Why are Americans being hard headed over gas prices?

Question

I am an Indian living in the US and have been listening, with amusement to Americans cursing their guts out on high gas prices. now listen to me

1. america is #1 in most things, but is it because of exceptional contributions of the middle class clerks etc... or is it because of exceptional scientists, doctors, businessmen, innovation, etc?

2. As such, the American middle class is entitled to no more than a corresponding middle class person anywhere else in the world

3. case in point: my mom is a doctor in india and got her first car when she was 52 .ever since i have seen *many* indians get much much richer in last 10 yrs...these are doctors, lawyers and engineers.

4. So shouldn't you wake up americans? is it your point that someone who licks envelopes in america is more accomplished than a Dr in india? So the gas prices ONLY APPEAR HIGH because you shouldnt have a car in the first place... so when an MD in india steps into a car...a clerk in NY should have no shame in stepping out.

Answer 1

we are spoiled and we want what we want when we want it.

We are going to destroy our selves just like all of the other great kingdoms have due to our greed and ignorance. We will all cry about it and blame someone else for it.

Sad but true.

Answer 2

New york is a unique situation in the US. Most people who live in NYC rich or poor mostly ride the metro. Because it's very well developed so people really never need a car.

You really can't compare to the driving needs of an Englishman to that of a californian. People live in homes that are situated many many miles away from the city. The average commute for a californian is easily 100 miles a day, and public transportation is very spotty at best. Trains, buses and such are not common here and aren't properly funded and aren't reliable forms of transportation. So people MUST use cars if they want to work and commute. There isn't much of an option, and when you aren't making much to begin with, it hurts people's ability to make money for their families.

Maybe you have a sort of skewed point of "who should have a car" because you're coming from a rapidly  developing nation where a car is once considered a luxury, but in most of the Western world that doesn't have the established public transport systems of Europe or NYC or Chicago, being without a car is pretty much being crippled.

Answer 3

We have a free market economy and try not to have monopolies.  We have less corruption than say in India- I understand they still have castes and that people quite often are treated like dirt.

Answer 4

If India is so great? Why are you still taking up space here??????

Answer 5

I think some Asians are still keep their brain in old style. I also wondered if California government can build a skytrain or subway like in NY or in Vancouver? In my experience, took subway in NY was bit scared cause' it wasn't safe at night time.The government should also find out the best way to solution these problems.

Answer 6

There are a great deal of reasons why people here in the U.S. are having issue with the rise in gas costs.

First of all it's not the desire for the car but the need to get to work and back.  In many cities in the U.S. ample public transportation is not available.  For example I couldn't catch a bus to work, If I could, I would.  Until public transportation can fill the gap a car isn't a luxury, it's a necessity.  If I was to walk to work, by the time I got there , even if I left at 2am, It would be time for me to sign out and start the long walk home.  

Secondly, the cost of gas is driving up the cost of everything else.  The cost of living is going up considerably without any compensation to help manage that.  

I'm an animal keeper for a small non-profit group and although I love my job and feel I am accomplished in the Field I choose to be in, it doesn't pay well, and never will.  That shift in gas prices is having a huge detrimental effect on my family.  

It's not a matter of feeling that I'm more accomplished or entitled than anyone, it's a matter of survival, right here, in the country where I was born.  Things in India are different than they are here.  If your mother was born in the U.S. She'd be complaining about the gas prices as well.