[Christ]

I still make attempts to drive on unposted roads out here... they're few and far between, any more, but by and large, most of the areas I want to drive have at least a few of them, and there's hardly any traffic on them. I can cruise at 45 or so in high gear, and never really have to slow down for any of the curves because they're old dirt roads that have naturally banked, etc..

Here's the thing about purchase prices of various products, in my POV:

You need certain things, no two ways about it. If you don't have, or have access to, an alternative fueled vehicle, you need gas or diesel.

You probably need electricity for your house, heating oil or some other way to heat, etc.

In some cases, a long commute to work can't be avoided. There is no available job within 50 miles of me that pays enough between wages and hours available to support a family, so that leaves me with a 1+ hour commute each way to even begin to be financially "able".

On the flip side, there are compromises for everything in life, and it's a part of life. You deal with it, and move on. If gas prices continue to go up, just like the last time, many people will begin driving less - spending more time at home with their families, as opposed to leisure driving. Driving will (once again) become something abhorrent to many people, rather than something to do when you're bored. You will start rationing your fuel use, or you won't be able to drive.

The last time gas prices really started to go up, it didn't bother me in the least, because I just didn't really care to drive as it was. I had a wife at home, and no need to go anywhere else that I couldn't just as easily (and in some cases, more quickly) have walked.

We used to walk to the grocery, buy $200+ in goods, then walk home with it. It was 14 blocks total. 90% of the time, from what I see in watching around me, people would rather get in a car and drive to a grocery to get milk than get it from a gas station around the corner (yes, there's always one just around the corner if you live in a large town/city), even though it's regulated to the same price at either place. I also find that people don't fully weight the cost of their lifestyles when deciding to "save money" on their purchases... if you had to spend $3 in fuel to get to the "deal" that's only $1 off from what you'd have paid originally, it wasn't worth it at all, unless you were already going that way. People around me tend to not think too much about how they're wasting resources to provide for themselves, because they feel that if it's "necessary", it's "not going to change" for them. They've retired to the fact that they're "going to have to" spend $20 a week or more on fuel costs, at current prices, and it's going to keep going up. They haven't tried to understand that by budgeting your miles, and not your money, you can save on both.

The "rich get richer and the poor get poorer" attitude is self-perpetuating, by the way. The rich got rich off the backs of people who spoke, but did not act. By continuing to speak without action, you're doing exactly what made them rich in the first place, and nothing will change. If you wish to be monetarily wealthy, follow their example, not your own. They're the rich ones, not you. What makes you think your idea could be better than theirs?

OTOH - if you want to be truly wealthy, just learn to be happy with what you have, and stop looking for every excuse to blame others for your insufficiencies. Money means nothing to a large number of people in this world, and it's been proven time and time again that you do NOT need it to survive. Self-sufficiency is practiced in a large part of the world, and US citizens could benefit from the teachings of the poorer among us.