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Pinched at the Pump
Scott en Aztlán wrote: > http://ktla.trb.com/news/la-fi-gashu...newsspecial3-1 > > >Pinched at the Pump > > > >High fuel prices are pushing some drivers to the financial brink- > >and to the pawnshop for gas money. Low-wage earners are feeling > >the most pain. > > > >By Elizabeth Douglass, Times Staff Writer > > > >July 16, 2006 > > > >Stopping for gas on a recent evening commute, Joseph Godino > >paused to make a call before feeding his credit card into the > >pump's built-in reader. > > > >He listened as a recorded voice delivered welcome news: His > >card still had $88 of credit available. > > > >The gas-up was a go. > > > >"I had to phone up to find out if I had enough credit on > >there to fill up," said Godino, 58, whose workday round-trip > >commute is a whopping 200 miles. > > 200 miles? That's ****ing INSANE! Clearly this guy has issues well > beyond the price of gasoline... > > >"The gas is just really hurting me. I don't know what to do.... I > >can't quit my job or I'd lose my house." > >Godino, an Apple Valley resident whose truck driving job is based in > >Buena Park, signed up for extra shifts and financial counseling, and > >his wife went back to work to add income. But he has fallen further > >behind. With his gas cards maxed out, Godino has switched to filling > >his tank using a Visa card. > > Here's all the financial counseling you need: SELL the ****ing house > and move to Texas, where gas is cheaper, housing is cheaper, and the > cost of living is cheaper. Let's face it, you don't have sufficient > marketable skills to be able to afford to live in SoCal. Sorry! > > The good news is, they need Truckers in Texas, too, the houses cost > $100,000, and gas costs $2.99/gallon. So stop calling VISA and start > calling Allied Van Lines. > > >California's sky-high gasoline prices are slamming Godino and other > >motorists who had been barely getting by. Californians, saddled with > >the nation's priciest gasoline outside of Hawaii, are paying more than > >70 cents a gallon extra compared with a year ago and nearly $1 more > >than two summers back. > > > >The wallop is worsened by interest rates that are at their highest > >levels in more than five years, boosting adjustable-rate mortgages > >and credit card bills and jacking up the minimum payments on most > >credit cards. > > Really? Gee, I hadn't noticed. I guess that's because I pay my bill in > full every month and never pay interest, let alone the minimum > payment. > > >Economists largely have shrugged off the financial effect of higher > >fuel costs on consumers. They say that gasoline demand and road > >vacations continue to rise and that today's pump prices only recently > >approached the record-high retail prices that forced drivers to pay > >the inflation-adjusted equivalent of $3 a gallon for gas for a short > >time in 1981. > > > >But as Godino's plight illustrates, the fiscal fallout already is > >showing up at the lower end of the wage scale. And anecdotal evidence > >suggests that high gasoline costs are forcing people to make adjustments > >at nearly all income levels. > > > >That's especially so in California, where long commutes are the norm and > >public transit is of little use to the masses who in recent years moved > >ever farther from their jobs to find affordable housing. > > Yep, how do you like your McMansions out on the Urban Fringe now, > suckers? > > >Margaret Vieyra, 41, paid a visit to Buena Park Pawn on a recent Friday > >with her daughter in tow, offering a DVD player for some cash to buy > >gasoline. Owner Dale Roach rejected it, explaining that only dual > >players - with DVD and VCR capabilities - have value in his shop these > >days. > > > >Disappointed, Vieyra took back the DVD player and put five DVD movies > >on the counter. The transaction left Vieyra only $5 richer. > > > >Her friend Sal Hinostroza was outside waiting behind the wheel of a > >Toyota Camry. The engine was off to save fuel. > > > >"Right now, my gas tank is on double-E - the tongue of my gas tank is > >hanging out," Hinostroza said. The immediate goal was to buy enough > >gas to get to nearby Stanton, where Vieyra's son was at her mom's > >house waiting to be picked up. > > > >As the trio left Roach's place, Hinostroza said they were going to > >another pawnshop, hoping to get at least $20 for the DVD player. "Then > >we'll get gas and go get her son." > > Actually, sounds like her son is going to have a nice, long walk... > > Say, don't they have any BUSES in Buena Park? You can buy an OCTA Day > Pass for $3 and your son won't have to walk. > > Now you know why gas prices are so much higher here than anywhere else > in the country: people in SoCal are so brainwashed that they would > rather hock their DVD player to get $20 in gas money than take a bus. > > >Roach said his own gas bill rose so much that last year he bought a > >more fuel-efficient car for his daily 50-mile commute. He acknowledged > >that his new car, a gray Toyota Scion that gets 32 miles per gallon, > >required some adjustment for a man used to driving a bright red Ford > >F-250 pickup with flames on the sides. > > > >"On the freeway, I get no respect," he said with a sigh. > > LOL!!! > > >"Gasoline prices are clearly taking a bite out of the consumer, > >especially among people who are at the margin," said Keith Leggett, > >the bank group's senior economist. "That's why we're seeing an uptick > >in the delinquency rate, even though the economy is good." > > > >Godino, the Apple Valley truck driver, can vouch for that. > > > >He tried to refinance his mortgage earlier this year, but it fell > >through after he had shelled out a $400 appraisal fee and used the > >monthly mortgage payment to whittle down credit card debt. > > HELLO?!?!!? MCFLY?!?!?!!? You only get to stop paying your old > mortgage after the refinance transaction closes - not when you apply! > > >Suddenly > >behind on his mortgage, Godino saw his monthly payments balloon to > >$2,300 from $1,800 to make up for the deficit and stave off foreclosure. > > Sheesh, what a dumbass!! Your problem isn't high gas prices, it's that > YOU'RE A ****ING MORON!!! You're the kind of sad sack loser who would > have problems even if gasoline cost $0.99/gallon. > > >"I've never been behind like that," said Godino, a Vietnam veteran who > >has spent 38 years as a truck driver. > > > >He moved to the high desert two years ago because he was unable to > >afford a home closer to work. At the time, Godino's Volkswagen Beetle > >was getting good mileage and his employer, Oak Harbor Freight Line, was > >talking about opening a terminal near Apple Valley. > > Here's another clue: companies talk all the time about their grandiose > plans, but often times it turns out to be just Happy Talk. Wait until > the fantasy becomes reality and the doors to the new freight terminal > open before you move to BuFu Egypt, mmmmmkay? > > >But the Volkswagen got totaled in an accident, forcing Godino to commute > >in his less-thrifty Ford Ranger pickup. His monthly fuel bills have jumped > >to $650. And so far, Oak Harbor hasn't opened that inland terminal. > > Like I said, move to Texas. The weather is comparable, but your $1800 > mortgage payment will drop to $500. > -- > What the heck, I'll play too. > - Dave I have to agree. Texas is much more reasonably priced than California. Heck, even more reasonably priced than Arizona now is. I'd probably suggest the same thing - get out of California. I mean it's a nice place, but it's WAY too expensive. Charles R. Whealton Charles Whealton @ pleasedontspam.com |
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