. If families living in urban poverty do not have a car or access to any type of transportation, getting to a hospital made lead in death. With that said, it is unfair for anybody’s life to be in jeopardy because of lack of transportation. Also, paying for an electric bill or filling a gas tank should not be in jeopardy also. I believe this is a cycle that needs to be mended. I am honestly not sure what the government can do to remedy this situation. We need a better transportation infrastructure. A voucher to use public transportation is a MUST. The US needs to develop a better and more efficient infrastructure (like that of Europe) because in turn it will make for productive economy if citizens are able to work and refresh the economy.
Living in poverty in a rural area can be much more difficult than living in poverty in an urban area. When it comes to gas prices, the gas may be slightly cheaper in rural areas than urban but when the prices rise during the summer, they rise everywhere proportionately. Although the gas in the rural area may be slightly cheaper, the rural family often travels much more than the urban family. As everyone else said, they live further from everything: their job, grocery stores, schools, hospitals, and even the gas stations themselves. Thus they use much more gas and must budget a much larger percent of their income to gas. They also do not have the option of public transportation like the urban poor do. Sometimes the urban poor can even get along by walking which is out of the question for rural poor. Furthermore, many of the free services for the poor are located in the cities. In addition, to having to drive further for everything that they need, if the rural poor want to take advantage of any services created for the poor they must travel further. I do not think that the government could provide public transportation for rural areas. The only option could be gas vouchers or discounts for rural citizens. Since they do not live in the city and do not get to use public transit they should be offered some sort of alternate assistance for transportation. The government could also introduce tax breaks for gas stations that set up in rural areas and keep their prices a certain percent lower than city gas stations.
Living in the Washington Metropolitan area all my life, I have taken full advantage of the public transportation systems provided. Every day I use the Metro System which allows me to save money on gas needed for my car. Washington, DC being a city where employment opportunities and locations are not such wide spread, individuals have the opportunity to walk, take the bus or train. However, in rural places such as Mississippi, Wyoming, New Mexico, and Montana, it is evident to see why most individuals are spending a high percentage of their income on gas. With gas prices rising, having to travel long distances just to make it to work will force individuals into a financial hole. In addition, due to most residents in these rural areas driving trucks for work or just as their family car, it cost even more to fill up their tank. I could definitely see how not being able to fill up vehicles such as trailers could cause someone to be unable to work. During the time the gas prices were high in this area; my father was a truck driver and went weeks without working just because he could not afford to fill his tank. With most jobs being drivers of trailers in these rural areas, employees are not able to earn a living due to the high price of gas. Other individuals rely on their cars to get them to work that may be miles and miles away from their home. In rural areas driving to work may be father than usual due to everything being so spaced out. However, there are various ways that government can help with such problems. For example, providing more public transportation in these rural areas would alleviate the pressure individuals have of spending so much money on gas to fill up their cars. Public transportation would provide individuals an alternative to getting to work every day and therefore allowing them to save their income for other necessities. In the article it stated that the work weeks were cut back to four days, which I believe was a good effort at that time. Additional steps such as tax breaks should be made as well. When it comes to others ways that assistance could be provided, I totally agree with Alexandra on the idea of employers providing a company bus that picks up a group of employees at a middle ground location. This definitely would allow employees to save money. This company transportation would be beneficial especially since public transportation is not available as frequent or ever.
When I think about the rural areas of our country I think a lot about the peaceful lack of city noise that they must enjoy. However, the gas prices that they experience puts that peace to reast and brings the noise again. It is a very difficult thing, especially for those in the south where their culture is famous for meat and home cooked foods, to have to chose between filling the gas tank and other vitally important neccessities. Because rural areas and the south lack the noise of city life, they also lack the large amounts of violence and other issues of this kind. These stresses are replaced with those of living demands. Gas prices affect them the most because of the amount of gas they need in these areas to transport to their work as well as tractors, trucks and other machinery used in the farms and other fields to maintain the areas or grwo crops needed to make a living. Without these neccessary items, some are unable to get to work, or perform work in their own backyard. The rural areas are affected at a disproportionate rate by the rise in these prices because their demand for fuel is much higher than in cities, where not much transportation is needed and there are not many farms or other areas that might need heavy machinery with high fuel demand. In rural areas, everythign is spread out so it is much more difficult to get to. These resources that are miles away from home and not within walking distance include better paying jobs, schools, stores, gas stations and more. They demnand more access to transportation, meaning they need more fuel because they are traveling more. After reading .324's comment, I agreed with everything but the solution to this issue. I think public transportation would ruin these areas and simply bring not only more problems with the economy and the environment, but it will also transport more of the violence and other related issues from the cities to the rural areas. My solution proposal would be to offer more jobs by creating new ways instead of high manufacturing companies for those that reside in these areas to work. Rural areas will disappear as we know it if we begin to turn them into cities and the like with public transportation and factories.More opportunities to work from home as well as carpools provided by jobs in cities would be helpful to those living in high gas priced areas.
After reading the article “Rural U.S. Takes Worst Hit as Gas Tops $4 Average,” I feel the Government needs to step in and help a lot of these people. According to a survey in the article, many families in the south spend 13% or more of their family’s income on gasoline. This has been leaving many of the people that grow our food to choose between keeping the electricity on or getting gas for the tractor so you can harvest your crops. The Government can alleviate these families’ stress in a lot of different ways, such as lowering their taxes, welfare, food stamps. Another creative example would be for the Government to pay for solar panels on those families’ houses. This will greatly reduce their electricity bill and ease the stress that gasoline prices were creating. I agree with user .202 that this seems like an example of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer. User .202 makes a great point that the gas prices are the highest in areas that are the poorest and have the least amount of job opportunities. I also greatly sympathize with user .211. I personally live in the metro region so getting home is never a problem for me. I never considered some of the other students who live really far and have to spend a lot on gas just to get home and back to school.
.338 talks about government intervention and I could not agree more. After reading her post I can agree with her rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer theory. It is important to be able to help people in need. The article talks about people having to give up certain food in order to pay for gasoline. At this point in time it’s difficult for people to be able to relocate to another place due to the recession, so the government needs to intervene and either help financially, create a carpooling program or try to implement a temporary/permanent public transportation for these people. It must be a very difficult choice that these Mississippi families have to face to limit their food in order to be able to ultimately put food on the table and supply a roof over their heads. Gasoline is very important for these people but isn’t food and shelter as well. People should not have to face these types of choices. These prices have disproportionately affected the people in the rural areas because it’s further from the center. The further a person is from the center the more expensive gas will be so that the gasoline stations can make a comparable amount of money than in bigger cities where there is more people buying gasoline than in the out skirts. People living in poverty in the suburbs face more difficulties to accessing help because they are, again, so far from the cities where all of the main help and resources are.
Everywhere families are getting hit financially with the rising cost of gas. Even here in Maryland unleaded gas cost about 3.25. Using my sociological imagination people living in the rural south are hit the most, because in the south the cost of living in usually quite low compared with the rest of America. Yet with the high cost of gas down in the south families are not able to afford gas because they do not make that much money to begin with. In rural areas people have to drive farther to get to places too, and with the lack of public transportation it makes it extremely difficult for people to get where they need to go if they are not able to afford for gas. With the increase in gas prices I feel that more people will enter poverty because already they do not make enough money and to add higher gas prices families will struggle more economically. I feel that the government should aid families and individuals in these situations because if they do not the population in rural areas will most likely decrease. The government can implement public transportations, such as small buses. This way families living in rural areas can continue going to work. What is important though is for the government to keep in mind that these families do not make a lot of money so therefore they would have to keep public transportation cost low enough for families to afford it. I feel that public transportation is the best solution this way families can continue to live in rural areas and yet afford to go to work at the same time.
The geographic location of rural areas affects the rise in gas prices because rural areas are so isolated. In rural areas it is almost always necessary to use a car to get to the store or work. I am familiar with this struggle because in Portugal (the country my parents are from) my family lives in a rural area. There are very few shops within walking distance, and a car is necessary to travel in order to buy basic essentials. Being isolated from mainstream society forces people to rely on cars and some people find themselves having to choose between paying for gas or paying the bills. Either way, families in poverty, living in rural areas, struggle with paying the bills on time because they are spending a lot of money on gas or they stop paying for gas which will result in them not being able to go into work which could potentially lead to job loss. Both options have severe consequences and put poor people living in rural areas in difficult situations. The only solution I can come up with is to expand public transportation. Although the commute would most likely take longer, buses could help save people in this situation money. Currently, I am living at home with my parents and I do not own a car. I rely on public transportation- without it I would not have a way to get to school. Public transportation is essential in my education and it could be essential for people in rural areas as well because it would save them money and allow them to be able to pay more bills.
Rising gas prices has risen on the top ten concerns for citizens of the country. Whether or not you are ficle with your money, everyone will fork over the cash to fill up their tank.
For those that are very ficle with money and are not concerned with convenience, they may have the opportunity to use public transportation. This is not always offered to the rural families who live 30 minutes away from their job. Also, those who may have inherited a large suv or truck have to sometimes put up $90 to fill up their tank. They may not be in the financial position to be able to invest in a new car and are stuck filling up once or twice a week. They also may not be able to cruise another 2 miles down the road to another gas station that is $0.04 cheaper like those in the city can do.
However, individuals living in a city may get poor gas mileage and can relate to frequent fill-ups.
Noone agrees with high gas prices. The government can do all of us a favor and find an alternative resource to break foreign dependency. OR it may just be easier to offer public transportation to the rural families and encourage some kind of incentive besides saving money to lower traffic, pollution, and gas usage in cities.
Gas prices rising as becoming an increase concern for citizens of our country within the past 5 years. Those living in urban areas have the luxury of public transportation. Those living in rural areas do not always know this luxury.
Whether or not you are fecal with your money, nobody likes forking over $4 for a gallon of gas. But it does not matter how fecal you are with your money, everyone will put up the cash to fill up their tank.
Individuals living in rural areas may have inherited a larger vechile like an suv or a truck and may not be in the financial situation to invest in a new car. They may also have to front $90 to fill up their tank and may have to fill it up as much as twice a week when they have to commute to a job 30 minutes away. They might also not know the luxury of driving 2 more miles down the road to fill up for $0.40 less.
Those city drivers, they may be able to relate by getting poor gas mileage in the city. The government could help by funding alternative fuel resources and eliminating foreign dependency for fuel...OR they can offer other types of incentives for public transportation use to cut back on traffic, pollution, and fuel usage. They could provide more public transportation for rural families.
Gas prices rising as becoming an increase concern for citizens of our country within the past 5 years. Those living in urban areas have the luxury of public transportation. Those living in rural areas do not always know this luxury.
Whether or not you are fecal with your money, nobody likes forking over $4 for a gallon of gas. But it does not matter how fecal you are with your money, everyone will put up the cash to fill up their tank.
Individuals living in rural areas may have inherited a larger vechile like an suv or a truck and may not be in the financial situation to invest in a new car. They may also have to front $90 to fill up their tank and may have to fill it up as much as twice a week when they have to commute to a job 30 minutes away. They might also not know the luxury of driving 2 more miles down the road to fill up for $0.40 less.
Those city drivers, they may be able to relate by getting poor gas mileage in the city. The government could help by funding alternative fuel resources and eliminating foreign dependency for fuel...OR they can offer other types of incentives for public transportation use to cut back on traffic, pollution, and fuel usage. They could provide more public transportation for rural families.
High gas prices would disproportionably affect rural families for a variety of reasons. First off, families living in a rural community are more likely to have a lower income. Then the area is more likely to be spread out and thus require more driving to be able to attend places that are necessary like the grocery store, doctors, or school. Most of these families must pay high prices to be able to attend their jobs, which are most likely low paying and far away. Rural families also have fewer options to choose from for a variety of things, unless they are willing to travel a great distance. Thus in conclusion, high gas prices would force rural families in particular to allocate their gas money wisely in order to not fall into more debt.
I know living in Maryland commuting to and from Ocean City every weekend from Baltimore really hit my family hard the summer of 2008 when gas was ridiculously expensive. Because our society is so focused around automobiles, the gas prices are going to affect everyone, but living in rural Mississippi must have been challenging considering Mississippi does not have the numerous shopping centers every few miles that tend to pop up in Maryland. Agreeing with Blogger 221, driving 15 miles to find a grocery store would rightfully cause added stress to a rural family and high gas prices would seriously make families reconsider how they go about daily life to be less affected by the increase in gas prices. Gas prices have disproportionally affected rural families because annual income is much lower in Mississippi and other southern states than compared to northern states. From the 2008 census, the median income for a family of four was $58,518 in Mississippi where the median income for a family of four in Maryland was $101,803. Obviously with the gas price increase, families in Maryland would be able to adjust to the increase more comfortably than families in Mississippi. The government could create programs that regulate the price of gas to correlate with income levels in the area or public transportation could become more easily accessible. If the government cannot regulate the gas prices according to regional income than the government should step in and create vouchers to families who would not survive with the high prices. Similar to food stamps, gas vouchers would allow families who could not afford the increase to still go about their daily lives without the added stress of finding the necessary money to drive places such as work and grocery shopping.
I am very fortunate that I do not have to deal with the rise in gas prices, due to the simple fact that I do not have a car. I am also blessed that I live in the Washington Metropolitan Area in which I am able to access public transportation. I am able to access almost everywhere due to public transportation. I am able to get to school, the mall, or even another state (Virginia) using the metro. Although I am very fortunate to have access to public transportation others are not. Because I live in a suburban area I am able to access transportation, jobs and other important necessities such as food, water, etc. People who live in rural areas are not as fortunate, and do not have access to public transportation, grocery stores and jobs. Due to the lack of public transportation rural families have to depend on cars or another form of transportation to get around.
People who live in rural areas are definitely feeling the rise in gas prices for the simple fact that they live in areas that are isolated and far from cities and public transportation. Due to the fact that some families live far away from their jobs, rural families have to spend more money in order to fill up their gas tanks. Some jobs are 20 miles or more away from where people live, which requires a lot of gas and money. People who live in rural areas tend to have lower incomes. Having lower incomes does not provide rural families with the luxury of spending large amounts of money on gas. Gas prices take a huge bite out of families’ salaries which in turn take a toll on a family financially, physically and mentally. Not only do rural families have to worry about finding a job, they also have to worry about maintaining a job and arriving to work in a timely manner. With increasing gas prices rural families are forced to decide which is more important, either spending money on gas to get to work or other places or simply forfeiting a car in order to pay the electric bill or basic necessities for their families.
Rural areas in Mississippi are being hard hit due to the fact that they earn lower incomes compared to other parts of the country. Due to the fact that they earn lower wages than say the northeast it is very hard for them to use their wages on gas. Also jobs in Mississippi are so scarce that employees have to drive several miles to get to work, which in turn requires them to spend more money on gas. With increasing gas prices many people especially in rural places are being forced between a job and unemployment. Shifts in the economy can dramatically affect rural families in regards to access to work, accessibility to work and happiness overall.
I believe that the government should provide rural areas with cheaper gas or pass laws in order to make sure that gas prices do not reach an all time high in these areas; due to the fact that rural areas do not have enough income to support high gas prices. I agree with 238 that just providing public transportation to rural areas is not enough. Some families do not drive to work and work on their own farms. Public transportation would not alleviate the burden of paying for high gas prices for these people. Another problem with providing public transportation is the issue of money; who is going to pay for public transportation? Lastly, if public transportation were to be provided, where would it be located and would everyone be able to access public transportation or benefit from public transportation? All these questions need to be answered in order to help rural families.
After reading this article and reviewing the blog posts I would have to agree with .338 100%. The population in the rural south is a prime example of why they need to assist because gas in the metro area is cheaper than in rural areas. This is because there are more people to buy the gasoline in metro areas and travel to various locations tend to be shorter so the fuel you put into you gas tank doesn’t burn as fast, and in the metro area they also have the option of utilizing the metro system. In the rural areas, as the article states, employees have to travel up to 65 miles away just to provide for their families and gas prices are higher because there are less people that have automobiles to buy the fuel because they are being repossessed for lack of payment. I feel that the government should find a way to aid these families by bringing cheap/affordable transportation to these areas so that they can have options for the commute to work and save money. The government might even be able to give mainstream employers in this area a tax break for the sole use of providing transportation shuttles for their employees. I feel that the local government might even be able to mandate that land in these areas are sold to companies cheaper so that they can open their plants and provide closer jobs to residents of these areas. Overall, I feel that government intervention would help these people rise out of the economic struggle that they are facing.
Having family in rural Michigan, gas has always been an issue for them so it does not take much for me to imagine how a family in Mississippi feels. Being in a rural area with a large amount of snow and ice during the winter - and living on a dirt road - it made sense for my family to purchase SUVs. What this means is the higher the price of gas gets the more money they have to spend. Also, because of the machinery they use on their farm and the gas heating and appliances they use, gas prices affect them greatly. For my family their gas bill is always the largest bill that they have and has always been their biggest concern.
Gas prices affect rural families by limiting their ability to travel. It is a forty-five minute drive to the closest grocery store for my family and when gas prices increase they go to the grocery store less. This is also where the only movie theater (with one screen) or clothing store (Walmart) for the area are, which means that entertainment is limited. It is a four-hour drive to the nearest good hospital at the University of Michigan, so unless someone has to go the hospital you go to Walmart to find an over-the-counter cure. This causes a great amount of stress on my family because there is almost no where that they can go where they are not isolated . There is the Walmart 45-minutes away or they have to make an all-day trip to Detriot, Ann Arbor, or one of the lakes - all of which take up a lot of gas.
One way that the government can help is by giving families gas subsidies. For many rural families, the only way to get to any services, high-paying jobs, and even entertainment is to drive. Giving a gas subsidy would decrease that aspect of their budget, and possibly get them to spend that money on other things like groceries or entertainment.
This issue may be one of the most prevalent facing families today. As a 22 yr old college student this is still a very relevant issue for me personally. My car is obviously an important part of my life. It gives me the ability to socialize, attend functions and even job hunt. However, as the cost of fuel continues to rise it has cause me to think twice about whether or not i should take my car, walk, bike, or see if a friend is going to the same place i am and car pool. The geographical location of where i am to my commitments financially. If i have another bill coming up i will actually decide whether or not i want to drive somewhere.
From a families perspective it may be a viable option to catch public transport. As 211 said this may not be the most convenient or safest way to travel. However, they may not have any other choice. People who live in major cities such as new york may never even get their license because it is so much easier to catch public transport. Rural families may not have this option. They will have to sacrifice other luxuries to pay for gas.
Year in and year out gas is one of my biggest expenses. I drive a 1998 ford Explorer that has a V8 engine in it for no real reason at all, other than to guzzle gas. Living in College Park, my driving sticks to the 30 second drive to campus, the 2 minute drive to the bars, and the 30 minute drive back to Olney, Maryland every other week or so. Just having this little driving has a huge effect on my bank account and it pains me every time I fill my tank. If it is this tough for me, I can only imagine how much this effects the finances of families in rural areas. First, the majority of people in rural area drive gas guzzling trucks, so right off the bat they are paying a ton to fill their tank for little gas mileage. Also, they use these trucks to either get to work or use them for work, so the amount of times they have to fill up increases. Moreover, rural residents often are required to make hour long drives to get something that they can’t purchase in their small town. A possible solution to this would be to have more public transportation in rural areas. Having a public bus system would help rural residents save a ton of money on gas, which could then be spent in other places
The way I see the effect of geographic location on a family's experience related to shifts in the economy is a huge matter. City life is very different from suburban and rural life. Social support and security play major roles in the ease or difficulty of a family's financial situation. Personally, living in the DC area my whole life, and having my parents drive to work and drop me off at school in the city has been the norm. As I grew older, carpool and public transportation was available. Comparing my situation to that of someone in rural Mississippi, rising gas prices must take a toll on them. Jobs are scarce in these counties, and a significant amount of the family's income is spent on gasoline. Many workers have to decide between paying for food, car repairs, or gasoline. Too often, the gas is a priority, since people need to get to work in an efficient manner. When they do not have cars of their own, they risk missing work, therefore not being able to provide for their families. This is a serious issue which needs to be addressed. As blogger 302 stated, a possible government intervention could be to provide public transportation to these rural areas. A carpool system for workers in the same workplace and residential area could be set up. This could help the community get to know one another better, as well as keep families intact.
I agree with 238 on the fact that the individuals living in rural areas
that are in poverty are the ones who are effected by the prices of gas
the most. Individuals living in rural areas that are not in poverty are
not usually efected as much by gas prices because fhey can afford it.
Gas is a major cut out of the income of those that are living in rural
areas and are in poverty because the distance from the workplace along
with the raising of prices takes a big tole on their income and becomes
unaffordable.
Rural families usually have to drive a long distance to get to work and to get their daily needed resources. I lived in a rural area before coming to college and it affected me financially because it used so much gas just to go into the city and back to get groceries or to see a good friend. I, like 211, would have to drive at least 15 miles to get to the nearest grocery store and over an hour and a half to work in the summers. I do not live in a rural area now, but I do drive an hour to work that is in Virginia. Being a poor college student I will sometime choose between eating health more expensive foods and gas. I, like others in less fortunate situations, have to cut back on groceries so I can comfortably afford gas to go back and forth to my job. Since I really need this job for the money and my résumé I have to choose gas over food that I can not live with out. I can not imagine what people in Mississippi are going through with the rise in gas prices, because I am fortunate to be middle class but I am still having trouble affording gas. If you can not afford gas to drive to the city, you can not go get the flour, bread, and milk you need to feed your family. You need transportation to the larger city so you can get help, food, support services, and social activities. So for families that live in rural areas they are not just faced with the hardships of having to afford food and shelter, they have to be able to first afford gas and transportation to get their daily needs. This is one reason I feel government should aid families that live in rural areas. It is cheaper to live in a rural area most of the time, so usually the families in these areas are already poor (this is the reason they are living in a cheap area). So, these families need aid to be able to get to the places they need to so they can survive. We can not house everyone in the city because it is too small of an area and there would be even more overcrowding, so our government should give aid to rural families that make below a certain income level.
Gas is what we think if to be as a major resource. People need gas in their vehicles to do a major part of the daily duties that they are responsible for daily. For there not to be any kind of stability in the price ranges for our biggest resource is ridiculous. In order for our economy to be stable, all of our citizens in the country have to be taken care of. I could imagine what the suburban families who live in the highways about 10 miles from any civilization. They probably drive twice that amount between work and taking kids to work. It is probably hard enough trying to factor gas expenses in the monthly budget, let alone keeping up with it when they happen to increase vastly.
Families in those situations probably spend close to 400 dollars a month just in gas. Expenses like those could cause major setbacks in family life such as education, social life, and proper access to medical care. Contrary to families who live in a urban area, families in suburbs do not have what seems like the simple alternative of catching public transportation. It probably is not as available because the populations are not as thick.
Another reason where inequality for gas prices may kick in is a thing called supply and demand. Because there are not as many gas stations in certain areas as there are in urban areas they may be allowed to raise their price because they know that their competition is slim and they customers probably will have to get their supply from them. A fair solution to that would be for the government to pass a law which makes a nationwide maximum gas price. That will ensure the fairness no matter where you live.
In Response to Ted Townsleys blog about Gas prices, i think that he brings up some very good points. In fact he seconds some of the thoughts i had about my similar response. I can relate personally to what he said about inheriting a gas needy vehicle and not having the luxury to get a better fuel effiecient vehicle. I had the option to take my fathers suburban and bring it to school. But i chose to just notb have a car at all because I knew i couldnt handle the gas payments. And i lived in a predominately urban area. i could just imagine how suburban families deal with similar issues. I also agree wit his solutions for the government accept for more public transportation in areas like that because they will not make enough money to keep it on the roads. The population is not thick enough to depend on citizens to take oublic transportation which has to be oaid for my someone.
Depending on the geographic place individual lives, the impact of the current bad economy on families differ. The article suggests that even though the gas price went up uniformly across the US, certain regions are more affected by this change. What is means to be more affected by the change is that the degree of strain added to the individual by this change in gas price differ by the geographic place where individual lives. Even though it is true that increase gas per gallon means more money is spent on gas in general, but people who live in rural areas in South or Southwest are more affected by this change. As mentioned in the article, families residing in Mississippi are facing more hardship because the distance of the workplace is way father than what it would be like for people living in cities where public transportation is often used to commute. Even that who live in urban or suburb areas and commute to work to cities, distance is not as much as those who live in rural area who drive a long distance to go to work. In addition to the long distance of driving to work, the average income that people make in rural area like Tchula make average of less than 20,000 dollars per family, thus the fraction of income spent of gas is a lot higher than those live in Northern Plains where the average income is 90,000 dollars. Disparity in income across the geographic places indicate that even though the gas price may be higher in Northern plains than in Southern plains, people living in Southern plains are far more affected by the change of price in gas. Since the average income in Southern areas are a lot lower, people are faced with obstacles such as whether they continue to drive to work or not because the amount of money spent on gas is higher than the amount they earn weekly. They also give up their former life style because they no longer afford it. People replace their meal with soup, vegetables; they cut down the money spent on eating out.
Other issues because low average income in rural area is that there are limitation in many areas including the job opening, public services. Moreover, since houses, buildings, supermarkets are shopping center are spread apart that their life style in rural area is inconvenient.
I believe the government can help this existing problem in rural area by providing more funds to people in rural area. Government can give money to those people directly to provide a relief so that people can fill their tanks with gas and go to work and earn money. Also, the government can intervene and increase the minimum wage so that people in rural are made sure to make enough of money to buy food, pay the rent or mortgage and so forth. By doing this, the disparity that exist in rural area can be solved. Also, providing good quality education can also prepare young people to get good jobs.
Depending on the geographic place individual lives, the impact of the current bad economy on families differ. The article suggests that even though the gas price went up uniformly across the US, certain regions are more affected by this change. What is means to be more affected by the change is that the degree of strain added to the individual by this change in gas price differ by the geographic place where individual lives. Even though it is true that increase gas per gallon means more money is spent on gas in general, but people who live in rural areas in South or Southwest are more affected by this change. As mentioned in the article, families residing in Mississippi are facing more hardship because the distance of the workplace is way father than what it would be like for people living in cities where public transportation is often used to commute. Even that who live in urban or suburb areas and commute to work to cities, distance is not as much as those who live in rural area who drive a long distance to go to work. In addition to the long distance of driving to work, the average income that people make in rural area like Tchula make average of less than 20,000 dollars per family, thus the fraction of income spent of gas is a lot higher than those live in Northern Plains where the average income is 90,000 dollars. Disparity in income across the geographic places indicate that even though the gas price may be higher in Northern plains than in Southern plains, people living in Southern plains are far more affected by the change of price in gas. Since the average income in Southern areas are a lot lower, people are faced with obstacles such as whether they continue to drive to work or not because the amount of money spent on gas is higher than the amount they earn weekly. They also give up their former life style because they no longer afford it. People replace their meal with soup, vegetables; they cut down the money spent on eating out.
Other issues because low average income in rural area is that there are limitation in many areas including the job opening, public services. Moreover, since houses, buildings, supermarkets are shopping center are spread apart that their life style in rural area is inconvenient.
I believe the government can help this existing problem in rural area by providing more funds to people in rural area. Government can give money to those people directly to provide a relief so that people can fill their tanks with gas and go to work and earn money. Also, the government can intervene and increase the minimum wage so that people in rural are made sure to make enough of money to buy food, pay the rent or mortgage and so forth. By doing this, the disparity that exist in rural area can be solved. Also, providing good quality education can also prepare young people to get good jobs.
Like many other bloggers mentioned in their writing, the problem that people in Tchula are facing is not just a problem that exist only in this area, but many other rural areas in Southern plains. Thus, this problem is rather an issue than the person problem that people in Tchula are facing. The main reasons why people in rural area are suffering so much because of the increase in gas price is because of the disparity that exists in rural area versus urban areas; or it can also be viewed as Southern plains versus Northern plains. Since the resources available differ and rural areas often are limited with many other opportunities that people in urban areas can easily access to, the disparity in income seems probable and immobile.
Like many other bloggers mentioned in their writing, the problem that people in Tchula are facing is not just a problem that exist only in this area, but many other rural areas in Southern plains. Thus, this problem is rather an issue than the person problem that people in Tchula are facing. The main reasons why people in rural area are suffering so much because of the increase in gas price is because of the disparity that exists in rural area versus urban areas; or it can also be viewed as Southern plains versus Northern plains. Since the resources available differ and rural areas often are limited with many other opportunities that people in urban areas can easily access to, the disparity in income seems probable and immobile.
After reading over many of these blogging articles, a main underlying theme presented in mostly all of them are the recession and the tolls it has taken on our daily American lives. Gas prices alone haunted me this past summer. I had to commute from Rockville, MD all the way into Northern VA. The problem arose first day as gas prices soared at an unfortunate rate, basically more steadily than the paycheck I earned bi-weekly. This opened my eyes to how unfortunate rural areas truly are during these times. The gas came cheaper to my greater Washington area, but the families suffering from the recession reach our far greater than where I reside. The main reason things did not get out of hand for me this summer was simple, public transportation. A metro runs 5 minutes from my house, and would take me all the way to Rosslyn, VA in the matter of 45 minutes. The toll was not too bad and certainly beats like fuel I was burning on a hectic rush hour morning. Once again, my problem was completely outweighed by those of the rural areas. Since they have no real forms of public transportation, the gas prices essentially dictate their lifestyles. If times are bad, the recession is not going to fix itself and they suffer regardless. Here I am, fussing about a few extra dollars negating my summer salary, but in actuality, the recession hit places, hard. And I at least had an alternate route to my destination everyday. This article made me realize how alternate routes might not exist in other American lives. I live outside the nation's capital, the home of our President, so thankfully our area cannot fall too hard. Reform once again must happen for those people who don't get to voice their oppinion right in their backyard. Only now, truly do I see how fortunate I am to live in a Suburban area, regardless of the hard times hitting out nation.
Geographic places are a crucial factor in shaping families’ experiences related to shifts in the economy. I am lucky enough to live in Maryland in an area where there is an even mixture of land and structures; therefore, I don’t need to drive great distances to get where I need to go. I live in the center of all the main locations I go to most in my daily life, at the moment. However, not everyone gets to have that convenient luxury. Especially when it comes to rural places, where there is a lot more open land and places are further apart, families are facing much harder obstacles in having to make sacrifices in order to fill up their tanks for long commutes. There is little public transit and trucks and vans are the main types of transportation. In urban areas, families do not face the same problems because they are more likely to earn more money in their jobs, and drive shorter distances to get to their locations. Raising gas prices especially take a great toll on those living in poverty. For example, Anthony Clark can’t afford high gas prices as well as trying to fix his vehicle, so many adjustments must be made for him to be able to get to where he needs to go. Many families are also being forced to choose between what their money is going to go too, out of many significant payments that must be made. There are many things that the government should do to aid families and individuals in these situations. Like Holmes County, the government should cut the work weeks and just make work days longer, so that the same amount of money will be made, and workers won’t be required to come out everyday and spend more on gas. My idea on how to solve this disparity is to provide transportation that goes to every one of the main areas of where all the jobs are located on a certain timely basis. These means of transportation should have reduced costs for those workers who are going to their jobs.
Geography plays a major role in families’ experiences related to shifts in the economy. To begin, considering the rural (farm) setting of places like Mississippi, farming would be the ideal choice of livelihood. With all of the available land, families are able to farm and sell their products in local markets. Even for these families, when shifts in the economy make it unfavorable to farm, they would have to seek their income elsewhere. Looking for better paying jobs may require a commute, as jobs are located far away from one another in rural settings. Use of some form of transportation would require an automobile that utilizes gas. With the recent shift of gas prices, this has placed a heavy burden on low-income families. Difficult decisions have to be made, as well as concessions on things to cut back. Money has to be budgeted more effectively as every dollar counts. As a result of the increasing gas prices, rural families will have to make concessions in budgeting. Whether it’s to take money from childcare, food, or recreation and entertainment, money will have to come from somewhere.
High gas prices have disproportionately affected rural families because gas is not readily available. Considering how businesses are spread along rural communities, gas would be considered more of a luxury of its high cost. This hard attainability of gas, makes it that much more expensive that is urban areas, that are heavily populated with various choices of gas stations with competitive pricing. High gas prices coupled with a low annual income, place the rural families at a disadvantage. The primary issues that rural families face involve resource availability, accessibility, and affordability.
I think that to help aid rural families, the government can issue gas vouchers. These gas vouchers would need based upon financial status (annual income). I think that some form for financial aid from the government would help the families in need alleviate some stress.
I also agree with 238 that public transportation alone will not solve the problem. Although initially, I thought public transportation would be a good idea, the more that I thought about it, the more it didn’t seem feasible. I agree with 238 that providing tax breaks and possibly even offering free gas would be great ideas to help alleviate the financial burden of higher gas prices. In addition, I thought that car pooling programs can be established so that individuals may use one vehicle. The government can provide incentives for car pooling by offering tax breaks for car poolers. Another idea that I have, would be for companies (jobs) that surround rural areas to offer company vehicles to help with transportation. The company would have to provide the gas, that the government can help pay for.
High gas prices have disproportionally affected rural areas of country like Mississippi because people who inhabit these areas tend earn less income and have less education. There are also not as many job opportunities and such limitations may give them hard time sustaining their lifestyles. I believe that the government should continue trying to develop and use alternate fuels for cars to run off of that are less expensive than gasoline or develop a gas vouchers program for rural citizens.
Here in the metropolitan area we, obviously, also hear everyone complaining about gas price rising but no matter how much the gas goes up or down people still manage to easily get by a whole week with pumping gas the same number of times a week that they had done so before the price change. This is only possible because we live in an area where everything is close by and even though, we still choose to drive to those nearby places like the park, school, work, 7-eleven, etc. Our advantage is that when prices go up we tend to resort to other forms of transportation such as walking, bus, or rail, because they are all easily accessible and affordable but for the people in rural communities it is a whole different ball game. In rural areas nothing is close by so if you have a car you have to make sure to always have at least a quarter tank to at least get to the gas station that could be from 10 to 20 miles away whereas around here many people drive with their low fuel indicator on all the time because there is always a gas station at the next corner to put in five dollars that will most likely make it at least to your destination and to another gas station. I have never been stranded without gas but I have heard of people that have but their problem is resolved immediately because they are either close enough to a gas station to push their cars in or they could easily walk to go get gas whereas in rural areas you could probably go all day just waiting to hitch a ride, waiting for someone to bring you gas, or attempting to walk 10 miles to the gas station and then 10 miles back. So when gas prices reach all time high prices it definitely disproportionally affects rural communities more especially since those are the areas where people are most likely not to have such a well paid job as if they lived in our metro area. If gas is extremely high here we can easily resort to many other forms of transportation whereas in rural areas they can't and therefore they find their selves deciding whether to get to work or save the money to eat and pay bills while the only thing that we may limit ourselves to is the dollar menu. I think the government should indeed aid the families and individuals of these areas and I think one way to do so would be in creating a bus transit system that operates in these mostly needed areas. Also I think an idea that may be helpful is to subsidize on the gas for residents of such area but create a special type of membership system activated by card and photo identification so that only residents will truly get the cheaper gas and not people from neighboring communities that go just to get the cheap gas.
I completely agree with 324 that there are many things that create the greater disadvantage for families and individuals in rural areas. I believe that the fact that jobs are harder to find because they are so distant and that transportation is hard to have in those areas because htey are so isolated and these two factors of course become even bigger factors when gas prices rise because getting to work means having a need of transportation but being so far out and isolated leads to a need of gas for transportation but they are so far and isolated that many times it may not even makje sense to work if you are only going to be working to be able to pay your transportation to work.
Geographic place shapes families’ experiences related to shifts in the economy in many ways. For example, the economy is not doing well right now, and gas prices have been relatively high. In the article entitled, “Rural U.S. Takes Worst Hit as Gas Tops $4 Average,” it noted that certain geographical locations such as the rural south and west, are taking bigger hits financially because of where they are located and how the economy is. Rural areas tend to be more clustered and spread out, therefore it costs more money for gas because distances are much farther compared to an urban city. Specifically, for families living in Mississippi, it has become a daily hardship. It was mentioned that “...some farm workers are borrowing money from their bosses so they can fill their tanks and get to work. Some are switching jobs for shorter commutes. 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.” This proves how much of an economic crisis we are in.
Gas prices have disproportionately affected rural families in many ways. For instance, jobs are scarce in rural areas, therefore the people living there are forced to look outside of the community for work, which leads to farther traveling distances. And because people are spread out in these ares, there is usually little public transportation, versus an urban city or even a suburban area where there are many buses running.
Specific issues related to poverty that surround people living in rural areas are not having adequate transportation to work, having to travel far distances from their home to work every day, gasoline being stolen or too expensive, and other gas related issues.
I do think there are some things that the government should do. I feel like truck drivers or people that drive vehicles for a living should get some kind of gas tax break. I know that in some professions such as police officers don’t pay for their gas when they are filling up their cop car. I wonder if the government could create a system that could give out free gas, in a similar fashion that free food is distributed.
I am not sure how they could fix this disparities amongst urban and rural communities because it’s just a fact that more people live in urban areas versus rural areas.
As the article discussed, in a state like Mississippi-- a rural community-- jobs are much more sparse. The commute to jobs is also a great deal further, averaging about 20 miles. Also, the vehicles that people are driving are run down and older, and therefore do not get as many miles to the gallon. This causes people to have to fill up much more frequently. Because people cannot make the commute to work, workers in Mississippi are changing jobs so the commute is closer, or not paying for other necessities such as food or an electric bill.
In rural communities there are less jobs condensed into one area, as well as less public transportation. One way to remedy this would be motivating people to build communities and jobs closer together so that people would have easier access to their jobs.
I think that providing a means to transport publicly would be good in theory, but building these public-transit systems in rural communities would be tricky and expensive. Unlike a community like DC, public transit for a rural community would have to be much more spread out and have the capacity to reach more distant places, as jobs are much more spread out in these communities. What is the likelihood that the federal government would provide funding for a project like that? Also, because a public transportation system is a rural community would be so large, it may be expensive to use. I wonder how it would compare to using their gas-guzzling vehicles.
Speaking of gas-guzzling vehicles, maybe these rural communities could create incentives for people to trade in their cars and get a good deal of cars that are much more gas efficient. This way they could be driving more reliable cars that they did not have to fill up nearly as often.
In response to 229... I appreciated what you said about how people in metropolitan communities have many more options. If gas gets expensive we have the choice to walk to the number of resources that our close by. It was very true also how you described a scenario of being stranded on the side of the road in a metropolitan community verses a rural community. Here, if we were stranded we could most likely walk to a gas station that is near by. However, in a rural community, the closest gas station is many miles away. This sis perhaps why so many cars are stranded for days at a time in rural communities.
I also appreciated your idea about a system where people just in that community could get gas for a cheaper cost. Do you think however that some people would abuse this privilege. For instance, a person could by a great deal of gas and then sell it for the regular price. How would a system like your be maintained? I think that if people didn't abuse the system it could be extremely helpful for those rural families who need cheaper gas to get to work.
It would be one thing if we we’re talking about coffee prices going up at Starbucks, however coffee isn’t NEEDED by people. Gas is a resource that is used by every vehicle including personal and public transportation. It is how we are able to get around from place to place whether it is work, school, or errands. Since it is used almost everywhere, it is no wonder that the gas prices have skyrocketed. With the current state of the economy, there are businesses such as gas companies who are trying to make a suitable profit so that they continue to be successful. In class we went over how depending on where you live (rural, urban, and suburban), there are going to be negative and positive effects. For example, in rural places shops, stores and any entertainment center will probably be farther away than if one was living in an urban area. Gas stations in rural areas are probably really scarce as is everything else and more importantly it is a resource that is used by everyone. Because of this people in Mississippi are the ones getting the blow of it.
Although there are currently programs that are meant to help poor families, I think the government should consider making a policy for those in rural areas. For example, I live in Montgomery Village where we get benefits such as public access to pools, discounts on amusement parks, etc. However those that live right outside the MV borders do not get the same benefits (and these are the more affluent families). If the government provided 2 free gas cans to every rural family in addition to letting them get $0.50 discount for every gallon, this would make a very big difference in terms of financial obligations. Rural families probably waste a good chunk of gas just driving to the gas station and back because they live so far away. Although gas cans may not solve the problem of poverty, I believe it’ll help alleviate the waste of time and money.
I lived in Maryland my whole life and I have noticed gas prices rise and fall with the state of the economy. I currently commute about 30 minutes to the University of Maryland everyday, so I know the unsettling feeling everyone gets when gas prices rise. The geographic placed largely effects and shapes the family. Families living in urban areas have more access to public resources. The Mississippi geographical population has areas that are rural communities. The availability of jobs is lower than here in the dc/metro area. The communities are further apart and the families do not have adequate transporation to reach a their job. The commute to jobs is also further, averaging about 20 miles. Making the commute to work proves to be hard for many families in Mississippi. They have to rationalize their everyday necessities such as water, electricity and food to save money to commute to work. In rural communities there are less jobs condensed into one area, as well as less public transportation. They live further away from jobs and resources such as childcare centers, schools, grocery stores and hospitals. I think communities should be built in close ranging areas with public transportation available across the community. the government should help create a better job market in rural areas. This would bring jobs to the community or within 15 min to help cut traveling costs for families.
Being that I have been raised in Maryland my whole life and did not experience a gas crisis like this one until I was in college, was an eye opener. I remember when $10.00 would be enough gas to last me a while. Then when I was paying over $4.00 for gas, $10.00 did not even last a day. It was a hard struggle for everyone. You either feed your car or you feed yourself. Geographic places do shape families' experience related to shifts in the economy. Where you live and how much money you make is pretty much what its all about to survive. Here in Maryland, it is pretty pricey to live here. Other places may not be as expensive, but people that do live here have to make a certain amount to survive. People that live in Mississippi who are experiencing the rising gas prices know how hard it is to keep afloat. In this day and age it is not uncommon to have more than one job. I'm one of those people and I barely make it sometimes. Gas prices have disproportionably affected rural families for reasons being. People in rural areas already have trouble money wise and paying there bills. It seems like they attack the rural areas because these people are the one's with at least two jobs. They are going to need gas to get to work, might as well raise the prices. People in affluent areas will pay either way. Those in rural Mississippi have no choice but to pay for expensive gas. Otherwise, they do not work, they do not get paid and that means bills are not getting paid. To solve this disparity and how government can help would probably to regulate the gas prices just as how minimum wage has gone up. We are still recovering from the recession and we certainly do not want to fall back into one.
The linked article points out a great point saying that "With the exception of rural Maine, the Northeast appears least affected by gasoline prices because people there make more money and drive shorter distances, or they take a bus or train to work. But across Mississippi and the rural South, little public transit is available and people have no choice but to drive to work. Since jobs are scarce, commutes are frequently 20 miles or more. Many of the vehicles on the roads here are old rundown trucks, some getting 10 or fewer miles to the gallon." Just from this quote, we can infer that families living in rural Mississippi regions make less money that people from other states, making gas expenses take a relatively larger proportion of their low income even if the dollar amounts may be similar to their counterparts from other states earning higher incomes. Also, many people in rural Mississippi have to commute farther distances to work because jobs are scarce and concentrated in urban areas in Mississippi which are about 20 miles away from rural areas. Having to drive longer miles contributes to higher gas expenses. Lastly, most cars driven in rural Mississippi are old rundown trucks that have very poor mpg ratings, and their inefficient cars consume so much more gas than people earning higher incomes, and driving more fuel-efficient cars.
One way to help these familes out might be to provide tax refund based on money spent on gas for people driving fuel-inefficient cars based on the model and year of their cars. This refund program doesn't have to be a permanent policy, and could be put into practice only in certain years when the state government determines the gas price has gone up rapidly.
In 5th grade I can remember going to the gas station with my mother and the average cost of gas was a little less than a dollar. When I first started driving the summer before my junior year of high school gas prices were beginning to climb. Not really ever paying attention to the cost of gas before that I was shocked when $20 barely filled my gas tank pass half tank.
Living in Tampa where the public transportation is relatively non-existent I can empathize to an extent what these families are going through. As far as deciding to pay their rent or mortgage, I am unable to relate. When people who never before worried about the cost of gas start to complain, it’s unimaginable what the people in rural areas must go through. A number of my friends and their parents had to downsize from SUVs and trucks to smaller, gas friendly cars but they were able to do that without a huge impact on their daily lives. The people most affected by increasing gas prices are those that are the backbone of our economy. If they are unable to do their jobs it greatly affects our lives just as much as it does theirs.
Poor people in rural areas are often forgotten and in are generally in far worse situation that the people in poverty in large cities. They are less likely to be receiving government assistance and they work grueling jobs that require large automobiles, which are generally not gas friendly. It is harder for them to make in into neighboring cities, which are often in excess of 30-50 miles. Someone working and living in the city may not realize how far that is and they are often in a better position to go hunting for the cheapest gas prices. In a rural city there may not be competition among the different gas stations, which can and usually leads to price gouging.
I believe that a reform is necessary. If it means drilling off our shores to enable cheaper gas prices for the rural population I would certainly support that. The next thing would be to find a more environmentally friendly way of operating vehicles without gas but until then the only relief I can see would be to tap into our reserves of oil or try and find new ones to make gas more affordable. Another thing that could be done is some sort of tax write off for people that live in these rural areas. Governmental intervention and help is necessary for the wellbeing of all the individuals who live in poverty.
For rule families living in Mississippi the price rising gas has taken its toll on the state and it consumers. It has gotten so bad because those high gas prices in south are even higher that the national average and its putting even more of a stress and strain on families. The rise of gas prices and overall consumer prices in general adds more financial stress on families. Using sociological imagination to think about geographical location and the impact that it has on people’s ability to either pay their monthly mortgage or fill up their cars on gas is not an easy feet to accomplish. The government should certainly step and help these persons living in these are line rule communities because the poverty in these communities as compared to everywhere else is much greater. Other issues that a family or the community may face while living in rural areas, are the construction and modern updates to expand stores, shopping centers and other facilities in those underlining areas. This will cause housing prices to increase in these affected areas and would then just drive the people that are currently living in these areas that are living in poverty to suffer more from the increase or more likely move to another rural community.
I agree with previous posts and can relate to how geographic location shapes your experience with economic changes, such as the rising cost of fuel. Growing up in a rural area, I saw how the rising gas prices hurt even middle class families. Most of the population travels over an hour to the nearest city for employment. When gas prices start to climb the value of a paycheck significantly declines. A well-paying job with benefits turns inconvenient. A mediocre job that once got you by can instantly turn into a waste of money. Specifically living in Mississippi work related travel costs would increase just like this with the onset of high gas prices. Public transportation is virtually non-existent in the south especially in rural areas. In the north we have share a ride programs and commuter buses for rural commutes, but these a relatively new thing. Gas prices have disproportionably affected rural families by cutting their pay checks at higher rates than those living in urban areas. Urban areas can adapt better to rising prices because of the resources available. Public transportation and alternative work schedules provide these benefits. Common trips to the grocery store or Wal-mart can be clustered together to reduce traveling. In rural Mississippi however none of these conveniences are present. The government could aid rural families by funding projects in these areas for public transportation. Utilizing technology to establish these services will not only provide jobs but reduce our nations overall need for fuel. By giving people more options like these we can employ more of our unemployed, since a lot of these people live in rural and suburban areas, and decrease a rising problem of fuel quantity in the U.S. I also believe that we need to start utilizing some of our natural resources domestically. If we can stock pile some fuel from our own soil than we can add a cushion into the market for when gas prices rise. I think it is logical to not deplete our reserves but I do believe we can effectively refine some oil to use as a tactic against OPEC’s marketable profits.
Families in Mississippi are spending more than 13% of their income in gasoline for transportation to work and other routine activities. The declined of the economy has hit hard globally, and more severe in the south east of USA. For this working Americans living in rural areas most of them farmers have difficulties supporting their families, and it is very stressful to decide in paying rent and food or buy gas for the automobiles to travel long distances to go to work and agricultural machinery to have the work done.
When we buy our produces and meat products, we do not think of how much labor those already nicely packed product had needed it. Lately, I have wonder why the prices of food have gone so high. Now, I have a better understanding of one of the causes for food. How we can find a solution to this problem for the people in Mississippi. One could be to give farmers a tax break in their income taxes if there is no profit or loss in their crops. Another one could be to supplies gasoline to their places at very low prices or if possible free. So these families can breath. And not worry about that extra expense.
“As gas prices rise, working less could be the economically rational choice,” says Tim Slack, a sociologist at Louisiana State University who studies rural poverty. What a hard statement to swallow. This statement is actual reality for rural families in places like Mississippi. Josephine Cage, has a 30-mile commute from Tchula to Isola in her 1998 Ford Escort four days a week. It cost her about $200 a month; which is equivalent to nearly 20 percent of her pay. She says, “I make it by the grace of God.”As a way to supplement for the loss wages she substitutes meat at supper with soups and green beans and broccoli. She fills her car a little bit every day, because “I can’t afford to fill it up. Whatever money I have, I put it in,” says the article. These stories amongst others of the rural community are as real as they come. To aid these people, the government should create a transportation system that connects the rural community to their jobs. In addition, employers should also assist by distributing employee assistant transportation costs. This way it take the pressure off the working family’s pockets and indirectly motivates them to get to work without worrying about if their car will run out of gas, which in turns allows employees to be more productive and more motivated to work. Less stress will promote more productivity. More productivity is healthy for the economy. When gas prices take up 13%-20% of income from a family living on the margin, any type of mishap can send them soaring into deep poverty. The government and employers need to realize the connection between gas prices, and poverty and do something to stop the wound from bleeding out of control.
In places that are rural, we see the problem of people being isolated from necessary things such as the grocery store, schools and medical care. Usually in these towns, there is only one school and people can live within an hour away to travel to school. I experienced this on an alternative break trip to Gaston, North Carolina. Some of the children had to be picked up on the bus at 5AM in order to be at school on time at 7AM. With rising gas prices, this is making necessities difficult and even impossible. People will have a harder time getting to work, school and even going to buy food for their families. They now have to really pick and choose where they go and if they can find alternate forms of transportation or carpooling. It puts the children of these areas at an unfair disadvantage to not be able to have the same resources of people in suburbia or urban areas. There should be government intervention in these areas as to provide lower gas prices or more schools in the area. Some families however farm their own food, home school and live off the land. This is the only instance in which the gas issue would not be relevant and the families would not have such a harsh outcome especially for their children. Maybe these areas of rural poverty should consider home schooling although that also puts them at a disadvantage if the parents are not knowledgeable enough to do so or don't have the funds to buy books and things for education. Only time will tell what will be done about this situation because it is very tough to say.
In recent years our recession has created our gas prices to sky rocket. These gas prices have affected me and my wallet greatly. However, I have not been affected nearly as much as the people who live in rural areas such as Mississippi. The geographic place that the people of Mississippi live in put them in a horrible position to try to do everyday things such as drive to work and the store. The rising gas prices force these people to have to chose between paying their gas or their electric bill.
The disporportionability in the rural area is that they have less public trasportation, and the same gas prices as urban communities but less pay. In states like Mississippi the cloest store is 15 miles and can be $25 dollars in gas round trip. This type of money is keeping individuals in this area from not being able to eat meat and having to eat mac and cheese.
I think that the government can help a lot more with the people in rurual communites by providing a lot more public transportation. I think this will allow people keep their jobs and also pay their household bills. Right now people in these communities are leaving their cars on the side of the road or even getting rid of the cars because they just can't afford them. Public transportation will give people the opportunity to maintain a less stressful life, and will help them to move forward.
As gas prices continue to increase, families will need to think of more feasible options to save money for gas. Families living in rural areas definitely have longer commutes than families living closer to the city and suburban areas. Rural families may have to stay with friends and families that live closer to their jobs in order to save money on gas. Rural families may also have to drive into town for necessities. Extra curricular activities for the children or going out to dinner may have to be postponed until gas prices decrease. These can be inconveniences, affecting rural families. Gas prices can easily become an unexpected expense for a family.
People living in rural areas have to spend any extra money they may have and put it toward gas. Like many other families, they may have to choose between filling the gas tank or paying a bill. The rise of gas prices can begin a cycle of other unpaid or late bills. Late charges and interest rates will then accrue. These changes can eventually cause a family to become overwhelmed in debt.
I think the government should definitely provide aid to families when the gas prices have drastically increased. It is not the fault of hardworking families that gas prices increase. The rise of gas prices has an affect on many American citizens. This can cause workers who make cars to lose their job because people are not able to afford to buy cars. Many car dealers and dealerships can also be affected because some people can not afford to buy cars or larger vehicles that require more gas. It is imperative that the government either keeps the gas prices at a steady and reasonable rate. This way, families can budget and allocate the money that needs to be spent in gas. If the prices must rise above a certain price, the government should assist families with gas vouchers.
From a personal standpoint, I am a commuter and the steady increase of gas prices has affected my daily commute. I use approximately a half tank of gas daily, when driving to and from Baltimore. A few years ago, I was able to fill my tank with the same price I use to get a half a tank of gas now. The gas prices have affected my commute, as I have to sometimes sleep over my friend’s house near campus and schedule group meetings on days that I am already on campus. The rise of gas prices affects many families and it seems unfair that citizens have to ‘pay’ for the decisions the government make.
As gas prices continue to increase, families will need to think of more feasible options to save money for gas. Families living in rural areas definitely have longer commutes than families living closer to the city and suburban areas. Rural families may have to stay with friends and families that live closer to their jobs in order to save money on gas. Rural families may also have to drive into town for necessities. Extra curricular activities for the children or going out to dinner may have to be postponed until gas prices decrease. These can be inconveniences, affecting rural families. Gas prices can easily become an unexpected expense for a family.
People living in rural areas have to spend any extra money they may have and put it toward gas. Like many other families, they may have to choose between filling the gas tank or paying a bill. The rise of gas prices can begin a cycle of other unpaid or late bills. Late charges and interest rates will then accrue. These changes can eventually cause a family to become overwhelmed in debt.
I think the government should definitely provide aid to families when the gas prices have drastically increased. It is not the fault of hardworking families that gas prices increase. The rise of gas prices has an affect on many American citizens. This can cause workers who make cars to lose their job because people are not able to afford to buy cars. Many car dealers and dealerships can also be affected because some people can not afford to buy cars or larger vehicles that require more gas. It is imperative that the government either keeps the gas prices at a steady and reasonable rate. This way, families can budget and allocate the money that needs to be spent in gas. If the prices must rise above a certain price, the government should assist families with gas vouchers.
From a personal standpoint, I am a commuter and the steady increase of gas prices has affected my daily commute. I use approximately a half tank of gas daily, when driving to and from Baltimore. A few years ago, I was able to fill my tank with the same price I use to get a half a tank of gas now. The gas prices have affected my commute, as I have to sometimes sleep over my friend’s house near campus and schedule group meetings on days that I am already on campus. The rise of gas prices affects many families and it seems unfair that citizens have to ‘pay’ for the decisions the government make.
A families geographical location is usually greatly influenced by shifts in the economy. For example, with the case of Mississippi and the rising gas prices, the hardship can be explained by a couple of reasons. Firstly, Mississippi is one of the poorest states in America, the relative median income in Mississippi is a mere $33,000 a year.Because of this, the state is left extremely vulnerable to even the slightest changes in the national economy. When gas prices rose across the country, even the people living in the richest states were affected. Living in Maryland, I and many other people I know felt the pressure from the rise, and our state has a median income of 103,000 a year. Secondly, rural states such as Mississippi are strongly affected by the rise in gas prices because those are the states people are required to drive in the most. In a rural area, getting to anywhere even as basic as the grocery store takes longer than a city or the suburbs. In order to obtain some of the most basic materials, people may need to drive a long way. This is not the case for urban and suburban areas, most everything one needs is usually within a 10 mile radius of their location. Urban and suburban areas are richer, and thus, more built up. Rural areas are not nearly as congested. This may b because rural areas are usually some of the poorest areas in the country.
In order to solve this problem, the government can focus more of their attention to rural states. This attention can come in the form of public works projects, that may be building more stores, libraries, schools, etc. These projects have the ability to create jobs and replenish the local economy. Furthermore, the government should create an efficient public transportation system that suits the rural community. As previously stated, people living in rural communities are usually a fair distance away from essential resources, therefore, they must drive long distance to get to them. By creating public transportation in these communities, it would allow people to spend less money on gas and still be able to get to where they need to be. This would also fuel the local economy, and be more environmentally friendly.
Gas prices have disproportionately affected the rural areas more so then the north because people have longer commutes and tend to live in a lower economic states. This has a huge affect on the society because the people tend to have older cars that get lower gas mileage and require more repairs. This can be a huge drain on a worker who doesn’t even make very much for their long commute. Many of these people try to quit their jobs in hopes for finding a closer one. These people tend to live in more poverty because they live in areas that are less populated and are not as accomplished financially. They have less job opportunities and lower expectations for higher education. Many of the people who strive for a better career and more money leave the area to look for better opportunities. Because these people leave the area they leave nothing in their hometown and do not donate any of their newly learned resources to the community. Instead as more and more young educated people leave the area and the older generation dies off the population because very scarce of any eligible workers to keep the area thriving. The government should take responsibilities in this area by creating more jobs in the areas of low income so as to prosper their economy. This has been proven to work in the past like during the great depression the president had people build the Hoover damn. It created jobs where people got the opportunities to work hard and earn money.
i agree with 207 in that people who live in communities where they do not have public forms of transportation should receive aid or certain tax breaks. this would eliminate some of the stress caused by high gas prices.
Like .353 and .263 have already pointed out, the rural communities have, disproportionately, a negative impact on rising gas prices. By living in rural communities, it is harder to complete everyday errands like buying the groceries. First, the shops and neighborhoods aren’t necessarily close together so transportation is needed. The increasing gas prices are making it hard for rural families to afford a car and even pay for public transportation. The increasing prices are also having an impact on how a family prioritizes their expenses. As demonstrated in the article, rural families are having to choose and make sacrifices when it comes to affording appropriate food for their family because gas prices are so high.
In order to help these families, there needs to be a compromise between increasing gas prices and the price of public transportation. Public transportation in rural communities needs to be more affordable. Specifically for rural communities because they are the ones being most affected and the way their communities are usually laid out, it is also the most convenient than having that many cars on the roads anyway. If the government can provide more attention to the rural communities and these needs, the price of gas may not hit them so hard.
After reading the very post from author, 211, I would have to strongly disagree with his/her way of using social imagination. There is a huge difference between gas prices affect a worker who must commute long distances or filling up farm vehicles and filling up the gas tank on your boat. From my understanding that blogger uses their boat leisurely and should not feel stressed about filling up a boat if they can already afford a boat in the first place. Had the blogger said that they make a living off of fishing and they had to use gas in order to do their job then I could understand the correlation to the rural community. It is hard for people that live in places where public transportation, abundant local jobs and little rural work are to understand just how much of a sacrifice buying gas has caused rural workers. It is extremely hard for many Americans to afford gas in their cars so to think that rural workers must fill their personal vehicles and also their work vehicles it would only be fair for the government to recognize this inequality and offer aide. I’m not quite sure what the government could actually afford to do in order to offer some relief to these families but I have a few possible ideas. The government could offer a tax break for the money that people spend on gas for farming work so that the workers could get some of the money back or maybe they could fund more public transportation in areas that lack it.
In the United States many of the poorest areas of the nation are the rural areas. In these areas families and individuals tend to operate on very narrow budgets. Something like a high increase in the price of gas can have a dramatic impact on the family. Of course gas is needed to get an individual to and from work. In these rural areas there tends to be no substitute. People can not instead ride the bus or take the metro that are available in metropolitan areas. If an individual cannot get to work they cannot earn a wage. Also if they own a business such as a farm the increase in gas needed to operate the trucks and farm equipment can greatly increase the costs. This cost simply is not figured into a family budget. To the family this cost in a necessity. It would be treated the same as the price of food going up. The extra cost simply has to be taken away from the rest of the budget. To the truly poor families in our nation their resources are already stretched so thin that this cost simply cannot be absorbed. So the families end up choosing between putting food on the table and getting gas to put money in the tank to earn a wage to put food on the table.
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