My mom just told me that she's looking for a job as a sales associate at Walmart, as opposed to a higher paying job working in Cincinnatti. (she lives in Monroe, a suburb between Cincinnatti and Dayton) The reason: gas prices. She says that the increased earnings she would get from a higher paying job would be more than offset by the transportation costs of going back-and-forth to work. This is the new financial reality in America today: people with college degrees are taking unskilled jobs because they pay more than professional work. (after transportation costs are considered)
And wonderful, we have an incompetant president who is incapable of seeing the reality in front of his face. Or... should I ask myself what the conservatives have to gain from reformer-types like my mother thinking they've got to live on the edge of their seats? There may be something more nefarious at work here.