Thomas wrote:Foxfyre wrote:Yeah, but if our country was the size of a couple of Texas counties, we wouldn't crab about the size of a gallon of gas either.
What has size got to do with it? If New Mexico declared independence, how would that make you drive shorter distances?
The point is we have no choice but to drive substantial distances unless we live in a very large metropolitan area that has frequent bus runs, subways, a taxi network etc.
For most Americans, things are too spread out for more than a very few to use their feet or bicycles to get to and from work. The busses run no more than every hour or so in most parts of town and on routes too erratic for somebody who does the kind of work I do to use. It costs $35 to take a cab from my house to the airport one way - a normal 20-25 minute drive. (And that doesn't include tip.) There is minimal bus transportation between towns and outside of the Albuquerque metropolitan area and even less train service. Commuter planes are too costly for anybody but the most desperate to use. Outside the metro area, it is not unusual for towns to be 40-50-60-90 miles or more apart with absolutely nothing in between. Most of us don't have enough of a death wish to depend on motor scooters or motorcycles in these parts.
So yes, our cars, trucks, SUVs, and minivans are our life blood here and the price of a gallon of gasoline can be a big deal for those of us who have to drive to do our jobs. I doubt there are many Europeans who have the same getting around problems that most New Mexicans and really most Americans have.
