Originally Posted by LittleBigMan
Rising gas prices will hurt all of us because everything in the economy is affected by it.
As for me, I have already taken major steps to wean myself from it's effects. But all prices go up when fuel prices rise.
Not nearly as much as people think. The prices of all goods and services are determined first and foremost by the demand for them. If people refuse to pay $5 for a loaf of bread, the suppliers simply will not charge $5 for a loaf of bread. A long term fuel price increase will merely force those supplying the goods to find more efficient ways of doing so, including more efficient means of transporting them, as well as decentralising production. The problem is that most of the popular press is too short sighted to perceive any of this, as are politicians elected by opinion poll -- hence this tends to go unrealised.