A patriot's idea to conserve gasoline
Is it time for the government and the people to act in concert to stop the insanity of the unbridled rise in gasoline prices?
How about invoking one covert meaning of the controversial Patriot Act and help rid ourselves of the dependence of foreign oil by acting together to resolve this crisis?
After all, shouldn't this be the core of American patriotism--to come together to solve a problem affecting us all?
Daily reports show the price of gasoline continues to rise with no end in sight.
Ongoing, fruitless congressional hearings and futile debates across the country neither offer a workable short-term solution nor an intermediate strategy to relieve the increasing burden on America.
So here's a proposal that could make sense:
Resurrect flex-time as we randomly practiced in the '70s. In all metropolitan areas in the country, start the work day (for some) three hours earlier and end it (for others) three hours later.
With a designated core time for all employees for business continuity through the day, the expanded but still eight-hour workday would be successfully served.
With less driving time, all participants will have an overall shortened day, idle and congested traffic would be diminished and the expense to fill our gas tanks would be decreased.
How do we get started? Let's prompt our government to pass an emergency tax law to compensate those companies willing to take part. Then they in turn offer incentives to their employees that participate.
Isn't this a win-win-win situation with the people, businesses and government, all benefiting?
With a daily deficit of two million barrels of oil, this renewed approach for all congested cities can change this equation and give us valuable time to search for a longer term solution for our energy problems.
We have sales and marketing people in all walks of this society. It's time for all of them to come together to sell this concept to America.
If we buy it, then we will have a new dimension for the word, patriot.
James D. Cook
Streamwood