Gas and inflation
Among our American foibles is the lack of thought in our complaints. Take gas prices. The media and politicians are hollering that the price of gas for our cars is approaching the high costs of the gas crisis in the 1970s when gas was over $4 a gallon. But, the buying power of $4 in the ‘70s compared to today is ignored.
$1 in 1970 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $7.25 today, an increase of $6.25 over 52 years. The dollar had an average inflation rate of 3.88% per year between 1970 and today, producing a cumulative price increase of 624.61%.
So, in today's dollars, $4 per gallon in the '70s would be $25 a gallon today. Put another way, $4 a gallon today would have been 64 cents in 1970.
But, the hell with facts.
Jon Nowlin
Carson City
Be kind, respect each other
Recently I parked my car in a public parking lot in Minden to go into a store. When leaving, I discovered someone had plastered a “F**K BIDEN” sticker on my back window — I’m assuming because I had a “Biden for Nevada” bumper sticker.
The freedom of speech we enjoy in this great country allows you to display your opinions on your own car (or advertise it on your giant flagpole if you like) but the law does not allow you to deface my car with your mean-spirited rhetoric. I’m all for rational civil political discourse to debate government policies we each believe would best serve the nation. But how am I expected to respect or trust someone who has such a blatant disregard for the law and demonizes me for having a different perspective?
My message to this person is this: If you do not respect my property, you have effectively closed the door on any chance for any meaningful dialogue about our political differences. You are doing a disservice to your own cause by your rude act of vandalism and driving a wedge further into our socially constructed political divide which threatens the very stability of our democracy. Instead of using obscenities to make your point, try using the tools of our democratic system (like voting and lobbying elected representatives) to share your concerns and proposed solutions. Perhaps you should have noticed the other sticker on my bumper: “Humankind. Be both.”
Nancy Downey
Minden
