Methinks that change is happening faster than we’re prepared for.
American Airlines announced today that it’s going to start charging $15 for your first checked bag. I watched Brian Williams report this news and he mentioned that one analyst predicted gas prices approaching $12/gallon. Then Jim (Mad Money) Cramer came on and disagreed, but wouldn’t be surprised to see gas prices at $6/gallon by the end of the summer. I think they’re all trying to put the best face on it because no one wants to recognize the reality of limits.
If, indeed, we see gas at 6 bucks in August, it’s going to have a tremendous impact on how people live and make their purchasing and travelling decisions. Very few of us have been planning for such an impact so soon. Not that people have been planning for it sometime in the future. We just don’t plan for changing externalities. We plan for putting our kids through college or for our retirement – OK some of us do. We don’t plan for everything becoming more expensive. We don’t plan for not being able to afford things.
Will we see increased use of mass transit here in the Bay Area? Will we see more stores and restaurants going out of business. Will we see more airlines going bankrupt? Will thousands of people be absolutely stuck with their unsalable SUVs? Will the price of bread, milk and eggs make them gourmet fare? Will many companies be forced to allow more employees to telecommute?
Will all of this happen before 2009?
Remember – this isn’t even about climate change or extreme weather impacts.