Grim though the evening news may be these days, perhaps we are turning a corner. Perhaps there is light at the end of the tunnel. Not in Iraq or the federal budget or the trade deficit, but in the streets.
On March 25, Los Angeles played host to the “Gran Marcha,” the largest street protest in California’s history. Hundreds of thousands of people marched for decent treatment of those who come to America seeking a better life. These marches have been peaceful and courageous – many of the people marching are illegal immigrants, who could be seized and deported at any time. Marches and rallies are planned Monday for cities across the country.
In Paris, street protests, not as peaceful as L.A.’s, have brought the government of Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin to the verge of collapse. Whether you agree with the government or the protesters on France’s labor laws, you must admit the people are forcing the leaders to listen.
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Set of Priorities
A quarter century ago, when I began purchasing cigarettes and gasoline in significant quantities, a pack of smokes and a gallon of gas went for about the same price – 65 or 70 cents.
Last week, a gallon gas was selling for about $2.65 in Vermont and while I was filling up, I noticed a pack of cigarettes now sells for $4.80. Some addictions are more expensive than others. I quit smoking years ago, but it was not the price of cigarettes that changed my behavior, I was just done smoking.
There’s a theory in economics that holds when prices for a given product rise too much or too quickly, it throws the law of supply-and-demand out of whack. The law retaliates by “destroying demand,” which causes the price to fall back. Economists point to the Arab oil embargo of 1973-74, when gas was suddenly in short supply and Americans responded by buying small, fuel-efficient cars, turning down thermostats, etc. Demand dropped, oil producers lost money, the price of oil dropped and the supply rose.
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