Gas Prices Reshaping Hiring Practices

shoreliner wrote:

My hope now is for voters to demand that the U.S.:
- Drills in ANWR
- Expands drilling in the Dakotas
- Permits shale mining in the Rockies (3x the reserves of Saudi Arabia)
- Drills in the deep reaches of the Gulf of Mexico (China is already drilling there)
- Stops the hoax that is man-made global warming
Give me a candidate who is running on that platform and I will vote for him/her in a second.

So you're still naive enough to think we can drill our way out of this problem?

And when we've used every last drop because you're too stubborn or stupid to change your wasteful habits, what then???

Statr walking. If you don't already, buy an economy car.

And climate change is a real threat, whether you can comprehend it or not. There's a lot of new believers in Iowa. It's not really about warming, it's about unpredictable and violent weather events. Like floods and tornados. Which are occuring in the American midwest with unprecedented damage and destruction.

But that doesn't square with your right wing denial agenda, does it?

Sue from Milford wrote:

I've started taking what action I can. I sold my SUV, which I loved, and traded down to a Toyota Corrolla. I'm going from 16 miles a gallon to 35 mpg. I figure that cuts my gas bill in half. When prices get up another dollar or two I'm planning on finding a partner to commute with. That will cut the price in half again. Milford to Norwalk and back is a 50 mile trip a day. Every little bit will help.

Amazing - someone taking responsibility, no whining, and not asking for a handout from their employer (or the government ... take a look at yet another foreclosure story on page 1).

You go, girl.

Not everyone can just buy a new car to ease the pain at the pump a little.

I have a VW New Beetle that averages in the mid-20s. My husband drives a Toyota Camry that averages low to mid-20s. Both cars are paid for.

Any future vehicle for us will have to be a 4 door and seat 5, since we plan to have children. The Yaris sedan gets 29/35 MPG. We'll use that as an example:

Assume my VW averages 26 MPG on virtually all in-town driving (I rarely go on the highway). The Yaris sedan gets 29 MPG in-town. For a mileage gain of 3 MPG, I'd pay roughly $14K for a new Yaris. I could get about $7K trade-in for the VW, so I'd be financing $7K. So to be able to get an extra 30 miles or less on each tank of gas (the Yaris has a smaller gas tank), I would be making a car payment again. I'd rather pay an extra $50/month in gas than be making a $300/month car payment for the next 2 years to pay off the new vehicle.

My next car will likely be a hybrid or very efficient compact or small sedan. Even then, unless it's a hybrid the mileage won't be that much of an improvement given that most of my driving is NOT on the highway.

Automakers are capable of making much more efficient engines. They choose not to.

Marco Van Battan wrote:

<quoted text>
Hopefully eventually you will begin to commute on Metro North to take you out of your car period. Clearly gas prices are not high enough yet!

Metro North plus paying for a car to get to Metro North is still more expensive than a car for many people. Those who support mass transit talk as if busses and trains are cheap. They are not. The monthly pass on metro north can run into hundreds of dollars. Plus, you still have to pay for parking or a bus to get to the train station. Quit selling Metro North as a cheap alternative. If you wish to sell it as a "green" alternative, OK. But it certainly is not cheap. If you drive from New Haven to Stamford every day, it's just as cheap, if not cheaper to drive.

Zonker wrote:

<quoted text>
So you're still naive enough to think we can drill our way out of this problem?
And when we've used every last drop because you're too stubborn or stupid to change your wasteful habits, what then???
Statr walking. If you don't already, buy an economy car.
And climate change is a real threat, whether you can comprehend it or not. There's a lot of new believers in Iowa. It's not really about warming, it's about unpredictable and violent weather events. Like floods and tornados. Which are occuring in the American midwest with unprecedented damage and destruction.
But that doesn't square with your right wing denial agenda, does it?

For the record, you are saying the floods in Iowa are due to climate change? What is your evidence? Please cite an unbiased study, and not something funded by Al Gore's hedge fund.

Hey it wouldn't be a problem for us Puerto Rican we will put 6 puerto rican in a Honda Accord and save money. The joke is not funny now is that we prepared for this a long time ago. Rice and beans to survive is less expensive then that pot roast, stake and potato.

W Hfd Traveler wrote:

<quoted text> Interesting thought, but do your homework. I listened to John McCain on the Today show last week reference OPEC as the cause of the current gas price increases. I liked McCain up to this point, but he blew it with me. It's not the Arabs doing this to us, it's our own people, just as Yo Momma said. McCain wasn't a Democrat as of last night.

Moose Jaw, canada??? Now there is some real gas prices. I agree we are doing it to ourselves.

This is an illegal hiring practice.

And not only that imagine the burden on someone running with just an unemployment check to cover for rent - bills- food - etc. and job hunting around back and forward not counting parking fares and car wear and tear. Under such conditions will not be hard to get totally hanging on a shoe string at the end of the rope. It just make no senses...

You guys are all clueless if you think gasoline is going to be any cheaper than $10 per gallon next year.

Marco Van Battan wrote:

I just graduated from college. I made a decision that I would only accept a job in downtown Hartford. Eventually I would like to live in downtown Hartford. I'm young and the suburbs don't appeal to me as a place to live; I can deal with Hartford's "problems".
I honestly think anyone young and single working in a place like Day Hill Road or Simsbury is crazy and wasting their life away. I found a job in Hartford, I go out for happy hour and stuff after work, and I have a 5 minute commute. Just say NO to the suburbs, you won't regret it.

Marco you're the man! Everything all in one place. Thing will need to change when those lil rugrats start popping out BUT in the meantime enjoy your life in the city of Hartford.

You have to wonder if companies such as ING and Met Life would have headed for the hills had they seen the gas price spike coming. Had they stayed in the city at least some their employees had a chance of making bus connections if their commuting costs became too onerous.

Jimmy Carter was not such a great President for mass transportation. One of his first actions --elimination federal support of local bus operations funding after a surprising effort by the Nixon/Ford administrations to get local buses back on the roads through public/private partnerships.

Van pools are great for people with regular schedules but not those who work on projects that require working irregular hours.

It's a sad truth, but what really shocked me about this story was finding out that all four wage earners in our household are in the lower income bracket (each making less than $20 an hour and not likely to break that ceiling for several years). We (the parents) own a small home on a reasonable sized lot and--okay--we've never owned a new car in our lives--so it depresses me to learn that entry level clerical workers can start at $20 an hour in some places. Of course, I couldn't afford the gas to get to that job.
Oh yeah, that's what the story was about.

HC Here wrote:

<quoted text>
Metro North plus paying for a car to get to Metro North is still more expensive than a car for many people. Those who support mass transit talk as if busses and trains are cheap. They are not. The monthly pass on metro north can run into hundreds of dollars. Plus, you still have to pay for parking or a bus to get to the train station. Quit selling Metro North as a cheap alternative. If you wish to sell it as a "green" alternative, OK. But it certainly is not cheap. If you drive from New Haven to Stamford every day, it's just as cheap, if not cheaper to drive.

Just want to express this point some more.
I live in west haven and work in stamford. I take the train everyday.
It is about a 15 mile drive there and back to the train station. 80 dollars a month for parking. 90 dollars a month for a train pass and i fill up once every two weeks for gas 90

That 260 for just neccesity rides. If i had to take the bus after the train station it would be another 40 a month.

If i drove to work, i would have to fill up once every 6 days or so. that would be 225 a month for gas. If it wasnt that my car is leased and i get charged for going over my miles I would drive to work everyday.

HC Here wrote:

<quoted text>
Metro North plus paying for a car to get to Metro North is still more expensive than a car for many people. Those who support mass transit talk as if busses and trains are cheap. They are not. The monthly pass on metro north can run into hundreds of dollars. Plus, you still have to pay for parking or a bus to get to the train station. Quit selling Metro North as a cheap alternative. If you wish to sell it as a "green" alternative, OK. But it certainly is not cheap. If you drive from New Haven to Stamford every day, it's just as cheap, if not cheaper to drive.

Our state chooses to subsidize cars more. Again, hopefully this will change and the train will be cheaper than a car, like in most countries.

HC Here wrote:

<quoted text>
For the record, you are saying the floods in Iowa are due to climate change? What is your evidence? Please cite an unbiased study, and not something funded by Al Gore's hedge fund.

There you go again. Deny anything is happening until the evidence is unassailable. At that point, Manhattan will be under water. I'm sure you'll blame that on Democrats, not climate change.

You conservative deniers have it easy. When things aren't going your way, it's either Clinton's fault, the liberal media's lies, or no scientific evidence to back it up.

Well, you don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind is blowing. You just have to open your eyes and mind.

I doubt you are capable of that.

Hartfordian wrote:

You guys are all clueless if you think gasoline is going to be any cheaper than $10 per gallon next year.

And you know this how?

I wish you would take bets on that one! I assure you it will not be $10 dollars for at least several years.

I figure $6 tops.

Ruffian wrote:

After she left and several management changes, the department was reduced & the 4 day work week was taken away. That management has changed several times since in the following years.

That stinks, doesn't it? A lot of companies/corporation/law firms DO NOT CARE if an employee is happy.

Where I work, management wouldn't even think of giving employees a 4-day work week just because they have no faith or trust in any of us to let us work from home.

We can reduce our schedule to 4 days but only paid for 4 days. They "say" our work is too confidential, too sensitive to be taken out of the office.

We would have to take a big hit in the pocketbook if we go from a 5-day workweek to a 4-day workweek.

Nice reading all of your messages!

How can a worker earning 15 dollars an hour eat up 612 days of pay .... in 365 day year.
2476 / 15 = 165.06666 hours of work or 4.1266 weeks. another month of bills that will have to be skimed from the remainder of the years USEABLE income.