When it comes to commuting to work, we are all in the same boat (regardless of whether that is how you choose to get there). It is a long, and increasingly expensive, ride.
Studies show that the average Massachusetts commuter spends 27 minutes getting to work. Many of us (1 out of 5) spend more than 45 minutes getting to the office (an hour and a half round trip each day!) I happen to fall into the latter category of "long commuters". Ouch.
I'll spare you the laborious math, but let's assume the average "long commuter" who travels by car uses about 3 gallons of gas each day (a rough average taking into account distance and gas mileage). At more than $3.00 per gallon, that works out to a monthly gasoline bill of around $200 just for getting to and from work. For perspective, it would have cost about $69.00 back in early 2000. Ouch.
Ironically, many of the long commuters are the people who were forced to move far from Boston to find affordable housing. They went north, south, and west to find homes they could afford, only to find that now they can't afford the commute back to the office. Catch-22. Ouch.
I don't pretend to have any of the answers as to how to solve our dependence on foreign oil or how to bring the price of gas back down. It does seem like all that extra money we are spending on gas would be better spent stimulating the economic fortunes of some industries other than the big gas companies which continue to see record and obscene profits.
Imagine if you had that extra $140 back in your pocket each month. You might go out to dinner, take the kids to a movie, or go to the mall. In other words, you might do the things that provide the biggest economic stimulus to the country. You might spend a little - you might live a little. Someone besides big oil executives might have some fun this summer.
Some people say we should get used to this - that the Europeans have been paying high prices for gas for decades. That may be true, but many Europeans also get the month of August off for vacation. Are you getting that? Many Europeans also have substandard housing, poor access to medical care, and an annoying propensity to surrender. No thanks, I like my gas the American way - cheap.
To be sure, we have some responsibility here. We need to embrace fuel efficient cars and get serious about alternative energy sources. We, and our government, have ignored these at our peril for many years. Anything that can reduce our dependence on foreign oil will bring the price down - it's basic supply and demand.
Still, we may never see gas in the one dollar range ever again. And the new financial dilemma will remain: do you move out of the city to find affordable housing, or move toward the city for an affordable commute. Unfortunately, studies show many people are choosing a third option - leaving Massachusetts altogether. That could threaten the entire state's economic engine as dwindling tax revenues force drastic cuts in state services. And that hurts everyone. Ouch.
Editor's note: All day Thursday, June 29th, WCVB will be offering some help with the high prices at the pump.We'll bring you tips and websites for saving money, show you what really works for saving gas when you drive, and find out what prices are like in other parts of the country. Pain at the Pump will be a feature of Chronicle, every newscast throughout the day, and the bostonchannel.com.
