If Gas Was $6 a Gallon

It's not the kind of thought you'd like to hear, but we are on this plank....where gas will likely go past $4, and likely past $5 by the end of summer.  I'd prefer not to imagine this scene of $6 a gallon, but here are my observations.

First, you can forget about teenage kids getting any kind of increase on their $80 a month gas money.  Somehow....you will have to figure out a way to stretch those thirteen gallons of gas as far as possible.  Friday evening dates with Jimmy Junior won't happen.....accidents with teenagers dying on some bridge will decrease.....and there might be a few less pregnancies that folks might notice.

Second, airline travel will become a difficult thing to estimate.  Every airline will toss on a $50 fee for fuel, and overseas flights will figure some $200 fee wording.

Third, places like Vegas or Orlando.....will suffer because folks won't fly or drive to the location as much.

Fourth....that SUV that you bought four years ago?  It'll be traded in and be practically worthless.  Some guys will be smart enough to buy two or three Ford Explorers and just park them in the barn.  He'll use one till it's completely dead, then crank up the next and drive it for a couple of years. SUVs won't be dead....but it'll be the guys who have a $60k a year paycheck who mostly drive them.

Fifth.....groceries will edge upward and everyone will wonder why gas has an impact.  Farmers will shake their heads over their fuel bill doubling.

Sixth.....schools will look for hundreds of ways to talk folks into accepting four days of school a week....to save on bus fuel money.  This will mean nine-hour days where a kid arrives at 07:30 and doesn't leave school until 5PM.  The three-day weekend?  Well....it'll take a while for folks to figure out how to make these work.

Seventh.....the various fees that schools will toss on folks....will eventually include a bus fee.  You will laugh over this and suggest it's a joke.....but it'll happen.

Eighth....as gas edges higher....folks will eventually realize the state and federal tax established on each gallon....simply makes fuel more expensive.  Some political folks will have to stand up and explain why this is such a good idea.  My guess is that they've got a limited future.

Ninth....when the pizza delivery guy says your delivery fee is around $5 a pizza.....you will start to compare the actual pizza cost of $9 to the fuel cost.....and just forget about ordering pizza.

Tenth, and final....sports teams....from high school to professional level....will all begin to add up the cost of taking players around the region, state, or country.  We will eventually have to change a number of things, in the interest of sports.