Gas prices hit rural areas hardest
The New York Times has some interesting maps this morning illustrating where the price of gasoline is highest, how income is distributed, and how much of that income is spent on gas.
The Times attributes the difference among the states to state gasoline taxes. When it comes to gas prices, New Mexico isn't doing as bad as we think we are, with gasoline still below $4 a gallon around the state. And according to this local map, thats still true in Albuquerque. But gasoline prices aren't the whole story. There's a big difference between urban and rural areas when it comes to the impact of high gasoline.
Regarding income, the Times map doesn't tell us anything we don't already know: New Mexico is poor. That combined with the rural nature of our state is causing a lot of pain at the pump. Remember the campaign that Denise Tessier wrote about a few weeks back, in which she described the problem lower-income rural New Mexicans were having just getting to the grocery store? According to the Times, "The counties where motorists spend the highest percentage of their income on gasoline tend to be in poor, rural areas."
The accompanying article in the Times highlights the Southeast: “This crisis really impacts those who are at the economic margins of society, mostly in the rural areas and particularly parts of the Southeast,” said Fred Rozell, retail pricing director at the Oil Price Information Service, a fuel analysis firm. “These are people who have to decide between food and transportation.”
Given the rural nature of New Mexico, it should come as no surprise that so many New Mexicans are having this same problem. And the maps reflect it. While the national average is 4 percent of take home pay spent on gasoline, in New Mexico, vast swathes of the state are seeing residents spend between 8 and 16 percent on gasoline. At the same time, the more urban Albuquerque area is doing much better, with residents spending between 5 and 6 percent of their income on gasoline.
Comments:
Posted 06/09/2008 08:15 with
See many more local maps about socio-economic and health issues in Albuquerque in the documents posted here:
http://www.nmpha.org/Social_Determinants.html
Posted 06/09/2008 11:23 with
As gas methodically approaches $5.00, and a goodly amount of drivers are curtailing all but the most necessary car use, it is time for auto insurance companies to begin to offer rate reductions or rebates for those who can qualify by reduced miles driven. Using the odometer found in every vehicle, which displays the car’s every mile driven, it is easy to keep up with every mile driven. Since these companies are getting the the same money for carrying less risk, they make more profit, but it is undeserved. They are in essence overcharging. When I used Rural Electric Coop, I would send the electric meter readings to the coop. Then they would bill me. No difference here. We all have to do our part in these costly times.
Posted 06/09/2008 11:56 with
There’s an interesting story in today’s Journal about the loss of Weed, New Mexico’s only gas station.