Specter Says Rising Gas Prices May Lead to Tax on Oil Profits

[K C Muffin]

Army, Army, Army.........you're beginning to sound like an old man. This is a touchy subject, huh? It galls me, too. So the PU is parked. I drive a 15-year-old VW back and forth. So, gas IS that expensive that it's making some of us change our habits. I like drivin' the truck. But not at $75 a tank (that lasts only a week). FYI, public trans isn't as plentiful as you might think in Johnson County. To get to the bus stop would still take about 15 minutes for me. And I'd have to get there at 5:30 in the morning to get to work on time. Then I'd hobble home around 7 at night. I'm too old for that stuff. Ride-share? Not in Johnson County. Every morning, I see the same Volvo's, Beemers, Lexus' and Mercedes at the stop light. And there's usually only one person in each car. Until the price of gas gets so high or gas gets so hard to get that it makes these folks listen, what they do to the little guys (like me) with the price at the pump isn't gonna matter one iota.

It's hard to find retail pumps anymore that will actually let you pay at the pump. Most of the places I stop here in Overland Park have their pay-at-the-pump card machines taped over. And you have to go in and pre-pay or leave your card in order to turn the pump on. I'd guess it only takes a couple of $75 or $80 drive-offs to make the station owners weary.

For now, I'm completely satisfied drivin the old Vdub. Cost $40 to fill it up Saturday, but I won't do it again for two weeks. Yep, that pickup is staying real shiny and clean.