I heard a CNN 'expert' say something to damn ridiculous that it just set me of.  She said that gas prices were so high that people were turning down jobs because they couldn't afford to get to them.  I would like to meet one dumbass who applied for a job so far from home that they couldn't afford the gas to get there.  Well, how did you get there in the first place? Next, how about you move?  Sure it seems a little simple but we'll look at the math and how lucky we really are after the jump.

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If you have a full shift at a minimum wage job, you should make about $64 a day.  At $3.50 a gallon, that would get you over 18 gallons of gas.  At 20 miles per gallon (which is really poor gas mileage) that 360 miles you can go.  That's a trip to Dallas (but not back). A full tank of gas is running about $20 more than it a year ago (from about $2.50 to about $3.50).  It completely sucks that it's about 3 hours of minimum wage to pay for that, but you might want to look at relocating if that's all you can do.

I'm not denying that it's tough out there, I'm not denying that I flinch when I fill up my tank.  I just want to point out that either this "experts" claim is ridiculous or there are some really stupid ass people out there.

According to CNN Money, the U.S. is in the bottom half of gas prices around the world.  There is no god given right to drive.  You have to have money to drive.  You have to have insurance to drive.  I'm concerned that people who "can't afford to drive to a job" even have insurance and then they put the rest of us at risk.

Gas prices suck. You have to make adjustments. You have to avoid "quick runs to the store" and plan your trips. You don't need to be idling in a fast food lane.  There are many ways to conserve or not use gas at all.

Right now, the alternative to high gas prices is to go fight another war.  Are you willing to risk your kids life so that you can save $20 a month?  Well, if you're not willing to risk your kids life, then I don't see why anybody else should risk their kids life.  I just try to think of it as keeping someone alive for $240 a year.  It's time to back off on the gas CONSUMPTION, and that will help prices go down.

None of this is easy. Some will have to work harder. Some will have to work closer. Some will have to cut back elsewhere.  We (Americans) were never guaranteed  any certain standard of living, we are guaranteed a chance at the American dream.  Right now, the "right-wing" people have the nation whipped into a frenzy over the word "socialism" so this would be a good point to put in here, should we "socialize" gas?  Should gas be underwritten by the government?  You'd just end up paying more taxes.  As it is right now, you have a choice of how much gas you use, if the government controls it, it's no longer up to you (completely) because you'd help underwrite the cost of somebody elses gas.

The absolute best way to fight the price of gas is to not use it. We all know that isn't always an option, but on occasions it is.  Here's a guide with tips to use less gas.

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