During World War II, there was a publicity campaign that featured now-famous posters that included the phrase: “Is Your Trip Necessary? Needless Travel Interferes With the War Effort.”
You’d even hear the phrase repeated in the Looney Tune cartoons of the era.
Is this trip necessary?
If Americans want to see a reduction in the amount we are spending on travel, if we want to see a savings in the price of fuel, which is being impacted now by the war between workers and profit takers, then we need to adopt this war ethic again.
We need to ask ourselves, every single time we start a car: “Is this trip necessary?”
According to experts, it is only by cutting back on our use of fuel that we will be able to see a reaction in the market that is going to help American workers who are already being smacked with that inflation that just a month ago the current national administration SWORE did not exist.
All of a sudden, in just the past few weeks, they have discovered that, in fact, not only does inflation impact pretty much everything that we have to purchase daily, but it’s impacting it to an extent that hasn’t been seen for years.
This week, the Associated Press noted that gas prices are already having an impact on sales.
“With the price of gas above $3.50 a gallon in all but one state, there are signs that Americans are cutting back on driving, reversing a steady increase in demand for fuel as the economy improves.
“Gas sales have fallen for five straight weeks, the first time that has happened since November, according to MasterCard SpendingPulse, which tracks spending at 140,000 service stations nationwide.
“Before the decline, demand was increasing for two months. Some analysts had expected the trend to continue because the economic recovery is picking up, adding 216,000 jobs in March.”
It really is about demand and supply, so consider what else people tend to purchase when they stop for gas.
Now imagine if the sale of bottled water, pop, lottery tickets and even cigarettes start to drop.
Consider the impact that would be created if every one of those items was purchased during a weekly stop for supplies and all of the extra trips that we currently make were cut out.
Just think what a different it could make if Americans could finally learn the level of self control that we would plan out our purchases, our driving, our routes, and if we were willing to put off until tomorrow or next week the trips that not only use up gas, but also involve a number of expensive impulse purchases.
Can we really believe that these changes would NOT be noticed by the national firms that own these suppliers?
Again, according to the AP: This year, gas prices have shot up as unrest in North Africa and the Middle East rattled energy markets and increased global demand for crude oil squeezed supplies. A gallon of unleaded regular costs $3.77 on average, and only Wyoming has an average lower than $3.50. Gas is already 41 cents more expensive then at this point in 2008, when it peaked at $4.11 in July.
“Most analysts are sticking to forecasts of a high of $4 a gallon, though some have predicted $5 gas.”
So why do we want to keep spending more and more?
It is time for American drivers to discipline themselves, for them to ask “Is this trip really necessary?”
If you wait for your national “leaders” to get the price down, you’ll go broke.
— Chuck Smith