Steven Truong [dot] Com

Gas Prices

People everywhere are in one way or another complaining about gas prices. Of course they are, it’s already in the high $3 range and will probably hit the $4 range soon. In some states, this is already the case and those states are only moments away from hitting the $5 mark. Being the baby that we are, every time something happens, Americans love to bitch and whine about this and that because things aren’t the way they’re suppose to be (in other words, as great as they can be). And why shouldn’t they, afterall not too long ago gas prices were in the $1 range and long ago, I can still recall gas prices being under a buck. Unfortunately, shit happens and prices get inflated, so people need to stop whining and get a reality check. Below is a list of gas prices that was posted on a CNN article I came across:

Looking at the list above, do we honestly have reason to complain. People will complain for all sorts of reason and yes, I completely understand that to some people, gas is absurdly high, probably in a price range some can’t even afford as most people are living like they’re in poverty or from paycheck to paycheck as it is. However if you haven’t gotten my hint yet throughout this entire post, whining and complaining really won’t do anything to solve the issue. At the end of the day, it’s not going to change how much gas prices (or prices of other goods for that matter) has gone up. Why not rather focus all that energy into something more productive, something like increasing your net worth so that the value of your “true dollar” matches up to how much prices for goods and services has gone up while your income has stagnate.

For those unfamiliar with the term “true dollar”, it’s a term used in economics. A good way to explain this is if you are making $10/hour and the cost of a movie ticket is $10, then your current true dollar is at a 1:1 ratio. However lets say you get promoted and your income goes up to $20/hour. Now let’s assume that movie tickets also go up due to inflation. While you did double your income, your true dollar is still at a 1:1 ratio, meaning your buying or purchasing power is no more or less than it was when you were making $10/hour. Of course in the real world, this should reflect the prices of goods and services for all things and not just one thing such as the movie ticket. Realistically at this point, if you think gas prices are high, find ways to increase your true dollar value rather than complain about why your true dollar value is in the negative and declining.