The Truth About Gas Prices

I think we all can agree that gas prices are ridiculously high. Who does this affect the most? The poor. This answer seems easy enough right? And it is true. But why does it affect the poor the most? Is it due to their lack of disposable income? In part. In addition to the lack of disposable income, their geographical location also plays a role.

Gentrification is the root of the problem for poor people in regard to gas prices.

Gentrification: is the term referring to displacement that results when wealthier people acquire property in low income and working class communities. The average income increases and the average family size decreases, which sometimes results in evictions of low income residents because of rent increases, house prices, and property tax.

In the mid to late 90s urban gentrification became a major focus in many large metropolitan areas such as New York, Los Angeles, Miami, and Houston to name a few. Back in the 80s and early 90s the city was where you could find most, if not all, of the impoverished families. Along with the problems poverty stricken communities face (i.e. drugs and violence). Consequently it was really inexpensive to live in the city. During this same period most of the affluent families lived in the suburbs and commuted to the city for work.

What were the gas price during the period in which the rich resided in the suburbs? 95,97,98,99 cents per gallon. Lets pause for a moment as we reflect on the good ole days........Ok back to the subject. Have you ever priced a condo in downtown Houston? No? Well don't its very depressing. Which is why the poor and the middle class now live in the suburbs. Now that gentrification has taken hold of many downtown areas, the wealthy families no longer need to drive as much. On the other hand the poor and middle class have to drive miles into the city to get work. They are really feeling the crush of 4 and 5 dollar per gallon gas prices.

Why are the gas prices so high? Is it the instability in the Middle East? No, there has always been instability in the Middle East. Is it the war? No, in the early 90s, even with Kuwait's oil wells on fire we didn't see such ridiculous prices (Persian Gulf War). Is it demand? No, demand has went up but so has oil production. Then why are the gas prices so high? It's the intentional price manipulation by speculators in the market in an attempt to keep the rich rich and the poor poor. Gas should, based on "real" supply and demand, not be over $1.80. By investing billions of dollars into big oil the rich are creating an artificial demand which consequently drives up the price of oil per barrel. So while the less fortunate are spending all of their disposable income on fuel, leaving them little or no money to invest or save, the rich are living in their penthouses in the city, not driving as much, investing their disposable income in the oil market and benefiting from terminal plight of the poor.

In closing, it is clear that these oil prices are unbearable. What is not so clear is the lack of effort by our government to curtail this growing atrocity. It is an apparent manipulation of our capitalist system, which is contributing to the wealth gap. What ever the rich can't cheat their way out of in tax loopholes, they get back, and even more, in market manipulations. If this problem goes on unattended, we will continue to see a mass redistribution of wealth. Socialism for the rich. God Bless America.