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Home Front: Culture Wars
Some Californians Will Have To Decide Between Food Or Gas
2011-03-07
Not only are President ObamaÂ’s policies harming the middle class they are also hurting the poor. Imagine that you have not lost your job yet. Thankful as you are, the rising cost of gas may soon force even harder decisions on your family. Many people here commute to work. If you have even a modest commute of 20 miles, rising gas prices could add $100-200 a month to your gas bill. This will cause even more families to struggle to feed themselves. From the Los Angeles Times:

One in five Californians struggled to afford enough food for themselves and their families last year, according to a new report by the Food Research and Action Center.

The rate in California was slightly higher than the national average of 18%.

Jim Weill, president of the Washington-based nonprofit group, said the figures underscore the need for a strong nutrition safety net — including food stamps and school meals — for families that continue to struggle even as the economy begins to recover.

“While the nation’s Great Recession may have technically ended in mid-2009, it has not yet ended for many of the nation’s households,” Weill said in a statement Thursday. “For them, 2010 was the third year of a terrible recession that is widely damaging the ability to meet basic needs.”

The report was based on data collected for the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, which conducted telephone interviews with more than 350,000 people in 2010, including 35,543 in California.


Now thatÂ’s change.
Posted by:DarthVader

#15  c'mon guys I live in LA.
Most of what you guys posted simply ain't true. Most people live near their jobs here just like everywhere else.
But some choose to travel more because there's lots of stuff to see and do when your city in 500 square miles in size.
Especially with good weather most of the time.
Gas expenses for traveling type jobs ..ie..outside or route sales is generally deductible.
And most people in Southern California make more money than their counterparts in other states for the same type work.
But you are right about re-electing that communist broad and Governor 'moonbeam'.
But maybe they will get the blame for the impending doom thats on the way.
I cry for my city & state.
Posted by: Mikey Hunt   2011-03-07 22:16  

#14  Hey I got that hippy bus. Give me Moonbeam anytime.
Church donations are way down. Charitable food donations are also down. Food banks can't handle the large numbers seeking assistance. The great society indeed. Faith in government and precious little in your fellow man. Faith in God would set our priorities correctly. Otherwise riots for certain. Anyone perceived to have anything will be a target. Anyone suspected of hoarding will lose everything. It could even get much worse.
Posted by: Dale   2011-03-07 21:37  

#13  Y'all don't stop at the grocery store on the way home? That's what I used to do when I had a paying job...
Posted by: trailing wife   2011-03-07 19:59  

#12  Maybe this will help the lines at DMV.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble   2011-03-07 18:40  

#11  Well obviously the entitled moochers will need to have the food delivered - at taxpayer expense.

And the taxpayers would just have to tighten their belts that much more...
Posted by: CrazyFool   2011-03-07 17:07  

#10  if I tried to put that many people in a car I would get ticketed. It's not necessary for each of the families to personally visit the supermarket. A team of two can pick out & haul groceries for multiple families, just takes a bit of advance planning and teamwork. Those who live hand-to-mouth & can't buy more than a few days' worth of food at a time, aren't able to do this.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418   2011-03-07 17:07  

#9  Two words:
High. Speed. Rail.
Posted by: swksvolFF   2011-03-07 17:03  

#8  ...pack it full of the needs of several families...

They are already doing a version of that here. The illegals undocumented immigrants are putting several families in one.

I swear, if I tried to put that many people in a car I would get ticketed.
Posted by: DarthVader   2011-03-07 17:02  

#7  Split the diff. Buy ammo.
Posted by: mojo   2011-03-07 16:58  

#6  Given the distances, how are they going to get food home from the supermarket? Carpooling, or a variation of it. Send one of those monstrous SUVs to the supermarket with a long-enough shopping list & pack it full of the needs of several families, then split the cost of the fuel among the beneficiaries.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418   2011-03-07 16:57  

#5  Given the distances, how are they going to get food home from the supermarket?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2011-03-07 15:39  

#4  Screw 'em if they insist on voting in stupid. Maybe if it hurts enough they just might get a clue.
That's the 2011 version of Ben Franklin's "Experience keeps a dear school, but fools will learn in no other."
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418   2011-03-07 15:38  

#3  Rising gas prices really are gonna hurt.
A substantial part of the USA (not just the far West, either) was populated & developed largely because of the widespread use of autos, dirt cheap fuel, and subsidized highway construction & maintenance. Affordable housing was built as far as possible from places of employment, and long commutes became baked in to ways of life.
The pain of really expensive auto fuel has been understood since at least 1973. The USA has since been hit with several cluebats, most recently during the summer and fall of 2008. As little as possible has been done to adapt to that possibility. Californians who obligated themselves to frequent long commutes were just as capable of doing math ($/mile and $/week spent on commuting) as any other American. Now they and the rest of us will be paying the price for failure to act appropriately and in time.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418   2011-03-07 15:36  

#2  Just remember....Obama's California margin of victory was 24%. They also re-elected Governor Moonbeam and Senator "Don't Call Me Ma'am" Boxer.

Screw 'em if they insist on voting in stupid. Maybe if it hurts enough they just might get a clue.
Posted by: Swamp Blondie   2011-03-07 15:36  

#1  Unlike some of the big eastern cities like New York and Boston, California was built around the car. Our suburbs and bedroom communities are spread out all over the place. Developers love it whenever a freeway is extended because that's an open invitation for them to build new housing tracts. People move into these new houses because they're so much cheaper than houses that are closer to the big cities and the jobs. It doesn't take long for the new freeway to become just another parking lot as frustrated commuters vie with one another for advantage in the traffic jams. Most people would consider a 20 mile commute to be indeed "moderate". You buy a new car on a five year payment plan and it'll be worn out before you're done paying for it. Rising gas prices really are gonna hurt.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305   2011-03-07 12:46  

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