Home : Editorials and Commentary : The United States
By Analisa Drew
June 23, 2000
The raising gas prices, which are plaguing the entire U.S., are hitting working class people very hard. Things are especially bad in the Chicago and Milwaukee area, where daily prices generally top the $2 per gallon mark. These inflated prices are seriously putting a dent in most people’s wallets. But are raising prices causing a different effect than that desired by the major oil companies? Are they, by raising prices, also raising working class consciousness? Nearly everyone interviewed by the major TV stations in the areas hardest hit tell of their disdain for the major oil corporations, especially when they found out that some companies profits rose about 400% during the same period. It's bad enough when you can't afford to pay for the gas, but when you find that the money you were diverting from other necessities to pay for your gas is simply making the oil companies even richer, most people become irate. Drive-offs have become a daily occurrence, oftentimes up to three daily per gas station according to police.
Gas is just one product most of us need for everyday survival. We need a way to get to our jobs so we can work to pay our bills. We have no choice but to pay for it at this point. The people already know the cause of the gas hikes. Corporate greed, pure and simple But could you imagine if this type of price inflating spread to other goods also? What if it got to the point where we could absolutely not pay for the things we needed to survive? It could have revolutionary implications. Instead of suffering, people will act if forced to by circumstances. These rich corporations, through their actions, are digging their own graves, slowly but surely. The working class is no longer sleeping when it comes to what is going on behind their backs. They understand the motives of these corporations, they no longer accept the explanation that the free market is "magical", randomly raising and lowering prices, like Alice in Wonderland miraculously drank a potion that made her grow bigger and smaller. There is no magic potion causing this. There are real people causing these real problems. The masses are starting to stir, and once it starts there will be no stopping it.