LOADING UP ON GASOLINE

When I went to fill my gas tank on Tuesday, it was hard to find an empty space. Everyone was loading up on gasoline. Finally, I pulled up behind a couple with a big old SUV. They looked to be in their sixties. On the ground next to their vehicle, I saw several large red and yellow containers. Lucky I wasn’t waiting for them to leave, because they were purchasing what looked like about 30 gallons of gas—some diesel, some regular. I had never seen anyone buying that much gasoline before, and it got me thinking about the effect of escalating gas prices.

On Monday, my husband filled up on gas in his SUV. The price was $1.41 per gallon. On Tuesday, I did the same in my old sedan, but now, the gas cost $1.61. . By Wednesday, it had shot up to $1.75. That’s a pretty steep increase. The couple ahead of me at the gas station have lived through high priced gas. Maybe they use a tractor or mower for a small business like lawn service. . They know that their income will go down when gas prices increase. No wonder they’re loading up on gasoline.

Obviously, at my age, I’ve lived through many periods of high priced gas. When I was a hospital food service manager, the purchasing agents dreaded high gasoline prices, because they knew that the price of plastic reusables was going to skyrocket. That’s because plastics are derived from byproducts of petroleum refining and natural gas processing. Therefore, when oil prices escalate the cost of single use plastic products like syringes and gloves increase. And so, the cost of health care goes up . But that’s just the beginning. The cost of transporting food and other necessities by truck or train increases. And suddenly, you have inflation.

Economists think a little bit of inflation is good for the economy because people can more easily pay off old debts. But if inflation gets out of hand, consumers start pulling in their belts and spend less on “wants” like vacations and new cars. . Less consumer demand leads to higher unemployment.

Escalating gas prices are scary. . No wonder that ordinary people were loading up on gas last Tuesday.

December 23, 2020December 23, 2020

DID TRUMP DODGE A BULLET?

Did you ever experience a broken engagement or get turned down for a job? It was upsetting at the time, and it took awhile to stop mourning your dashed hopes. But then later–maybe much later– the lost lover turned out to be a bummer, and the company that refused to hire you went bust. Or, with a more positive outcome, you found a better job, or met the love of your life. Looking back, you realize that the loss you mourned was actually a blessing in disguise. You dodged a bullet. Now, Trump supporters are grieving the Biden win during the 2020 election. But maybe it’s not a bad thing, after all. Did Trump dodge a bullet?

The stock market is climbing on good news of the vaccine. . But at least one financial advisor is predicting a once in a lifetime crash. During this pandemic, millions of jobs were eliminated in retail, restaurant and other business. Many of these jobs aren’t coming back. How long can the government keep on printing money before we have massive inflation and higher taxes?

Instead of the robust economy everyone is looking forward to, we could have stagflation–slow economic growth, high inflation and high unemployment. They say inflation is under control, but I’m not sure what indicators they’re using. Right now, the cost of food and housing is skyrocketing.

The cyber attack last March may lead to something disastrous for the country. Who knows what a hostile power is going to do with all the information they have now. We could experience massive power outages. Suddenly, you have no telephone, internet, heat, light or running water. Nothing works. Most large organizations have generators that tide them over until the power goes back on. But what if it doesn’t? Generators can’t run indefinitely. Imagine being the president of the United States during such a disaster.

Those are just two scenarios that the next President could face. We avoided foreign wars under Trump. But the luck may run out with Biden, with so many countries desperate after being ravaged by Covid-19. Only time will tell if Trump dodged a bullet.

November 23, 2020November 23, 2020

IS STOCKPILING SELFISH OR SMART?

Hoarding is definitely a bad word nowadays. It conjures up images of deranged people living amongst piles of things they’ve accumulated for years, unable to part with a even single rubber band. But there’s another type of hoarder who is now in the spotlight. It’s the person who has a closet full of toilet paper, or a trunk full of bottled picante sauce. Yes, I’ve witnessed this type of hoarding during this pandemic. But there’s a euphemism for the term, “hoarding,” and its called stockpiling. You might even think of it as saving, or stocking up for the uncertainty ahead. Is stockpiling selfish or smart?

Stockpiling is generally frowned upon by the media. We’re told that it’s a selfish act, depriving others of access to much needed goods. But to my mind, it’s kind of a natural act of self preservation. Everyone has their own wants and needs. For my husband, it’s canned soup. Being a diabetic, he is careful to avoid high carbohydrate foods. Most soup is nutritious without being high in calories. Beside that, it warms the tummy on cold wintry days. It’s also one of the first things that started disappearing from the grocery store shelves in March..

And so, starting last spring, we would buy a few extra cans of his favorite soups whenever we shopped. No, we didn’t walk out with a cartful of soup, but we did buy more than we could use in a week. Consequently, we have two pantry shelves full of canned soup. It’s at least a month’s supply. I don’t see this as a stupid expense or a selfish act. The money isn’t wasted. Canned foods are good for years. And we really didn’t deprive anyone else of a can of soup in the long run. And at our age, there could be weeks when the weather is so bad we can’t leave the house. Or one of us could get sick.

Is stockpiling selfish or smart. Stockpiling canned goods is a good idea when facing uncertainty — Is stockpiling selfish or smart? Everyone stockpiled canned goods in the olden days.

When I was a child, everyone stockpiled food . Women canned. We had a basement full of canned peaches, pears, tomatoes and green beans. My husband lived on a farm, and they even canned the meat which they had raised. Was that selfish or stupid? No, it was called planning for the long winter months ahead.

This is a time of uncertainty. A change in government, a new president of the United States. A Covid-19 epidemic predicted to spiral out of control. Many economists are predicting a worldwide stagflation. So Is stockpiling stupid, selfish, or smart? I’ll vote for smart.