The new reality of getting around . . .

The working folk don't have the option of driving nice expensive hybrids or even gas guzzlers. They drive what they can afford. They also live in older housing where there are few options, except to pay the energy bills as presented. These folks are also bigger users of public transportation. This raises the next wave of crisis mode we'll have to deal with. Many cities and municipalities are being drowned by the costs of running their public fleets. The smart ones have set forward contracts limiting their fuel costs. But even they will be taking on far higher costs as these contracts expire. Who will pick up the shortfall for the spiraling costs of running those public fleets? Obviously it's the taxpayers of these cities and municipalities. That's no big deal for folks who live in Scottsdale or Boca Raton, but it's a different story in blue-collar towns all over the country. We could be looking waves of municipal bankruptcies in the next few years.