Gas Money
Back in high school, owning a car and being able to afford the requisite insurance was your first major fiscal responsibility, unless, of course, you were one of the "preppies" whose parents paid for everything. Minimum wage, which was half of what it is today, didn't get you much. If you were lucky enough to land a retail job that paid more than the minimum, you were the envy of your fellow working teens. For example, while I was making $3.35/hour as a cashier at Morey's IGA, my friend Greg was making $5.25/hour working in the automotive department at Bradlees.
Greg owned a '74 Starfire and his mechanic skills helped keep it running. I would join him for runs to the junkyard to pick up parts. The junkyard always offered parts cheaper than buying new, though sometimes he didn't have a choice.
I didn't own a car. I was having a hard enough time paying for the insurance required for me to drive my parents' cars part time: $1500. My parents both worked so I wouldn't get to use their cars, if at all, until the weekend. So I rode shotgun in Greg's car, contributing money towards gas.
Generally, that's what people did. In terms of square mileage, New Milford is the largest town in Connecticut. A driver could easily burn up a precious gallon of gas driving along the back roads to pick up or drop off a single passenger. Passengers, grateful that they weren't stuck riding the bus or trapped at home on a Saturday night, chipped in on gas money. If you didn't, well, people thought of you as a cheapskate and the odds of you getting another ride anytime soon would be slim. A couple of bucks was pretty much what was expected. Throw in $5 and you were considered generous.
Eventually, we all got better paying jobs and cars of our own, so gas money was no longer a big deal.
Twenty plus years later, gas money is something to consider again. Gas here (at least on Friday) is $4.33/gallon. Although the minimum wage is now $7/hour (it's probably more, but not by more than a couple of dimes), I'd expect that car insurance has also climbed up to make sure that it isn't any easier for teens to own a car.
But it isn't just teens that have to worry about gas money now. Last month, six of us went down to Holmdel, NJ (114 miles one way) to see Iron Maiden. We carpooled in Fran's minivan. Yes, nothing screams metal more than half a dozen guys, ranging in age from their mid-30's to early 40's, in a minivan. We had to stop for gas on the way home after the show. I don't know what it gets for mileage, but it can't be that much. Although gas is cheaper in NJ than CT, Fran was still looking at spending about $50. So here we were again, chipping in for gas money, just like in high school.
\_/
DED
Greg owned a '74 Starfire and his mechanic skills helped keep it running. I would join him for runs to the junkyard to pick up parts. The junkyard always offered parts cheaper than buying new, though sometimes he didn't have a choice.
I didn't own a car. I was having a hard enough time paying for the insurance required for me to drive my parents' cars part time: $1500. My parents both worked so I wouldn't get to use their cars, if at all, until the weekend. So I rode shotgun in Greg's car, contributing money towards gas.
Generally, that's what people did. In terms of square mileage, New Milford is the largest town in Connecticut. A driver could easily burn up a precious gallon of gas driving along the back roads to pick up or drop off a single passenger. Passengers, grateful that they weren't stuck riding the bus or trapped at home on a Saturday night, chipped in on gas money. If you didn't, well, people thought of you as a cheapskate and the odds of you getting another ride anytime soon would be slim. A couple of bucks was pretty much what was expected. Throw in $5 and you were considered generous.
Eventually, we all got better paying jobs and cars of our own, so gas money was no longer a big deal.
Twenty plus years later, gas money is something to consider again. Gas here (at least on Friday) is $4.33/gallon. Although the minimum wage is now $7/hour (it's probably more, but not by more than a couple of dimes), I'd expect that car insurance has also climbed up to make sure that it isn't any easier for teens to own a car.
But it isn't just teens that have to worry about gas money now. Last month, six of us went down to Holmdel, NJ (114 miles one way) to see Iron Maiden. We carpooled in Fran's minivan. Yes, nothing screams metal more than half a dozen guys, ranging in age from their mid-30's to early 40's, in a minivan. We had to stop for gas on the way home after the show. I don't know what it gets for mileage, but it can't be that much. Although gas is cheaper in NJ than CT, Fran was still looking at spending about $50. So here we were again, chipping in for gas money, just like in high school.
\_/
DED
Labels: economy
posted by DED at 1:07 PM
2 Comments:
That shows that our dependence on fossil fuels really is threatening the American way of life.
If teenagers can't cruise around aimlessly all summer, that really sucks.
(And I'm not being sarcastic.)
I love corporations.
Have I ever mentioned that?
If not, I do.
Our version of capitalism is completely insane, and inevitably it will lead to our downfall.
You can't sell shit if everyone's broke.
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